Hate Crime & Hate Related Incidents
Nobody deserves to be picked on or abused, even assaulted,
simply because they are different. But the reality is that in
today’s diverse society people are being labelled and victimised
because of their disability, ethnic background, religion, gender or
sexual orientation. It may simply be the use of an inappropriate
and insensitive word or phrase; at the other extreme it might be
something far more serious, something we know as hate crime.
Hate crime takes many forms; verbal insults or abusive gestures,
bullying, offensive graffiti, criminal damage, the sending of
malicious letters and text messages, abusive phone, physical
assault, even arson. Thankfully hate crime is relatively low across
Rochford district. But we must not let this blind us to its
presence in our community, however rare such incidents appear. It
may be that others go unreported out of the fear of
embarrassment.
The Rochford District Hate Crime Panel has been set up to
promote awareness of this danger in our midst and works on many
different levels and with many different organisations and
community groups to change people’s attitude to others. It also
believes that our young people have an important part to play in
meeting this challenge too.
The Rochford District Hate Crime Panel in line with the Home
Office definition defines Hate Crime and Incidents as follows:-
Any criminal offence or any non-crime incident which is
perceived, by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by a
hostility or prejudice based on a person’s race, religion, sexual
orientation, disability or who is transgender or is perceived to be
any of the above.
Do you need help or know anyone who does?
Victimisation of any member of our community is not acceptable,
be it intimidation/harassment, verbal, mental or physical abuse. If
you or anyone you know is in this situation, help is available from
the agencies listed below.
Victim Support
Victim Support is the independent charity which helps people
cope with the effects of crime and provides free and confidential
support and information to help you deal with what you've been
through as a victim or witness, whether or not you report the crime
to the police. Victim Support also works to promote and advance the
rights of victims and witnesses and is an independent organisation
and not part of the police, courts or criminal justice agency. 0845
4565 995 - Mon. to Fri. 8 am – 8pm and Sat. 9 am – 5 pm