Standing up against hate - National Hate Crime Awareness Week
What’s happening during National Hate Crime Awareness Week
During this year's Hate Crime Awareness Week (12-19 October), Hackney Council is holding a community meeting aimed at bringing together professionals and community members to explore responses to hate crime, including the role of the criminal justice system and voluntary agencies. This meeting will also involve the Council’s Community Hate Crime Champions, who have been working to support people affected by hate crime in Hackney.
The community meeting will take place on Monday 14 October, 6-7.30pm, in Hackney Town Hall, North Atrium. For more information and to register your place, view the poster.
In addition, the Council will be holding a number of anti-hate crime pop-up stalls throughout the borough to provide advice and support:
Monday 14 October, 12-2pm, Homerton Hospital, Homerton Row, London, E9 6SR
Tuesday 15 October, 1-3pm, Gillett Square, Bradbury Street, London, N16 8JN
Wednesday 16 October, 1-3pm, Hoxton Street Market, Hoxton Street, N1 6QQ, Located in Shoreditch, off Old Street
Thursday 17 October, 1-3pm, Marks & Spencer, The Narrow Way, Mare Street, E8 1JB
Friday 18 October, 12-2pm Sainsbury’s Superstore, 1 Amhurst Park, N16 5LW
How to report hate crime
If you have been a victim of hate crime - don’t suffer in silence. Hate crime can be reported to the police by calling 999 in an emergency, and 101 in other situations. You can also report hate incidents or crimes to Stop Hate UK on 0800 138 1625 or by going online: www.stophateuk.org
This National Hate Crime Awareness Week, it’s more important than ever that we stand up and show that Hackney is no place for hate. We have a proud history as a welcoming and inclusive borough that celebrates diversity. Our shared values of tolerance and inclusivity are what makes Hackney a place where people want to live, work and visit. Yet, in the last year, these values have been challenged. We have seen an increase in antisemitic and Islamophobic hate crimes, a devastating rise in far-right violence and disorder across the country; and the ongoing under-reporting of hate crimes, especially among our Muslim and LGBTQI+ communities.
That’s why Hackney’s ‘No Place for Hate’ is not just a slogan, but a mission. As shown by the increase in enforcement patrols following the escalation of violence in Israel and Gaza and Hackney coming together to prevent far right activities in our borough, we’re determined to tackle all forms of hate crime and become an actively anti-racist borough. In our No Place for Hate strategy, we set out how we tackle hate incidents and crimes, including improving support for victims, raising awareness of how to report incidents, and working with residents to build understanding of the support we provide.
As always, it’s vital that those who have been affected by hate incidents report them, so that we can build evidence and bring perpetrators to justice. No one should feel afraid because of who they are or who they love. We will challenge hate wherever it arises and continue to work together to make Hackney no place for hate.
Cllr Susan Fajana-Thomas OBE, Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Regulatory Services