I am proud to state my support for National Hate Crime Awareness Week which aims to raise the profile of hate crime on the social and political agenda.
As LGBTQ+ individuals and organisations, we are continuing to see the impact of rising anti-LGBTQ+ and specifically anti-trans hate.
We recognise that many hate crimes go unreported. This year at SAYiT we have become a third-party hate crime reporting centre so that those who have experienced or witnessed a hate crime and for any reason don’t want to report directly to the police, can make their report through us, a specialist LGBTQ+ charity. Since our launch in October, we have taken reports of over 100 incidents that the police would have been otherwise unaware of.
We also recognise how hate can affect you personally and this summer have run a programme of workshops with our young people on managing the mental health impacts of hate.
In September we ran our conference, Break the Hate: Responding to Anti-LGBTQ+ Hate, bringing together professionals, academics, and community members to explore the extent of anti-LGBTQ+ hate in the UK and the responses by criminal justice and voluntary agencies. It looked at hate crime and other forms of anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination and related social problems, which go beyond that which is covered by the criminal justice system.
We are committed to challenging hate wherever and whenever it arises and working to create a world in which our young people feel safe. No one should feel afraid because of who they are or who they love.
Heather Paterson CEO, SAYiT