The Asha Neighbourhood Project in Beeston hosted a hate crime awareness event on Friday 19 October as part of Hate Crime Awareness week, the second one of its kind organised by Asha, in support of the ‘Show Racism The Red Card’ campaign; an annual campaign used to raise awareness on the topic.
Some attendees from the local community wore something red for the event, which was organised in collaboration with the West Yorkshire Police. PC Rachael Hides, who is the women’s community champion for the local neighbourhood policing team, was invited as a guest speaker, to deliver a workshop on how to deal with incidents of hate.
Apart from identifying the types of hate crime women may experience and how individuals may be affected, the session also touched on reporting procedures. Reference was very importantly made to the barriers and fears women may face in coming forward after being subjected to a hate crime, and there was a particular focus on building good relations with the police to ensure perpetrators are held to account. Reassurance was also offered for anyone at the receiving end of any hate crime, with a message of support, understanding and encouragement to come forward and report to the police, or at a hate crime reporting centre.
The event was very well attended, and many of the women said that they found the session ‘very informative’. Women said that if they were to experience any hate incidents in future, that they would now feel much more comfortable with the procedure on reporting.
