New campaign to raise awareness of hate crime

New campaign to raise awareness of hate crime

Examples of potential hate crimes are highlighted in a new national campaign to increase awareness about the “sickening” offending.

The initiative aims to make clear that directing abuse at someone because of their religion, race, sexual orientation, transgender identity or disability is a criminal offence.

Films and posters depicting fictional cases include a lesbian couple being verbally abused at a bar; racist graffiti being sprayed on the shop of a foreign couple; an offender posting hate-filled messages about a transgender woman online; a Muslim woman being aggressively shouted at to remove her headscarf; a Jewish man being abused in the street; and a disabled man being verbally abused on a bus.

Home Office campaign poster
A poster of a disabled man being verbally abused on a bus (Home Office/PA)

Minister for Countering Extremism Baroness Williams said: “Committing a hate crime goes against all the shared values we hold and can have a traumatic impact on victims.

“This is just one part of the ongoing work of the Government to tackle hate crime to ensure this sickening behaviour is stamped out.”

Home Office campaign poster
A poster of racist graffiti being sprayed on the shop of a foreign couple (Home Office/PA)

In a separate step, the Government has commissioned a review to examine hate crime laws, including whether they should be extended to cover offences motivated by hostility towards a victim’s sex or age.

The new awareness campaign, which will go live on Wednesday, was developed in consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service and the Independent Advisory Group on Hate Crime.

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