As part of the Mayor for London’s Crime Prevention Fund we are leading on a project designed to work with people who are passionate about overcoming the effects of hate crime – both by asserting their strengths as individuals and by mobilising community support for their right not to be victimised on the basis of race, sex, gender, age, sexuality, or disability.
We are taking an asset-based approach that builds on community connections and directly involves people experiencing hate crime in a range of social activities and networks that utilise the local community’s assets and create a culture of resisting and overcoming hate crimes.
A key part of the work involves putting young people at the forefront on identifying solutions to tackling Hate Crime and Community Builder, Priya Loomba, is leading on this work.
Key outcomes for the work will include:
- Victim satisfaction and closure
- Quicker recovery and prevention of repeat victimisation
- Greater local capacity to respond to victims
- More integrated, coordinated, and accessible services across agencies
- Stronger, more sustainable volunteering
To date the work has involved a range of innovative initiatives such as:
* Skye Alexandra – working with young women around issues of sexual harrassment and unwanted sexual behaviour on the street as we consider misogyny a hate crime against women
* Thornton Heath Chronicle – supporting young people to research and shed light on the presence of hate crime particularly online, and raise awareness in their communities
* Lingua House – creating safe spaces for young refugees to report on hate crime and how surrounding community and organisations can strengthen support to stop this from happening
* Lenses of Croydon - photographic exhibition
* Plug-In at St Pauls - Developing a safe space for reporting and identifying solutions for hate crime against older people
* Conversation with Another Night of Sisterhood – beginning a community led conversation informing all of Hate Crime and creating solutions.