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Statement on Events in Woolwich on 22 May 2013

Friday, May 24th, 2013

Stop Hate UK is a national organisation that supports people affected by all forms of Hate Crime and discrimination. This includes those who have experienced an incident because of their actual or perceived religion, faith or belief or their actual or perceived race, ethnicity or nationality. The Stop Hate Line is Stop Hate UK’s 24 hour helpline. The service has been commissioned to support people in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, the borough in which Woolwich is situated.

The charity strongly condemns the actions involved in the events that took place in Woolwich on 22 May 2013. Una Morris, Stop Hate UK, said:

“At this stage and without full facts we are unable to comment in any great detail about the events that occurred in Woolwich. However, we condemn in no uncertain terms the use of violence for whatever reason but particularly the use of violence to promote extremist views. We extend our sincere condolences to the family and friends of Lee Rigby, the soldier who died as a result of the actions carried out on 22 May 2013.”

Stop Hate UK urges individual members of the community in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and partner agencies to get in touch if they believe the organisation’s support could be of assistance. Where an individual has witnessed or experienced an incident they can report it to the Stop Hate Line 24 hours a day on 0800 138 1625, by email to talk@stophateuk.org or online at www.stophateuk.org/talk. The service provides support to people who do not feel able to or do not want to talk to the police or council.

Una continued:

“We have already seen the incident in Woolwich lead to Muslims, mosques and Islam itself become the focus of attention for hatred and prejudice, both in Woolwich and elsewhere in the country. We have also noted a number of offensive and potentially inciting statements online. We are keen to work with all communities affected by these events to prevent further tragedy from occurring. The way to do that is to report and tackle tensions now, before things escalate to the level we witnessed earlier this week.”

The organisation also condemns the acts carried out by the English Defence League in the aftermath of the killing of the soldier in Woolwich. Members of the group and its supporters travelled to Woolwich on the night of 22 May 2013. Una said:

“We should not allow far-right groups, such as the English Defence League, to use what happened in Woolwich to justify the promotion of hatred of Muslims. Just as the English Defence League does not, and cannot, speak for every White person in the country, the actions of a very small minority of individuals cannot speak for all Muslims. The religion of Islam does not condone violence in its name.”

Stop Hate UK intends to closely monitor the situation across the country. All incidents should be reported. To find out where the Stop Hate Line operates visit www.stophateuk.org/where.

(End)

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Court of Appeal to consider sentence for the manslaughter of Steven Simpson

Thursday, April 18th, 2013

On 21 March 2013 Jordan Sheard was sentenced to three and a half years for the manslaughter of Steven Simpson. On 23 March 2013, Stop Hate UK wrote to the Attorney General, Dominic Grieve QC MP to request the sentence be referred to the Court of Appeal as unduly lenient. This campaign was supported by a number of other organisations, groups and individuals, many of whom wrote their own letters to the Attorney General. In particular, the Disability Hate Crime Network rallied support from its members and other networks to galvanise this campaign.

Stop Hate UK is delighted to announce that the Attorney General has decided to refer the sentence to the Court of Appeal as a possibly unduly lenient sentence. The Court of Appeal will hear the case in around five or six weeks time and decide whether the sentence was unduly lenient. If the Court of Appeal is of the opinion that the sentence was unduly lenient, Jordan Sheard will be re-sentenced for the offence and the sentence increased. Alternatively, the Court of Appeal may decide not to interfere with the three and a half year sentence of imprisonment imposed upon Jordan Sheard.

Stop Hate UK awaits the outcome of the Court of Appeal hearing and will release a further statement in due course.

Stop Hate UK’s letter to the Attorney General states as follows:

Dear Attorney General,

We are writing to express our concerns in relation to the sentencing of Jordan Sheard for the manslaughter of Steven Simpson. A custodial sentence of three years and six months was imposed by His Honour Judge Keen QC at Sheffield Crown Court on 21 March 2013, following a plea of guilty by the defendant. Notwithstanding the guilty plea, having examined the media coverage of the case it is our view that the sentence was unduly lenient in the circumstances.

Our concerns about the sentence imposed upon the defendant stem from the fact that the manslaughter of Steven Simpson does not appear to have been dealt with as a case motivated by hostility in accordance with section 146, Criminal Justice Act 2003. In our opinion the facts of the case quite clearly involve proven demonstrated hostility by Jordan Sheard towards Steven Simpson on the basis of both his sexual orientation and disability. It appears that, contrary to section 146, these aggravating factors were not taken into account when sentencing Jordan Sheard, nor does it seem to have been stated in open court by His Honour Judge Keen that the offence was committed in such circumstances.

Further, it appears that the only aggravating factor taken into account was the attempt by Jordan Sheard to evade apprehension by fleeing the scene of the manslaughter. We are of the view that the offence was one of deliberate and gratuitous violence and that the conduct of Jordan Sheard included elements of sadism towards and the humiliation and degradation of Steven Simpson. Significant mitigating factors justifying such a short custodial sentence are glaringly absent.

A custodial sentence of three years and six months for the manslaughter of Steven Simpson does not reflect the true gravity of the offence committed by Jordan Sheard. We therefore request that this case is referred to the Court of Appeal for consideration of the sentence imposed as unduly lenient.

Yours sincerely,

Stop Hate UK

 

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Recognition of Hate Crime against people from alternative subcultures

Thursday, April 4th, 2013

Stop Hate UK is delighted that Greater Manchester Police will now be recording Hate Crime motivated by prejudice and hostility towards people from alternative subcultures. This is an outstanding achievement which reflects the tireless efforts of the Sophie Lancaster Foundation to invoke change.

What this change in recording processes means is that Greater Manchester Police will produce statistics for crimes motivated by membership of or hostility towards alternative subculture groups. These statistics will be reported alongside the statistics for other forms of Hate Crime.

Over time this will allow Greater Manchester Police to establish trends, patterns and areas where Hate Crime against people from alternative subcultures is particularly prevalent. If very few Hate Crimes against people from alternative subcultures are recorded by Greater Manchester Police, but independent third party reporting organisation data shows a different picture, this change will allow more to be done to encourage reporting amongst people from alternative subcultures and to increase confidence in criminal justice processes amongst these groups. Support from third party reporting organisations in vital in that respect.

The other aspect of this change in recording processes is that it should increase awareness of Hate Crime against people from alternative subcultures. It should also establish a change in investigation processes and ensure that Hate Crime against people from alternative subcultures is dealt with as a priority. Other police forces have indicated to us that they are also treating such crimes as Hate Crimes in terms of support and investigation, although they may not be producing statistical data on the prevalence of Hate Crime against people from alternative subcultures in the same way that Greater Manchester Police is now doing. We are aware of other police forces producing data on other forms of Hate Crime, such as Merseyside Police recording Hate Crime against sex workers and other police forces recording data on crimes motivated by age.

Stop Hate UK has always provided support to people who feel that they have been targeted because of who they are, irrespective of which part of their identity they feel has been the motivation behind the Hate Crime they experienced. Our experience is that the many of the same barriers to reporting Hate Crime for people from other groups apply equally to people from alternative subcultures, including a reluctance to report to the police. At present, we are working with the Sophie Lancaster Foundation to try to obtain funding to provide a national helpline for people from alternative subcultures to report Hate Crime and receive support.

It is important to recognise that there has been no change in Hate Crime legislation to include crimes motivated by prejudice or hostility towards people from alternative subcultures. In that sense, this change does not afford these groups with any additional legal protection and it does not create statutory increased penalties for those convicted of crimes of bias and prejudice against people from alternative subcultures. This is something that we must continue to talk about and highlight as part of the Hate Crime agenda. However, what has been achieved by the Sophie Lancaster Foundation is a significant step towards a change in legislation and we look forward to continuing to work closely with the Sophie Lancaster Foundation towards this goal.

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Letter to the Attorney General

Saturday, March 23rd, 2013

Attorney General

The Rt Hon Dominic Grieve QC MP

Attorney General’s Office

 

23 March 2013

Dear Attorney General,

We are writing to express our concerns in relation to the sentencing of Jordan Sheard for the manslaughter of Steven Simpson. A custodial sentence of three years and six months was imposed by His Honour Judge Keen QC at Sheffield Crown Court on 21 March 2013, following a plea of guilty by the defendant. Notwithstanding the guilty plea, having examined the media coverage of the case it is our view that the sentence was unduly lenient in the circumstances.

Our concerns about the sentence imposed upon the defendant stem from the fact that the manslaughter of Steven Simpson does not appear to have been dealt with as a case motivated by hostility in accordance with section 146, Criminal Justice Act 2003. In our opinion the facts of the case quite clearly involve proven demonstrated hostility by Jordan Sheard towards Steven Simpson on the basis of both his sexual orientation and disability. It appears that, contrary to section 146, these aggravating factors were not taken into account when sentencing Jordan Sheard, nor does it seem to have been stated in open court by His Honour Judge Keen that the offence was committed in such circumstances.

Further, it appears that the only aggravating factor taken into account was the attempt by Jordan Sheard to evade apprehension by fleeing the scene of the manslaughter. We are of the view that the offence was one of deliberate and gratuitous violence and that the conduct of Jordan Sheard included elements of sadism towards and the humiliation and degradation of Steven Simpson. Significant mitigating factors justifying such a short custodial sentence are glaringly absent.

A custodial sentence of three years and six months for the manslaughter of Steven Simpson does not reflect the true gravity of the offence committed by Jordan Sheard. We therefore request that this case is referred to the Court of Appeal for consideration of the sentence imposed as unduly lenient.

Yours sincerely,

Stop Hate UK

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Stop Learning Disability Hate Crime Helpline

Tuesday, January 29th, 2013

Stop Hate UK is a national organisation working to provide support to victims of Hate Crime, across the strands of Disability, Gender Identity, Race, Religion and Sexual Orientation. The independent charity has been operating the Stop Hate Line, a 24 hour helpline for Hate Crime victims and witnesses in some areas of the UK, since 2006.

Stop Hate UK has launched a new 24 hour helpline service, Stop Learning Disability Hate Crime, in England and Wales. The new service will be funded by the Ministry of Justice Victim and Witness Fund.

People in England and Wales who have experienced, witnessed or know someone who is experiencing Learning Disability Hate Crime can contact the Stop Learning Disability Hate Crime helpline on 0808 802 1155 for support and information. The helpline is open 24 hours a day, every day of the year. It is free to call the Stop Learning Disability Hate Crime helpline from landlines and most mobiles and the number won’t show on a phone bill.

Calls to the Stop Learning Disability Hate Crime helpline will be answered by trained staff and volunteers, who understand the impact Learning Disability Hate Crime has on victims. Calls are confidential and callers will be asked whether they need ongoing support. Referrals will be made where consent has been given by the victim. Stop Hate UK will also follow up with callers and offer additional support, referrals or signposting where appropriate. All incidents will be reported to the local police by Stop Hate UK, either with the victim’s details for investigation purposes, if that is what the victim wants, or without the details of the victim for information and monitoring purposes.

Una Morris, Project Manager for Stop Learning Disability Hate Crime at Stop Hate UK said:

“Hate Crime has a significant impact on victims, their families, friends, carers and on the wider community. Our experience of working with victims of Learning Disability Hate Crime tells us that some people believe that the incidents they have experienced are not serious enough to report to the police or they simply experience too many incidents to report, often on a daily basis. For other victims, they may not know that what they have experienced is Hate Crime, although they might know it is wrong, or they may be experiencing Mate Crime and think the perpetrators are their friends. We can support people to identify their experiences as Hate Crime or Mate Crime.”

Una continued:

“The Stop Learning Disability Hate Crime helpline offers a mechanism for reporting, support and information, as well as a way to access the support of other agencies, such as the police and housing providers. The helpline is available 24 hours a day for anyone in England and Wales who is affected by Learning Disability Hate Crime or knows someone who is.”

Paul Giannasi, on behalf of the Association of Chief Police Officers, said:

“The Stop Learning Disability Hate Crime helpline is a vital service. We know from the British Crime Survey that Disability Hate Crime is underreported. This is particularly true of Learning Disability Hate Crime. Stop Hate UK’s new helpline offers victims and witnesses an opportunity to report to an independent charity with specialist knowledge of Learning Disability Hate Crime. This service will benefit individuals and communities by increasing confidence in reporting processes and will provide valuable statistical data on the scale of the problem.”

Talk to the Stop Learning Disability Hate Crime helpline on 0808 802 1155.

Stop Hate UK is currently developing a range of publicity materials in easy read accessible formats to promote the Stop Learning Disability Hate Crime helpline.

(End)

Notes to the Editor

Please contact:

Una Morris

Project Manager for Stop Learning Disability Hate Crime

Stop Hate UK

Patron – Doreen Lawrence OBE

Stop Hate UK is a registered charity, Registration Number 1062692.

una@stophateuk.org

Main office: 0113 293 5100

www.stophateuk.org

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New line helps stop Hate Crime

Tuesday, October 16th, 2012

BANBURY residents can now report hate crime 24-7 after national charity Stop Hate UK brought its service to the area.

The Stop Hate Line was introduced to Oxfordshire on Monday and allows those affected by hate crime to report incidents in a variety of ways.

Victims and witnesses can contact the charity – which is currently available in about 20 areas across the country – by phone, text, post or online to report hate crimes, access support, and get information.

Stop Hate UK’s new business manager Andrew Bolland, said: “Hate crime is typically unreported and the aim is to get people to the appropriate organisations and to encourage them to get in contact with services available to them. We offer immediate practical and emotional support and advice and if the person consents we can forward details about the incident to police, council, victim support or other community based agencies.

“The aim for us is to complement existing services in the area and to assist the local organisations, such as police and council.”

Chief inspector Hugh Matthews of Thames Valley Police said he is delighted the service is now available to people in Oxfordshire, who, for whatever reason, feel they cannot turn to the police directly.

He stressed, however, that police would still like people to contact them to report any incidents.

He said: “This is a third party reporting facility led by local councils which means we can have a referral from Stop Hate UK, but the police very much wishes to hear from anybody who has been subject to hate crime so we can provide direct support.”

Hate crime is a result of hostility, prejudice or hatred of; disability, gender identity, race (ethnicity or nationality), religion or belief or sexual orientation.

The aim is for the scheme to eventually be rolled out across the Thames Valley area.

Those who do not live in Oxfordshire can still report hate crime by visiting www.report-it.org.uk For more information about the Stop Hate Line go to www.stophateuk.org

 

Source: http://www.banburyguardian.co.uk/news/local/new-line-helps-stop-hate-crime-1-4340108

 

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Your input is important: What events would you like to attend?

Tuesday, July 24th, 2012

For those of you who are perhaps not aware, on Friday 18th May we held our first ever Dinner and Drum Night: an event where attendees enjoyed a night of delicious food, an exciting raffle, and professional African music from The Abatimbo Burundi Drummers. The feedback from this event was very positive, which has encouraged us to organise similar events for next year.

Not only is it important to us to hold these events to raise money to support our cause, but planning events that you will will enjoy is of course a high priority! Therefore we would love to hear anything you have to say, whether that be feedback from our previous events or comments regarding ideas for possible future endevours. Please do get in touch via Facebook or Twitter (@stophateuk), or by emailing us at info@stophateuk.org.

We look forward to hearing from you, and thank you for your help.

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Stop Hate UK Annual Report Findings

Tuesday, July 3rd, 2012

Reports of Disability Hate Crime are increasing.

Stop Hate UK have released their annual report for 2011-2012. Figures show that an increasing number of people are reporting Hate Crimes related to their disability. For the first time Stop Hate UK has received more reports of Hate Crime relating to the victim’s disability than for Hate Crimes relating to the victims race or ethnicity. In 2011-2012 Stop Hate UK received 474 calls reporting Hate Crimes or incidents relating to the victims disability and 448 relating to the victims race or ethnicity.

Stop Hate UK is encouraged to see that more people are coming forward and reporting incidents to their service, however Stop Hate UK believe that this is just the tip of the iceberg and that many victim’s are still not reporting their experiences to either independent reporting services or the Police. More work needs to be done nationally to encourage victims of Disability, Race, Religion, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Hate Crime as well as victims of Hate Crime that are not covered by these officially monitored strands to come forward and report what is happening to them.

Some of the harrowing calls Stop Hate UK have received this year show that the problem of targeting people because of their religion, race, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity is not going away and that for some people it is a regular part of their everyday experience. One caller spoke to Stop Hate UK after her family had been targeted for months by gangs of youths armed with knives and other weapons. The family were too frightened to report incidents to the Police but with Stop Hate UK’s help and support they felt able to start making reports again. They were targeted because of their ethnic background. A group of friends out for a drink reported being verbally abused and physically assaulted with some ending up in hospital. This serious incident was motivated by the victim’s disabilities. Another caller to our helpline was followed and photographed for nearly 20 minutes because of her gender identity.

These types of crimes have a massive impact on the victim, their family and friends and the wider community in which they live. Stop Hate UK is working with the Police and agencies around the Country to encourage reporting so that Hate Crime can be dealt with efficiently and effectively whenever it occurs.

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Gay Brits prepare to celebrate Black Pride

Tuesday, June 26th, 2012

“The festival celebrating LGBT pride in the Black, African, Asian, Caribbean and Middle Eastern communities returns to London for its seventh year.

UK Black Pride, the festival celebrating LGBT pride in Britain’s multicultural communities is back.

The party is set to take place on 18 August at Kennington Park in south London.

Tickets for the festival are now on sale from Ticket Line and for a limited time only, the website is offering four tickets for the price of three. Prices are at £10 plus £1 booking fee.

Black Pride will take to the London stage to celebrate the lives, experiences and achievements of LGBT people from all across the UK’s multicultural landscape. The festival will host many live music performances on its main stage plus several dance tents showcasing dance music.

Past performers at UK Black Pride include Jessie J, Ms Dynamite, Beverley Knight and Duane Lamont. All of whom have pledged their support for LGBT rights and diversity in the UK.

Alongside the music, the festival will be offering something for everyone with licensed bars serving sumptuous world food, several educational workshops, community stalls and a children’s play area.

Black Pride has been run on a voluntary basis by an award winning team from the Black and LGBT community since 2005. It is now Europe’s largest pride celebration of African, Asian, Caribbean and Middle Eastern people; attracting thousands of festival goers from around the world.

For more information or if you want get involved with the festival, visit the UK Black Pride website.” Source: Gay Star News, Tuesday 26 June, 2012.

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Police investigate alleged racist Twitter abuse of Ashley Cole and Ashley Young

Tuesday, June 26th, 2012

“Police are investigating a Twitter user’s alleged racist abuse of England footballers Ashley Cole and Ashley Young after they missed penalty kicks at Euro 2012.

In a series of tweets, the user appeared to goad other users who criticised him. Later he wrote: “All I got to say is this was just a joke, you guys need to relax, police know i was kiddin around and they won’t bother me hopefully, cheers.”

Another tweet said: “The police won’t bother me mate i can assure you that.”

A Metropolitan police (MPS) spokesman said on Monday: “We are aware of alleged racist comments on Twitter following last night’s England game and have launched an investigation.

“The allegation was made to MPS on 25 June by a member of the public relating to comments on a Twitter account supposedly based in London.”

He said no arrests had been made.

The Football Association said in a statement: “We are concerned at the reports regarding allegations of abuse aimed at England players Ashley Cole and Ashley Young on Twitter.

“They have just given everything for the national team at Euro 2012 and it is appalling and unacceptable that messages of an abusive type are being posted. We support any police investigation in identifying who is behind this.”

Cole and Young have returned home with the rest of the England team after the 4-2 penalty shootout defeat in the quarter-final against Italy.

Liam Stacey, 21, from Pontypridd, South Wales, was jailed for 56 days in March after racially abusing two Twitter users and mocking the Bolton Wanderers footballer Fabrice Muamba when he collapsed and almost died during a match.

Stacey, a student in the final year of a three-year biology degree, was also banned from Swansea University for the rest of the year.” Souce: The Guardian, Tuesday 26 June, 2012.

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