Wakefield Council to support Hate Crime Awareness Week with event in The Ridings

The authority is supporting Hate Crime Awareness Week (October 8-16) by reinforcing its zero-tolerance approach to hate crime, helping people to understand what it is and encouraging residents to do the right thing.

Hate Crime Awareness Week is a national week of action that aims to educate people about preventing hate crimes and hate incidents.

Coun Maureen Cummings, Wakefield Council’s cabinet member for Communities, Poverty and Health, said: “There’s no place for behaviour like this in our district. It is completely unacceptable and anyone who does sadly see or experience a hate crime or incident should report it and know that they will be listened to and supported.

“All of us can play our part in making our local community supportive and inclusive for everyone.”

Hate crime continues to rise with many people across England experiencing bullying, harassment, and abuse, simply because of who they are.

A hate crime is a prejudice-motivated crime which occurs when a perpetrator targets a victim because of their membership of a certain social group or racial demographic.

Examples of such groups can include, ethnicity, disability, language, nationality, physical appearance, religion, gender identity, or sexual orientation. It can happen through verbal or online abuse, insults or harassment, such as taunting, offensive leaflets and posters, abusive gestures, dumping of rubbish outside homes or through letterboxes, and bullying at school or in the workplace.

On Friday, October, 14 Wakefield Council - along with partners including Stop Hate UK, West Yorkshire Police, Crime Prevention and Victim’s Support - will be holding an event near the lifts on the ground floor of The Ridings (next to Boots) from 9am to 1pm to raise awareness and to promote the importance of reporting – which can be done anonymously.

Anybody wanting to report a hate crime incident should do so by calling the police on 101 or 999. Support is also available from Stop Hate UK on 0800 138 1625 or by text on 07717 989 025 or via Stop Hate UK https://www.stophateuk.org/.

Anyone can report a hate crime and it can be reported anonymously. Victim Support can be contacted on 0300 303 1971 or out of hours 0808 16 59 111.