29th October 2009

Speak up about hate crime

In the last month, we have seen the tragic attacks on 62-year-old Ian Baynham in London and 22-year-old trainee constable James Parkes in Liverpool. Both attacks were carried out by gangs of youths and resulted in the death of Ian and serious head injuries for James, but the majority of crimes against gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender

(LGBT) people still go unreported.

"This is very much the case in Wales" said Federico Podeschi, Chief Executive Officer of the LGBT Excellence Centre, "LGBT people still face discrimination and stigma especially in rural areas and small villages and also end up having great difficulties in coming out. Reporting instances of hate crime, bullying, or discrimination becomes virtually impossible when people are afraid to come out, besides lack of awareness or understanding from authorities and service providers".

In fact, a report by YouGov and Stonewall into Homophobic Hate Crime stated that only a quarter of hate crimes and incidents are reported to the police and that 7 in 10 victims report the incident to no one. This is often because victims do not think the incident is serious enough to report or that what happened to them was an actual offence.

The LGBT Excellence Centre and Safer Wales have teamed up to help people getting help and support to deal with the aftermath of an attack by providing a new confidential reporting channel for people that have been victims of hate crime.

By contacting the LGBT Excellence Centre on 0800 023 2201 or emailing help@ecwales.org.uk , callers will be able to talk about their experience in confidence and even anonymously and get the information and advice they need. The information provided will be treated in strict confidence and if the caller wants to make a formal report to the police, the LGBT Excellence Centre will support callers with doing this as well as providing legal advice, counselling and other victims support.

Mark Williams from Safer Wales said: "Safer Wales have worked in partnership with the four Welsh police forces to establish the "Report Hate - Safer Wales" online and freepost initiative to enable victims to confidentially report all forms of hate crime. Through working with the LGBT Excellence Centre, victims of homophobic and transphobic hate crime will now have an extra channel to report and to find out what help and support is available to them in confidence and without worrying about having to out themselves."

Federico Podeschi added: "We understand that not everyone wants to report direct to the police but by reporting through this partnership initiative we may at least be able to make a difference to the lives of our community here in Wales.".

For further information about this initiative or to get support with issues around homophobic or transphobic hate crime, please contact the LGBT Excellence Centre on 0800 023 2201 or email help@ecwales.org.uk <

Tags: Bullying

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