posted by Alita Spink, Schools and Learning Support Officer, Schools and Learning

Perpetrators of hate crime focus on victimising individuals on the basis of actual or presumed sexual orientation, gender or transgender identity, disability, race or religion. The spectrum of hate crime is wide in nature and includes physical and emotional abuse and harassment, name calling, bullying and violence, and its impact on victims and communities should not be underestimated.

Police Scotland are running a Hate Crime Awareness campaign to communicate to the public that hate crime is a serious crime and to encourage the public to report incidents should they occur.

Our key messages are:

• Tackling hate crime is a key priority for Police Scotland.
• We treat victims and witnesses of hate crime with fairness, dignity and respect.
• We recognise that hate crime is underreported. We are working to improve confidence in, and access to, Police Scotland and our Criminal Justice partners.
• If you are targeting someone, we want you to STOP IT. If not it won’t be long before you become our target.
• If you know someone that is being targeted REPORT IT. Together we can make a difference.
• Preventing/stopping hate crime is everyone’s responsibility. If you are aware hate crime is happening, report it by contacting Crimestoppers.
• Being different isn’t a crime, but somebody victimising you is.
• If you would like support to report, you can attend one of our third party reporting centres. A full list can be found on the Police Scotland website. You can also report by contacting Crimestoppers.