On Friday 16th March, Police Scotland launched a new social media campaign and will be working with schools to target younger people with the aim of increasing awareness of hate crime using the slogan “be greater than a hater”
Without doubt, it was shocking to see the statistics quoted which highlighted there had been a total of 5,889 hate crimes files created in 2016/17. Around 900 cases involve someone between the age of 11 and 15 and one-third of those 900 also involved victims in the same age group. Police Scotland have also warned that many recorded cases of hate crime have a cyber element as increasing number of young people use social media to bully their peers online or hide behind fake online accounts.
So this begs the question, what constitutes a hate crime?
In Scotland, the law recognises hate crimes as crimes motivated by prejudice based on:
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race
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religion
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sexual orientation
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transgender identity
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disability
These acts can have considerable impact on the individuals subjected to this victimisation, which can include feeling unsafe, vulnerable, anxious and social withdrawal or it may even lead people to have increased feelings of anger or tension within communities. It may be that young people do not realise that hate crime can have such a significant and long term impact and this campaign will help ensure young people are better informed and understand what constitutes a hate crime, the impact on victims and the consequences for the offenders.
The vast majority of hate crimes are not reported to police. There may be many reasons why people don’t wish to go down this route. Some of which include fear of retaliation, believing police would not or could not help or that they would be wasting police time. If these crimes go unreported, the police are unable to act and keep victims safe. Many people may also believe that they are unable to report a hate crime anonymously but they can, using the Police Scotland website.
No-one should ever have to live with the fear and anxiety that hate crimes cause. Scotland is a diverse, multi-faith and multicultural society and we must all play our part in ensuring that hatred of any kind is not tolerated.
According to a conference organised last year by union NASUWT in Scotland, 52% of teachers in attendance said they had experienced or witnessed hate crime within the last two years. In addition, almost two-thirds of those admitted that the issue was not resolved satisfactorily. Fortunately, St Andrew’s and St Bride’s High School endeavors to provide support through guidance teachers and senior management who work tirelessly to ensure that hate of any kind is stamped out immediately. However, it is also crucial that we all come together as a community to educate, accept and celebrate our differences.
It’s certainly reassuring to see that Police Scotland are tackling this issue head on and hopefully this will encourage people to come forward and report any hate crime they are experiencing or witnessing. I would urge anybody who has any worries regarding the matter to speak to a close family member, guidance teacher or member of the police who can advise you on the appropriate next steps. Don’t suffer in silence.
