Personal
Safety - Hate Crime
Hate crimes
are directed against people because of some aspect of who
they are, most typically because they are from an ethnic minority
or visible religious minority, or because of their sexuality.
Hate crime
covers a wide range of behaviour, for example, verbal abuse,
racist or homophobic graffiti or physical assault. A crime
can be classed as a hate crime if the victim or witness sees
it as being so.
If you
are the victim of what you think is a hate crime, it is not
your fault. You have the right to live your life
free from abuse and violence, whoever you are. You do not
have to live with hate crime.
Police
are trained to deal with hate crime with sensitivity and tact.
They will not treat you differently because you are from an
ethnic or religious minority, or because of your sexuality.
A lot of police forces also provide self-referral forms, so
you can report a crime without having to deal directly with
the police.
