Suffolk Hate Crime Service
Suffolk County Council is working with partners to support
people who are bullied, harassed, attacked, or have their property
stolen or damaged because of their race, belief, disability,
gender, age, or sexual orientation. For more information view the
Suffolk
Hate Crime Service page.
Support available for all sufferers of racial harassment.
The Racial Harassment Initiative project aims to ensure that
sufferers of racial harassment are aware of the support that is
available and that they can access it. We will ensure that all
incidents of racial harassment are properly and sensitively
investigated.
Definition
A racist incident is "any incident which is perceived to be
racist by the victim or any other person" - The Stephen Lawrence
report (1999). The incident may be motivated by racial prejudice
and includes verbal abuse, threats and even physical violence".
This is racial harassment and should not be tolerated. Racial
harassment can take place in the street, at work, at home, or even
with friends. It may be directed towards your ethnic or cultural
background.
People who have been harassed, threatened or attacked, often
feel upset, anxious, confused and angry. They can lose confidence,
feel guilty and become depressed. If it happens to you make sure
you report it. Our contact details are at the top of this page.
How does the initiative help sufferers and work with the wider
community?
- dealing with individual cases of racial harassment
- increasing awareness of the effects of racial harassment,
especially racial violence
- listening to the needs of the community and assisting them in
reducing racial harassment and violence
- use a specialist counselling service where appropriate
- use mediation to resolve neighbour disputes
- secure households with necessary security measures
- work with young people to explain the misery racial violence
causes within a community
Working with victims and their families
The RHI offers support in a variety of ways, including
making regular home visits in order to assess the need of clients,
and making available a range of target hardening measures. These
include securing properties which have been vandalised, installing
panic alarms and/or CCTV for more serious types of harassment where
the offender has not been identified.
Such measures help to reduce victims’ fear as well as guard against
repeat victimisation. These services are frequently used and
requested by partner Housing Departments, Victim Support Schemes,
CAB’s and other voluntary and statutory bodies from across
Suffolk.