At Citizens Advice Bury & Bolton we stand against hate crime in any form. As a hate crime reporting centre, we encourage any victim of hate to report incidents to us in complete confidence. Hate crime is never acceptable.
What is hate crime?
A hate incident is when you experience hostility or prejudice towards you because of a protected characteristic that you possess. This can include ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, disability, gender, etc.
Hate crime is when someone uses this as a reason to abuse you, vandalise your property or harass you. Hate can happen in-person or online and can be targeted towards you or someone that you care about.
What is Hate Crime Awareness week?
National Hate Crime Awareness Week takes place annually from 9 to 16 October to encourage victims to report incidents in confidence and to remind offenders that their behaviour is not acceptable.
Hate crimes are often significantly under-reported and can escalate. Unfortunately some people don’t recognise such incidents as crimes and others might understandably lack the confidence to come forward about it.
By reporting hate, you help the police understand the extent of hate crime in your local area so they can deal with it more effectively. Your actions could prevent incidents from happening again and stop others from being victimised.
How to report hate crime?
There are a number of ways you can report hate crime. If you feel threatened or in danger, or you think you’ve been the victim of a hate crime you should contact the police as soon as possible by calling 101.
Hate incidents can also be reported on the True Vision website at www.report-it.org.uk, or you can find a list of phone numbers for third party reporting centres in Bolton and Bury below.
Bolton – www.bolton.gov.uk/community-safety-anti-social-behaviour/hate-crime
Bury – www.bury.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=11250
You can also report hate directly to us by phoning us on 0808 278 7804. Our advice is always free, confidential, independent and impartial and we’ll be able to support you with finding the best way forward.
You can find more information about hate crime by visiting www.letsendhatecrime.com.