The Anthony Walker Foundation has launched a new hate crime reporting tool as part of its ‘Speak Out! Stop Hate.’ campaign, in response to the worrying number of instances of hate crime that go unreported nationally.
According to official government statistics, in the year ending March 2020, there were 105,090 hate crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales, an increase of eight per cent compared with year ending March 2019 (97,446 offences).
In addition, in 2020, the Anthony Walker Foundation saw a 126% increase in people accessing support compared to the previous year, across Merseyside. This campaign and reporting tool, funded through the Race and Faith Grant scheme run by the Ministry for Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), have been designed to encourage people to report hate crime and provide an easy and accessible way for people to provide reports safely and anonymously. The tool will allow the Anthony Walker Foundation to gain insight into real-time reports, which will inform and support intervention to combat hate crime.
The launch of the campaign and reporting tool on Monday 22nd February, comes a day after Anthony’s birthday, and marks 15 years after he was tragically murdered in a racially motivated attack.
Dominique Walker, vice chair at the Anthony Walker Foundation, said:
“Whether because of confusion around what constitutes a hate crime, a lack of awareness, or simply not knowing where to go, the amount of hate crimes going unreported is incredibly worrying and, without this insight, it is much harder for us to tackle the issue head-on.
“This campaign provides much needed fresh impetus for everyone to feel empowered to step up and oppose hate crime in any way we can. Whether it’s reporting offences, responding effectively to those experiencing hate crime, or putting measures and resources in place to prevent hate crime, we can all collectively contribute to making our communities safer for all.”
Communities Minister Lord Greenhalgh, said:
“This Government is working hard to cut crime, recruiting 20,000 new police officers and providing funding to local communities to help make their streets safer. Our Faith, Race and Hate Crime Grant Scheme is supporting organisations like the Anthony Walker Foundation and stamp out prejudice and discrimination.
“Everyone should feel safe in the public realm, and we are delighted to support this ambitious pilot programme to encourage people in Liverpool to report hate crime in a safe and accessible way. This programme will give real insight to support our work to combat crime and I look forward to seeing the results.”
Speak Out! Stop Hate. has been created in partnership with social enterprise, Agent Academy and will also include the delivery of a host of education and training opportunities, to raise awareness and increase confidence when tackling hate crime across the Liverpool City Region.
Zoe Wallace, director at Agent Academy, said:
“Encouraging and supporting young people to tackle the issues that are most important to them, is at the heart of Agent Academy, which is why we’re so proud that this campaign is powered by young people, who are passionate about leading a movement for change. It’s more important than ever before that we urgently challenge hate and discrimination not just across Liverpool City Region, but nationally. Positive, long-lasting change only ever happens when people are galvanised to make a difference. That’s exactly what this project will do.”
As part of the launch week, the Anthony Walker Foundation is hosting a series of events including a launch event webinar on Monday 22ndFebruary, featuring an expert panel, a ‘Train the Trainer’ taster webinar aimed at professionals on Wednesday 24th February, as well as a question-and-answer session across the Foundation’s social media accounts on Thursday 25th February.
