The Hate Crime event was held on the 8th of February 2023 in the Polish Social Centre with over 75 individuals who attended this event. The main objective for this event was to raise an awareness on the topic of hate crime and the ways in which the younger generation may be involved or affected by it. The event was held with the intention of educating attendees on what steps to take after being a victim of hate crime or how to support someone else through this ordeal. Attendees were informed on matters of the law, forms of hate crime and the ways in which hate crime can be disguised.
As it was important to have an inclusive group of attendees, individuals representing all faiths, ethnicities and backgrounds were encouraged to attend. As a result of this participants varied from Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and Christian backgrounds and simultaneously held differing ethnicities such as being of British, Pakistani, Nepali, Black, African Caribbean and Arab ethnic backgrounds.
People of differing positions and establishments were also attending, these individuals consisted of faith ambassadors and students from Holy Cross College alongside employees and participants from VCFA, Infinity and The Polish Social Club. These individuals were invited to the stage as guest speakers – drawing upon their own experiences of hate crime, their knowledge on the subject and teaching the community the best ways to proactively take action to either defend yourself against a hate crime or the necessary legal steps required to take in order to seek justice for yourself or someone you know.
Group activities were also encouraged during the event as this enabled groups of differing backgrounds to mingle and amalgamate. The task of curating a poster for hate crime awareness was assigned to groups consisting of 5-6 participants. During this activity opportunities arose for discussion of law and ways of reporting a hate crime alongside providing individuals a safe place to speak about their personal experience of hate crime if they chose to.
Holding the Hate Crime event has facilitated the progression of Supporting Sisters within this community as it has enabled the charity to create a Hate Crime Hub and become a reporting centre to further ensure safety within our community. Furthermore, Supporting Sisters is in the process of electing Hate crime ambassadors by working alongside the youth of Holy Cross college and selecting those individuals to become ambassadors though teaching and training.
In the upcoming future we plan to further progress our relations with Greater Manchester Police and Bury Faith Forum where we experience great support in our aims to create and carry out different workshops for the benefit of the community. Furthermore, continued support from Bury Council, Polish Social Club, Infinity and ambassadors from 4C at Holy Cross College will enable us to continue to successfully plan and hold events such as this to further educate and provide individuals within our society an opportunity to progress and bring about positive change.
