h a t e c r i m e t e a m v i c t im s u p p o r t · behavioral – deterioration in personal...

S P R I N G E D I T I O N

VICTIM SUPPORTHATE CRIME TEAM Our Quartely Newsletter !

2020

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WHAT IS HATE CRIME ?

Race or perceived race;Religion or perceived religion;Sexual Orientation or perceived sexual orientation;Disability or perceived disabilityTransgender identity or perceived transgender identity

Any criminal offence which is perceived by the victim or anyother person, to be motivated by a hostility or prejudicebased on a person’s :

This means that if you feel you have been a victim of crimeas a result of being targeted for one of the above strands,you can report it to us or the police as a hate crime.

IMPACT OF HATE CRIME

Emotional – Uncontrollable crying, agitation, restlessness, shame,fear, nightmares, numbness, guilt, frustration and hopelessness.Behavioral – deterioration in personal relationships, paranoid-likeguardedness, avoidance, isolation, detachment and loss of identity.

If you have been a victim of hate crime you may feel many emotionsthat you are not sure how to deal with. These could be:

You may also have physical injuries or financial losses as a result ofthe crime. For example, there may have been an assault, or yourproperty may have been damaged.

OUR SERVICES

We can make things easier by advocating with the policeand housing. We can help make you feel safe again with personal andhome security. We can signpost you to other agencies to ensure youhave the best support in place.

All of our services are free and confidential. We have specially trained staff and volunteers across Waleswho can provide emotional support for you and anyone elsewho may have been affected by the crime to help you copeand recover.

Everyone is impacted differently, and there is no‘right’ way to feel after being a victim of hate crime. This is why we offer tailored support to your needsto help you cope and recover from the effects ofhate crime !

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SOUTH WALES

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We delivered a Train the trainer session to Ely Greenfarm hostel where we trained all front-line and key

staff for the Hostel and identified staff members who wanted to become Hate Crime Leaders.

Cat and Alice, our South Wales Caseworker, set up a workshop with the Carers Trust in Penarth. We

identified many carers who were not aware of Hate and Mate Crime or that they can report on behalf of

the people they care for.

In Swansea we worked with Race Council Cymru to deliver a workshop to Ysgol Gymraeg Bryn y Mor toraise awareness of hate bullying and crimes. Pupils were really engaged and worked really hard on theirbunting which is being displayed in their school. Cat also met with a Women’s Refugee group from Swansea to explain what Hate Crime support theycurrently have and what they are aware of.

0300 3031 [email protected] www.reporthate.victimsupport.org.uk

G W E N T

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Cat attended a Transgender awareness and expressionevent. Cat listened to their experiences of Hate Crime andexplained what support and advice we could provide. Catidentified new approaches for engagement and what theirkey issues were such as using the correct pronouns on thephone and recognising that a high percentage of theTransgender community are suffering with mental healthissues.

Cat, our South Wales and Gwent Training and Engagement Officer delivered a Hate Crime Intervention Workshopat Maindee Primary in Newport. The workshop worked specifically with students from Roma, Palestinian, and Polishbackgrounds who have both been perpetrators and victims of Hate Crime. This intervention session proved successfulas the pupils learnt a lot. We also had an awareness session with their parents on Hate Crime, where almost all of

them had been victims of Hate Crime at some point. They hadn’t known about these services and were glad to knowthat Victim Support existed to support them.


Becca travelled across Mid and West Wales to provide aHate Crime input to over 70 Hate Crime Support Officersacross Dyfed Powys Police. This was some of the feedbackwe received: “The input has been very informative and I am moreaware now of what service you can offer victims” “Very informative and beneficial, thank you” “Looking forward to working with Becca, thanks for thegreat input. Very useful” “I have used VS before and found the service to beexcellent and would happily use / share their details in thecommunity” “The most important bit of information has beenunderstanding the level of support that the service canprovide for victims” “It's really useful to know how easy it is to contact VS”

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D Y F E D P O W Y S

This year the Hate Crime Team attended Memorial Day Events and Vigils across South, West and East Wales.Our Dyfed Powys Training and Engagement Officer Becca spoke at the Kidwelly HMD event. Words from

Becca “Our role in standing together is to become allies for each other...being the challenge to persecution is toextend that hand of concern and friendship to those who are not like us”

We attended events across Wales to mark International Womens Day 2020. Becca attended an event inLlanelli where she heard inspiring talks from strong Women across Wales. We also attended an event in

Newport where topics included domestic abuse, unity, strength in communities and hate crime.

We also had our first drop in at Newtown Library which has been set up to provide a more regular spot forpeople to come and discuss hate crime, understand what it is, how to report and how to access support.


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In North Wales, our Training and Engagement Officer Trudy and Chelsea, our North Wales Caseworker haddelivered awareness training to approximately 170 Bangor University nursing students.

Chelsea and Trudy attended excellent training on ‘How to Take Action Against Ageism’ run by Older People’sCommissioner for Wales. They met the Commissioner, Helena Herklots and had photos with her and took pledgesto raise awareness and be mindful of ageism in their roles for the #EverydayAgeism campaign.

Trudy also visited her local Mosque along with members of the Community Cohesion team West and a colleaguefrom Ynys Mon Council. The visit was important to ensure the Mosque knew what options were available to themif anyone was to experience Hate and how they can report it safely. “I really enjoyed having the chance to listen toFriday prayers, chat to people and meet the Imam.”

NORTH WALES


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During the Coronavirus, we haveseen the East Asian communitybecome the target of hate crime anddiscrimination. We delivered aworkshop to the Chinese In WalesAssociation,assisted with atranslator, to encourage people ofthe community to report what hasbeen taking place within theirtakeaways and homes. Additionallywe have been sending out letters ofsupport to Chinese businesses acrossWales.

SpecialAchievements

"STAR PERFORMER:OLLI REES"

'‘This quarters star performer is Olli Rees! Olli has had an increase of cases thisquarter, many of which have been complex with multiple needs. Olli worksextremely hard to ensure her cases needs are met and victims receive the highquality support they require, which often means working over her part timehours. This is also reflected in what some of Olli’s clients have said about her; “Olli was always on the ball and there if I needed her”“Olli covered everything and was attentive to my needs”“Olli handled the matter straight away” Additionally Olli is a fantastic member of the team, always liftingspirits and there for her colleagues. Her work ethic and compassionfor others is an inspiration to us all . Thank you Olli ! ! ’ Jess Rees - Wales Hate Crime Manager.

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SafeLives are the lead in domestic abusetraining across the UK providingIDVA(Independent Domestic ViolenceAdvisor) qualifications to front-l ine serviceusers. Our South Wales Caseworker AliceLobb has been asked to be one of theirexternal trainers specialising in LGBT+Domestic Abuse in order to assist trainingon the IDVA course. Amazing achievement , well done Alice !

"Alice Lobb - SafeLives External

Trainer"

K ICK ING OUT

I S LAMOPHOB IA !

Chwarae Teg has confirmed that our Wales Hate Crime

manager is in the running for a prestigious award. The

organisation which helps deliver equality for women and girls

across Wales, has entered Jessica Rees, Hate Crime Manager

for Wales, in its leadership category. Jess was nominated by

her team who submitted her entry with some lovely

comments:

“Jess inspires me and other women with her passion for

supporting others. This is demonstrated by her long-standing

position here within Victim Support. Her drive and

determination have meant she worked her way up really

quickly and becoming a manager at such a young age has

inspired me and other women.

”“Jess allows everyone to be creative within expanding their

knowledge in order to learn and develop their abilities. She is

such a role model and her desire to improve and passion to

make change has been acknowledged not just by women but

everyone.”

A key part of the leadership award is that as well as being

successful as an individual, the person also uses their position

to support and mentor other women. Good luck to Jess!

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0300 3031 982

[email protected] www.reporthate.victimsupport.org.uk

Jess Rees considered for"Womenspire" Award !

Becca nominated for Outstanding contribution to theCommunity / Community Volunteer Award

Becca has made a truly outstanding contribution to thecommunity over the years, including as School Governor,Charity Trustee, past Chair of the Llanelli MulticulturalNetwork, and as Vice Chair and then Chair of EqualityCarmarthenshire, in addition to adding fuel to some amazingcampaigns across the County. She continues to support groupsand organisations in her own time and deserves recognition forher amazing community dedication - by her own admission,she's a real encourager in a world of critics. Well done Becca!

Victim Support Supportline :

If you’ve been affected by crime and you need confidential supportor information, call our Supportline for free on 08 08 16 89 111.

Our Supportline operates 24/7, every day of the year, including

Christmas and Bank Holidays.

Make a donationDonate today and help us in our vital work supporting people

affected by crime.

Visit our national website to donate:

www.victimsupport.org.uk


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@VictimSupportHC

@VictimSupportHC

@vswaleshatecrime

0300 3031 [email protected]

www.reporthate.victimsupport.org.uk

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