Hate crime and harassment support
If you are affected by hate crime or harassment, call the Stop Hate Line on 0800 138 1625 (a 24-hour helpline). In an emergency, call 999. Do not suffer in silence.
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What is hate crime?
A hate crime or incident is any behaviour that you or someone else believes was motivated by hostility prejudice or hatred of:
- Disability (physical, hearing, visual impairments, mental health problems and learning disabilities)
- Gender identity (People who are transgender, transsexual or transvestite)
- Race (skin colour, nationality, ethnicity or heritage)
- Religion, faith or belief (this also includes people without a religious belief)
- Sexual orientation (People who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or heterosexual)
What is harrassment?
Harassment is any form of unwanted and unwelcome behaviour which may range from mildly unpleasant remarks to physical violence. All harassment is a crime.
If the harassment is physical, the criminal law of assault may be appropriate. If the harassment comprises regular following, watching, repeated unsolicited contact or gifts, etc, the term "stalking" may be appropriate.
How we can help you
If you or somebody you know is experiencing hate crime or harrassment there are many ways you can report the incident to a variety of organisations and receive support.
By reporting you can:
- get support and guidance
- minimise the chance of a repeat incident in the area
- provide the police and council with better understanding of the level of hate crime or harrassment in an area
- help improve the response of agencies
Below you will find a list of organisations that you can contact for help.
Stop Hate UK
Stop Hate UK is a charity that provides independent and confidential support to people affected by hate crime.
Ways to contact Stop Hate UK:
- Telephone (24 hours): 0800 138 1625
- Text Relay: 18001 0200 138 1625
- Email: talk@stophateuk.org
- Text: 07717 989 025
- Live web chat: www.stophateuk.org/talk
- Online form: www.stophateuk.org/tell
You will be asked for permission before Stop Hate UK makes a referral to local support agencies.
Information from Stop Hate UK in other languages
- shqip - Albanian
- Amharic
- Arabic
- Bengali
- bosanski - Bosnian (latin alphabet)
- Bosnian (cyrillic alphabet)
- Chinese
- Simplified Chinese
- hrvatski - Croatian
- cestina - Czech
- Dari
- Nederlands - Dutch
- Farsi
- Tagalog - Filipino
- Français - French
- Gujarati
- Hebrew
- Hindi
- magyar - Hungarian
- Italiano - Italian
- Japanese
- Korean
- Kurdish Bahdini
- Kurmancî - Kurdish Kurmanji
- Kurdish Sorani
- Lingála - Lingala
- Lietuviu - Lithuanian
- Polski - Polish
- Português - Portuguese
- Punjabi
- Pushto
- româneste - Romanian
- Russian
- Srpski - Serbian
- Slovensky - Slovakian
- Afsoomaali - Somalian
- español - Spanish
- Kiswahili - Swahili
- Tamil
- Tigrinya
- Türkçe - Turkish
- Ukrainian
- Urdu
- Cymraeg - Welsh
- Yorùbá - Yoruba
Galop
Galop provides support and advice to people who have experienced biphobia, homophobia, transphobia, sexual violence or domestic abuse. They support lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer people who have had problems with the police or have questions about the criminal justice system.
- Helpline: 020 7704 2040
- Text Relay: 18001 0207 704 2040
- Website: www.galop.org.uk
Victim Support
Victim Support are a national charity giving free a nd confidential help to victims of crime, witnesses, their family, friends and anyone else affected across England and Wales.
- Support line: 0845 30 30 900.
- Typetalk users: 18001 0845 30 30 900.
- Website: www.victimsupport.org
Hackney Police Community Safety Unit (specialist in hate crime)
- In an emergency, always call 999.
- The police non-emergency number is 101.
- For more information from the Police about hate crime, visit www.met.police.uk/csu/hatecrime
In addition you can contact:
- Your Neighbourhood Housing Office
- Hackney Council's Housing Advice Centre
- Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults
More information / advice
If you are experiencing hate crime or harrassment, keep a diary of all incidents and log the date, time and what took place. Once you have approached an agency to report harassment, you are entitled to be treated with respect, sensitivity and understanding.
If you are a Council tenant, your Housing Officer will interview you and your case will be investigated. Various steps can be taken against the perpetrator, including written warnings and legal action that may lead to a conviction or eviction for the perpetrator. If you feel unsafe in your home, the Council can offer you emergency accommodation.
If you are not a Council tenant, you are still entitled to help from the Council at the Housing Advice Centre. You can also seek legal advice from a suitably qualified solicitor.
Other organisations that can help
Find out more about the other organisations that can help victims of hate crime or harrassment.
Page updated: 19 Jan 2012
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