LAUNCH OF THE PLEDGE • 2014
Supporting a hate free community
www.hatefreenorfolk.com
Hate Free Norfolk
Launch of the Pledge 2014
Table of Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
The Hate Free Norfolk Pledge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
The Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
LGBT Proud Party at the Kings Pub . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
The Base ‘Pledge Diary Room’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
The NANSA Bus Art Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Cross-cultural book exchange . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Sing with Pride workshop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
We Are Norwich – Festival of Culture and Tolerance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Towards a Hate Free Norfolk – Conference for Voluntary and
Community Organisations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Great Yarmouth Hate Crime Forum and Great Yarmouth Refugee
Outreach Support (GYROS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
West Norfolk Voluntary and Community Action (WNCVA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Ready to Work event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
North Norfolk District Council (NNDC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Norfolk Constabulary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Publicity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Media Coverage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Social Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Hate Free Norfolk and Proud Canaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Number and Profile of Pledge Supporters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Words of Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
What Did We Find Out? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Community Mediation and Restorative Approaches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
2
Hate Free Norfolk
Launch of the Pledge 2014
Introduction
Hate Free Norfolk is a network of public,
private, voluntary and community
organisations and individuals who all
want to work together to create a Hate
Free Norfolk.
The Network was established in 2013 as
a way of engaging local communities in
tackling Hate incidents and Hate Crime
in Norfolk. Network members receive
a monthly e-mail bulletin telling them
what is happening on Hate Crime in
Norfolk and how they can get involved
and take action locally. The work of the
Network is driven by a small Hate Free
Norfolk Group which is made up of
voluntary and public sector partners.
The Chair of the Network is currently
held by the County Community
Relations and Equality Officer, who
supports the Norfolk Community
Relations and Equality Board (CREB).
The CREB is a partnership of public and
voluntary sector organisations which
has the lead responsibility for enabling
organisations in Norfolk to work
together on equality, Hate Crime and
community cohesion.
The Chair of the Network is supported
by a small working group made
up of public and voluntary sector
organisations. Everyone who is a
member of the Network is also signed
up to the Hate Free Norfolk Pledge.
The Hate Free Norfolk Pledge was
launched during the week of 3rd to 8th
March 2014. This report tells you how
we did it.
“The Hate Free Norfolk pledge
launch events gave a renewed
focus and sense of energy to this
important issue.
Hate Crime and discrimination are
not the problem of one person
or organisation, but an issue for
everyone to tackle, so it was great
to see such a diversity of people
pledging to support the agenda.
Norfolk Community Law Service is
proud to commit itself to tackling
hate in all its manifestations, and
we think the launch and the pledge
gives us a strong platform to
continue working with others in
Norfolk’s communities around this.”
Adam Clark
NCAN Co-ordinator (Norfolk Community
Advice Network) and CREB Steering
Group member
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Hate Free Norfolk
Launch of the Pledge 2014
The Hate Free Norfolk Pledge
The Events
The Pledge is a set of seven
commitments that anyone can sign up
to. It sets out what the Network (i.e.
everyone that has signed the Pledge)
will do to tackle Hate Incidents and
Hate Crime in Norfolk. They are:
• Stand up for the right of everyone in
Norfolk to live free from hate
• Address the issues that cause hate
• Challenge attitudes and behaviours
that can lead to hate
• Ensure that victims and witnesses
are taken seriously and treated with
respect
• Make it easy to report hate and
support people to do so
• Work with others to raise awareness
of the impact of hate
• State the actions that we will take to
make this happen
The Pledge was developed in
partnership with public and voluntary
sector partners and it was felt that in
order to promote the Pledge and to
create momentum on tackling Hate in
Norfolk, local communities should be
involved in launching The Pledge.
To enable this to happen, the Hate Free
Norfolk Network provided eight grants
of £200 to community groups to enable
them to put on events that would
engage with their local communities.
The Network was also able to provide
funding and resources to a number of
other events to help launch the Pledge.
LGBT Proud Party at the Kings Pub
The Kings Pub put on a Proud Party at
their LGBT safe pub in Norwich so that
everyone could enjoy music and good
company and celebrate being LGBT
proud in a safe environment.
The Base ‘Pledge Diary Room’
The Base, an organisation based in
Norwich who work with young people
to help them achieve their full potential,
organised a ‘Diary Room’ where anyone
could go along and record themselves
reading out their Hate Free Norfolk
Pledge. A video of those making their
pledge was made for the Hate Free
Norfolk website.
The Base ‘Pledge Diary Room’
“This was a really innovative idea
devised by young people who use
The Base. Norfolk’s Police and Crime
Commissioner Stephen Bett, his
Deputy Jenny McKibben and Chair
of the Hate Free Norfolk Network
Michelle de Oude made their
pledges at The Base”.
Michelle Bibby
Senior Youth Worker, The Base
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Hate Free Norfolk
Launch of the Pledge 2014
The NANSA Bus Art Installation
Project Team Trainees from the Norfolk
and Norwich Scope Association
(NANSA) in Norfolk came up with the
idea of a Hate Free Norfolk Bus.
They created a bus queue of people
from second hand clothes donated
to the NANSA charity shop, and each
person that went into the bus got a
ticket upon which they could record
their thoughts and feelings about Hate
Free Norfolk.
From left to right: Liz Benton, Art Project
Teaching Assistant; Project Team Trainees Steve,
Suzie and Hannah and Jenny McKibben, Deputy
Police and Crime Commissioner.
The Bus Queue
Springboard on the Hate Free Norfolk Bus
Tickets
5
Hate Free Norfolk
Launch of the Pledge 2014
Cross-cultural book exchange
Helen Cooper from CSV Downham Market signing the Pledge
CSV (Community Service Volunteers)
Downham Market came up with the
idea of launching a cross-cultural book
exchange in a local community café.
Their idea was that by bringing
books to share and read, in a place
where people feel safe to be and
talk, community members could get
together to learn about each other.
The book club is run by CSV’s
volunteers and they hope that the book
club can grow into an opportunity to
get people from different backgrounds
together to read and share books and
also to exchange other items like baby
clothes.
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Hate Free Norfolk
Launch of the Pledge 2014
Sing with Pride workshop
The Sing with Pride Choir sing to celebrate
diversity and challenge inequality. Their
members include people who identify as LGBT
(Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans), as well as
friends, family and supporters.
“Being transgender is not
a lifestyle choice any more
than being lesbian or gay
is a lifestyle choice. In fact,
being straight or being
disabled, black or white is
not a lifestyle choice. It’s
who you are, it’s how you
identify yourself, and no
one has the right to think
less of you because of it,
nor do they have the right
to treat you any differently
than they would expect to
be treated themselves.
I have suffered from hate
and prejudice in one way
or another for a large part
of my life... But I have never
bowed down to hate or
accepted it. This is because
I have always known that
tomorrow will be a better
day, a day like today when
the people of Norfolk will
stand up and say ‘enough is
enough’”.
From left to right: Heather, Wendy, Frances, Shell,
Deborah, Edith, Martin, Keith, Steve, Poppy and Michelle.
They arranged a singing workshop for anyone to
join in with. During the workshop, Poppy Rose, a
transgender woman, shared her life experiences.
“The Sing with Pride choir were keen to put
on a workshop because each year we sing
at the candle-lit Vigil Against Hate Crime
in October. These are always incredibly
moving events and we get great feedback
from people about our singing. We wanted
to hold a free, public workshop to enable as
many people as possible to sing with us and
to raise awareness of Hate Free Norfolk. The
fight against Hate Crime has to be an allyear-round campaign uniting all communities
so we are very proud to support your work.”
Steve Lumniss
Sing with Pride workshop organiser
7
Poppy Rose
Hate Free Norfolk
Launch of the Pledge 2014
We Are Norwich – Festival of Culture and Tolerance
We Are Norwich, a Norwich based coalition of over 20 organisations who are
anti-racist, staged a mini festival of culture and tolerance in Norwich city centre on
Saturday 8th March.
“We Are Norwich
was proud to take
part in the Hate Free
Norfolk Campaign.
We feel that the
anti-immigrant tone
of the media and
main political parties
creates a backdrop
whereby racism can
grow, especially in
a time of economic
crisis and austerity.
We were really
proud of the leaflet
we made, which
highlighted some of
the myths around
immigration and put
out some positive
messages about
people that come to
this country. Most
importantly, we got a
good reception from
the public. A different
world is possible”.
Maddi Cassell
Jamal Sealey,
Chapelfield Mosque
Nick O’Brien
We Are Norwich
Co-ordinator
Dandelion Snowley
Sefo Kanouteh
permission of Ann Nicholls.
Photos reproduced by kind
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Hate Free Norfolk
Launch of the Pledge 2014
Towards a Hate Free Norfolk – Conference for Voluntary and Community
Organisations
An all-day event was organised and
jointly funded by Voluntary Norfolk,
the Hate Free Norfolk Network and
CLiNKS. The event brought voluntary
and community sector organisations
together to talk about what they could
do to tackle Hate in Norfolk.
Thirty-six people from sixteen local
voluntary and community sector
organisations, two independent sector
groups, three national charities, and
three public sector organisations
attended the event.
The morning session was addressed by
two speakers; Stephen Brookes MBE,
Chair of the National Disability Hate
Crime Network and Katherine Quarmby,
a journalist specialising in Hate Crime.
All the participants signed the Hate
Free Norfolk Pledge.
The afternoon session was an action
learning set facilitated by CLiNKS to
help us think about what to do next.
Beatrice Humarau, The Bridge
Plus
Kate Biles, Victim Support Norfolk
Brian Read, Hate Free Norfolk member
Amy Hams, Norfolk Can Inspire
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Hate Free Norfolk
Launch of the Pledge 2014
Towards a Hate Free Norfolk – Conference for Voluntary and Community
Organisations (continued)
Rachael Martis,
Norwich International Youth Project
Ashley Ford, WWKD Recruit and Training
Andrew Campbell, Voluntary Norfolk
Stephen Brookes MBE and Katherine Quarmby
Ken Williams, Norfolk PACT
(Partners Against Crime Taskforce)
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Hate Free Norfolk
Launch of the Pledge 2014
Great Yarmouth Hate Crime Forum and Great Yarmouth Refugee Outreach
Support (GYROS)
The two organisations worked together to put on Hate Crime training for local
people. They also collected these real life stories from migrant workers:
Racism on the Bus
“I am a UK national, but ethnically not English. I
am a usual bus customer, but on the 9th November
2011, I missed my usual bus and had to take a
different bus despite the fact that the bus fare
was higher for my travel. When I entered the bus
I had the exact change and asked for a ticket to
Great Yarmouth Market Gates. I asked but missed
the word “please” that day, this means my voice
tone soft and almost begging. The bus driver
wanted to hear the word “please”, which I could
not guess at that time. So, he went on shouting
that this is England and you have to say “please”,
asked where I am from and started to complain
that all these Polish and Romanians come to the
UK and don’t learn how to behave in the UK. It is
irrelevant, but I am not from either countries or at
least a nearby country.
There were other passengers on the bus and I,
being usually a polite person, sat down without
saying a word. I was in tears all day and could not
understand why someone would be so angry with
me, when I have not done anything to him. I kept
the ticket and wrote a complaint letter to the bus
company. The reply I received shocked me more
than the rude and vulgar behaviour of the driver.
They replied that the driver’s comments were just
a common courtesy and that he could not be a
racist as he himself is not a UK national. I still have
the ticket and still remember his voice and face
vividly. That day I wished he had an accident on
his way, but now I feel sorry for him as he lives in
intellectual darkness. I hope one day he will see
the light.”
11
Hostility in a bar
“I was working in a
bar in Great Yarmouth
serving a customer –
immediately when he
heard that my accent
was not ‘English’he started verbally
abusing me, telling
me I needed to ‘Learn
English, stop coming
over here and stealing
people’s jobs, stealing
our benefits.’ It was
so upsetting to have
someone shout these
things at me- what
had I done to deserve
this treatment? I was
in tears and thankfully
my manager asked
the man to leave. I
now work teaching
English to those who
have English as a
second language.”
Hate Free Norfolk
Launch of the Pledge 2014
Great Yarmouth Hate Crime Forum and Great Yarmouth Refugee Outreach
Support (GYROS) (continued)
Irish Norfolk Resident on their experiences
1980s
“My parents moved to central London from rural
Ireland in the 1970s. They moved to start a new
life and a family – as life in Ireland was very tough
and they didn’t have a lot of money. They had no
idea what discrimination lay before them – people
wouldn’t hire Irish people, it wasn’t unusual to read
‘Irish need not apply.’ When my father finally found
employment the discrimination was so bad that
he had to eventually leave his job as he was being
treated so appallingly. In this time my mother had
fallen pregnant and times in London were even
harder, they felt, than in the desolate Ireland they
had left. Things got so bad that my parents spent
one night on a park bench in central London – my
mum pregnant with me – and they decided that
they would leave London the next day. Life was
too hard if you were Irish.”
2010s
“In 2011, the child that my mother was pregnant
with on a park bench in 1985, wanted to complete
her post graduate degree in Nottingham
University as she has heard such good things
about it. My parents are terrified of me coming to
England – remembering their experiences and how
Irish people are treated. It worries me – but I think
the world has moved on from such discriminatory
practices these days – and the world had moved
on. I am treated no different than any English
person. In fact, as English is my first language
people assume I too am English. The same cannot
be said for those who don’t speak English as a first
language – I see how the tabloids speak of them
and certain political parties and even at times it
seems the Government too are against them.
And so I think now, the world hasn’t moved on at
all – it’s just changed the direction of the abuse.”
12
“The reason I wanted
to do this project
was, and what really
upsets me, is how
many people think
that discrimination is
just something they
have to put up with,
it’s life and there’s
nothing they can do
about it. I hear that
a lot at GYROS – so
I wanted to do this
week so people knew
that it’s not life, it’s
not acceptable and it
is illegal, something
can be done”.
Fiona Costello
GYROS Co-ordinator
Hate Free Norfolk
Launch of the Pledge 2014
West Norfolk Voluntary and
Community Action (WNCVA)
WNCVA teamed up with Police
Constable and Diversity Liaison
Officer for King’s Lynn and West
Norfolk, Natalie Gerrard, to put on a
series of Pledge sign-up Roadshows
in King’s Lynn Town Centre, King’s
Lynn Hardwick, Downham Market and
Hunstanton.
The Roadshows gave local people
a chance to sign up to the Pledge,
but also to find out more about Hate Incidents and Hate Crime. It also
encouraged them to report and helped
them to feel part of a county wide
initiative to tackle Hate.
The Roadshows received Pledges
from year one pupils from Highgate
Infant School, who made pictures of
themselves and created a colourful
picture supporting the Pledge.
Service users from INVOLVE, a local business
that supports people with learning and physical
disabilities.
13
Hate Free Norfolk
Launch of the Pledge 2014
Ready to Work event
Norwich City Council held an event to
provide local people with information
about work and volunteering
opportunities in Norwich and Norfolk.
Hate Free Norfolk had a stall at the
event, and got a lot of interest from
local people.
Norwich City Council Leader Brenda
Arthur and Councillors Sands, Waters
and Maxwell signed the Pledge as well
as over 30 members of the public. This
gave us a good opportunity to talk to
local people about what the Pledge
means to them and what sort of issues
they encountered in their daily lives.
Councillor Mike Sands
Councillor Maxwell
Chair of Hate Free Norfolk Network speaks to
Councillor Brenda Arthur, Leader of Norwich
City Council
14
Norwich City Council Leader Brenda Arthur
Hate Free Norfolk
Launch of the Pledge 2014
Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service
Chief Fire Officer Nigel Williams, Area Manager Stuart Horth and Dan Roper
Norfolk County Councillor Cabinet Member for Public Protection staged a public
signing of the Pledge.
Front row from left to right: Stuart Horth, Area Manager; Dan Roper, Norfolk County Council
Cabinet Member for Public Protection; Michelle de Oude, Chair of the Hate Free Norfolk Network;
Isabel Farrelly, Equality and Diversity Officer for Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service; and Nigel
Williams, Chief Fire Officer. Back row left to right: Michael Hughes, Carrow Red Watch; Gregor
Preston, Crew Manager District Manager – Central; and George Bray, Fire Safety Advisor
15
Hate Free Norfolk
Launch of the Pledge 2014
North Norfolk District Council (NNDC)
NNDC made a public commitment to the Pledge. They invited community
members representing older and disabled people’s organisations, because they are
the two groups that are most prominent in North Norfolk and who experience hate
incidents and Hate Crime.
Front row from left to right: Sheila Oxtoby, NNDC Chief Executive; Tom FitzPatrick, Leader of
NNDC; and Steve Blatch, NNDC Corporate Director; Back row representatives from About with
Friends, North Norfolk Older People’s Forum and Michelle de Oude, Chair of the
Hate Free Norfolk Network.
16
Hate Free Norfolk
Launch of the Pledge 2014
Norfolk Constabulary
Norfolk Constabulary formally signed the Pledge on Thursday 6th March. Their
Diversity Liaison Officers attended events at local schools, organised a ‘community
conversation’ event with LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) people
at Lollard’s Pit in Norwich, and organised an event at the Community Hub
Attleborough (one of the community hubs run by Independence Matters).
At each event the DLOs provided advice on Hate Incidents and Hate Crime, how to
report them and how the police can work with local people to tackle problems.
From left: Simon Bailey Chief Constable Norfolk Constabulary; Michelle de Oude Chair of the
Hate Free Norfolk Network; Abraham Eshetu Corporate Equality & Diversity Manager; PC Wendy
Emmett, Gay Liaison Officer; Jon Shalom, Norfolk County Council Community Safety Coordinator;
Julie Inns, Diversity Advisor; Sergeant Marty Rudrum, Diversity Sergeant; Sarah Mayes, Youth
Engagement Officer and Inspector Louis Provart, Staff Officer)
17
Hate Free Norfolk
Launch of the Pledge 2014
Publicity
Media coverage
The campaign received good media coverage:
18
Hate Free Norfolk
Launch of the Pledge 2014
Publicity (continued)
19
Hate Free Norfolk
Launch of the Pledge 2014
Publicity (continued)
20
Hate Free Norfolk
Launch of the Pledge 2014
Publicity (continued)
21
Hate Free Norfolk
Launch of the Pledge 2014
Publicity (continued)
22
Hate Free Norfolk
Launch of the Pledge 2014
Social media
During the Hate Free Norfolk launch campaign our website was visited by 703
people, 330 of these were from people who had never visited the site before.
The Facebook page achieved 182 likes by the end of the campaign week (8th
March) and 350 people liked or shared content posted on the page. The Twitter
account attracted a steady growth of followers throughout the campaign, and
peaked at 155 by the 11th March.
Facebook likes
Twitter followers
23
Hate Free Norfolk
Launch of the Pledge 2014
Hate Free Norfolk and Proud Canaries
Hate Free Norfolk also teamed up with Proud Canaries, the official LGBT Norwich
City Football Club supporters club. The Hate Free Norfolk logo appears on the
Proud Canaries banner which was paraded inside the Norwich City Football
ground at their match against Stoke City on 8th March. Stephen Bett, Norfolk’s
Police and Crime Commissioner, posed for a photo opportunity with the banner
and a member of the group on 23rd February, a few days before the launch of the
Pledge.
Di Cunningham, Future Radio and Stephen Bett, Norfolk Police and Crime Commissioner,
display the Proud Canaries banner outside Norfolk City Football club.
24
Hate Free Norfolk
Launch of the Pledge 2014
Number and Profile of Pledge Supporters
During the launch week, over 400 people, including young people and school
children, signed up to the Pledge.
Many public sector organisations were already signed up, and they were joined by
many community and voluntary sector groups, private sector organisations and
individuals.
Many of the organisations that signed up during launch week had not been
directly involved with work on Hate Crime before. Every individual and
organisation who signed up to the Pledge feature on the Supporters Wall of the
Hate Free Norfolk Website.
The list below shows some of the organisations that signed up.
Lithuanian Association Norwich
Us 2 U consulting
Bignold Primary School and Nursery
Ashill Parish Council
Freebridge Community Housing
Twinkle Tots
UNISON
Gender Agenda
Amnesty Norwich
Sew Gay
MIND justice Norfolk
Suffolk Hate Crime Partnership
Leeway
Norse Care
Julian Housing
Deaf Connexxions
EP Youth
Engage with Business
The All Saints Centre
Cotman Housing Association
SOS Project Safe Haven King’s Lynn
See www.hatefreenorfolk.com to
view the growing list of supporters.
Reffley Community School and
Nursery
25
Hate Free Norfolk
Launch of the Pledge 2014
Number and Profile of Pledge Supporters (continued)
Here is what some people said they would do to support the Pledge:
•To stamp out hate on our estate and
surrounding area.
•Trying to raise awareness of hate with
my local Parish Council
•Keeping an open mind to others’ lives
to not contribute to the problem and
try to encourage others to do the
same.
•Most live in reason so just to hate
someone because they don’t
conform to their personal ideal is not
something that should be tolerated.
•I will pledge to report if I see anyone
being threatened.
•I promise to show respect and to help
others to do the same.
•I will challenge inappropriate
behaviour to disabled people.
•I am going to support people who
are struggling.
•I will promote Hate Free Norfolk
within the voluntary sector.
•I will stop people fighting.
•When someone has fallen down, I will
pick them up.
•I challenge all discrimination on the
grounds that everyone is worth more
than the body they live in.
•Challenge hate and make Great
Yarmouth the best place to be!
•I will talk to people who are being
abusive to others.
Layla, aged 6, is very articulate in making her Pledge
26
Hate Free Norfolk
Launch of the Pledge 2014
Words of Support
Some organisations offered words of support:
“We already do a lot of work within the school
and by signing the pledge, it makes it clear
that the school is against any form of phobia
whether its homophobia, sexism or racism. At
the moment, we are doing a big poster campaign
to raise awareness of and tackle abusive teen
relationships.”
Nick O’Brien
Head of KS3, Neatherd High School Dereham
“Norwich InterFaith
Link supports the
launch of the Hate
Free Norfolk Pledge
and is working to
develop a Hate Free
community, where
anyone of faith or
those of no faith live
and work together
in mutual respect
and dignity, and
respecting everyone’s
right to live free from
hate.”
Chris Wood
Acting Chair,
Norwich Interfaith Link
“Black and Minority
Ethnic communities
in Norfolk support
the Hate Free
Norfolk Pledge. For
many foreign born
residents, the UK
represents freedom
and human rights,
which is why people
want to live in a place
like Norfolk where
they feel safer and
respected so that we
can fully contribute to
a diverse and vibrant
Norfolk.”
Pa Musa Jaborteh
Co-ordinator,
The Bridge Plus
27
“The Suffolk Hate
Crime Partnership
supports the launch
of the Hate Free
Norfolk Pledge as a
call to action on Hate
Crime. Our work on
Hate Crime shows
that if people work
together in local
communities, and coordinate their activity
and resources, they
can really achieve
change. We hope
the launch goes well
and look forward to
supporting the work
of the Hate Free
Norfolk network in
future.”
Phanuel Mutumburi
Chair, Suffolk Hate Crime
Partnership
Hate Free Norfolk
Launch of the Pledge 2014
Words of Support (continued)
“Voluntary Norfolk is pleased to sign this
pledge and is actively working to support the
implementation of the seven actions it sets out.
We are committed to ensuring those actions
remain an integral part of what we do as an
organisation and the way we work. Hate Crime
needs to be more widely recognised and more
consistently challenged and reported. We believe
that this pledge is a useful starting point and we
welcome opportunities to work with others to
make its aspirations a reality in Norfolk.”
Brian Horner
Chief Executive, Voluntary Norfolk
“Stop Hate UK
supports the launch
of the Hate Free
Norfolk Pledge as a
call to action on Hate
Crime. Our work on
Hate Crime shows
that if people work
together in local
communities, and coordinate their activity
and resources, they
can really achieve
change. We hope
that our 24 hour Stop
Learning Disability
Hate Crime helpline
assists your work
locally and we look
forward to supporting
the work of the Hate
Free Norfolk network
in future. Best wishes
for a successful
launch.”
“Stop The Hate
supports the launch
of the Hate Free
Norfolk Pledge as
a call to action on
Hate Crime. Our
work on Hate Crime
shows that if people
work together in
local communities,
and co-ordinate
their activities and
resources, they can
achieve real change.
We hope the launch
goes well and look
forward to supporting
the work of the Hate
Free Norfolk network
in the future.”
Phil Merriam
Detective Constable,
Essex Police
Rose Simkins
Chief Executive, Stop
Hate UK
28
“The BUILD Charity
has enabled, and
supported, people
with disabilities in
Norfolk since 1967. It
remains committed to
encouraging people
with disabilities to
play an active, and
constructive, role in
their communities, as
equals, without fear
of threat, intimidation,
or as targeted victims
of abuse, or violence.
Our programmes
include workshops,
in partnership with
the Police, and Victim
Support, to ensure
that the people we
support understand
what actions to take
if they see, hear, or
become the victim of,
crime or anti-social
behaviour. We are
committed to a hate
free Norfolk – for
everyone.”
James Kearns
Chief Executive, BUILD
Hate Free Norfolk
Launch of the Pledge 2014
What Did We Find Out?
Children and young people
People with Learning Difficulties
Lots of children and young people
got involved in the launch week, and
many were keen to show that children
and young people do make a positive
contribution to society and want to
support others to tackle and deal with
Hate Incidents and Hate Crime.
Some children and young people said
that they were bullied, or were fearful
of being out and about in their local
communities and wanted to do more
to make Norfolk a safer place to grow
up. They also said that often it was their
peers who were bullying or threatening
them, and so they were keen to look at
how children and young people could
support each other more.
Many people with learning difficulties
were worried about Hate Incidents and
Hate Crime. Many felt unsure about how
to report them or what would happen if
they did.
Although there are some really strong
examples of good practice where local
organisations are working together to
support people, there was still much
work to do with this group of very
marginalised residents.
LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and
Transgender) people
The LGBT community across Norfolk
actively supported the Pledge launch.
Many expressed concerns about
continuing prejudice and negative
attitudes, and the fact that many
people did not feel confident to report
incidents to the police or did not see
the value of doing so.
Bus travel
Many people, disabled people in general
and people with learning difficulties in
particular, did not feel safe using buses
in Norfolk because of the attitude of
some bus drivers and other members of
the public.
Housing
Many people mentioned issues related
to where they lived, and problems with
close neighbours or in the local area
close to where they live. Some people
felt unsafe and unaccepted in their local
community.
Migrant Workers (people who
have come to Norfolk from Eastern
Europe to live and work)
The events in Great Yarmouth and
King’s Lynn highlighted tensions
between people from migrant worker
backgrounds and other local residents.
Some migrant workers felt resented and
unwelcome in Norfolk or blamed for
local problems.
29
Hate Free Norfolk
Launch of the Pledge 2014
What Did We Find Out? (continued)
Under-reporting of Hate Incidents
Training
The launch week showed that many
people still don’t feel they understand
how to report hate incidents and were
not sure of the value of doing so or
what would happen if they did.
Lots of people expressed the view
that they really just wanted what was
happening to them to stop. People
also expressed their concerns about
the impact of low-level hate incidents.
They feel they have to ‘put up with it’
as it has become part of everyday life,
something they have to accept and
so they don’t report it which has a
negative impact on confidence and
self-esteem.
Many people said there needed to be
more advocacy support for victims
to enable them to understand what
is happening to them, and to support
them throughout the reporting and
criminal justice process. In addition,
people felt that if there was an option
to have more community based
dialogue i.e. to be able to have a
conversation with a trusted person, that
this would reduce the feelings of fear
and uncertainty.
Lots of organisations and local groups
said that they would like more training
on the issues so that they are better
able to support local people. Many
people liked face-to-face training from,
for example, Police Diversity Liaison
Officers. The demand for this type of
training, however, far outstrips current
capacity within Norfolk Constabulary
and other agencies to provide it.
Communications on ‘Hate’
Some people felt that the terms
‘Hate Incident’ and ‘Hate Crime’ did
not ‘mean’ anything. They would not
describe what has happened or is
happening to them as ‘Hate’. So talking
about a ‘Hate Free Norfolk’ may not
resonate with them.
However, the fact that so many
people signed up to the Pledge and
understood what it was trying to do,
shows that it is meaningful to people
if they can talk to Network members
about what we are trying to do.
Sharing information to help tackle
Hate Incidents and Hate Crime
The launch week demonstrated some
very good examples of organisations
working together to tackle problems
in local communities, and to raise
awareness and develop community
confidence to tackle Hate Incidents.
However, this particular type of
community based partnership working
needs to be much better supported,
developed and co-ordinated. Good
practice is there but needs to be
shared and embedded. This gap in
community based solution provision
is an opportunity for agencies from
all sectors to explore ways in which
information can be shared with each
other to better enable them to tackle
issues at community level and build
community resilience in partnership.
30
Hate Free Norfolk
Launch of the Pledge 2014
What Did We Find Out?
(continued)
Community Mediation and
Restorative Approaches
Third Party Reporting Centres
There are some examples of where
Community Mediation has been used
to try and tackle tensions and issues in
local communities, and there has also
been some work done using Restorative
Approaches to develop solutions
for victims of Hate Crime. Examples
from other places show that these
approaches can be effective, but that
they are very ‘context specific’, so what
works in one situation may not work
in another. We have an opportunity
in Norfolk to explore what types of
approaches could work well here
to think about how resources could
be used effectively to support and
deliver these on a more consistent and
sustained basis.
There are some organisations that
have trained their staff and volunteers
(where appropriate) so that they
can take reports of Hate Incidents
from individuals. However, Norfolk
residents need to know where Third
Party Reporting Centres are, they
need to have support to give them the
confidence to use them and the centres
need to work more closely together
to increase their visibility in local
communities and of raising awareness
and developing community confidence
to tackle Hate Incidents.
There is also a key issue in that most
centres serve urban or market town
areas, and so there is a key issue for
people living in rural areas who may
not have any access to local support
groups, or to their local community
(especially if this is a community of
identity, e.g. transgender people).
The first steps to building a
Hate Free Norfolk start with you.
Michelle de Oude
Chair of the Hate Free Norfolk Network
April 2014
31
Supporting a hate free community
Hate Free Norfolk Network
info@hatefreenorfolk.co.uk
www.hatefreenorfolk.com