Communities Inc., a not-for-profit organization set up to challenge inequality and discrimination in and around Nottingham, took over the Council House on Valentines Day for their first ever Love Not Hate event...
Communities Inc. focus on breaking down barriers and empowering individuals and groups to elicit change and promote cohesive communities. An integral part of this is the encouragement of partnership-working, within community groups, ensuring these groups have the opportunity to discuss issues surrounding discrimination, and creating opportunities for groups to work together to find solutions.
Following the UK’s decision to leave the EU, the UK experienced a shocking spike in hate crime - hate crimes in total saw a 57% rise, and 70% of the crimes reported over the last twelve months were racially motivated. The Love Not Hate event saw representatives from various community projects come together to discuss appropriate actions.
Hosted by Communities Inc.’s Shamsher Chohan, a variety of speakers from active organisations took the stage. Paddy Tipping - Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner - said “One of the things we want to do is to ensure that everybody in Nottingham - wherever they come from, whatever their background, whether they have a disability or whether they are from the gay or lesbian community - is treated with respect.”
Nottingham city councilor, Nicola Heaton, described the measures the Council were taking to reduce and prevent hate crime, including working closely with Nottingham City Homes to ensure tenants are safe and respect one another. She also highlighted the importance of faith groups to help migrants settle into life in England.
There were representatives from a whole host of local organisations and community groups in attendance, including the Women’s Centre, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Community Police, and Signpost to Polish Success (SPS) is an organisation set up to support and offer advice to Polish immigrants, who emphasized the importance of sharing of culture to tackle ignorance.
The Karimia Institute, a national charity offering support to local Muslim communities, work tirelessly to “build cohesion between the Muslim community and other communities.” When asked about the recent spike in hate crime, they preferred to focus on the positives - “The wider community has come out in support of the Muslim community and that’s something we should work to publicize.”
NET and the Nottingham tram service discussed how they are working with Communities Inc. to promote the reporting of hate crime by distributing flyers with information on what constitutes, and how to report a hate crime on trams, and through the creation of a temporary reporting centre at Clifton South Park and Ride.
The fact this event took place demonstrates the work members of our community are putting in to prevent and tackle hate crime. However, it was clear that this is an ongoing issue, and so the solution must also be ongoing. Events such as this provide hope and assurance that steps are being taken to ensure the safety of everybody in our communities.
If you are the victim of a hate crime and your life is in danger, call 999. If your life is not in danger, call 101 or report it through TrueVision website.
Jeśli jesteś ofiarą przestępstwa na tle nienawiści i wasze życie jest w niebezpieczeństwie, zadzwoń 999. Jeśli życie nie jest zagrożone, zadzwoń 101 lub zgłosić go przez stronę internetową TrueVision.
إذا كنت ضحية لجرائم الكراهية وحياتك في خطر، والدعوة 999. إذا كانت حياتك ليست في خطر، الاتصال بالرقم 101 أو الإبلاغ عنه من خلال TrueVision الموقع.
Communities Inc. website
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