Text service for victims of hate crime
Charity sets up SMS reporting service
Housing Pendle has signed up to a new service which will allow victims of Hate Crime to report incidents by text message.
Although incidents of hate crime are extremely rare on our estates, this new service will allow us to deal with any problems quickly while allowing the victims another way of reporting any instances.
The majority of Hate Crime victims do not report what has happened to them, according to research by the British Crime Survey and the new services are an important development in making Hate Crime reporting as easy and accessible as possible.
Janette Taylor, Head of Housing at Housing Pendle, said: “We want to encourage everyone to report hate crime and realise it can be hard to talk about therefore we are trying to make sure customers have a variety of ways to report what has happened. “
Rose Simkins, Chief Executive of Stop Hate UK, says: “There are lots of reasons why people might prefer to send a text rather than speak on the phone.
“While some victims may not feel comfortable talking about what’s happened to them, they may feel they can put it in writing. Providing them with a way of doing this could mean that a Hate Crime is reported where it would not have been before.
“It might especially appeal to young people. If someone uses text, email and web chat on a daily basis then they may well be happier communicating via these methods than by phone, especially if they are feeling nervous or distressed.”
The text service will run alongside the charity’s 24-hour helpline, email and post services. Victims and witnesses can use these services to report Hate Crimes and access support, and can remain anonymous if they wish.
To report a Hate Crime and get support 24-hours a day, Hate Crime victims can call the Stop Hate Line on 0800 138 1635 (Text Relay for people who are deaf or have hearing or speech impairments 18001 0800 138 1625)
Or you can text on 07717 989 025 (currently available 8am-10pm).
