Speak Up For Safety – Our work around Hate Crime
In 2023, over 13,000 disability hate crimes were recorded in the UK, reflecting a 42% rise in incidents since before the pandemic. In response to this national crisis, our charity partnered with local and national police forces to launch a nationwide safety campaign focused on social care.
Through our community partnerships, we discovered that many individuals face barriers to community involvement due to past experiences of discrimination. To address this, we established a focus group of people with lived experience, collaborating closely with police with a strong working relationship since 2021, to drive positive, meaningful change.
This led to the creation of our Speak Up For Safety campaign- a collaborative effort between the individuals we support and police representatives.. Together, we developed resources and solutions tailored to real safety needs, offering practical guidance on recognising hate crimes, building confidence, and fostering greater independence.
The campaign brought together a powerful blend of insights and expertise to improve community safety:
- First-hand experiences from those we support, providing invaluable real-world perspectives.
- Expertise from our internal team, ensuring strategies align with best practices in social care.
- Collaborative input from national police leads, building a unified approach to safety and security.
As part of the campaign, we hosted two webinars during National Hate Crime Awareness Week (between 12th – 19th October 2024), one for operational staff, external guests, and individuals we support covering hate crime, supporting people to engage with their local police and feel safe in their community. We also held an accessible event on our What To Do platform, tailored to people we support – focused on friendship and spotting fake friends in the real and online world.
The webinar covered:
- How social care teams can build stronger relationships with their local police in tacking challenges like anti-social behaviour, crime or discrimination.
- Empowering people with support needs to recognise and understand if they have been victims of a crime or hate crime, and how we can help stand up for their rights.
- Identifying when someone you support might be experiencing “mate crime” – manipulation by a so-called “friend.”
Guidance on supporting people to report crimes.
Voice Groups
Voice Groups are a place to engage the people we support on important issues that affect them and society.
During Hate Crime Awareness week and as part of our Speak Up For Safety campaign, special regional Voice Group sessions were held across our regions – empowering people we support to understand crime and feel more confident connecting with local police. The sessions also supported people to talk about their personal experiences, in order to inform meaningful change in the future.
This approach has:
- Empowered social care professionals to provide better support individuals engaging with the police.
- Equipped people who draw on social care with the tools and confidence to stay safe from harm in their communities.
- Provided accessible guidance for the sector on recognising signs of hate crime.
- Encouraged people to become more independent in their communities.
In the coming years, we plan to continue working the people with lived experience and representatives from local and national police forces, to offer annual campaigns, ongoing training for our teams, and accessible resources. Together, we’re laying the foundation for safer, more inclusive communities—where everyone has the tools, support, and encouragement to live boldly and independently.