A CHARITY has launched a safe and anonymous way for young victims of hate crimes to report incidents.
Young people are being urged to report incidents to the charity Fearless, the youth section of Crimestoppers.
The charity says young people too readily consider hate crime incidents as “part of life” or accept them as a form of bullying, not realising that what they are seeing or experiencing is a crime.
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Lyndsay McDade, Scotland’s youth projects officer for Crimestoppers, said: “When faced with the knowledge or suspicion about hate crime happening around them, young people often struggle with the dilemma of what to do.
“They can be frightened to speak up for fear of stigma or reprisal. Fearless.org gives young people a way to stand
up to hate and be empowered to be fearless.”
Hate crimes are those motivated by hostility towards a group, based on race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation or disability.
Incidents are thought to be under-reported, with racial crime the most commonly reported according to Scottish figures. Sexual-orientation-aggravated crime is the second most common with 1112 charges reported in 2017-18.
Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf backed use of the service. “I would encourage all young people to challenge prejudice and report hate crime should they witness or experience it,” he said.
“We all must work together to make our communities more resilient, safer places to live.”
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