Successful prosecution in Rugby
A 56-year old defendant from Rugby has been sentenced for racially abusing two people including a police officer.
Read more...Online hate is just as serious as hate in the physical world and should never have to be tolerated.
If you are targeted by, or see, any online hate while online, here are some steps you can take:
📱 SCREENSHOT
Particularly if you are receiving these messages, you may want to report this to the Police. In which case, it's best to have evidence noting the content of the message, the user sending it, the date and time of the messages and what platform it is on. The simplest way of recording this information is by taking a screenshot of any hateful messages.
🔁 DON'T RESPOND OR SHARE
Often in these situations, people may feel like replying to the hateful messages, or reposting the hateful content on their social media as a way of calling it out. Whilst the intention here is good, it may lead to further hate being shared, and it only spreads the initial message of hate further. Instead, it's best to post messages supporting those the hate is directed at, and state that you will the hateful content you see. With the initial message(s), it is best to...
❗️ REPORT
In the first instance, report the messages to the social media site it is hosted on. Most sites now have reporting functions where you can flag content as hateful. Though be warned, often sites do not get back to you with any outcome of their decisions regarding this. The more that we all report online hate as we see it, the more social media sites will have to become better at identifying and dealing with such content and the users posting it.
You may also wish to report it to the Police. You can do this by calling 101 (or 999 if it is an emergency). Alternatively, you can report non-emergency hate to the Hate Crime Partnership via this website.
The content may also promote terrorism or extremism. In this case, you must report the content via the Home Office online reporting tool.
More details about reporting hate can be found on the Warwickshire Police website.
📵 MUTE/BLOCK
Blocking the person who is sending the messages will stop any further hate coming to your notifications and is often the quickest way of dealing with the situation and stop it escalating further.
Often, people will know if you have blocked them. This is why some sites have a 'mute' function. This allows you to stop receiving messages and seeing the content from the person you have muted, but they are unaware of this.
💙 GET SUPPORT
Victim Support Warwickshire help victims of all crime recover. You can seek support directly from them without reporting the offences by calling 01926 682 693.
Details of more support services available can be found on our dedicated support page.