New comic book encourages young people to stand up to hate crime

The resource was created by YouthLink Scotland as part of the Action on Prejudice programme.

A comic book urging young people to stand up to hate crime has been launched as part of a new campaign.

The book, titled Speak Up, is designed to help young people safely intervene in situations where someone is the target of hate behaviour and encourages them to be an “active bystander”.

It also encourages young people to “Mind Your Nana” by challenging their family on prejudice and offensive language.

The resource, created by YouthLink Scotland as part of the Action on Prejudice programme, is aimed at 11 to 16-year-olds but can also be used as a training resource for teachers, peer educators and youth workers.

Sarah Robinson Galloway, senior development officer at YouthLink Scotland, said: “YouthLink Scotland are pleased to launch the new Speak Up resource. We hope that it will support more young people to become active bystanders and help to build a society that does not tolerate hate of any kind.

“By supporting young people to be active bystanders we demonstrate that tackling hate is the responsibility of all and that as one Scottish community we can move forwards and end everyday hate.”

The book, illustrated by Steven Ingram, shows different ways young people can intervene if they witness a situation that may be a hate crime and information on the different ways to report it, and also addresses inter-generational issues and online hate.

The campaign encourages youngsters to speak up for someone and visibly take a stand against hate by assessing the risk and using the 5 Ds’: Direct, Distract, Delegate, Document, Delay, to challenge harassment and verbal abuse.

The book was unveiled at Waverley Station in Edinburgh during a special Day of Action with British Transport Police in partnership with Action on Prejudice.

Barry Boffy, British Transport Police head of inclusion and diversity, said: “Hate crimes on the rail network are fortunately few and far between however more can always be done to keep victims safeguarded and ensure witnesses are better aware of how to report crimes if they see them. If you witness a hate crime you can discreetly text British Transport Police on 61016.

“We’re pleased to support organisations like YouthLink Scotland to help tackle hate crime on trains and at stations across Scotland.

“This day of action is an excellent example of how young people, the police, and rail staff, can stand together to ensure offenders are very aware that their behaviour is never welcome.”

It is fitting that the book was launched in a train station as people in Warwickshire have experienced hate related crimes.

As a way of preventing and addressing hate crime in transport settings, Warwickshire based charity have developed a Hate Crime Charter that will support transport providers to identify and repoprt hate crime. 

Staff working in the transport sector will receive Hate Crime Awareness Training and branded resources will help raise awareness of the Hate Crime Charter. Collectively, both approaches will remind people that hate crime is not accpetable and it will be reported.

Members of the public can feel confident that all participating businesses taking part in the Hate Crime Charter will be doing everything they can to support victims of hate crimes.

Focus projects like the comic book in Scotland and the Hate Crime Charter in Warwickshire are good examples how people can come together and turn ideas into real projects that can help address crime within our communities.   

EQuIP would like to encourage anyone that experiences any form of hate crime/incident to always report. You can ring 101 if you suspect unusual behaviour, but always call 999 in an emergency. 

If you do not want to contact the police in Warwickshire, you can report hate crimes/incidents online via the www.reporthatenow.com website, email advice@equipequality.org.uk or if you prefer to speak to someone in person, you can contact EQuIP on 01788 863117.