How do education providers help tackle hate crime and prejudice?

Police are reporting a substantial increase in hate crime following the recent referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union. Education providers are not immune - unions and staff in schools, colleges and universities are also reporting a spike in the number of racist and xenophobic incidents, for example. But what are the causes and motivations of hate crime? Can two new reports published by the Equality and Human Rights Commission provide evidence and insight on hate crime and hate speech, how prejudice leads to discrimination and unlawful behaviour and the role of education providers in tackling this issue?

A new TUC report calls on unions, employers and the Government to redouble efforts to tackle the increase in hate crime following the vote to leave the EU. The report ‘Challenging racism after the EU referendum’ says:

‘Racist violence, abuse and harassment are not new and did not suddenly appear during or after the referendum on EU membership. But it appears that the negative portrayal of migrants during the campaign has given confidence to some with racist attitudes to voice their view publicly, and has increased the visibility of the far right… it could be argued that the referendum campaign fanned the flames of a fire which was already established, and emboldened those with racist attitudes to voice their views publicly rather than in the privacy of their homes or far-right chat rooms and online forums…The Islamophobia monitoring charity Tell MAMA reported a 326 per cent increase in Islamophobic incidents in 2015, nearly two thirds of which were directed at Muslim women. The majority of these took place on public transport or in educational institutions.’

In July 2016, the Equality and Human Rights Commission published two research reports: ‘Causes and motivations of hate crime’ and ‘When prejudice turns into discrimination and unlawful behaviour’

The research shows that while the majority of people in Britain value equality and openness, in times of heightened insecurity and uncertainty some people justify prejudice or discrimination by arguing that particular "outgroups" pose a threat to their own (sometimes dominant or majority) "ingroup" in society. This perceived threat can be realistic (the dominant group feels their safety and/or health is threatened), symbolic (values or way of life are threatened) or economic (jobs or property are threatened).

Some media and public discourse has, at times, played on peoples’ fears and distorted reality, with disregard for basic truths and facts. The research showed that this has created a climate where prejudice has become more prominent and expressed. The reports conclude that tackling these issues requires strong and proactive public leadership. Too often, addressing the consequences of prejudice and hate crime is left to the police. However, concerted action is needed from different parts of the public sector including schools, colleges and universities.

Education and training providers can make a real and tangible difference in tackling hate crime and prejudice. They can use the agenda to promote British values to raise understanding and awareness, tackle prejudice and empower staff and students to stand against injustice and challenge hate crime.  Actively promoting British values can help genuinely prepare learners to live and work in Britain and the world as responsible citizens in society. It can even, ultimately, help change our society for the better. To see how, take a look at the publicity for my training courses on promoting British values. Below are just four of my most popular workshops on promoting British values, which have been recently updated with the very latest findings from Ofsted.

• Promoting fundamental British values; taking a whole-organisational approach  (download the publicity here)
• Equality, Diversity, British values and classroom practice; Everything teachers need to know (download the publicity here)
• Equality, Diversity, British values and Workplace Learning; A meaningful rather than tick-box approach (download the publicity here)         
• Equality, Diversity, British values and Business Support; excellent working relationships and customer care (download the publicity here)

You can see more on the training page of my website here. Interested? Don’t hesitate to get in touch via my contact page here

What to do if you’re worried about racism: EU referendum factsheet was also published by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) in July 2016. It is part of a new initiative with a coalition of business organisations, to call on employers to show leadership in challenging intolerance and to ensure their employees who may be experiencing racism in the workplace feel supported. Although the fact sheet focuses on employment and the world of work, education providers might find it a helpful template for producing and distributing a similar fact sheet for their students.

You can download the TUC report ‘Challenging racism after the EU referendum’ here’

You can download the EHRC report ‘Causes and motivations of hate crime’ here

You can download the EHRC report ‘When prejudice turns into discrimination and unlawful behaviour’ here

You can download the EHRC fact sheet ‘What to do if you’re worried about racism’ here