Hate has no Home in Scotland aims to encourage people to understand and report hate crimes
A campaign to increase understanding and reporting of hate crime has been launched.
The Scottish Government has joined with Police Scotland and the Crown Office (COPFS) to launch a new campaign against hate crime.
Hate has no Home in Scotland has been launched to mark Hate Crime Awareness Week and will run until 26 November. It aims to increase public understanding of what hate crime is, and how to report it - for those who personally experience it and, importantly, bystanders to hate crimes.
The campaign was developed in partnership with a broad range of stakeholders, including LGBT Youth Scotland, the Mental Health Foundation, Interfaith Scotland, Edinburgh Interfaith Association, The Scottish Council of Jewish Communities, Inclusion Scotland and the Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights.
More than 5,300 cases of hate crime were reported in Scotland over the past year, with many other incidents going unreported. The campaign has been developed in partnership with a broad range of stakeholders involved in dealing with hate crime and its consequences as a response.
Equalities Secretary Angela Constance said: “We all need to play our part to eradicate hate crime, which has no place in Scotland.
“Hate has no Home encourages and empowers people to recognise hate crime and report it, stopping this discrimination at its source. That is particularly important when people are bystanders – no one should be a passive witness when one of our fellow citizens is attacked because of who they are.“
Lord Advocate James Wolffe QC said: “Crime motivated by hatred is not only a wrong against the individual, but is an affront to our collective values as a community, creating division and fear. That is why we treat it so seriously and why we will continue to do so.
“The prosecution service, along with our colleagues in Police Scotland and other agencies, plays an essential role in creating an environment in which all people who live in Scotland, regardless of their personal or social circumstances, can have confidence that they live in a just society and that they will be protected from crime.”
