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News
WM Police 1 Feb 11
West Midlands Police has joined forces with ACPO to launch a national website called True Vision to increase the reporting of hate crime.
True Vision provides information for victims and the public about what hate crime is and why it is important to report it when it happens.
It also details the different ways hate crimes can be reported, including a secure online reporting form that allows victims and witnesses to tell the police about hate crimes. The facility automatically distributes reports to the relevant police force.
West Midlands Police lead on hate crime, Assistant Chief Constable Sharon Rowe, said: “Hate crimes cause a great deal of fear among victims and damage communities.
“While we are committed to reducing the incidence of hate crime, it is vital we close the gap of under-reporting. Only by increasing reporting can we gain a better understanding of the extent of hate crime and it is for this reason that I urge victims and witnesses to use the True Vision website and to continue to come forward so we can bring the perpetrators to justice.”
Professor John Grieve CBE, Independent Chair of the Government’s Hate Crime Advisory Group, said: “The UK is among world leaders in the way it responds to hate crime, but there is still much work to do. One of the greatest challenges is to reduce the under-reporting of hate crime.
“We welcome the government’s commitment to increase reporting and we will be examining this data in the forthcoming months and years to better understand the extent of hate crime and to challenge where performance does not meet the high standards that the public rightly demands of the criminal justice agencies.”
West Midlands Police believes the website will help increase the reporting of hate crime by building confidence in victims and offering a range of reporting options for victims who may not wish to talk directly to the police. It also provides links to a number of organisations who can offer support and advice on hate crime related issues.
News feature
BBC News 18 Nov 10
A national conference to tackle hate crime was under way in Birmingham today. The event, run by the Birmingham Racial Attacks Monitoring Unit (BRAMU) heard first hand accounts from victims.
Five years after leaving Nigeria to escape homophobia and bulling, Aluya Ikhena found himself filling in a crime report after suffering abuse on a Walsall bus.
“These two guys followed me on to the bus and repeatedly shouted ‘he’s gay, he’s gay’ to everyone,” he said.
“It was really intimidating. It felt like an attempt to bring me down and make me feel less of a person”…
News
BBC News 17 Nov 10
The government will drop Labour’s proposed law requiring councils to tackle social deprivation, equalities minister Theresa May is to announce.
The “social-economic duty”, part of predecessor Harriet Harman’s Equalities Bill, had been opposed by the Tories.
News
Jonathan Walker B'ham Post 8 Nov 10
The West Midlands MEP elected in triumph last year is taking her former party to court over claims they victimised her for being a lesbian.
Nikki Sinclaire has launched two court actions against UKIP, which she also accuses of treating her unfairly because she refused to join a right-wing group…
News
Diane Parkes B'ham Mail 16 Oct 10
More than 20,000 children phone, email or instant message the charity ChildLine each year with concerns about bullying.
And ChildLine supervisor Michael Wassell says many of them can be frightened, isolated and uncertain of what they can do to stop the often-daily nightmare…
News
Adam Aspinall Mercury 2 Aug 10
Cops fear that rising numbers of lesbians are being forced into arranged marriages because their ethnic minority families refuse to accept their sexuality.
Specialist officers from West Midlands Police say an increasing number of the frightened females are coming to them for help…
News
Peter Lloyd Pink Paper 1 Jul 10
The UK’s Forced Marriage Unit – the Government’s specialist ‘one-stop shop’ for forced marriage – has reported a dramatic rise in the numbers of male victims.
The department, which is a joint initiative between the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Home Office, witnessed a 65 per cent increase in reports of men being forced into marriage over the last two years…
News
Lisa Rogers Pink Paper 9 Jun 10
News that blood service chiefs are reviewing the current ban on gay and bisexual men donating has received a cautious welcome from Midlands based pressure group, Project Negative.
The NHS Blood and Transplant Service is awaiting advice from an independent advisory committee on whether such a blanket ban should be lifted…
News
B'ham Mail 6 May 10
A Muslim bus driver has been given the go-ahead to claim compensation against his trade union – after complaining they failed to help him combat alleged bullying and harassment over his sexuality.
Mohammed Bhyat, of Birchills, Walsall, has been granted permission at a Birmingham Employment Tribunal preliminary hearing to have his compensation claims for discrimination, on the grounds of sexual orientation, heard at a full hearing against Unite, formerly the Transport and General Workers Union…
News
Jessica Geen Pink News 7 Apr 10
The Equality Bill has passed through its final stages in parliament and will now become law after receiving royal assent. The bill is designed to consolidate and simplify existing equality laws, encompassing characteristics such as race, gender and sexual orientation.
A flagship feature of the bill is equality duty on all public bodies, which will require institutions such as schools, councils and the NHS to actively promote equality…