Liverpool Hope University condemns all forms of hate-motivated behaviour and is committed to providing a safe and supportive environment that is conducive to the academic, social and personal development of the student community here at Hope. The University is also committed to dealing with actions that have a negative impact on the safety and well-being of our community. Therefore, it is important that you are aware of what a hate incident and/or harassment is, the support services available and how you can access them.
Hate-motivated incidents
The police and Crown Prosecution Service have agreed a common definition of hate-motivated incidents. They say something is a hate-motivated incident if the victim or anyone else thinks it was triggered by hostility or prejudice based on one of the following things:
• Disability
• Race
• Religion
• Gender identity
• Sexual orientation.
This means that if you believe something is a hate motivated incident it should be recorded as such by the person you are reporting it to. All police forces record hate incidents based on these five personal characteristics.
What type of incidents can be hate motivated?
Hate-motivated incidents can take many forms, including:
• verbal abuse like name-calling and offensive jokes
• harassment
• bullying or intimidation by children, adults, neighbours or strangers
• physical attacks such as hitting, punching, pushing, spitting
• threats of violence
• hoax calls, abusive phone or text messages, hate mail
• online abuse through social media
• displaying or circulating discriminatory literature or posters
• harm or damage to things such as your home, pet, vehicle
• graffiti or arson.
When is hate motivated behaviour also a hate crime?
When hate motivated behaviour become criminal offences they are known as hate crimes. Any criminal offence can be a hate crime if it was carried out because of hostility or prejudice based on disability, race, religion, transgender identity or sexual orientation.
Examples of hate crimes include:
• causing harassment, alarm or distress (Public Order Act 1986)
• hate mail, including emails and social messaging (Malicious Communications Act 1988)
• assault
• criminal damage
• murder
• sexual assault
• theft
• fraud
• burglary.
What can you do about a hate motivated incident or hate crime?
If you’ve experienced a hate motivated incident or hate crime you have the option of reporting it to the University, where the incident took place on campus or involved another student or staff member. You also have the option of reporting the incident to the police. You can report an incident even if it wasn’t directed at you. For example, you could be a friend, neighbour, family member, support worker or simply a passer-by.
If reporting an incident or crime to the police, you should say whether you think it was because of disability, race, religion, transgender identity, sexual orientation or a combination of these things. This is important because it makes sure the police record it as a hate-motivated incident or crime.
If you’re being repeatedly harassed, should you report all the incidents?
If you've experienced hate motivated behaviour towards you that involves more than a single isolated incident, it is advisable to record and report all incidents to help provide a full picture of what has occurred.
If you or someone else is in immediate danger
On campus:
Contact a Campus Security Operative on:
• Hope Park: 0151 291 3800
• Creative Campus: 0151 291 3700
• Aigburth: 0151 727 7262
(Campus Security operative will also call the emergency services for you if you request this).
Seek the help of your Senior Resident Tutor, or a friend.
Off campus:
• Call 999 for the emergency services
• Seek the help of a bystander if possible (friend, door security staff, paramedic, Police Officer, etc).
• Get yourself to a place of safety.
If you are not in immediate danger
Find somewhere safe and call somebody you trust for help. This could be:
• the Police non-emergency number 101
• your Senior Resident Tutor (residential students)
• a friend or family member.
Evidence such as text messages, social media posts/messages and emails should be kept/saved for future reference.
Liverpool Hope University Safe Taxi scheme
If you ever find yourself in a situation where you don't feel in any danger but don’t have the money for a taxi, you can ring a taxi on 0151 298 2222, quoting "Liverpool Hope University Safe Taxi". The operator will request your Student ID number and charge the University for the cost of the trip. The University will then seek payment for the taxi fare from you afterwards.
Reporting/disclosing to the university
Following an incident of hate-motivated or harassment, you have several options:
• Report the incident to the University for the purposes of initiating further action where the incident involved a member of the University community (i.e. another student or member of staff)
• Seek advice and support from the University (but not formally report the incident)
The university will:
• Take you seriously and respect your feelings and decisions.
• Take all reasonable steps to ensure your safety.
• Provide you with advice on the support available to you, both within and external to the University.
To report or disclose an incident, you can do the following:
• Complete the Hate-motivated Behaviour Reporting Form.
*Important*: Please read these HMB guidance notes before completing the Reporting Form.
• Contact Student Development & Well-being for assistance.
Report the incident to the Police
If you’ve experienced a hate-motivated incident or hate crime you can report it to the police. You can also report it even if it wasn’t directed at you. For example, you could be a friend, neighbour, family member, support worker or simply a passer-by.
When reporting the incident or crime you should say whether you think it was because of disability, race, religion, transgender identity, sexual orientation or a combination of these things. This is important because it makes sure the police record it as a hate-motivated incident or crime. To make a report to the police you can call 101 in a non-emergency situation or 999 in an emergency.
Seeking help whilst considering your options
If you are undecided whether or not you want to report the matter, but know you want help and support, there are a number of ways in which you can access further assistance, either through the University or through external agencies.
University support
The University understands the importance of providing support to any member of our student community who has been affected by hate-motivated behaviour.
There are a number of ways you can access help from the University if you have experienced a hate-motivated incident(s). These include:
• Contact Student Development & Well-being team (counselling/mental well-being support).
• Talk to your Senior Resident Tutor (residential students).
• Talk to a member of the Chaplaincy Team.
• Contact the Students' Union.
External support
Stop Hate UK
A national organisation working to challenge all forms of Hate Crime and discrimination, based on any aspect of an individual’s identity. It provides independent, confidential and accessible reporting and support for victims, witnesses and third parties.
24hr Helpline: 0800 138 1625
LGBTQI+ Support: 0808 801 0661
Learning Disability Support: 0808 802 1155
Young People: 0808 801 0576
W: https://www.stophateuk.org/
Irish Community Care Merseyside
They are a registered charity, which exists to identify and respond to the needs of both the Irish and Irish Traveller communities, through offering and developing professional and culturally sensitive services.
T: 0151 237 3987
E: admin@iccm.org.uk
W: https://www.irishcc.net/
Citizens Advice Liverpool
Provides support services to those affected by hate crime from the LGBTQ+ community.
T: 0151 522 1400
Victim Support Merseyside
Offers free. confidential, practical and emotional support to victims of crime.
T: 0151 353 4003
The University wants to encourage a culture of respect, and create a Hope community that does not tolerate, and feels comfortable, challenging and reporting all forms of hate-motivated and discriminatory behaviour. All members of the University community have the right to feel safe, supported and accepted and we can all do our bit to make sure that happens by acting when we see or hear things that are wrong.
Doing your bit should never involve taking matters into your own hands or responding in a way that might put you or others at risk or in danger. It’s more about doing the right thing and saying what needs to be said in order to be a good member of a caring Hope community. One way which you can help is by being an active bystander - being aware when someone's behaviour is inappropriate or threatening and choosing to challenge it, or by assisting someone who needs support. Here are some possible ways to safely intervene:
Direct
Only take direct action where safe to do so. Remember, you can only speak for yourself and the way it makes you feel. Don't speak for the victim if you don't know how they're feeling.
Distract
You can also distract attention away from the victim by asking questions like "Do you know if this bus stops at the town hall?" Distracting buys time and takes attention away from the victim.
Delegate
Delegating is when you ask someone with more authority to intervene if you witness harassment. This could be a police officer, university staff member, bar staff or doorman. This could be a good option if you are not confident in tackling the issue or need back up.
Document
Documenting the incident by taking notes or recording on your phone can be useful if you cannot intervene. It may shame the person into backing off, or even help identify the person to police to help them get prosecuted.
Delay
You can delay responding until after the event, taking time to check in with the victim to see if they're okay. See if they need any help in reporting the incident.
If somebody makes a disclosure of experiencing any hate-motivated behaviour to you, it may have taken a lot of courage for them to do so, and they will have placed a great deal of trust in you. They may still be in shock, confused and trying to make sense of what happened and so it is important that your response to them is both sensitive and supportive.
It can be very difficult to know how to help a person who has experienced any form of hate-motivated behaviour, but even though you might find it daunting you can be a good source of support to them.
Tips on how to support others
• Remain calm - This is the best way to approach things.
• Don't tell the person to forget about what happened. It may take time for them to deal with the situation.
• You can help by listening and being patient.
• There is no requirement for you to become an investigator. Be supportive and find out what the person wants to happen next.
• Respect the person’s decision to report the incident to the University or Police, or not - it is their choice.
• Make them aware of support available within Student Development and Well-being at the University.
Look after yourself when supporting others
Supporting someone who has experienced a hate-motivated incident or hate crime is likely to affect you and you may feel a range of emotions including; shock, anger, guilt, and a general feeling of helplessness. All of these feelings are normal but it is important that you look after your own well-being whilst offering support. Always seek assistance if you have been affected.
