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Why we must defeat hate crime in Britain

SHE'S RIGHT: Malorie Blackman

BEST-SELLING Noughts and Crosses author Malorie Blackman has ignited an important debate with her recent comments about racist abuse in Britain.

Blackman said she had noticed an increase in racist comments since the Brexit referendum.

According to Blackman, tolerance and respect for diversity have gone backwards since the vote three years ago and people feel like they can say whatever they want. And it seems as though she’s right.

A recent survey by Opinium found that ethnic minorities in Britain are facing rising and increasingly overt racism in the wake of Brexit.

The figures found that 71 percent of people from ethnic minorities now report having faced racial discrimination, compared with 58 per cent in January 2016.

Tottenham MP David Lammy described the findings as “alarming”, while Runnymede Trust chief executive Omar Khan said that while Brexit was not the source of racism, it had led to higher levels of racism being expressed and that social media was “normalising hate and increasing division”.

These findings are in line with other statistics. According to recent Home Office figures, hate crime has risen by as much as 29 per cent in the past year alone.

Police forces across England and Wales recorded just over 80,000 hate crimes in 2016-2017, the largest recorded rise in the six years since records began.

These figures, as shocking as they are, could well be an underestimate. Many victims do not go to the police for several reasons.

That is why Blackman’s comments drawing attention to the issue are so important.

Robust public debate about hate speech and racist comments can help play a significant role in helping to dismantle any barriers that might hinder individuals from reporting racist crimes or incidents.

The consequences of hate crime are awful. Reports are growing of groups of people too afraid to go out because they fear physical or verbal attack.

The police and those who work with the victims of crime must work much harder at reaching vulnerable groups of people, as well as apprehending those responsible.

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