Stories of prejudice, bigotry and violence in Leicester. Lecture to be held by University of Leicester on November 27.
A free public lecture held by the University of Leicester looking at new perspectives on ‘hard to reach’ communities in largest ever study of hate crime victimisation is to take place on Wednesday November 27 between 1:00 pm and 2:00 pm at the Bennett Lecture Theatre 2.
For those who cannot make the lecture – entitled – “‘Ten Things I Hate About You’ Stories of Prejudice, Bigotry and Targeted Violence in Leicester” can keep up with their progress by following @HateCrime_Leics on Twitter.
Hundreds of participants came forward in the study throughout Leicester to share their experiences through surveys, interviews and focus groups.
The research suggests that acts of hate and prejudice can be directed towards a wide variety of minority groups, whose voices can often go unheard, including the homeless, asylum seekers, people with mental health problems, people with learning difficulties and many others.
One victim said: “I was in Tesco and a man said: ‘I bet you’re ugly under that Burqa.’”
Another commented: “Buses are the worst. I get told that wheelchairs just get in the way and we shouldn’t use public transport.”
These stories, amongst others are to be explored and discussed by Dr Neil Chakraborti from the University of Leicester’s Department of Criminology who will outline ten of the most significant themes to have emerged in the project.
Dr Chakraborti said: “Our findings will be released next September but already we have heard from over 1,000 victims, making this the largest study of hate crime victimisation ever to have been conducted.
“We have found that grassroots engagement – for instance, speaking to people from all kinds of different backgrounds and walks of life, whether at community events, leisure sites, places of worship or neighbourhood centres – has been key to our success, rather than relying solely on community leaders, gatekeepers and representatives to give us access to particular communities.
“Many of those from so-called ‘hard to reach’ communities have welcomed the opportunity to share their experiences with us, and this suggests that they are not so much ‘hard to reach’ in research terms as ‘easy to ignore’.
“We can use our findings to help criminal justice agencies and other key service providers provide effective answers to the challenges posed by hate and prejudice.”
The lecture draws from research conducted as part of the Leicester Hate Crime Project, a two-year ESRC-funded study exploring people’s experiences of hate, prejudice and bigotry.
For more information, or to share your experiences with the research team, CLICK HERE:
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