Educational film from University of Leicester reveals damaging impact of hate and prejudice.
A new educational video from the University of Leicester exposes the significant impact that hate crimes has on victims, families and communities.
The Harms of Hate showcases the stories of seven people who have been victims of hate crimes in Leicester, all of whom come from a range of backgrounds and who have been victimised for different reasons and in a variety of ways.
Every year tens of thousands of people in Britain are victimised because of their identity or perceived ‘difference’. Experiences of hate can take many forms, from violent physical attacks to the more ‘everyday’ forms of harassment such as being called an abusive name, being spat at and being threatened.
The idea for the film came from the Leicester Hate Crime Project – a two year study, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, designed to examine the nature and impact of hate crime and victims’ expectations of the criminal justice system and other local support agencies.
The film, produced by Dr Neil Chakraborti and Stevie-Jade Hardy from the Leicester Hate Crime Project and the University’s Video Production Team, highlights a number of themes.
These include:
• The range of people affected by hate incidents
• The different forms that hate incidents can take
• The impact that hate incidents have on victims, their families and wider communities
• The advice that these victims would offer to people suffering from similar experiences
Dr Neil Chakraborti, Reader in Criminology and Principal Investigator of the Leicester Hate Crime Project, said: “This film illustrates the harrowing physical and emotional impacts that hate offences have on people who are targeted simply because of their perceived ‘difference’.
“Many victims are subjected to hate and prejudice on a routine basis and we hope that the film helps viewers from all walks of life to recognise the seriousness of these problems.”
With the support of UnLtD and the HE Social Entrepreneurship fund, 200 copies of the film are being distributed free of charge to local organisations, including schools and community groups, as a way of raising awareness of the physical and emotional harms of hate.
Stevie-Jade Hardy, Lead Researcher of the Leicester Hate Crime Project, added: “Since the Leicester Hate Crime Project began we have heard from over a thousand victims and witnessed first-hand the damaging impact that hate crime has on victims, families and communities. We hope that the film helps to raise awareness of the reality of hate crime and encourages people to challenge all forms of prejudice.”
The film was first screened yesterday (Wednesday February 26) at the launch event for the Leicester Centre for Hate Studies. The new centre, which will be co-ordinated by Dr Neil Chakraborti and Stevie-Jade Hardy, aims to become a key driver of knowledge exchange and information-sharing between academics, practitioners, activists and policy-makers.
The Centre will be offering a range of professional development opportunities designed for those whose work overlaps with the broad field of hate studies as well as acting as a cross-disciplinary forum for generating research into issues of hate, prejudice and extremism.
To view the film, CLICK HERE:
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