International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is observed annually on 21 March.

The day is marked worldwide, and aims to remind people of the negative consequences of racial discrimination, whilst encouraging people to take action to tackle this. The theme for 2019 is ‘Mitigating and countering rising nationalist populism and extreme supremacist ideologies.’

Just last Friday, a truly horrific terrorist attack took place in Christchurch, New Zealand, leading to the deaths of 50 worshippers and many more injured. The attack aimed to sow the seeds of division in communities, to ferment hatred and inspire further violent acts.

Our response to these violent extremist acts is to focus on all that unites us as individuals and communities. In Warwickshire, agencies and communities work together to resist any narrative that promotes extremism. We are proud to be a diverse and peaceful county that celebrates the ties between us.

We are fully committed to focus upon sustaining community cohesion, bringing communities together and resisting attempts to divide.

In 2017, to mark National Hate Crime Awareness Week, Warwickshire County Council teamed up with Coventry based singer Letitia George, and Jordan Charles to create the powerful single ‘Love Instead of Hate (Give It A Try)’.

The single was produced with the aim to raise awareness of hate crimes, and increase reports of these across the county, whether to the Police, or by using Warwickshire’s Report Hate Now website. Figures show that 3 in 5 hate crimes go unreported across the UK – but you don’t have to suffer in silence.

Hate crime of any kind has absolutely no place in our society. The Report Hate Now site is here to help raise awareness of hate crime, offer support and provide an alternative, easy way for you to report incidents that occur in Warwickshire. You can do this by going to our Report page. 

Professionals and community groups can also receive a free awareness session on hate crimes, delivered by the Community Safety Team. This covers an outline of what hate crime is, including myth-busting misconceptions of this, raising awareness of how and where reports of hate crimes can be made, and signposting to where individuals can get support following a hate crime.

For more information on these sessions, please contact alexgloster@warwickshire.gov.uk.

If you have concerns about someone you know being groomed and radicalised, please visit Community Safety’s Prevent page to find out how you can help safeguard them.