In Pictures: Hastings holds special event to address hate crime

The free event took place in Hastings Community Hub, in the town centre. It was organised by Sussex Police Community Support Volunteer James Thomas in conjunction with Hastings Heart and Sussex Police

Among those attending were Hastings Mayor Margi O’ Callaghan and Hastings MP Sally-Ann Hart. Also present were Labour Prospective Candidate Helena Dollimore, who brought Shadow Rail Minister Stephen Morgan along.

Speaking at the event PCSO Chloe Cameron said: “The idea is to bring a lot of organisations together and talk about hate crime. A lot of the agencies here give support to the LGBT community but there are other agencies here such as Victim support who offer a more generic service. LGBT is the primary focus today but we also have to look at other hate crimes, such as race and religion and women can be victimised because of their gender. Anywhere where people feel threatened, harmed or intimidated, we want to know about that. We want people to feel that they can report back to us in confidence and feel comfortable in doing so.”

James Thomas said: “‘I am extremely pleased that Sussex Police and the service and community support organizations have come together to showcase the support and safe spaces available in Hastings for the growing LGBT+ community. It’s been over three years since I experienced homophobic abuse in Hastings and used this experience to work alongside Sussex Police to ensure that LGBT+ people have a voice and can share their experiences of reporting Hate and understand the support available.”

Assistant Sussex Police Chief Constable Paul Court said: “Whilst we all want to live in communities where there is no hate, I know that those within the LGBT+ community may be targeted because of who they are. I know from personal experience that it can sometimes feel difficult to report what you are experiencing. That is why it is great to see so many organisations coming together at the hub in Hastings to offer support.

"At Sussex Police we have a range of measures to make reporting as easy as possible, but if you aren’t yet confident in speaking with the police, please know that there will be many others at the hub who will be there to listen. We all stand ready to support you to ensure there is no place for hate.”

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