Teenagers and schools speak out to fight hate crime in new campaign

Young people in Gravesham are leading a campaign to stamp out hate crime and bullying in schools and the community. 

All of Gravesham’s Secondary Schools are working together with youth service Gifted Young Gravesham (GYG) as part of an awareness raising campaign called ‘Report It!, which launches in the borough this month.

Watch the video campaign here: https://youtu.be/qX3hCKDjItY

A Home Office report this year stated 124,091 hate crimes were reported to the Police in England and Wales in the year ending March 2021. Young people from Gravesham in North Kent have confided in youth workers about their own experiences of hate for many years.

GYG’s Fiyin Thomas, aged 18 said of the campaign; “We started this project so many years ago because we were tired of just talking about issues and realised it was time to do something. Who else was going to do it? Who was best to do it? It was us, the young people that are carrying hurt. We didn’t want those same hurtful experiences to carry on.”

To tackle both bullying and hate crime, Gravesham’s youth service, GYG decided to launch a film and a year-long project with schools to educate young people about the importance of reporting incidents to teachers, youth workers, trusted adults and the police.

Fiyin, who studied locally went on to say; “Enough is enough, with young people not feeling comfortable in their identities in the very places that were created for those same identities to evolve. It is heart-breaking to hear how people have been treated just because of who they liked, where they came from, what God they worshipped.

“It is time for a change, so that the identity of the young person could thrive. This Report It! campaign means that every young person in our area can feel safe in who they are and if their safety is ever threatened, it wouldn’t just be heard but rather there’d be action. It’s a start to ensure that young people’s voices are heard, and our experiences are acknowledged and treated with the care we deserve.”

Filmmaker Pierre Jermain from Gravesend who has worked with major music artists including Rita Ora, was commissioned shoot the film, which features moving lines including;

“A place where acceptance is beauty, is laughter, is passion. 

The difference in everything my reality perceives, I’m learning, rearranging beliefs. 

Although we hear, we see but we don’t speak. 

To stand in silence is an injustice that we must beat.

So my friends, my brothers, my sisters, my neighbours, my classmates, my colleagues or even strangers, love comes first, second and last. 

There’s no more space for hate now, it’s a thing of the past, united not divided. Embrace because differences are beautiful.”

Report It!, which has the tagline ‘No space for hate’, encourages children and young people to foster friendships, understand one another, support others and filmed in every secondary and grammar school in Gravesham and features local young people speaking to the camera.

Chief Superintendent Neil Loudon, Divisional Commander for north Kent said: ‘We support measures taken to encourage young people to speak out against hate crime and this video is a demonstration of the hard work, commitment and determination to raise awareness around this issue.

‘Any crime motivated by hate is entirely reprehensible and we are committed to providing support, and pursuing justice, for anyone affected by such an offence with our dedicated teams including Community Liaison Officers, Youth Engagement Officers and Schools officers. We continue to work closely with schools and youth groups such as those at The Gr@nd to promote a range of safety measures to youngsters.’

The five categories of hate crime are represented in text within the film, which are ‘hidden in plain sight’ to show that they can be difficult to spot in real life. 

Jackie Coupar, Youth Work Manager for GYG said, “As youth workers we have heard from young people about the bullying and hate they have faced. It’s not a local issue, it’s a national issue and it’s not exclusive to young people either. But young people here in Gravesham decided to speak out, to stand up and say stop. What we’re especially pleased about is that every secondary school has joined together here to unite against hate. Hate is something we can stamp out if we work together.”

GYG, which is part of The Grand Healthy Living Centre, have been campaigning against hate crime for more than six years working with schools and Kent Police. 

During that time, GYG has held events for young people to raise awareness among young people to report and stand up to hate crime and plans to host more this summer.

Headteacher Mr Norwood said of the Report It! Project; “It is vitally important that all young people understand what constitutes hate crime as well as having the confidence to report any issues.”

“It was clear from the outset that this excellent initiative reinforced much of the work already taking place in our schools in Gravesham and presented a great opportunity to develop a united front against all forms of hate crime and its impact. The young people involved in this project have not only shown excellent leadership, but also helped to further develop a positive culture across all our local schools.”

The campaign will run in every school, alongside the video will be an audio-based trailer to represent that often hate crime goes unseen in real life. 

Throughout the next year teachers will be able to use resources made for the campaign including interviews with young people who have experienced bullying or hate crime in an aim to improve tolerance, understanding and respect of people’s differences. 

The campaign is supported by Kent Police, Kent County Council, Gravesham Borough Council, Black History Schools and funded by Lottery Community Fund. 

The GYG website will have a dedicated page for the project with information for young people on how to report hate crime and bullying, links to online support and contact details for youth workers to contact. The film will also be hosted on the site. www.wearegyg.co.uk

Young people can also report hate crime incident online anonymously at www.fearless.org