Hackney Chinese Community Services will be participating in a series of COVID-related hate workshops to ensure we are trained to deal with such crime and making the East and Southeast Asian community united and stronger moving forward. Confronting COVID-related Hate: Standing with Britain’s Chinese, East & South East Asian Communities was launched today by Protection Approaches, Chinese Welfare Trust, and Newham Chinese Assocaition. This is an emergency project that will support a nationwide network of 21 East and Southeast Asian community organisations to respond to the rising levels of hate crime.
At times of national crisis, marginalised and minority groups often pay the greatest price. This has been particularly true during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the first weeks of the crisis, hate crime reports to police from East and South East Asians indicated a 300% increase in the first quarter of 2020 compared to the same period in previous years. At the same time, East and South East Asian organisations reported to Protection Approaches that the level of hate crime was much higher than what the official numbers indicated.
The project will also increase understanding among East and Southeast Asian community members of what hate crime is and how to report it while building on existing best practices of community-based hate crime reporting. In addition, the project will aim to provide solutions to sustainable relationships across other community groups, local authorities, police and frontline service providers.
The organisations participating are:
Bristol and Avon Chinese Women's Group
Cambridge Chinese Community Centre
Chinese Association of Woking
Chinese Community Centre - Birmingham
Humberside Chinese Association
Nottinghamshire Chinese Welfare Association
Pagoda Arts - Liverpool
Peterborough Chinese School
Sheffield Chinese Community Centre
Southampton Chinese Association
Wai Yin Society - Manchester
Camden Chinese Community Centre- London
Kingston Chinese Association - London
Hackney Chinese Community Services - London
Vietnamese Mental Health Services - London
Islington Chinese Association - London
Chinese Information and Advice Centre - London
London Chinese Community Centre
Newham Chinese Association - London
Southeast and East Asian Centre - London