Hate crime victims urged to help research project

Hate crime victims are being sought for a university survey aimed at finding out how to provide better support for them in the future.

The University of Leicester study wants to hear the experiences of victims so it can suggest how organisations such as the police, victim support, Crown Prosecution Service, housing associations and the NHS could improve their support.

Dr Neil Chakraborti, the project's principal investigator, said: "This survey will help us to uncover a range of victim experiences never previously documented.

"We want to capture the experiences of anyone, from any background, who feels they have been victimised specifically because of who they are.

Business Cards From Only £10.95 Delivered www.myprint-247.co.uk

myprint-247

View details

Print voucher

Our heavyweight cards have FREE UV silk coating, FREE next day delivery & VAT included. Choose from 1000's of pre-designed templates or upload your own artwork. Orders dispatched within 24hrs.

Terms: Visit our site for more products: Business Cards, Compliment Slips, Letterheads, Leaflets, Postcards, Posters & much more. All items are free next day delivery. www.myprint-247.co.uk

Contact: 01858 468192

Valid until: Sunday, June 30 2013

"Since the start of the project, we have been engaging with all sections of Leicester's diverse population to access potential respondents.

"As well as identifying violent acts of hate crime, we want the survey to help us understand everyday forms of harassment, intimidation and bullying that often go unpublicised and unreported despite the damaging long-term consequences for victims, their families and broader communities."

The university's Department of Criminology has received more than £200,000 from the Economic and Social Research Council to complete the two-year study.

The research team wants a wide range of victims to answer a questionnaire, including people who have been targeted because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, disability or gender identity.

They also want to include people who belong to groups often overlooked within hate crime research and policy, such as gypsies and travellers, asylum seekers, refugees and the homeless.

Jon Garland, co-investigator on the Leicester Hate Crime project, said: "The questionnaire survey is a crucial way of hearing more of these lost voices.

"Further interviews and focus groups will be held in the coming months to supplement the survey findings.

"The strength of the questionnaire is that it allows victims to describe their experience of hate crime and of the service they received when they reported it to the police and other agencies.

"It's been specifically designed to be flexible enough so victims from any background will be able to use it easily."

Anyone who would like to take part in the survey should contact Stevie-Jade Hardy on 0116 252 3784 or 07795 826061, or e-mail:

uolhatecrime@le.ac.uk