This week we launched our new Croydon Hate Crime Service as part of METRO Safer. The new service will support LGBTQ+ communities to address biphobic, homophobic and transphobic hate crime in the borough. It joins METRO’s existing hate crime services for LGBTQ+ people in Greenwich and Lewisham, and its hate crime service for disabled people in Greenwich, run by METRO GAD.
Croydon’s launch was timed to coincide with the start of National Hate Crime Awareness Week, which runs from 10th – 17th October and aims to raise awareness of the impact of hate crime and the support available to those who experience it.
METRO CEO, Dr Greg Ussher, said:
“For over 30 years METRO has supported LGBTQ+ victims of hate crime. Since our merger with Greenwich Association of Disabled People, we now also support disabled people who experience hate crime. I’m really proud that we can extended support to LGBTQ+ people in Croydon, funded through the Local Authority. No one should have to suffer abuse or hate because of their identity, and in Croydon as elsewhere we are committed to working with others to celebrate difference and diversity, and to fight the stigma that often leads to hate.
“This year again METRO is supporting Hate Crime Awareness Week. We are acutely aware as a charity of the prevalence of hate crime, and of the very significant impacts it has on those who experience hate crime. This is why during Awareness Week we re-double our efforts to let people know that we are here to support them, and to encourage people to report and seek support.”
Councillor Maddie Henson, Mayor of Croydon, wrote:
“Hate crime is a scourge on our society and has no place in Britain. In recent years there we have seen a scarily large increase in hate crime of all sorts. This includes against people because of their religion, gender, disability, and sexual orientation. This has to stop. In Croydon and in Britain as a whole we should all be able to walk down the street and feel safe and not fear harassment. I am proud to support National Hate Crime Awareness Week 2020.”
Len Duvall, London Assembly Member for Greenwich and Lewisham, also leant his support to the campaign:
"Hate crime is a scourge in our society. It destroys the lives of its victims and the communities in which they live. I support National Hate Crime Awareness Week wholeheartedly. I hope that the message that it gives shines a light on this vicious crime, and offers a beacon of hope for its victims."
Find out more about the service on our Croydon METRO Safer page. If you have experienced anti-LGBTQ+ hate crime in Croydon, contact our Mark, Croydon Hate Crime Officer, by emailing safer@metrocharity.org.uk or call 020 8305 5003.