Just over a year ago an American teenager used her mobile phone to film the brutal murder of George Floyd capturing footage which would be used at the subsequent trial and receiving a Pulitzer Prize for her actions.
Taking quick snaps and videos for social media is an everyday event for many of us as we record precious family moments or fun nights out with friends but thankfully it is rare to have to record a violent attack as it happens. So, it was shocking to see the recording on social media of a racially aggravated incident in Cheadle which has appalled the community with its racist and abusive footage.
In the clip, which also captures racist slurs, a man is shown jabbing at the victim with two umbrellas and saying “If you put that on Facebook, I’ll kill you”. The victim showed extraordinary presence of mind in recording the incident with a determination to get the perpetrators caught and brought to justice and is being hailed as a hero for his actions.
There must be no place for racism or hate crime in our society and so it is a serious concern that racially motivated hate crimes are the highest reported type of hate crime in the UK, with a total of 85,268 racially aggravated offences recorded in 2020/2021.
Hate Crime is a serious offence that can have long term impacts on victims. It is a very personal attack and distressing for victims who are targeted based on their identity or how others perceive them and the impact of these incidents shouldn’t be underestimated. Research shows that victims are more likely to suffer serious psychological effects as a result of hate crime – a trauma that, by association, can be felt by the wider community.
Whilst it is sickening to see such incidents on the high street we also know that increasingly this takes place on social media and we must make sure there is no hiding place for this cowardly abuse.
The Online safety Bill, which is making its way through Parliament, aims to tackle the appalling scourge of racism and abuse which is carried out on social media platforms and can cause huge distress to victims. Tech companies like facebook will have to put processes in place to stop the spread of hate and respond quickly if someone posts racist content. Companies which fail to do so could face huge fines based on their global turnover, which for the biggest social media platforms would be billions of pounds.
Being a victim of a hate incident or hate crime can have an impact on a persons emotional and mental health with the knock-on effect on families, colleagues and work and as a society we all have an interest in stamping it out.
