What does a religious or faith based hate incident look like?

A religious or faith based hate crime or non-crime hate incident is any incident where someone is targeted due to their actual or perceived faith or belief.

This also includes those people who do not follow a recognised religion or faith.

No two hate incidents are the same but they may include the following:

• Verbal abuse and name-calling
• Physical attack
• Graffiti or other deliberate damage to property
• Written or recorded threats
• Cyber Bullying

If you see someone being targeted, and you think it is because of their religion or belief, you can report it as an incident, even if the victim has not done so.

These incidents don’t just affect the lives of those involved but affect their friends, families, the local community and society as a whole.

If hate incidents are not reported then people who target others will feel their behaviour is totally acceptable and they may continue to abuse others.