What does LGBTQ+ mean?

This stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning. The + represents all other gender and Sexual Identities.

What does a hate crime mean?

A hate crime is defined as:

any criminal offence which is perceived by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice based on a person's race or perceived race; religion or perceived religion; sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation; disability or perceived disability and any crime motivated by hostility or prejudice against a person who is transgender or perceived to be transgender.

Are there different types of Hate Crimes?

Yes, there are different types. They are put into 3 categories:

Physical/Verbal/Incitement to hatred

Here are some examples of crimes in these categories:

Physical assault:

Physical assault of any kind is an offence. If you’ve been a victim of physical assault, you should report it. Depending on the level of the violence used, a perpetrator may be charged with common assault, actual bodily harm or grievous bodily harm.

Verbal abuse:

Verbal abuse, threats or name-calling can be a common and extremely unpleasant experience for minority groups.

Victims of verbal abuse are often unclear whether an offence has been committed or believe there is little they can do. However, there are laws in place to protect you from verbal abuse.

If you’ve been the victim of verbal abuse, talk to the police or one of our partner organisations about what has happened. You’ll find a list of them on our How to report hate crime | Wiltshire Police page.

Even if you don’t know who verbally abused you, the information could still help us to improve how we police the area where the abuse took place.

Incitement to hatred:

The offence of incitement to hatred occurs when someone acts in a way that is threatening and intended to stir up hatred. That could be in words, pictures, videos, music, and includes information posted on websites.

Hate content may include:

• messages calling for violence against a specific person or group
• web pages that show pictures, videos or descriptions of violence against anyone due to their perceived differences
• chat forums where people ask other people to commit hate crimes against a specific person or group

What do I do if I have been a victim of hate crime?

If you have been a victim of any Hate Crime – this is not ok.

If you can't report this to the Police, please use: www.fearless.org where you can report this anonymously.

Please also have a conversation with a school teacher/tutor/mentor for more advice.

Parents/Guardians – Start a dialog with those closest to you, so that they can help and support you through this and what your options are.

More in this section