Hate Crime – *Lesley

What happened?

*Lesley experienced Hate Crime after being involved in a road traffic incident involving two vehicles.  The person in the other vehicle racially abused and accused *Lesley of spreading the Corona Virus.

The suspect’s behaviour was very intimidating and *Lesley feared they would be violent.

Being a victim of Hate Crime left *Lesley feeling extremely anxious and struggling with daily activities such as going out and sleeping.

The incident was reported to the Police and as the case progressed *Lesley felt more anxious as time went on, but decided to pursue to make it clear that Hate Crime is not acceptable.

How Voice helped:

Whether you just need to talk about what happened or if you need practical help making your property secure, Voice is here to help.

We’ll listen to you in confidence and offer information, practical help and emotional support.

Practical support:

After talking with one of our Specialist Support Workers, Voice were able to supply *Lesley with practical crime prevention support so that they were able to feel safer both inside and outside of their home.

Emotional Support:

*Lesley’s health was directly impacted by being a victim of Hate Crime and their anxiety levels increased where they struggled to sleep and go about their usual daily activies, they were also fearful that they may see the person who did this out and about.

Voice were able to provide one to one emotional support to help them with their thoughts and feelings, providing a safe and confidential space to talk about how this Hate Crime had impacted on them.

Liaison with other agencies:

Voice liaised with the Police to provide *Lesley with regular updates on the investigation which helped them to understand what was happening and this made them feel less anxious.

The result:

*Lesley found the one to one sessions with Voice Specialist Support Worker really helpful.  Voice were able to provide techniques to reduce *Lesley’s anxiety and fear, alongside this practical crime prevention and safety advice also helped *Lesley to be able to start going outside again.

*Lesley is now back at work and is out walking again.

*Please note names have been changed to protect identity of those involved