Question reference: S5W-10608
- Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 7 August 2017
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Current status: Answered by Angela Constance on 21 August 2017
Question
To ask the Scottish Government how the three aims of its public education campaign on hate crime were chosen; whether other aims were considered; whether it intends to evaluate the effectiveness of the campaign, and, if so, which measures will be used.
Answer
Our Independent Advisory Group on Hate Crime, Prejudice and Community Cohesion found that the public are not clear what is meant by hate crime and therefore many instances of hate crime can go unreported. We are working in partnership with stakeholders to develop a campaign which will increase awareness of what hate crime is among victims and bystanders in Scotland, how to recognise it and how to report it.
Once the details of the campaign have been finalised an appropriate evaluation will be conducted and published on the Scottish Government website once available.
This Government is clear that any form of hate crime is totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated. We would encourage anyone who either experiences or witnesses any form of hate crime to report it immediately to the Police either directly or via a third party reporting centre.