Racism hotline to offer non-police option for reporting acts of hate

If you are the target of an act of hate or racism, the province is providing a new option for reporting it.

The provincial government announced a racist incident hotline should be up and running by the spring, offering services and support in multiple languages.

The service is not affiliated with the police, and the chair of B.C.’s Anti-Racism Data Committee says it will be an important option for people reluctant to report hateful acts to law enforcement.

“Racialized communities are faced with these kinds of choices all the time. To be quite honest, sometimes we are not comfortable with what our experience of law enforcement has been. We are not necessarily feeling safe in the face of what we are facing,” said Dr. June Francis, after Wednesday’s announcement.

“Sometimes we experience [racist acts] so often that we ourselves are not even sure it’s a crime. We are reluctant to tell the police if we are second-guessing if it is a crime or not a crime, we are so used to it sometimes.”

Dr. Francis suggests the hotline will offer reassurance to victims that their experiences are being recorded and dealt with.

“I have spoken with women, for example, who tell me that are facing situations at their workplace that are untenable and they want to report it as a hate crime but they are fearing for their employment. That fear is overwhelming.”

Francis suggests once people recognize they are being heard and are able to access wraparound support, that is when incidents may be passed on to police or another agency for action.

“It’s for all of these reasons why I think a helpline is part of the solution. The hope is that, depending on the situation, it will percolate up and out so that there is a policy response.”

The province says it will use data collected through the hotline to target additional support and enforcement to fight racism.

The initiative was first announced in the spring of 2021, in response to a 700 per cent increase in reports of anti-Asian hate crimes in B.C. through the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 compared to the previous year.

Since then, anti-2SLGBTQ+ sentiments have also risen in the province, along with a recent wave of reported Islamophobic and anti-Semitic incidents related to the violence in the Middle East.

Wednesday’s announcement also included the launch of a new anti-hate community support funding for groups targeted by hatred.

The money is meant to help places of worship, cultural community centres and at-risk groups with security equipment, graffiti removal and repairs to damage related to hate-motivated crimes.

Applications for grants up to $10,000 will open on November 8.