Vicious hate crime in Manchester

A 12-year-old thug involved in a brutal attack against the son of a Syrian refugee has been convicted of racially aggravated assault by the Manchester Youth Court.

The vicious hate crime involving schoolboys took place on June 24 in Blackley, Manchester, when a gang of five attacked a 13-year-old, hurling racist abuse and beating him until he was “unrecognisable”. While relieved that his son was not left with any permanent injury, the victim’s father lamented that “after the Arena attack, such a terrible event, we have had some difficult looks”, a statement that reflects well what has been happening in Manchester over the summer.

In the month following the May 22 terror attack at the Manchester Arena, the number of Islamophobic hate crimes increased by 505% compared to the same month the previous year: a staggering 224 hate crimes against the Muslim community were reported in June 2017 alone, against ‘just’ 37 reported in June 2016.

This should hardly come as a surprise. Research has shown that anti-Muslim incidents tend to spike around the time of terrorist attacks, whether at home or abroad and, because 33% of Muslims in Britain are aged 15 or under, the Muslim youth are particularly exposed to hate crimes.

As a matter of fact, in the two weeks following the Manchester Arena attack in May, Childline held nearly 300 counselling sessions across the UK, due to the significant increase of racial and religious abuse. Between 2014 and 2017, the charity has held over 2,500 counselling sessions, many of which involved Muslims.

As reported by the Independent: “Muslim children have told Childline they’ve endured constant name-calling, been accused of being associated with Isis and been threatened with violence. Young girls have frequently been victimised when they wear a hijab or headscarf, the helpline said.”

In addition, research shows that 92% of hate crime victims report being emotionally affected by the incident, with a third being highly affected. The most prevalent emotional effects of hate crime reported to the Crime Survey are anger, annoyance, shock, fear and loss of confidence. Victims also report anxiety, panic attacks, depression and difficulty sleeping.

If you live in Manchester, you can consult the Council’s strategy to combat hate crimes here.

If you have suffered or witnessed a hate crime, you can read the Council’s information on how to report it here.

You can also read how to report hate crimes to the Greater Manchester Police here.

MEND has a working group based in Manchester. Information can be found here.