CAB declares war on hate

DON’T suffer hate in silence.

That was the message this week from the Rotherham Citizens Advice Bureau as they marked this year’s Advice Week.

Bureau manager, Annette Cassam, urged people to get in touch if they were  targeted because of their disability, gender identity, race, religion or sexual orientation.

“We all have the right to live free from violence, harassment or hostility,” she said. “But over the years, we have seen cases and how devastating hate incidents and discrimination can be on individuals, families and the wider community.

“Hate incidents target people because of who they are.

“We want people to feel able to come in and tell us about any form of discrimination whether experiencing or witnessing hate incidents, and no matter how minor they might seem.

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“Hate incidents are a form of discrimination and can be a consequence or underlying cause of other problems that people come to us for in search of advice.”

The call came as Rotherham Citizens' Advice Bureau launches Advice Week 2010, a week dedicated to championing the different advice agencies around the UK, under the umbrella group, Working Together for Advice.

The agencies involved in Advice Week are: Advice Service Alliance, Age UK, AdviceUK, Citizens Advice, Law Centres Federation and Youth Access.

This year, Advice Week 2010 is focusing on discrimination, and local Citizens Advice Bureaux are focusing on raising awareness about hate incidents and how to tackle them.

The event has seen the launch of advice podcasts and a film, showing possible ways of coping with hate incidents. 

The film can be found at www.youtube.com/user/citizensadvice. The podcast can be found at: http://advicepod.podomatic.com/rss2.xml.