Hate Crime: Prejudice, Harassment, Discrimination or Bullying. Call it what you like ……….
Whatever title is given to a behaviour that is anti-something, aimed against or towards someone or a group, it is wrong that it happens. That’s a simple fact ……… WRONG ……… and as a basic human right, no one should be exposed to it by any other person or group of people. Now let’s be completely clear here, it is not wrong for someone to dislike another who has wronged them in some way. There are people out there that I don’t particularly like, because they are not nice people. And everyone is entitled to have their own views and opinions. We all have rights to freedom of both thought and speech, for example …… I hate mushrooms, and I mean hate, but if I air that view (Remembering that mushrooms are not sentient beings and are not offended by my or anyone else’s dislike of them), there are some mushroom lovers out there that immediately jump to the defence of that little fungus. I don’t get that. I mean I get that they are fans of mushrooms, but don’t understand getting upset that someone else despises them. People, animals, Faith etc etc YES !!! but not a simple food stuff, maybe I’m missing something ?? Why is it that some people can get so passionate about things that don’t matter, like fungus, things that really have no impact on anyone else? But, there are others, and there is no shortage, who like to make a deal about other people. Whether their actions are physical or not, spoken, behavioural, seen or unseen by the individual on the receiving end, this does affect people, and that’s not ok. Anybody mistreated because of their disability, gender-identity, race, religion or belief, or sexual orientation is a victim of hate crime. Think about that …… there are things that happen to unknown numbers of people every single day. Like a woman being overlooked for promotion because she may have children and that would not be convenient to her employer. Someone complaining loudly that another till should be opened because it’s taking a disabled customer longer to unload and reload their weekly shop and they don’t like waiting. Posting online comments that Muslim women shouldn’t be allowed into an airport wearing a hijab or ridiculing a trans person because as far as you can see, they are just ‘A bloke in a dress’. Anyway, I digress, but you get my point, I don’t judge others because they live their lives in a particular way or they don’t conform to a typically accepted norm, and all I would ever ask in return is that you extend me the same courtesy. If you can’t say something nice about me to my face or interact with me as an equal, then please just be polite and don’t say or do anything at all. For example, I don’t want to know your thoughts on whether I should be allowed to use a toilet or not, I am a trans woman and as such will use the appropriate toilet, because I am sure that I would feel as threatened in a men's toilet as any other woman, in fact possibly more at risk because I am Transgender. Here’s a few facts for you to think about: Hate crime is defined in the UK as: Crimes committed against someone because of their race, religion, sexuality, disability or gender. This can be verbal and physical abuse, physical violence, teasing, bullying, threatening behaviour, online abuse, damage to property, prejudice, discrimination, intimidation or harassment, this list is not exhaustive. Hate crime aimed at the trans community is believed to be the most unreported of all these groups. 41% of trans people have experienced some form of hate crime because of gender identity in the last year. (Stonewall). 79% of Trans people did not report hate crime through fear of further discrimination or perceived lack of support. (YouGov). 48% of Trans people are now afraid to use a toilet in a public place. (Stonewall) These are just the tip of the iceberg, the statistics for most things where Transgender people are concerned do not make good reading, and the huge number of recent stories in the popular press are not helping, in fact they are fuelling the issue, their scaremongering over the ‘Intent’ of Trans people likely being the root of these ever-rising figures. I was recently on the receiving end of being openly and publicly ridiculed, I have experienced this on a few occasions, I have been mis-gendered, where I was consistently referred to as ‘Sir’ when presenting as female, I have been sexually harassed (See my Blog #MeToo), I have been verbally abused and felt I was at risk of physical/sexual assault at the same time (See my Blog #MeToo). I have also been denied access to changing rooms and been told I should use the men's toilets when presenting as female (you can see how well that would go down for me). For all you reading this who are not transgender, have all these things happened to you?? My failing here is that none of this has ever been reported to the police, although more recently I have had the confidence to take on companies whose employees have behaved inappropriately, looking for formal action to be taken and written redress acknowledging the wrongdoing issued. In conversation with these companies I have made it clear that any further occurrences will result in my filing of a report with the police. So, here’s the thing, why didn’t I report these things at the time?? Because I was scared to, because I didn’t believe I would be taken seriously, because I thought those that should help me would just laugh and tell me it’s my fault for being the way I am. Because I felt that my complaint would be brushed away and not taken seriously. This was a few years back, before I built confidence to be myself and to hold my head up and be proud of who I am. More recently, I’ve started standing my ground, I have rights, I have confidence, and although it may not change how I’m made to feel when something happens, you can be sure I will come back looking for things to be put right and changed. But what needs to happen is to make the bigger changes, Education, Interaction and Acceptance along with an understanding from everyone, that Trans people are just people. Like you, I have the same needs, I love the same things, and I just want to get on with my life without being mistreated. So, do your bit, re-educate, accept and interact. More people are coming forward, all the time, and identifying as being somewhere on the Transgender Spectrum, just like 20-30 years back as more and more people came out as gay/lesbian, Trans people are catching up. Finally, thank you for reading and I really hope you enjoy this and other posts on here. Feel free to leave comments on here or fill out a contact form or leave me feedback. If you want to know more, then contact me through this blog or on one of the other Social Media platforms that I use. Facebook www.facebook.com/beingsophie Twitter www.twitter.com/sophietgirl Bloglovin www.bloglovin.com/blogs/being-sophie-17676297
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AuthorHi, I'm Sophie. I hope you enjoy reading my blog. Please leave some comments on what you think of my blog x Archives
March 2022
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