New website to report hate crime

Our colleagues from the ERA – LGBTI Equal Rights Association for the Western Balkans & Turkey launched “You Are Heard“, an LGBTIQ hate crime reporting website, in partnership with Stonewall. This new service provides a safe space for LGBTQ+ people and allies to report incidents.

You Are Heard has been developed with expert civil society organisations, members of ERA, to allow individuals to report anti- LGBTIQ incidents, such as harassment, violence and hate speech.

Users can remain anonymous when reporting, or add contact information if they wish to receive support from trusted local LGBTIQ organisations. Individual reports won’t be shared with the police or governmental bodies – instead, local LGBTIQ support organisations will receive the information and data to manage and analyse. They’ll then lead on advocacy work across local regions within the Western Balkans and Turkey.

The anonymous statistics created from the data will be used to show governments and policy makers which policies and support systems for LGBTIQ communities must be introduced or improved. Crucially, the website has been built with the safety of LGBTIQ individuals in mind, so that users making reports can be sure that their personal information will remain private.

By creating a strong bank of evidence on hate crimes against LGBTIQ people, advocacy groups will be empowered to create meaningful changes in legislation at a governmental level. ERA also hope that members of the LGBTIQ community feel confident using You Are Heard to report incidents, since the platform will provide routes for survivors to access support in their area.

Visit You Are Heard following this link>>> and help spread the word.