In response to the violence and riots in the UK across the weekend, Victim Support’s CEO, Katie Kempen said:
“We are appalled by the violence we’ve seen over the weekend. The riots and racist attacks on individuals and communities are truly shocking and completely unacceptable.
It is not just those members of our society who have been physically harmed – chased, punched, or spat at, that will be affected. Others may have experienced racist slurs, or have had their property burnt or looted.
Many people may not have directly experienced physical or verbal abuse this weekend, but now live in fear of this – afraid to go about their day-to-day lives.
Nobody should have to live with the fear and anxiety, emotional and physical harm of hate crime.
We stand against hate and discrimination and proudly offer support to those who have been affected.”
If you’ve been affected by events, you can call our free Supportline on 08 08 16 89 111, start a live chat any time, or access My Support Space – a free online resource containing interactive guides and videos to help you after crime.
Other languages
We’ve translated our statement above into the following languages. Please remember that our Supportline has an interpretation service for people who don’t speak English as a first language, and if you are deaf, have hearing loss or are speech impaired, Relay UK can connect you to a relay assistant to make a phone call.