Dear partners,

It’s devastating to be writing again to you so soon after the horrific attack in Southport last week. The targeting of people seeking sanctuary, of refugees, of the Muslim community – and of any other people affected by violence and intimidation – ought to be swiftly and robustly condemned by all of us across civil society. We stand with each of the communities who are being targeted with hatred and violence and condemn any acts of racism and aggression towards them.

This update is not a summary of what is available in the news or on social media. Instead, it is a summary of what we have heard from our partners in terms of the risks, and the actions and messages they are promoting. This note in itself may prompt more information from across our network – we have created a dedicated Community Tensions channel on SLACK (our online tool for updates in an emergency) to post updates and resources for partners. Please join the channel and share any relevant information you may hold locally. If you can’t access it, please contact us here.

Please also feel free to share and build on these important messages across your own networks, as we identify need, offers of support and incredible examples of resilience as our partners in faith, voluntary and community groups up and down the country tackle the aggression with compassion, kindness and strength.

Thank you for all you’re doing, and a gentle reminder that we’d encourage anyone tempted to share content online to check the source and the facts in the knowledge that content designed to divide us has real life consequences for people in our communities.

Yours in partnership,

Robyn Knox MBE

Director

VCS Emergencies Partnership

Situation

Most at risk: Refugees, asylum seekers – particularly those in hotel accommodation – and Muslim communities.

Risk of more riots this week: Sharing of locations comes with its own risk, but all areas, particularly those without a significant population of refugees or Muslim communities (and therefore those who are most minoritised).

Opportunity: Efforts to connect with formal and informal community or faith leaders is where partners are experiencing the greatest leverage/influence.

Partner Activity

Faith groups and VCS across the country are countering aggression with messages of positivity and activity that strengthens social cohesion. NCVO, NAVCA and Locality are all sharing messages and resources for their respective memberships that show solidarity in support for those targeted and condemning the violence.

Martin Brookes (CEO of VONNE) is coordinating a regional response to the violence in Hartlepool, Middlesborough and Sunderland (and elsewhere in the North East). The local infrastructure, community foundations and Citizen’s Advice in the region are working together to give a coordinated statement and bring people together to work on community cohesion, as well as locally-led “clear up”, and coordinating offers of support should they emerge.

NAVCA are providing a space for Local Infrastructure Organisations in places where riots have taken place to come together on Monday afternoon to share experiences and resources that may be helpful.

Muslim faith networks including the Muslim Charities Forum, the Muslim Council of Britain and an informal network of 40 mosques across the UK are sharing their views and messages with the EP on the current situation, risks and concerns.

Greater Manchester Combined Authority are well connected into local infrastructure and asylum and migration services and have been monitoring the situation closely since the weekend.

British Red Cross (BRC) have closed a number of retail shops, are monitoring their refugee support services and ensuring their staff and volunteers have guidance on keeping themselves and their buildings safe. BRC are awaiting update from the Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms (COBR), and ready to respond and connect Local Resilience Forum contacts with the wider VCS.

Voluntary Action Sheffield (VAS) have connected with global majority, refugee and faith leaders in their network to show care, offer support and ask what they would like to happen. They are focussing on communication around Hope not Hate and ensuring tight communications coordination is in place. Community leaders are most concerned about young people getting caught up in violence. VAS are also checking in with staff/volunteers and service users to provide reassurance and are reviewing their incident protocol at their offices.

Victim Support have issued a statement and are offering support to those impacted via their free support line on 08 08 16 89 111, or by starting a live chat any time, or accessing My Support Space – a free online resource containing interactive guides and videos to help you after crime.

They have also convened a major incident management group who will consider needs for staff, service users, partner community organisations and people impacted by the disorder.  Services will run as usual, but they are reinforcing safe working practices. Locally and nationally, they are reaching out to partners who represent marginalised communities and protected characteristics to ensure they know Victim Support stands against hate as an organisation. They are also keen to work in partnership with others to ensure that all victims of crime get the support they need.

Insight and Actions

Safety and security of your staff, volunteers and the people you support is paramount, the EP have pulled together a few basic suggestions that partners may want to consider:

Prioritise your people –  

1. Communicate with them, raise their awareness and make sure you give them up to date guidance on how to keep themselves and others safe
2. Consider travel times and routes
3. Be careful about your brand and how that brand identity may put your people at risk
4. Review your policies, contact details and emergency plans

Protect your properties – 

1. Review your business continuity plans
2. Consider guidance on what makes your buildings safer… recognising some are quick fixes, but many may take longer to implement (more details below)
3. Don’t forget the vacant buildings – these can be easy targets

We hope the following resources are helpful:

Health and Safety Executive have guidance on violence and aggression in the workplace 

Muslim Council of Britain have a range of resources on mosque safety

UK Trauma Council has published a range of relevant resources for those working with children and young people affected by trauma and bereavement (we shared these last week). Some of the key pages are:

• https://uktraumacouncil.org/resources
• Critical Incidents in Educational Communities – UK Trauma Council
• Guidance on creating the best environment for recovery – UK Trauma Council
• Traumatic Bereavement for children & young people – UK Trauma Council

British Red Cross offer workshops on Empathy and Migration and Coping With Challenges for young people. More information can be found on their web page including resources about how to talk to children about conflict:

• How to talk to children about conflict | British Red Cross
• Talking about major emergency | Secondary teaching resources (redcross.org.uk)
• Dealing with emotional and physical distress

British Future provide a practical guide to messaging that combats hate crime and prejudice: Calling out hatred and prejudice 

Gov.UK funding for protective Security Schemes for places of worship

Tell Mama UK share how the disinformation about Southport spread: How misinformation and disinformation about the Southport stabbings went viral (tellmamauk.org)

Belong Network have blogged on preventing tension and conflict in communities: https://www.belongnetwork.co.uk/blog-preventing-tensions-and-conflicts-in-communities/ and good practice on building shared ground and addressing community tensions: https://www.belongnetwork.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Belong_AddressingTensions_Report_V3.pdf  

Involve share a framework on building community cohesion: https://www.involve.org.uk/resources/knowledge-base/resources/community-cohesion-and-participation-practical-framework  

Victim Support provide information for victims of hate crime: https://www.victimsupport.org.uk/crime-info/types-crime/hate-crime/ 

Open source guidance on how to spot ‘fake news’ for young people: and understanding hate crime for children: https://youtu.be/qDZGw_ZZ2Cg 

For the longer term – The NaCTSO Counter Terrorism Crime Prevention Toolkit is aimed at small organisations. It contains helpful, low-cost solutions to deter crime and counter terrorism e.g. making it difficult to gain access to premises, increasing chance of detection and reducing access to contents and victims.

A 5-step process for risk management is outlined here: ProtectUK Risk Management Guidance | ProtectUK– including guidance around CCTV, doors and locks, windows, shutters and grilles – as well as how to develop a security culture.

The E-learning package E-Learning | ProtectUK is a good place to start with developing understanding and practice in this area. They have also provided guidance for staff work (Run Hide Tell)