A new service offering dedicated support for East and Southeast Asian victims of racism and/or other forms of hate is being launched today [9 August], the first of its kind in the UK.

On Your Side offers specialist advisors and new reporting options to anyone from East and Southeast Asian communities who has experienced racism or another form of hate because of an aspect of their identity or perceived identity.

The outbreak of COVID-19 saw a dramatic rise in hate crime directed towards East and Southeast Asian communities in the UK. An increase in reports of nearly 50% between 2018 and 2020^[1] brought to light the gap in support and reporting services.

On Your Side is funded by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities’ Hong Kong BN(O) Welcome Programme. It has been developed by a consortium of 15 national and community-based groups with expertise in hate crime reporting, hate crime prevention, and supporting East and Southeast Asian victims of racial violence.

One of the organisations involved is East and Southeast Asian Scotland. Executive director Kimi Jolly said:

“People from East and Southeast Asian communities have experienced a huge increase in verbal and physical racially-motivated attacks yet, up to now, there has been no support tailored to them in terms of language, cultural awareness and being able to record their ethnicity accurately.

“I know the impact of this first-hand. I’ve been violently assaulted, harassed and verbally abused. During the pandemic, I was asked to leave a shop when other people weren’t. I had sanitiser sprayed all over me on a bus. And I’m not alone in experiencing such incidents. Some people still don’t consider racial jokes made towards members of the East and Southeast Asian community as actually being a form of racism.”

Andy Fearn, co-executive director of Protection Approaches which is the charity leading the consortium that has set up On Your Side, said:

“During a consultation we conducted to inform the design of this service* we spoke to over 150 people from East and Southeast Asian backgrounds. Two in five had been victims of a hate crime or hate incident in the last two years. More than half of those incidents were never reported while fewer than a quarter sought any form of support afterwards.

“We repeatedly heard that East and Southeast Asian victims of hate crime do not report what has happened to them because they are afraid of dealing with the police and don’t think the police or other reporting services will believe them or take their report seriously. Others told us that they had difficulties accessing reporting and support services because of language and other barriers.”

On Your Side is a free nationwide 24/7 telephone helpline provided by consortium partner, Stop Hate UK, as well as a website offering initial advice and support from trained staff. Helpline operators speak various languages including Japanese, Tagalog, Chinese – Fookien, Mandarin, Cantonese, Hakka, and Indonesian, but can support victims in any language with support from trusted interpreters.

Victims will be offered longer-term support from a trained casework advocate who will help them understand their rights and where they can find specialist support services. This could include support to ensure the police or local authorities are dealing with the case appropriately or help to access mental health and other community services.

Hau-Yu Tam, head of campaigns at End Violence and Racism Against East and Southeast Asian Communities, said:

“We know people can be fearful, reluctant or unsure how to report hate crimes and incidents. Using this service means that community members who are calling or writing in will be centred in the process. They are the ones to decide what, if any, information will be shared with the police. While the number and nature of incidents will be recorded, details remain confidential unless the individual would like help reporting the crime. The primary focus for us is to assist in an appropriate, caring, joined-up way. Everyone deserves to feel safe, respected and supported.”

The service will also allow the consortium to form a more accurate understanding of the levels of racism and/or other forms of hate faced by East and Southeast Asian communities in the UK, providing policy makers, civil society and community groups with insights to shape better prevention and justice approaches.

“Ideally, we want to prevent these crimes happening in the first place,” concluded Andy Fearn, “and having a service focused on the experiences of East and Southeast Asian communities will help us do that by giving us clearer information.”

The service goes live on 9 August and can be accessed at www.onyoursideuk.org or by calling 0808 801 0393.

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