In co-operation with our Baltic partners, the EHRC produced useful short videos aimed at raising awareness about hatred and its consequences. Four educational videos answer questions about hate crime and hate speech, where to get help as a victim, and what to do as an eyewitness to a hate crime. The videos are in Estonian language, with Estonian, Russian and English subtitles.
According to Kelly Grossthal, an expert at the Human Rights Centre, acts of hatred are committed because of prejudices or certain attitudes towards some groups of people. “Such acts affect communities more broadly – for example, when a dark-skinned person is attacked because of their skin colour, others perceive that it can happen to them as well. When some groups of people feel constantly threatened, there is less trust in society and it is more unstable as a whole. In a society free of hostility, it is safer for all of us to live,” said Grossthal.
Greater public awareness is important in preventing and combating hatred. “These video instructions help people to recognise hate crimes and teach them how to behave in such situations,” added project manager Liina Rajaveer.
“At the same time, the purpose of these videos is to open the perspective of the victims and the ways to support them. Each of us can be vulnerable – a disabled or elderly person, a woman or a man, a refugee or an LGBT person,” explained Rajaveer. The videos provide both the victim of a hate crime and their friends and family with the necessary information on who to turn to for help and where to get additional information.
The videos were made in co-operation with Latvian and Lithuanian human rights organisations for project PONGO. The project, which focuses on police and NGO cooperation in the fight against hate crimes, ended on September 24th with an international web conference “Joining Forces: Together Against Hate Crimes“.
The project was co-financed by the European Union and the Civil Society Foundation. The content of the videos only reflects the views of the authors, and is their sole responsibility. The European Commission accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever with regard to the information contained therein.
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