New online reporting tool tracks incidents of hate and discrimination in Chatham-Kent

Chatham-Kent Victim Services logo (courtesy Chatham-Kent Victim Services/Facebook)

Chatham-Kent Victim Services has launched an online tool to report acts of hate and discrimination.

The tool, located on the CK Victim Services website, will serve as a central location to report incidents in the community outside of law enforcement.

“Hate has no home in Chatham-Kent, but we know hate and discrimination is happening in our communities. Ensuring people have the support they need is essential to healing and recovery. We are proud to be launching this tool so people can receive support,” Jason Brown, volunteer and community engagement coordinator, said in a news release. “The data collected from the tool will help us continue building a welcoming, inclusive, and diverse community and respond appropriately to hate and discrimination.”

CK Victim Services is equipped to offer emotional support and referrals to appropriate community resources for those in need of support. The new reporting tool will allow high-level data on acts of hate and discrimination to be shared with the public, allowing for a better community response, officials say.

Incidents that may be reported included harassment, intimidation, threats, denial of services witnessing or seeing vandalism aimed at a person or the broader community because of their race, ethnic origin, language, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disabilities or other identities.

“We know that many people don’t report experiences motivated by hate or bias directed at them just because of who they are. Reporting to the police is still an option, but this new reporting tool gives people a different way to get support,” Rebecca Haskell-Thomas, diversity, equity, inclusion and justice coordinator with the municipality said. “And, the combined and anonymous information from the reports will help us see trends to understand better what is happening in the community and how we can work together to promote a safe and inclusive Chatham-Kent for everyone.”

Conversations about the community could better respond to, and support people impacted by these incidents began after a meeting of the Chatham-Kent Local Immigration Partnership Anti-Racism Working Group in May 2022. CK Victim Services consulted local organizations, groups and advocates on what they might like to see from such a tool taking examples from similar projects in other cities.

Those submitting a report are offered the option of submitting an anonymous report or providing their contact information and indicating that they would like support from the victim services team.

Report can be submitted online on the CK Victim Services website.