As North Wales Police state, a hate crime incident is any incident perceived by the victim as being motivated by prejudice or hate. Although the National Police Chiefs Council have stated that recorded hate crimes increased following the result of the EU referendum, this problem is not exclusive to the post-EU-referendum period. Hate crimes recorded by South Wales Police for the two weeks to the end of June decreased slightly, but increased slightly in the first week of July, compared to the same weeks in 2015. The number of recorded hate crimes in Wales rose by more than 20 per cent during 2014-15, with almost 75 per cent classed as race hate crimes—a 19 per cent increase on the previous year. But campaigners said then that much of the rise was due, as the Minister said, to better reporting and communities feeling more positive about coming forward to report incidents.

Reporting of hate crimes should be encouraged, hence our amendment 1 noting the key recommendations of the all-Wales hate crime research project on which the Welsh Government’s tackling hate crime framework is based. These include:

‘more needs to be done to increase the confidence of victims and witnesses to report hate incidents and to promote the view that reporting hate is the “right thing to do”.’

More needs to be done. It goes on to say that victims felt that incidents were too trivial to report or that the police were unable to do anything, and recommends that Welsh Government should take the lead on ensuring that accessible third-party reporting mechanisms are in place for victims who don’t want to report directly to the police.

As the Minister said, Victim Support has been commissioned by the Welsh Government as the official national hate crime report and support centre for Wales. I also attended last year’s launch of the north Wales victim help centre—a partnership between Victim Support, the north Wales police and crime commissioner, North Wales Police, the Crown Prosecution Service and local third sector services, providing victim-centred emotional and practical support for victims of all crime types. They have a dedicated mental health and well-being caseworker and hate crime caseworker. Their strapline states that they will ensure that the needs of victims will be at the heart of everything they do.

I also sponsored last year’s Rainbow Bridge launch event here in the Pierhead building, where Victim Support has been funded by the Big Lottery Fund to run a specialist domestic abuse service for people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender. Quoting the all-Wales hate crime research project, our amendment also states that

‘more should be done to ensure that hate crime perpetrators are dealt with effectively and that restorative approaches should be made more widely available in Wales.’

It continues: the research shows

‘that victims’ overriding desire is for the hate incidents to stop happening to them.’

They also want sanctions to be relevant to the offence committed and for perpetrators to recognise the impact of their actions. Many of the respondents emphasised the importance of education, indicating that restorative approaches should be used more widely and consistently. It is a concern, therefore, it said, to find that there is currently very little restorative practice being undertaken in Wales.

The Older People’s Commissioner for Wales has warned that there is an increasing problem of older people being specifically targeted by criminals due to their supposed vulnerabilities. Despite this, they say, there remains a gap in the law that does not recognise these crimes, committed against older people because of their age, as hate crimes, whereas crimes committed against someone because of their disability, gender identity, race, religion, belief or sexual orientation are recognised in legislation as hate crimes due to their motivating factors and, as a consequence, additional penalties are considered there.

Hate crime is a serious offence that can have devastating and long-lasting effects on individuals and communities across Wales. During this National Hate Crime Awareness Week, we must tackle hate crime issues by raising awareness of what hate crime is and how to respond to it, encouraging reporting and promoting local support services and resources. As the North Wales Association for Multicultural Integration states, it believes

‘in the formation of a respectful, peaceful and healthy society through an understanding of the diverse cultures that exist in Wales today’.

And, as the holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel stated,

‘I swore never to be silent whenever…human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.’