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EmailTackling hate crime and hate speech against LGBTQ+ communities in the UK and around the world is one of Stonewall’s key strategic priorities.
We are working in partnership with organisations across the globe to help LGBTQ+ people report hate crimes and hate speech and receive vital support, as well as to advocate for progressive reforms in hate crime policy, procedure and practice.
Our current programmes
Alliance Against Hate Crime: Tackling Violence Against LGBTI Communities in Eastern Europe & the Caucuses
The Alliance Against Hate Crime is a coalition of organisations working to build the long-term capacity for LGBTI communities in Bulgaria, Romania and Georgia to respond to hate crime and hate speech against LGBTI people.
Stonewall works in close partnership with partners Asociația ACCEPT (Romania), Deystvie (Bulgaria), and a partner in Georgia, as well as the EuroCentralAsian Lesbian* Community, to deliver this programme of work.
The project has three main strands:
- Better, safer and more secure hate crime reporting and referral capabilities for LGBTI communities by creating online reporting platforms.
- Using the data collected through reporting platforms to support evidence-based advocacy for progressive reforms in hate crime policy, procedure and practice.
- Development and delivery of bespoke training to local law enforcement and other agencies which interact with victims of hate crime.
Reporting hate through the Zoteria app
We know that hate crime is seriously under-reported and wanted to provide a way for people reluctant to report a hate incident to the police to access the support that they need.
Developed in partnership with Vodafone Foundation, Zoteria is an app which allows LGBTQ+ and allies to flag anti-LGBTQ+ hate incidents and receive specialist support.
The data collected through Zoteria informs and supports Stonewall and our partner’s national and international advocacy priorities surrounding hate crime.
Zoteria UK
Launched in the UK in October 2022, Zoteria is a partnership between Stonewall, Vodafone Foundation and Galop. You can read more about and find out how to download Zoteria here.
Zoteria Albania
In Albania, Stonewall and Vodafone Foundation are working in partnership with Aleanca LGBT who are acting as national partners providing support services to anyone who flags a hate incident through Zoteria. TZoteria Albania will launch in early 2025.
Our past programmes
You Are Heard
In 2021, in partnership with ERA (LGBTI Equal Rights Association for the Western Balkans & Turkey), Stonewall launched You Are Heard, an LGBTQI+ hate incident reporting website.
This service provides a safe space for LGBTQ+ people and allies to report incidents in the region.
Users can remain anonymous when reporting or add contact information if they wish to receive support from trusted local LGBTQI+ organisations. Individual reports won’t be shared with the police or governmental bodies – instead, local LGBTQI+ support organisations receive the information and data to manage and analyse, and use in their advocacy work across within the Western Balkans and Turkey.
Access to Justice
In 2016, Stonewall launched a two-year programme to address violence against LGBT communities in the Western Balkans and Turkey by engaging police forces, the judiciary and wider state institutions across the region and in the UK.
The project also produced a toolkit on challenging violence through community engagement, which provided models of best practice to support continued advocacy from civil society to achieve progressive reforms in relation to anti-LGBT violence