Prejudice & Discrimination

Treating a person differently or not liking them because of how they look, the colour of their skin, their culture, religion, sexuality, gender, age, or if they have a disability is called prejudice. Hate crime happens when someone is picked on, insulted or bullied because of these things.

These things are wrong because they make people feel upset and unhappy, even if it is just saying or writing things in emails or comments.  These things can happen on the internet just like anywhere else, so it is important to know when the way people behave or things you might see online are a problem. It is good to talk about this with people around you, and there are links and information on this page to help you find out more. It is important for everyone to learn about these things so that they can help to stop prejudice and prevent hate crime.

The first thing you should do if you or someone you know come across something online which you think is prejudiced, or if someone upsets you by these kind of comments is to talk to your parents, teachers or other grown-ups about it. They can help you to do something about it. There are pages on this website for them to look at too which can help them with this.

The links below will take you to some websites where you can get more help and information:

• www.bullying.co.uk
• www.bubl.ac.uk/LINK/r/racism.htm
• www.antibullying.net/racistinfo3.htm
• www.cybermentors.org.uk/

Prejudice and hate on the internet

Lots of people use websites, chat-rooms and blog-spaces to tell others what they think about lots of different things, including different groups of people. Some sites are prejudiced and try to spread hate but say that they are telling the truth or facts about different groups of people because of the colour of their skin, their religion or culture. These things might not be true and pretend not to be prejudiced while trying to trick everyone into believing them. Some sites say that it’s ok to be prejudiced because there is something horrible, threatening or different about the people they are talking about. This can encourage people to pick on others and this is wrong because it can make people feel upset and unhappy.

This is a problem because sites like this try to make you and other people prejudiced. They might try to make you think that it’s ok to hate or act badly towards other people. You might not always know that something online is prejudiced or know why this is wrong. You might not know that it is wrong to say things like that about other people. Did you know that hate crime is against the law?

Another problem is that someone might say horrible things to you or someone you know because of your race, culture or religion. This is hate crime and is a kind of bullying and can make the person it happens to upset and scared. If you come across sites which are prejudiced or you think that hate crime has happened to you on the internet or at school, you can do something. The information on these pages can help you and your parents with this.

Checklist:

1. If you find a site that promotes discriminatory practices, tell your parents.
2. You can report these practices as hate crimes to the police by going to: www.report-it.org.uk/
3. Don’t set up any sites that are discriminatory against any particular group.