News / Crime
The street markers tackling hate crime
On a pavement in the corner of Brunswick Square is the spot where Daryn Carter, 34, and his partner Freddie Daw, 26, were verbally abused by a group of teenagers while they parked their car.
Now, the story of the hate crime has been marked by a stencil and poster as part of a campaign to encourage victims and witnesses to report similar abuse.
“They called us faggots, batty-boys, and other words that I won’t say here” Carter said in a short speech on Tuesday, where he was joined by the mayor and police and crime commissioner at the launch of the Bristol Pride Hate Crime campaign. He remembered feeling “vulnerable, isolated and alone”, he added.
is needed now More than ever
Carter, director of Bristol Pride, kick-started the campaign which will see dozens more markers painted on the street accompanied by posters with real stories of hate crimes across Bristol.
Carter told Bristol24/7 hate crimes were under-reported in the city. “When you’re LGBT, you expect it to be just part and parcel of your life. It doesn’t have to be,” he said.
The Bristol Pride team hopes that the campaign will make people think about what constitutes a hate crime, and has a list of different forms on their website.
The campaign has been launched in conjunction with charity SARI (Stand Against Racism and Inequality), and will have a separate logo for race crimes. “The markers will be in the same vein as the LGBT ones, but black and red” explained Freddie Daw.
The 40 markers can be found all over Bristol, from Clifton to St Paul’s.
The £4,500 project, which will last four weeks, has been partly funded by Sue Mountsteven, police and crime commissioner.
Carter said that although Bristol was considered a friendly city, there are still “pockets of hatred”. He added that he hopes the campaign will not only help recent victims, but witnesses and victims of past hate crimes to discuss their experiences.