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Home Equality & DiversityRacial Harrasment Policy

Racial Harassment Policy

Hammersmith & Fulham Council & H & F Homes values the borough's cultural diversity and is committed to promoting racial equality. H & F Homes and the Council will not tolerate any form of harassment or intimidation instigated because of the race, ethnic origin, nationality, colour or religion of the people subjected to it. H & F Homes and the Council will therefore do everything possible to oppose it and to ensure all residents can live without fear of such harassment.

H & F Homes recognises the very serious impact this behaviour has on the victim's quality of life and encourages its tenants and leaseholders to report all instances of racial harassment to the Housing Services department. The department will give a highpriority to supporting the victims, to investigating the incidents and to taking all possible action against the perpetrators and will work with allother relevant agencies and services to do so (with the victim's consent).

H & F Homes adopts the definitions of racial harassment and racist incidents provided by the report of the MacPherson Inquiry:

  • Racial harassment – "is an incident or a series of incidents intended or likely to intimidate, offend or harm an individual or group because of their ethnic origin, colour, race, religion or nationality."

Racial Incidents – "A racist incident is any incident that is perceived to be racist by the victim or any other person." The adoption of these definitions does not seek to pre-judge that all incidents are in fact racially motivated, but to ensure that this issue is positively and thoroughly addressed by the investigation.

H & F Homes will take a victim-centred approach to dealing with all cases of racial harassment. This means that:

  • The victim will be believed and taken seriously;
  • The victim will be treated sympathetically and with respect;
  • Interpretation and translation services will be arranged whenever necessary;
  • the victim will be given all possible advice, information and practical support to enhance his or her confidence, security and well-being, as part of the first stage of handling the case;
  • The victim's consent will be needed for any involvement of a third party agency or service;
  • The victim will be kept informed at all stages of the case, including proactive contact to explain any developments or delays, and the victim's consent will be needed for any action that might have repercussions for him/her;
  • The victim will be provided with alternative accommodation when this is necessary to protect him or her from serious risk;
  • The department will do everything possible to stop the harassment.

H & F Homes will seek to build confidence among minority communities by publicising its racial harassment policy and so encourage the reporting of incidents. This will include working with local networks encouraging third-party reporting. Publicity will also be used as part of a strategy to prevent racial harassment, which will also include steps such as highlighting the issue in early tenancy counselling. H & F Homes will also encourage representation of minority communities in its tenant participation structures and among its tenants andresidents associations.

H & F Homes will apply a high level of supervision and monitoring to all racial harassment cases, to ensure consistency and objectivity of approach and that the work retains a high priority. Through this process the department will also identify any geographic areas where cases are concentrated and then work with partners to prepare a joint, proactive and strategic response over and above thenormal handling of the individual cases. This might, for example, include community outreach, specialised youth work or covert police operations to seek further evidence. All reported racist incidents will be investigated promptly, and action will be taken to deal firmly with all identified perpetrators.

Maximum timescales will apply to all stages of handling the case. The actions taken against perpetrators will be consistent with the evidence available and the nature and severity of the behaviour. Where sufficient evidence to support enforcement action is lacking, H & F Homes will use formal warnings and other measures. Where the incidents could constitute criminal behaviour, we will work closely with the police and ensure that any relevant conviction is used to support legal action for breach of tenancy.H & F Homes will continue to participate in the Council's multi-agency structures for monitoring and strategy development for hate crimes.

All staff involved in dealing with racial harassment will be trained in the policy and procedures including awareness of the Council's legal duties and responsibilities, such as under the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Race Relations Act. The department will seek to involve the police and community organisations in the provision of training.

Members will consider reports on the numbers and outcomes of cases arising every six months at the Executive Performance Monitoring meetings.

This policy and its related procedures will be reviewed and updated regularly and at least every two years.