eight - Responding to the needs of victims of Islamophobia

Summary

Introduction

Support for victims of crime is a fundamental part of a civilised justice system. However, in the current climate of austerity – with the police, courts, prisons, probation and support services facing significant financial cuts – the criminal justice system in the UK falls short of meeting the different and changing needs of communities across the country. As I write this chapter, the police service face a 20% cut in their budget. Undoubtedly, this reality challenges the capacity of police forces to tackle crime, and raises concerns about the quality of service offered to victims of crime. Broadly speaking, victims often need emotional and practical support to recover from the consequences of crime and support services should aim to achieve this outcome. Criminal justice practitioners – particularly those based in diverse communities – must have sufficient knowledge and understanding of the specific needs of their clients (Ahmed, 2009). This a contributing factor to offering a more responsive service, which is accessed by the so-called ‘hard-toreach’ or ‘hidden’ communities. Crime, even when seemingly ‘low level’, can have a devastating impact on victims, particularly where a person is deliberately or persistently targeted. This should be taken into consideration when support is provided to victims of hate crime, where they are targeted on their actual or perceived disability, race, religion, gender identity or sexual orientation.

Against this background, Muslims emerge as the largest faith group experiencing hate crimes (Ahmed, 2012). In a post-9/11 climate, there is an increase in violent attacks targeting Muslims, those perceived to be Muslims, and mosques in the West. In the British context, for example, there has been a rise in violent assaults – some fatal – on British and other Muslims living in the UK, in verbal and physical attacks towards Muslim women who wear headscarves (hijab) and face veils (niqab), and in the alarming growth in the number of mosques, cemeteries, Islamic centres and Muslim properties that have been the targets of criminal damage, such as graffiti and arson attacks (Engage, 2010). The establishment of, and subsequent demonstrations by, the English Defence League have contributed to this reality of a rising anti-Islamic, anti-Muslim hostility. Similarly, the British National Party has launched a highly explicit Islamophobic campaign on the basis of resisting the ‘Islamification of the UK’.