National Hate Crime Awareness Week
National Hate Crime Awareness Week (often abbreviated as #NationalHCAW) is an annual campaign in the UK designed to raise awareness about hate crime, encourage reporting, and support victims.
The initiative takes place every year between the second and third Saturday of October. It is organised by the anti-hate crime charity 17-24-30 National Hate Crime Awareness Week alongside major support partners like Stop Hate UK.
The campaign focuses on a framework known as HOPE:
• Hate crime awareness: Educating the public on what constitutes a hate crime.
• Operational response: Improving how local authorities and police respond to incidents.
• Preventing hate crime: Addressing root causes and driving social cohesion to stop offences before they happen.
• Empowering communities: Providing victims with the confidence to report incidents and access local support services.
The week addresses hostility targeting five globally and legally protected characteristics: race, religion/belief, sexual orientation, disability, and transgender identity.
