National Hate Crime Awareness Week 2026
National Hate Crime Awareness Week (NHCAW) is from 10th – 17th October 2026. This is a national week of action to encourage local authorities, key partners and communities affected by hate crime to work together to tackle local hate crime issues.
In 2026, the theme for National Hate Crime Awareness Week is ‘Disability Hate Crime’. You can find out more about this week on the National Hate Crime Awareness website.
Queen Mary is committed to creating an environment for work and study where staff and students are treated with dignity and respect, and where all forms of bullying and harassment and hate crime are not tolerated. We want to ensure that our community, at each of our campuses, is free from all forms of prejudice, discrimination, harassment, and bullying.
Queen Mary has also signed the Tower Hamlets organisational pledge against hate. If you would like to sign the Tower Hamlets personal pledge against hate, you can do that on the Council's personal pledge page.
What is a hate crime?
Hate crimes are any crimes targeted at a person because of hostility or prejudice. These might be due to:
- disability
- race or ethnicity
- religion or belief
- sexual orientation
- transgender identity
Hate crimes can be committed against a person or property. Anyone could be a victim of a hate crime even if they aren’t a member of the group that the hostility is targeted at.
What is a hate incident?
Hate Incidents can feel like crimes to those who suffer them and often escalate to actual crimes or create tensions in a community.
Where to get support and help?
If you have experienced a hate crime you can report it using our Report + Support tool, we also have a webpage outlining the support available for anyone who has experienced a hate crime.