Restore Respect
This week (14–21 October) is National Hate Crime Awareness Week, which is coordinated by charities including the Stop Hate campaign.
At the University of Sussex, we are proud to have a diverse community, and that we are a place which includes kindness and inclusion as among our core values.
We also have some of the UK’s leading academics working on the topic of hate crime. Professor Mark Walters is the co-founder and co-director of the International Network for Hate Studies and has published 30 papers and two books on the topic.
We know that the vast majority of our students are kind and respectful of one another; however, as is possible in all communities, we also know that some students have experienced hate incidents.
As part of our work to lead the way in tackling the issue, Professor Mark Walters and his team are re-launching their Restore Respect project, which opened last year and which offers a way to respond to hate and prejudice with restorative justice.
Any student who has experienced a situation which goes against our unstinting values of inclusion and acceptance on our campus is invited to contact the project via the online form. You can also watch a video about the project.
Mark and his colleagues are also offering to help other universities set up their own Restore Respect projects.