Support for Students and Staff

It can be difficult to discuss any experience of hate crime. You may feel anxious, worried of live in fear of your perpetrators. Remember you are not alone and there is support available to you. Talking to someone you trust can be helpful for some people. That may be a trusted friend or relative or for some people they feel more comfortable speaking to a professional. The University can also offer additional support in the following ways:

Support if you are a Student

• Completing a form on Report and Support to report your experience. A Wellbeing Advisor from Student Welfare, Advice and Guidance will then contact you within three working days to make an appointment to offer support, advice and guidance. Support can include:
  o Spending time to simply listen to you
  o Information and referrals to local external organisations who could offer further support. Organisations that could offer additional support include Victim Support, Anthony Walker Foundation and Stop Hate UK. For further information on external organisations please see ‘Additional Support’ section on Report and Support.
  o Information to support with your studies including Extenuating Circumstances
• The University counselling service has qualified and experienced therapists who can provide you with a safe place to talk. For more information regarding our Counselling Service please click here.
• The University has on-line resources including the online platform Silvercloud; modules include anxiety, stress and depression
• The Liverpool Guild of Students is independent from the University and can offer support and advice for students who have experienced any hate incident. Please click here to access the website for the Guild.
• For information on all University student support services please click here.
• If you need to speak to someone urgently please contact the Wellbeing Advisors who can provide confidential support, advice and guidance. To contact them please call 0151 795 1000 between 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday or you can email on advice@liverpool.ac.uk

• Complete a form on Report and Support to report your concerns and to access support. An Advisor from HR will then contact you to make an appointment, they can discuss options and give support and advice
• You can speak to your Team Leader / Line Manager to discuss the impact on you personally and professionally and agree any support you might need or ways to find an informal resolution. If any issue is about your line manager, then raise your concerns with their manager.
• Staff Counselling is available through the Employee Assistance Programme, they provide qualified and experienced therapists who can offer you with a safe place to talk. For more information regarding our Employee Assistance Programme please click here.
• The University has on-line resources including the online platform Silvercloud; modules include stress, anxiety and depression.
• The Staff Equality Networks may be able to provide peer support. Please click here to contact them.
• You can seek advice from your Trade Union.
• The University’s Bullying and Harassment Policy can be found, please click here
• If you need to speak to someone urgently please contact HR who can provide confidential support, advice and guidance. To contact them please call 0151 794 6771 between 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday or you can email on hr@liverpool.ac.uk

If you are Supporting Someone Else

If a member of the university community has spoken to you about an experience of hate crime or you suspect they may have been a victim of hate crime, you can offer support in a number of ways:

• Listen to them. They trust you so provide a safe space and just listen, you don't need to provide the answers. You could work together and identify a few options and support them in any decision they make. However it is not your responsibility to solve their problem.
• It can take a lot of courage to open up and share unpleasant experiences of any form of hate crime. Reassure them that you believe them and that they are not to blame for what happened.
• Encourage them to report the incident through Report and Support and to seek support, but don’t push them. It’s their choice, no matter what they decide to do. They can report formally or choose to do this anonymously.
• Respect their privacy. If they have told you in confidence, then keep it confidential. However there may be times you do need to share the information particularly if you believe their safety is at risk. Try and get permission first and let them know who you will share the information with.

It may be very upsetting to hear what is happening or perhaps the perpetrator is a friend of yours, causing you conflicting feelings. As well as offering support, please seek support for yourself. If you are a student please see 'Support if you are a Student' section above. If you are a staff member please see 'Support if you are a member of staff' section above.

Staff Supporting A Student

You may be the first person a student turns to, to disclose their experience(s) of hate crime. If you are their lecturer or academic advisor then you may have had a lot of contact with the student and they have chosen you because they feel safe to confide in you.

You can simply listen to the student, try not to ask too many questions and allow them to get upset. Reassure the student that you believe them and that they are not to blame for what happened. We don’t expect you to provide expert advice or long-term support, we will arrange this for the student.

• Give the student options of support (see 'Support if you are a Student' above). You can encourage them to report any incident through Report and Support. They can do this formally or choose to do this anonymously.
• The When to Refer guide provides additional information on hate crime please click here for more information.
• The University Disclosure Guide gives information and advice to staff when a student has made a disclosure of domestic abuse, please click here for more information.
• The University’s Bullying and Harassment Policy can be found here
• If you have any questions following a student disclosure please contact the Wellbeing Advisors and they can give you advice. To contact them please call 0151 795 1000 between 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday or you can email advice@liverpool.ac.uk