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Sophie Lancaster foundation leads way for new hate crime laws.

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  • 04-04-2013 11:09am
    #1
    Links234
    Closed Accounts Posts: 20,944 ✭✭✭✭


    http://news.sky.com/story/1073632/hate-crime-goths-punks-and-emos-recognised
    Greater Manchester Police have become the first in the country to officially recognise hate crimes against goths, emos, punks and metallers.
    Attacks on those who belong to alternative subcultures will now be recorded as a crime by GMP in the same way as disability, racist, religious, sexual orientation and transgender hate crime to provide better support to victims and repeat victims. The move is a response to the 2007 killing of Sophie Lancaster, who was attacked by a mob for being a goth. Aged 20, she and her boyfriend, Robert Maltby, were brutally beaten as they walked home through Stubbylee Park in Bacup. She suffered horrific head injuries after she was repeatedly stamped on and kicked in the head.


    Mr Maltby survived the attack, but Miss Lancaster never regained consciousness. Her killers were sentenced in 2008 and the judge recognised her death as a hate crime because they were targeted for being goths. Her parents set up the Sophie Lancaster Foundation to create respect and understanding of subcultures.

    hopefully some good can come of this now


    Can I ask, have many people here been a target of abuse for being into metal/rock, etc?


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    #2
    Angron
    Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Music Moderators, Regional Midlands Moderators Posts: 24,125 Mod ✭✭✭✭Angron


    Somewhat. I'm usually too big for people to really have a go at me, and since an incident in school a few years back, people in the town know I'd fight back.


    But what those scumbags did to Sophie and her boyfriend was disgusting, so I am all in favour of something like this.


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    #3
    briany
    Registered Users Posts: 13,972 ✭✭✭✭briany


    I was never a 'goth' in secondary school but I did have long hair, listen to rock/metal etc. I definitely remember there being something of an 'Us & them' kind of mentality and you'd get the odd bit of abuse off the usual suspects, usually when they were in a group and you by yourself.


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    #4
    Mr. CooL ICE
    Registered Users Posts: 17,585 ✭✭✭✭Mr. CooL ICE


    Not really, but then again I never had long hair. The only time I ever got hassle was walking from Kiss in the O2 to Fibbers, complete in Peter Criss makeup and Gene Simmons longsleeve t-shirt. To the common scumbag, I looked like a typical goth.


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