Charities are battling to do their vital work amid growing intimidation, harassment, and threats, a new report reveals.
Service users, volunteers and staff from a range of charities have faced death threats, assaults, racist abuse, their addresses being leaked, and their families being threatened, according to hundreds of organisations who shared their experiences with refugee and migrants’ rights charities Asylum Matters and Praxis.
The recent targeting of RNLI volunteers rightly drew a huge amount of public attention and outcry. But these incidents, while extreme, were far from unique. To better understand the scale of the problem, the organisations surveyed more than 200 charities across the UK from a range of sectors, uncovering the scale of intimidation being faced by charities as a result of their work supporting marginalised communities.
Their results reveal:
- Nearly half (47%) of those questioned had experienced actual threats or harassment because of the communities they work with, in the last three years
- Nearly three quarters (72%) felt less safe delivering their services compared to three years ago
- Two thirds (65%) had altered their service delivery as a result of perceived threats or risk
Organisations reported:
- Online and in-person abuse and threats including death and rape threats, as well as slurs, doxxing and non-consensual filming.
- Diverting valuable resources towards safety planning, mitigating risks and assessing threats, with charities doing extra work to continue providing their services to all who need them.
- Stress, burnout and mental health issues among staff and volunteers as a result of hostility.
A full copy of the report can be found here.
The charities called on the Government to act, demanding more protection for voluntary organisations, particularly smaller and volunteer-led charities; increased regulatory support from the Charity Commission; and action on dis/misinformation, including the ability to complain about elected officials who spearhead the targeting of charities. The 209 charities questioned for the report, along with 125 individual charity workers and volunteers, all signed an open letter to Andy Burnham, calling on him to “protect our charity workers”.
In the letter, they said: “No matter what populations we serve, as charities, we are united in a desire to improve lives, for people of all backgrounds, all across the UK. We do not, and will never, discriminate against the people who need our support on the basis of where they have come from, their gender identity, their race, where they live or their faith or belief system.
“Attacking us for that undermines the very fabric of our society and of who we are as a country.”
The report showed organisations supporting marginalised groups, including refugees, migrants, and LGBT+ people, frequently reported being threatened because of the nature of their work. Meanwhile, organisations providing universal services, such as homelessness and health charities, faced abuse for providing services to marginalised communities including migrants and LGBT+ people, or reported increased hostility toward marginalised staff.
While abuse and threats often came from members of the public, some charities also reported a rise in abuse from their own service users. Many respondents pointed to a wider “political climate” that “emboldened” members of the public to attack and abuse those they disagreed with. Charities also reported that “misinformation” spreading about their work led to abuse.
Minnie Rahman, Chief Executive of Praxis, said: “For years, charities supporting refugees and migrants have raised the alarm that far-right threats against our service users, volunteers and staff are escalating, while the behaviour of some elected politicians gives cover to these threats. Our report shows how widespread this problem now is. We live in a democracy, where the right to civil society is essential, not only for holding Government to account but to advocating for social change. It is nothing short of authoritarian to use threats and intimidation to stop charities speaking out for, supporting and representing the communities they serve. What will it take for political leaders to take these threats seriously, and to take meaningful steps to protect migrant communities and wider civil society?”
Louise Calvey, Executive Director at Asylum Matters, said: “What stood out most is how hard charities of all kinds – from health charities and homelessness charities to refugee and migrants’ rights and LGBT+ organisations – are having to work to keep delivering their incredible services, while keeping their staff and volunteers safe. Charities who have always done so much on shoestring budgets are now having to divert the resources that could be doing good in our communities to deal with vile threats from a handful of extremists. The Government needs to stand up and protect our charities – or all of us could lose the amazing charity services that so many people rely on.”
Lizzie Kenyon, Chief Executive of the Bike Project, one of the organisations quoted in the report said: “The degree to which thinking about and considering these risks has become business as usual within our organisation and others is deeply concerning. I have found myself having conversations with the team about how we would deal with a brick coming through the window, or planning what we’d do if there was a riot outside our premises, and thinking ‘how can this be the conversation that a charity is having while we’re just trying to deliver our charitable work – providing people who’ve fled war and torture with bikes?’”
Read the report in full here.
