Our second zine in 2024 was a re-release of Kay Stephens’ 2021 essay Against ‘Hate Crime‘ with two introductory essays by me and Kirstin. 

This is a companion read to the to the 2021 R&R Abolitionist Approaches to Hate Crime zine. This zine looks at how consent to policing, legislative responses, and a culture of carcerality has been manufactured in ESEA spaces, and how people were thinking critically & resisting this since the early days of the “Stop ESEA Hate” movement. I recommend the reportback on page 32–37 that describes a Protection Approaches workshop which laid the groundwork for what would become On Your Side, the hate crime reporting service we discuss in our 2024 zine. [Added 22 Feb 2025]

Are you:

• Worried about your loved ones and your own personal safety, but frustrated by the lack of options? 
• Keen to figure out practical ways to support people who have survived racist street attacks and harassment?
• Frustrated by what “counts” as a hate crime, but you keep getting stuck because it feels like something is missing from the conversation?
• Wondering about the pressure to report, report, report – what does reporting hate crime actually do? How is hate crime data actually used by police and support services?
• Confused by individuals and community services encouraging “non-police” support while also wanting the police to “do something”? What’s going on? What’s the wider context of policing and racialised communities?
• Working in support services (ESEA or otherwise) and have concerns about how the state interacts with vulnerable groups & individuals?
• Frustrated by the state of UK ESEA discourse & organising in 2024 onwards, and wondering how we got to this point?
• Trying to figure out how the way we’ve been encouraged to view harm using ‘hate crime’ frameworks has affected ESEA activism?

Against ‘Hate Crime’ provides some answers to these questions, but we also hope it leaves you still curious and eager for something more.

Read the free PDF here!