Building Confidence to Tackle Hate Crime: V4CE Team Trains with Protection Approaches

On 26 January, members of the Voice4Change England (V4CE) team took part in a Train the Trainer session on Hate Crime Awareness, facilitated by Derek Oakley, Stronger Communities Senior Outreach Officer at Protection Approaches. 

The interactive training session was designed to equip participants with the skills and confidence to deliver Hate Crime Awareness sessions—both online and in person. This included exploring what constitutes a hate crime, the impact of hate crime, how to report it, and how to guide people towards culturally appropriate support. 

A key focus was on fostering sensitivity when discussing such a serious and often distressing subject. Derek took the team through the training slides, providing practical guidance on handling difficult conversations, responding to challenging questions, and facilitating discussions that ensure participants leave with a stronger understanding of hate crime and the confidence to take action against it. 

To put learning into practice, attendees had the chance to step into trainer roles during a role‑play exercise, delivering parts of the presentation themselves and receiving constructive feedback. This hands‑on experience helped deepen understanding and build confidence in leading sessions in the future. 

By the end of the day, V4CE team members came away better prepared to facilitate Hate Crime Awareness workshops as part of our ongoing collaboration with Protection Approaches. This joint initiative supports the development of a Hate Crime Awareness and Prevention campaign aimed at empowering our communities to recognise, respond to, and report hate crime.

Voice4Change England is proud to continue building knowledge and confidence across our team, network, and wider community to stand against hate in all its forms. 

Quotes from Attendees:

“I thoroughly enjoyed the Hate Crime Awareness Train the Trainer programme delivered by Protection Approaches. The training was informative, engaging, and thoughtfully designed, with interactive group discussions, impactful videos sharing lived experiences of hate crime, and role play presentations that strengthened facilitation skills and reflection. It was a pleasure to bring together students from St Marys University alongside V4CE staff and volunteers, who will co-deliver future hate crime awareness workshops at the university in partnership with V4CE. This project aims to support the interested participants to become Anti-Hate Crime Champions within their communities.” 

Sharmin Shajahan,  

Deputy Director, Voice4Change England 

Delighted that V4CE and Protection Approaches included us in this Train the Trainer programme on hate crime. This training was a unique opportunity for St Mary’s students to learn and practise with professionals how to deliver hate crime education effectively. It enabled them to strengthen their communication and facilitation skills while building their credentials as active, responsible citizens. I was incredibly proud to watch them apply their learning on safety, inclusion, and social justice in such a thoughtful and confident way. They will be excellent trainers and will make positive contributions to their communities and future workplaces. 

Neena Samota, 

Associate Professor Criminology and Criminal Justice,  St Mary's University

Chair, Voice4Change England

“Derek was excellent at providing guidance, encouraging us to reflect, interact and voice our thoughts. I have developed a new understanding of how to facilitate conversations and engage diverse audiences when discussing sensitive topics. After this training, I feel confident in applying and adapting my learning to ensure that the communities we serve have the awareness of how to recognise, understand and report hate crime.” 

Sara Kathrada, 

Infrastructure and Development Officer, Voice4Change England 

“I thoroughly enjoyed our training session on understanding hate crime. It has helped me to deepen my understanding of how to approach and deliver in a sensitive and respectful way. The session highlighted the types of hate crime and awareness, and the peer discussion was very interesting to hear. I was able to take back positive ideas and reflections that I can apply in future delivering.” 

Sophia Syeda, 

Infrastructure and Development Officer, Voice4Change England 

"The Protection Approaches, Hate Crime Awareness Train the Trainer programme was an incredibly informative and eye-opening experience. The group discussions were interactive but also respectful, which created an environment for meaningful discussions, which, as a student, enabled me to engage in critical thinking concerning ethical considerations and social awareness. Altogether, the programme was designed very well and was an enjoyable experience."   

Jensine Boateng, 

Student, St Mary’s University 

"It was a great and unique opportunity that helped me develop a lot of skills for the future, as well as develop my knowledge on the area. The practical part also helped with my confidence if I was to deliver this myself. For me as a student this will definitely be helpful for my studies, as well as my personal development. Hopefully soon we will be able to deliver this training to others to increase the knowledge for others in the university and wider community."

Alex Johnson,

Student, St Mary's University

“Attending a workshop created by V4CE and Protection Approaches on Hate Crime was incredibly insightful and hopefully something I can carry out in the future and continue working on and researching about in the role of a PCSO. This gives me the courage to speak out more when I see wrong happen in real time and be more confident in public speaking settings. On top of that, just spreading knowledge and awareness about Hate Crime is the first step to the change we want to see so I will make sure I am a part of that change."

Zaynab Khan,

Student, St Mary's University

"The train the trainer workshop was extremely informative, and I have walked away with a much better understanding of hate crime as well as correcting some misunderstandings that I had about this topic. This alone makes the train the trainer workshop invaluable.

During the workshop I and the other participants had the opportunity to conduct a mock presentation to the group which is a very interesting way of cementing the knowledge learned and practicing facilitation skills. We also watched a very impactful video documenting the experiences of victims of hate crime which helped to put the discussion in the context of the real nature of hate crimes and their impacts.

After taking part in the Train the Trainer workshop, I am much more confident that I would be able to facilitate a group discussion or presentation on hate crime myself."

Owen Mitchell,

Student, St Mary's University