Kids suffer in silence after big rise in racist and faith bullying
CHILDREN as young as 11 are suffering in silence from bullying because of their race or faith, campaigners warn.
Police forces have reported a 14% increase in hate crimes against under18s in a year, with 5,349 offences recorded with a racial, religious or faith-based element last year.
The NSPCC has seen a rise in counselling sessions over racial and faith-based bullying after terror attacks, including verbal abuse, physical bullying and cyberbullying. Children contacting Childline said the abuse and negative stereotyping was so cruel they had self-harmed or it had made them feel isolated and withdrawn from society. Dame Esther Rantzen, president of Childline, said: “Bullying of any kind is vile, but targeting someone because of the colour of their skin, religious beliefs or accent is simply unacceptable.”