Leading race equality organisations including The Race Equality Foundation, Muslim Charities Network, the Alliance for Racial Justice, and NAVCA are launching a sector-wide project to confront the root causes of the recent racist riots and establishing long-term strategies for violence prevention.
Since August 2024, the government’s focus on punitive measures and ‘community cohesion’ has been inadequate. We are urging a shift away from surface-level, short-term measures towards working on the deep-rooted, systemic causes behind the racist intent of the riots.
Across November to December, the coalition will hold four webinars exploring the intersectional causes and impacts of the riots from systemic racism, to increasing male perpetrated violence, inadequate protections for healthcare workers, and the spread of demonising racist narratives.
Tackling the Root Causes of the Riots
Although deprivation, poor health, and lack of job opportunities have been used to explain the rioters, little effort has been made to understand how frustration and hardship were turned into racist hatred. There has also been little examination of how British institutions, the media or public officials may have played a role in encouraging these acts.
Recognising that the causes of the riots were systemic, the coalition is committed to developing specific anti-racist solutions that address sector-wide changes, build resilience and prevent future violence.
These webinars serve as the foundation for long-term actions, including:
- Pushing for all political parties to sign-up to the definition of Islamophobia proposed by the APPG on British Muslims, alongside a regulator being given the responsibility to monitor its implementation.
- Drawing on the work of the World Health Organisation’s Violence Prevention Alliance, we are urging the government to develop and fund violence prevention strategies that adopt a public health approach.
- Establishing a voluntary sector-led alliance to coordinate and report on progress in tackling racist violence.
- Organising an annual review and monitoring of progress. The first annual conference will take place in Liverpool at the end of July 2025.
As organisations dedicated to supporting communities affected by the riots and fighting all forms of racism, this coalition represents a critical step forward. It aims to go beyond quick fixes, addressing the seriousness of the riots through effective, collaborative anti-racist solutions.
Jabeer Butt OBE, CEO, Race Equality Foundation explains the motivation behind the project:
“Amid the response to the riots, the racist and Islamophobic intent behind the violence has been overlooked. It needs to be acknowledged and confronted. Through this project, we hope that a coalition of partners and organisations can together take coordinated, anti-racist steps which tackle the root causes of the riots. Our webinars this November and December will be a staging post, providing an important space to reflect on these causes and work together to prevent racist violence.”
Register for our first webinar on the 19th of November here
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NOTES TO EDITORS
Webinar Series Overview:
- Webinar one: ‘Developing a United Response’ on Tuesday 19th November 4.30 – 6pm focuses on the value of a coordinated anti-racist response across sectors.
- Webinar two: ‘Preventing Violence: Race, Gender and the Racist Riots’ on Wednesday 27th November 2024, 4.30pm – 6pm demonstrates how far-right racialised and gendered narratives fuelled the violence and the long-term solutions required.
- Webinar three: ‘Confronting racism in healthcare’ on Thursday 5th December 2024, 4.30 – 6pm tackles racialised violence against NHS staff and structural solutions.
- Webinar four: ‘The role of the media: narratives and rhetoric’ on Thursday 12th December 2024, 4.30 – 6pm critiques decades of normalised racism and islamophobia as well as the role of disinformation.
