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BB NEWS DETAILS OF COMPLAINTS KEPT CONFIDENTIAL UNLESS VICTIMS WISH TO GO PUBLIC Continued from page 3 to effect systemic change and claims that it inroad: for racialized tenants. Help was provided with filing a formal complaint with the Landlord and Tenant Board, and some cases have been referred to legal con- sultation. Cases of neighbour- hood harassment, vandalism and perty damage were referred to police. Vi were provided with supports including, free or subsi- dized counselling sessions, if needed, and the coalition also as- fisted | with finding and subsidiz- ing temporary living arrange- ments sfor victims if continuing to stay wasn't possible, it says. The first full annual Snapshot of Hate report for the 2022 cae year documented and a: lyzed 97 reports. The breakdown ws 34 informants chose to re- sn anonymously on the web- site, whereas 63 chose to reportin. ways that connected them to staff with the coalition. “While reading this report, it's important to consider the voices that didn't come forward to for- mally report their experience this past year and to consider this report the beginning ofan impor tant conversation, not a tion of the whole story," the ee ace states. LF. FOOTWEAR BOUTIQUE 42 Wyndham St N Guelph ON N1H4E6 519.822.3880 info@IFfootwear.com As part of the reporting pro- cess, informants are able to dis- close details about the communi- ¥ space where the incident hap- ed (both online and in per- son), In 2022, institutions re- presented the largest category of pocations at 22 per cent of all re- the those identi- Bed, ‘schools (elementary, sec- ry and post-secondary) re- flected the largest number 12). Another category identified was health-care settings (5), which in- barriers being exploi crimination, racism and I Islami phobia,” the report notes. tim« seea lot of: systemic i issues of bias translating into real-time harm to patients who are racialized,” said Mifrah Abid, a program co- ordinator with the coalition, who said the group has brought issues forward to hospital leadership. Care provided to patients should beequitable regardless of their skin colour or clothing, she said. "We have seen patterns in which it has not." Other reports stemmed from neighbourhood settings, retail stores and workplaces, to name just a few. Details of complaints are al- ways kept confidential unless victims wish to go public. While some makeit to regulating bodies such as the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario or the and agencies, including law en- forcement. “We always see it as a two- pronged approach," said SI “One is to help the victim in the moment and help them solve their case or to help them ina bet- ter place, but also look at how could this be used as a jumping board for systemic changes in a particular sector." The women acknowledge that disclosing an exp easy and is often riddled with on riers. But they say the online re- porting tool has been designed to sible, and they encourage people to come forward with their sto- ries. “How can we approach the pol- icymakers and say, 'Look, you need to change your policies to make spaces safer and more in- clusive'?" Shafiq added. "The data is like a catalyst or like a pushing force. If we don't have the data, we have nothing to bring to the ta- Many incidents of hate or dis- crimination don't fall under the Criminal Code, and many people from racialized communities are uncomfortable going to the po- lice, rata noted. ‘his reporting system caters to them, “ she said. "We also docu- ment discrimination in addition to hate incidents and hate-moti- vated crimes." Only one in five people who re- ported to the coalition's online serv: in 2022 indicated that they reported the incident some- where else. Of the 97 reports submitted, 28 Dreamstime image were classified as hate incidents, 27 as discrimination, 23 as b hat ie speech and nine as hate cril Waterloo Region's ‘urban ¢ cen- tres were more likely to be loca- tions of reported hate or discrim- ination, with 38 reports from Kitchener, 17 from Waterloo and 18 about incidents experienced in an pnline space. Informants are predominant- ly from Muslim backgrounds, most likely because a level of trust hasalread: Metroland file photo Above: Sarah Shafigq, director of advocacy and research with the Coalition of Muslim Women of KW. : People can visi reportinghate.ca to file a report. went a refresh and reports can be made in multiple languages (Ur- du, Hindi, Punjabi, Arabic, Dari, id Amh: geared in designing the system towards that goal to make it as oasy as Ss possible,’ Abid said. lo it anonymously. Somebody can do it on beta of you. You can report as a witness, as a bystander," she wid, "But get those numbers in the system." lote: Last week, a stabbing toale place at the University of Waterloo and police said investi- gators believed the attack was a d incident related Abid said. “But we have had cases of anti- Indigenous Yacism, anti-. Asian antisemitism," these kinds of cases have come to us, and we have supported them in ines same way as we would for athe website recently under- to vvontloe expression and gender identity." For updates, visit wa- terloochronicle.ca. STORY BEHIND THE STO- RY: The Coalition of Muslim Jomen of KW recently released its Snapshot of Hate in Waterloo Region report for 2022 and the Chronicle wanted to learn more. Celebrating 30 Years July 12 to 29 2023 a i 3 fey | 3 o a4 7? z a & Ey = = rs) Bo'9]9]UOIYDOOLLE}2A