S.A.R.I.

EVOLUTION OF S.A.R.I.

Established in 1988, S.A.R.I. has been operational since 1991. It was the brainchild of Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) housing provider United Housing Association. The victims of racism in Bristol received no co-ordinated response or specialist support from agencies. A steering group with the aim of remedying this situation was set up in 1988. It consisted of agencies such as Bristol Racial Equality Council, Bristol City Council’s Housing Department and Innercity Mental Health Team who worked in consultation with victims of racial harassment and community leaders. They decided to set up a black-led, independent organisation with the aim of offering dedicated support for victims of racist incidents and encouraging agencies to respond better, as well as gaining the trust and support of local BME communities.

A management committee was formed to secure the funding needed to achieve this aim, and with the support of a Home Office Safer Cities Grant, S.A.R.I. was established. We became fully operational in 1991 achieving funding to employ 2½ people, a project manager, a caseworker and a part time administrator. In that first year 44 cases were referred to us.

Today we have become accepted as a pioneering model for undertaking racial harassment work. Supporting victims remains our specific mandate. We have expanded our area of operation from Bristol to cover Bath and North East Somerset, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset. We have also developed a broader action strategy which encompasses educational work, preventative work, and multi-agency work to combat social exclusion and discrimination. Today we have over 20 staff and our annual caseload is nearing 400 cases.

S.A.R.I. continues to be an autonomous user-led charity. We endeavour to ensure that our staff team and management committee reflects the diverse communities they serve and that they demonstrate a clear understanding of racial harassment and its implications. We also work consistently to improve the interaction between ourselves and other agencies involved in fight against racism. We continue to provide our casework service for free and are a non-profit making,non-political and non-campaigning organisation.

RACIAL HARASSMENT

Tackling racial harassment is the cornerstone of the work that we do. Terminology referring to racial harassment seeks to ensure that the views of the victim are considered.

S.A.R.I. defines racially motivated action as:
A physical, written or psychological attack on an individual or group or their property, by another person or group of people for which there is no reasonable explanation other than their race, culture, religion, ethnic origin or personal relationship with an ethnic minority person, where this is the view of the person receiving the report or the person reporting it.

The most important of all current definitions was introduced as a result of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry, it re-defined the term racist incident and changed the way organisations perceive reports of racial harassment. The definition is:

A racist incident is any incident which is perceived to be racist by the victim or any other person

Forms of Racial Harassment

A racist incident can be overt or covert, blatant or subtle. The categorisation of the incidents reflects the variety of ways in which people can be harassed or abused from and by all sections of society. With the exception of murder, S.A.R.I. has dealt with all categories of incidents listed below. 

• Murder
• Attempted murder
• Assault
• Damage to property
• Graffiti
• Letters
• Verbal abuse or gestures
• Bullying
• Car vandalism
• Ostracisation and isolation
• Noise pollution and harassment
• Attack on property
• Arson or attempted arson
• Smearing of faeces or urinating on property
• Putting noxious offensive substances on property
• Criminal damage
• Rubbish nuisance
• Racist jokes and gestures
• Spitting
• Bogus and malicious complaints or calls
• Threats of violence
• General nuisance
• Burglary/ robbery

The Effects of Racial Harassment

Racial harassment effects the individual in every area of their life, work, school and home. People who experience harassment may feel guilty, humiliated and too embarrassed to complain. Stress may lead to emotional symptoms such as a loss of self-confidence and self-esteem. The physical symptoms include loss of sleep, headaches. Further more serious physical and mental health problems may develop, not only for the recipient, but also for the family.

• Total isolation
• Nobody believing you
• Hopelessness
• Not wanting to admit you can’t cope
• Self-blame
• Hatred of self and loss of identity
• Hatred of home
• Bitterness, anger and frustration
• Low self esteem
• Loss of faith in system
• Mental or physical health broken
• Behavioural problems
• Extreme fear
• Wanting to retaliate
• Fear of repercussions
• Retaliating and criminalisation
• Imprisonment
• Paranoia
• Breakdown of family relations
• Panic
• Alienation
• Loss of employment and business
• Loss of childhood
• Rejection of colour and culture
• Going into care
• Rebellion and riot

The Needs of a Victim of Racial Harassment

A victim-orientated approach to supporting service users is central to S.A.R.I.’s work. In S.A.R.I.’s experience the needs are:

• Belief and understanding
• Culturally sensitive response
• Counselling
• Mental health support
• Medical assistance
• Housing support
• Protection
• Multi-agency approach
• Legal support and advice during proceedings
• Information
• Co-ordination and regular feedback