{"id":993,"date":"2025-10-13T11:36:56","date_gmt":"2025-10-13T11:36:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.equalityanddiversity.co.uk\/?p=993"},"modified":"2025-10-13T11:36:57","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T11:36:57","slug":"everyday-hate-how-racism-sexism-and-hate-speech-harm-wellbeing-and-what-we-can-do-about-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.equalityanddiversity.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/10\/13\/everyday-hate-how-racism-sexism-and-hate-speech-harm-wellbeing-and-what-we-can-do-about-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Everyday Hate: How Racism, Sexism and Hate Speech Harm Wellbeing\u00a0 and What We Can Do About It"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On Friday 10 October, I was walking to the Friends Meeting House in Manchester to attend a neurodiversity event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I made my way there, a man ahead of me, focused on his phone, was walking slowly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I stepped slightly to the left to pass him, hoping to avoid being late.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In that simple, ordinary moment, an ordinary act, moving aside became something else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A White male with a foreign accent shouted at me as he passed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy are you walking here? You were walking fine over there. Go back to your own country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He didn\u2019t stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He didn\u2019t look me in the eye.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But his words landed sharply a wound disguised as a sentence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My heart palpitated. I felt sick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was shaken and disoriented before even reaching the meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And yet, this wasn\u2019t new. As a mixed heritage Black Jewish woman, I live this reality every day the small and large reminders that some people still believe others don\u2019t belong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Did I Do Wrong?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I simply walked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that is the uncomfortable truth about racism, sexism, and hate speech: it doesn\u2019t require provocation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It feeds off bias, fear, and entitlement, not reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These incidents are not about what the target has done; they are about who the perpetrator believes they are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For ethnically diverse women, especially those from intersecting identities, these everyday aggressions accumulate over time, eroding psychological safety, self-worth, and trust in others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They don\u2019t just bruise the moment they bruise the mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Right Did He Have to Speak to Me Like That?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

None.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No one has the right to degrade, demean, or discriminate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Equality Act 2010 is clear: no one should face harassment or victimisation based on race, religion, gender, or any protected characteristic. Yet, laws alone are not enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can have equality legislation without having equality culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Culture is what happens when no one is watching in our workplaces, our homes, our schools, our conversations, and even on our morning walks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Understanding the Trauma<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hate speech is not \u201cjust words.\u201d It\u2019s a psychological assault that can trigger a trauma response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you are targeted because of your identity, your body reacts instinctively, the heart races, stomach tightens, and thoughts scatter. Over time, repeated exposure to discrimination leads to chronic stress, anxiety, hypervigilance, and burnout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For people already carrying multiple burdens racial trauma, gender bias, neurodivergence, or faith-based discrimination, the weight is cumulative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It becomes not just an emotional injury, but a wellbeing emergency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Collective Responsibility<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every person, organisation, and institution must take shared responsibility for tackling hate in all its forms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Racism and sexism are not \u201csomeone else\u2019s problem\u201d they are systemic patterns sustained by silence, ignorance, and inaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It begins with awareness but must move into accountability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Checklist: How to Stop, Challenge, and Eradicate Hate<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Educate Yourself and Others<\/p>\n\n\n\n