Crime reduction charity Nacro’s staff network, Pride in Nacro is organising a convention for their staff and service users to tackle the myths and negative stereotypes surrounding lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) people.

The event, entitled ‘Challenging Hate Crime’ is taking place in Crewe on Tuesday 10th November this year and is expecting over 200 attendees from the charity.

Speakers will include the veteran human rights campaigner, Peter Tatchell, Bernard and Terry from the Gender Identity Research and Education Society and a representative from the Albert Kennedy Trust and Marie Causer whose son was fatally attacked in Liverpool last year for being openly gay. In addition, there will be workshops using materials and ideas that can be used in the workplace to help inform and educate both staff and service users.

Patrick Bell, Chair of Pride in Nacro says: “Homophobia is still very present in society. Over the past couple of weeks there have been two high profile attacks on openly gay people. Ian Baynham, the 62-year-old out-and-proud Londoner, died two weeks after he was attacked and last week, James Parkes, a 22-year-old policeman, was left critically ill after being beaten up in Liverpool.

“Such abhorrent atrocities have no place in our so called civilised society. Pride of Nacro believe it is important to raise awareness of the problem and give staff across the organisation the skills to challenge LGBT-phobic comments and behaviour both in and out of the workplace.”

The event will help to enable service users to feel sufficiently confident to deliver peer-led workshops to other service users. This will be the first Nacro staff network event that is open to service users.

The input from staff from Pride of Nacro network has been essential to the charity’s achievement in being the country’s top charity on the gay rights organisation, Stonewall’s Workplace Equality Index for four years running.

ENDS

Further press information contact Olivia Ware on 020 7840 7216 or olivia.ware@nacro.org.uk

Notes to editor

1. Pride in Nacro - the staff network which focuses on issues relating to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGB and T) staff and service users

2. Nacro, the national crime reduction charity, works with disadvantaged people, deprived communities and ex-offenders to give them a positive stake in society. It has unrivalled expertise in developing practical responses to crime and stimulating fresh thinking on how best to reduce it through policy, research and campaign work. Nacro runs preventive projects to steer young people away from crime, provides housing, education and employment programmes for ex-offenders and people at risk of offending, resettles prisoners into the community and works with families and communities to prevent crime. Every year Nacro works directly with over 90,000 people and many more benefit from our work with local, regional and national partners to help reduce crime. To find out more and for access to online information resources, please visit: www.nacro.org.uk