Who doesn’t look back at their high school years and cringe? I know I do. In fact, I have dreams about being back there. In those dreams I am not unprepared for a test, or breaking up with a boyfriend. I’m not missing the prom, or stressed about too many activities.
No, none of that. Instead, my high school dreams are always about being overlooked. Or, more precisely, feeling overlooked.
Over the years, with all the experiences I’ve had both personally and professionally, I’ve come to the conclusion that “overlooked” is one of the most insidious emotions that a person can feel. And I’ve also realized that many folks experience this feeling often. For these people, when with groups of friends, or at work or at family gatherings, this particular emotion just hangs around, almost as if it’s waiting to be felt.
In a 2014 study, Sandra Robinson compared the psychological damage done to employees in the workplace by bullying vs. exclusion. They found that being ignored by co-workers was more harmful to people’s emotional well-being than being mistreated by them.
Why does it seem that some people appear to be slated for the limelight, while others are more the type to stay outside of it? Do limelight people have some special secret to get noticed? Do overlooked folks really deserve to be overlooked, or somehow choose to be unseen?
Excerpt from Psych Central, read the full report here
Information on understanding and reporting hate crime, and how to get support
What is hate crime?
Hate incidents and hate crimes are acts of violence or hostility directed at people because of who they are or who someone thinks they are. For example, you may have had abuse shouted at you on the street because you were holding hands with your same-sex partner. Police forces in England and Wales make a distinction between a hate crime and a hate incident.
A hate incident is defined as any act, which may or may not be a crime, that the victim or any other person perceives to be motivated by hostility or prejudice towards an aspect of a person’s identity. Hate incidents include:
- verbal abuse like name-calling
- physical attacks such as hitting, punching, pushing, spitting
- threats of violence
- hoax calls, abusive phone or text messages, hate mail
- online abuse for example on Facebook or Twitter
- harm or damage to things such as your home, pet, vehicle
A hate crime is any illegal act that the victim or any other person perceives to be motivated by hostility or prejudices towards an aspect of a person’s identity. When an act is classed as a hate crime, the judge can impose a tougher sentence on the offender under the Criminal Justice Act 2003.
Homophobia, biphobia and transphobia
Homophobic, biphobic or transphobic hate crimes or incidents are motivated by the offender’s hostility or prejudice towards lesbian, gay, bi or trans people. Anyone can be a victim of a homophobic, biphobic or transphobic incident – it does not matter if the victim is lesbian, gay, bi, trans or straight. It is a hate crime if someone shouts homophobic, biphobic or transphobic abuse at someone in the street, or physically attacks them because they think they’re gay, lesbian, bi or trans.
If you feel you have experienced a hate crime or incident, report it. The police can only do something if they know about it. If they don’t know, they can’t prevent things from getting worse. By reporting a crime or an incident you could be protecting someone else from harm. There are a number of ways to report a homophobic, biphobic or transphobic hate crime or incident:
HM Courts and Tribunal Service complaints
- In an emergency call 999
- At other times you can contact your local police force by dialling 101
- You can report crime anonymously through the police website True Vision
- You can get more support from Stop Hate UK
- Some local LGBT groups provide hate crime reporting services. Find details for a group in your area through our ‘What’s in my area?’ database
If you’re unhappy about how HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) dealt with a report of a homophobic, biphobic or transphobic hate crime or case, you can complain. The court you attended will be able to deal with any complaint regarding how your case was administered, or how you were treated by court staff. You can also complain to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.
If you’re unhappy about how you were treated by a judge or magistrate, you should complain within three months from the date of the incident to the relevant office:
How to complain about the police
- For judges sitting in Crown and County courts, High Court or Court of Appeal, contact the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office
- For magistrates, contact the local Advisory Committee
- For tribunal judges and members your complaint might be dealt with by the Regional Judge, Tribunal President or the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office
- If you’re unhappy about the outcome of your case it is best to seek legal advice to make an appeal. You can find a list of LGBT-friendly solicitors through Stonewall’s ‘What’s in my area?’ database.
If you feel that a police officer or member of police staff has acted inappropriately towards you, you can make a complaint about it. The complaints process for England and Wales is outlined below.
How to make a complaint
There are a number of ways you can do this;
- Contact the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC)
- Complain directly to the police force involved
- Make a complaint through your local MP
- Make a complaint through a solicitor
In the majority of cases your complaint will be dealt with by the Professional Standards Department of the police force involved. All forces have such a department. Your complaint will be recorded by the department and then a decision will be made as to how to best deal with your complaint.
The different ways in which a complaint might be dealt with
This is the simplest way to resolve a complaint, however you must agree to local resolution before it can go ahead. You cannot be forced to use this procedure, and should not feel under pressure to do so.
The police officer in charge of your complaint will get in touch to talk to you about your complaint. You will need to tell them what happened, how you feel about it, and what result you would like to see. You will then need to agree on a process for resolving the matter. This might involve communication with the person your complaint was about.
Local resolution will not lead to misconduct proceedings against an individual police officer or member of police staff. However, they might receive training, advice or further support as a result of the resolution.
RESULTS OF A LOCAL RESOLUTION PROCESS MIGHT INCLUDE:
- Information or an explanation to clear up a misunderstanding
- A letter explaining what has been done following your complaint to prevent it from happening again, and explaining how the police force has learnt from it
- Action by a manager to change the way an officer or staff member behaves
- If the police do not follow the local resolution process you agreed then you can appeal to the Independent Police Complaints Commission. There are time limits in which to submit your appeal. You cannot appeal against local resolution if you disagree with the end result.
If the complaint is not suitable for local resolution, or if you decide against it, then the Professional Standards Department will appoint an officer to investigate your complaint. The investigating officer will tell you how the complaint will be investigated, what they need from you, how a decision will be reached, and what action will be taken.
You can appeal to the Independent Police Complaints Commission about the outcome of a police investigation if you have not received enough information about the findings of the investigation, or about what action the police plan to take.
If the complaint is more serious, the Professional Standards Department will refer your complaint to the IPCC.
Situations where this might be appropriate include:
IPCC SUPERVISED INVESTIGATION:
- When someone has died or been seriously injured after contact with the police
- Serious assault by a member of the police service
- Serious corruption
- Criminal offence or behaviour aggravated by discriminatory behaviour
- The IPCC may decide to conduct a supervised, managed, or independent investigation
This will be conducted and controlled by the police, but supervised by the IPCC. The outcome can be appealed.
IPCC MANAGED INVESTIGATION:
This will be conducted by the police but controlled by the IPCC. The outcome cannot be appealed.
IPCC INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION:
This will be conducted by IPCC investigators into incidents that are of the greatest level of public concern, have the greatest potential to impact on communities, or have serious implications for the reputation of the police service. The outcome cannot be appealed.
For more information about these processes or to make a complaint online, please see the Independent Police Complaints Commission website.