THE head of Jersey’s equality and diversity charity has criticised the government’s decision to delay the Island’s long-awaited hate crime legislation.
Liberate Jersey chief executive Kaye Nicholson spoke out after Home Affairs Minister Deputy Mary Le Hegarat confirmed that the current government does not have “sufficient time or resources” to complete the work before the end of this political term.
Ms Nicholson said: “It is important that Jersey updates its legislation to meet international standards, expressly offering protection and recourse for marginalised and minority folks in our community who face higher levels of harrassment, abuse and violence on the basis of their personal characteristics.
“We hope that the next Assembly will commit to implementing this legislation without further delays, to further the commitment to building an inclusive and safe community.”
Her comments come after a series of swastikas and homophobic slurs were graffitied across various public spaces in St Helier earlier this month, leading to the arrests of two men.
The graffiti was condemned by politicians, members of the Jewish community and Ms Nicholson herself – and prompted fresh calls for a dedicated hate crime law.
Unlike in England and Wales, where offences motivated by hostility based on someone’s identity can result in harsher sentences, Jersey’s law does not recognise crimes as being aggravated by prejudice on the grounds of race, religion, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity.
After already facing a series of delays, it had been expected to be debated before the end of this political term – but the Government last week confirmed that this will not happen until after the next election.
Deputy Mary Le Hegarat said in a statement: “The development of Hate Crime legislation for Jersey is a very significant piece of work, which will require considerable resources to complete.”
The Minister added: “I had hoped last year that there would be sufficient time and resources to complete the work in this term of government, but it has become clear that difficult decisions need to be taken about prioritisation.”
She said delays had also been caused by the complexity of other legislative work and the government’s decision to prioritise recommendations from the Violence Against Women and Girls Taskforce.
