MPEG: A More Equal Midlothian

About Us

We are a friendly group of local people who have experience of and aim to learn about and challenge different forms of discrimination related to age, disability, gender, sexuality, ethnicity and socio-economic background.

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Our Stories

Crystal:

I might also like to state that most people who find themselves with no health insurance are typically students, self-employed and people who are not working.

David Ledner:

"On 27 February 2015, I took part in the Human Library at Lasswade Library which was arranged through MPEG."

Fiona Wallace:

"For the last 25 years+ I have been heavily involved in the rights of people with learning difficulties through People First, a user led collective advocacy organisation based throughout Scotland.

I am very passionate about advocating for people with learning difficulties to have the same lives as everyone else..."

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Hate Crime Awareness Week 8-15^th October 2016

The following information is taken from the Hate Crime Scotland website http://www.hatecrimescotland.org/

What is Hate Crime?

The Scottish Government defines Hate Crime as crime committed against a person or property that is motivated by ‘malice or ill-will towards an identifiable social group’.

It is likely that you are a victim of a hate crime if you believe that someone has targeted you because of their prejudice against an aspect of your identity.

In Scotland, the law recognises hate crimes as crimes motivated by prejudice based on:

race
religion
sexual orientation
transgender identity
disability

You do not need to be a member of a minority community to be a victim of hate crime. The law is quite clear that the identity of the victim is irrelevant as to whether something is a hate crime or not. The motivation of the perpetrator is the key factor in defining a hate crime.

Hate Crimes can take a number of forms, including, but not limited to:

physical assault
damage to property e.g. graffiti, arson, vandalism
fly tipping or dumping rubbish at someone’s door
putting dangerous materials through a letterbox
intimidating or threatening behaviour including obscene calls or gestures
deliberate dog fouling
offensive literature such as letters, leaflets, posters
verbal abuse or insults including name-calling
online bullying and abuse
emotional, psychological and financial abuse including threats, blackmail and extortion
murder

What to do if you are the victim or witness to a hate crime?

If you experience or witness an incident that you perceive to be motivated by prejudice, we strongly encourage you to report it to the police. No matter how trivial or unimportant you may think it is, the police will take your complaint seriously and will record an incident when you choose to report it. You can report a non-emergency incident to the police:

By calling 101
Through the on-line, hate crime reporting form on the Police Scotland website. https://www.scotland.police.uk/hate-crime/
Through a Third Party Reporting Site (embedded link http://www.hatecrimescotland.org/report-it/centres/)

REMEMBER – ALWAYS CALL THE POLICE ON 999 IF YOU NEED IMMEDIATE HELP

The Hate Crime Scotland website http://www.hatecrimescotland.org/ is a national resource focused solely on hate crime, it will:

Provide Victims and Witnesses with information and practical help
Improve Hate Crime Reporting (embedded link https://www.scotland.police.uk/secureforms/hate-crime/)
Promote Third Party Reporting (embedded link http://www.scotland.police.uk/assets/pdf/205073/hate-crime-3rd-party-reporting-centres)
Locate research, policy documents and publicly available statistics, in a single access point
Give access to awareness raising and information resources
Improve networking around hate crime
Support national activity to address hate crime across community safety partners