« Go back in your country! I know your adress… watch out for your family! »
These words, and so many other equally disturbing ones, are unfortunately received and read by many people from LGBTQ +, racialized and Indigenous communities across the country.
It is for this reason that YWCA Canada and the Canadian Race Relations Foundation (CRRF) are launching an exciting and necessary campaign to highlight the dangers of unregulated hate speech and racism online on online platforms / social media, called #BlockHate.
This campaign will highlight the experience Ms. Carla Beauvais who have been the victim of hate speech online. This campaign is especially timely in light of the surges in Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, and anti-Asian verbal and physical attacks over the past year.
Canadians really need to understand how hatred and racism online are precursors to racially motivated physical attacks, especially as politicians in Ottawa debate the details of Bill C-36.