Hate Speech: A Comparative Analysis of the United States and Europe

The old adage "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt [me]” seems particularly antiquated in the era of the Internet and social media (Rolfe and Schroeder, 2020, p. 3463). Hate speech in the form of racist, sexist, anti-religious, and homophobic remarks is not mere words but language meant to derogate and dehumanize. Indeed, violence related to hate speech is on the rise (Laub and Council on Foreign Relations, 2019) and hate crimes often correlate with hate speech (Relia et al., 2019). Despite efforts to combat hate speech, both the United States ("US”) (Criminal Justices Information Services Division, 2019) and Europe (FRA) are experiencing a rise in reported incidents of hate crimes. The COVID-19 pandemic has only worsened these issues. In the US, insults and epithets have been hurled at Black, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American individuals (Akee et al., 2021). In Europe, for example, in Estonia, a Malaysian girl who was wearing a mask was shouted at and blamed for bringing the coronavirus into the country (European Network Against Racism, 2020). And teenagers in Poland attacked, threw garbage at, and spit at a Vietnamese woman (European Network Against Racism, 2020). © 2023 by World Scientific Publishing Europe Ltd.

Saving Lives and Minds: Understanding Social Value and the Role of Anchor Institutions in Supporting Community and Public Health before and after COVID-19

There are great disparities in health between places in the UK. People living in poorer areas are dying on average 9 years earlier than in wealthy areas, largely due to regional economic differences, including high unemployment, low wages and social inequality, unrest and injustice that accompany economic disadvantage. Preston in the north-west of England has been developing a community wealth building project known as the Preston Model, which shows signs of successfully increasing and retaining local wealth. The anchor institutions—large local organisations that are ‘anchored' in places, such as hospitals, universities, housing associations and local government—have developed social value policies and policies of cooperation with their communities that attend to a heightened awareness of corporate social responsibility and enhanced working relationships with local communities in order to turn around local fortunes in an allied economic and health initiative. Corporate social responsibility is the essence of cooperation and cooperatives and is a central feature of the Preston Model. Ultimately, CSR within the Preston Model is concerned with quality employment. The pandemic has highlighted the need for CSR and cooperation. This chapter brings together researchers from the University of Central Lancashire, Lancaster University and stakeholders from two of the anchor institutions—the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Community Gateway Association—to combine an academic framework, including local responses to interviews and participatory community groups in Preston, with two major anchor institutions as case studies. The chapter will investigate a broad range of initiatives, from directly focussed health policies, such as social prescribing, to wider, ‘softer' approaches, such as developing participation, cooperation and democracy within and between organisations, groups, teams and communities and the corresponding networking and mutual support systems that may affect greater agency, empowerment and enhanced mental health outcomes among people in Preston and Lancashire, ultimately transferable to other UK regions. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Female genital mutilation (FGM) trauma and mental health support during the UK lockdown: exploring women's experiences

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to report findings from interviews with seven African-heritage women attending a female genital mutilation (FGM) Clinic in the north of England, during the COVID-19 lockdown. The Clinic, established several years before the pandemic, provides specialist therapeutic support to women and girls from minority ethnic communities who are affected by harmful "traditional" practices, including FGM. The services provided by the Clinic include early interventions, peer support, community engagement and empowerment around FGM. Design/methodology/approachData was collected during an online focus group discussion with seven women who had received counselling for FGM, to gain insight into their lived experiences of therapeutic support during the pandemic. FindingsUsing Braun and Clarke (2006) six-step thematic analysis, four superordinate themes derived from the data: consistency and continuity;safety in shared experience and creativity;feeling heard, feeling stronger;and altruism and desire for change. Research limitations/implicationsIt is important to recognise some limitations within this study. It is based on one focus group discussion that involved seven participants, who had experienced FGM, were living in a targeted area and whose mental health had been further compromised by the COVID-19 pandemic. Practical implicationsThe findings of this study indicate that it is essential to consider participants' experiences of receiving therapeutic support during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was observed that emotional stressors linked with participants' experiences of FGM may be exacerbated by those related to COVID-19. Social implicationsThere is a need to conduct similar research, perhaps on an individual basis, that would reach a wider sample of women from ethnic minority populations who are survivors of FGM, including those from FGM practicing communities who have been hospitalised through their deteriorating mental health. This would add to the small but growing body of evidence, to provide a better understanding of the experiences of their mental health needs during the COVID-19 pandemic and perhaps better identify effective therapeutic interventions. Originality/valueThese themes provide an insight into these women's experiences of the trauma associated with FGM and receiving mental health support during the pandemic.

The Long-Term Impact of COVID-19 on Presentations to a Specialist Child and Adolescent Eating Disorder Program.

Aim Explore the impact of COVID-19 on numbers and clinical profile of Eating Disorder (ED) presentations to a specialist ED program pre- and during COVID-19. Methods Retrospective chart review of referrals pre- COVID-19 (January 2018 - February 2020) and during COVID-19 (March 2020 - August 2021) were compared. Results 128 youth were assessed with significantly higher rates of referrals each month during COVID-19 compared to pre- COVID-19 (3.78 vs. 2.31, p = 0.02). Youth referred during COVID-19 showed a higher rate of % Ideal Body Weight (IBW) loss (4.8% = vs. 2.6%, p = < 0.001) and had a shorter duration of illness pre-referral (4.8 months vs. 7.4 months, p = 0.001). Fewer youth during COVID- 19 (19% vs. 43%, p = 0.011) were prescribed psychotropic medication. Many youth (80%), self-declared COVID-19 as a contributory factor in the development of their ED. Conclusion This study supports the growing consensus of a COVID-19 specific impact on ED services with higher rates of referrals, youth presenting with a faster pace of weight loss and earlier referral to specialist services. Whether this represents a true increase in EDs or an overall increase in CAMHS referrals with a faster transfer to ED services requires further exploration.

Celebrating the Nineteenth Amendment in the Time of a Pandemic

The House of Representatives had just passed the constitutional amendment that would prohibit the states and federal government from denying the right to vote to citizens of the United States on the basis of sex, and the amendment was in the hands of the U.S. Senate. In much the same way that COVID-19 has changed the way we use the internet, Zoom, and GoToMeeting to connect with family, friends, and communities;hold court hearings;and continue business, the suffragists shifted their tactics. McCulloch is not the only early woman judge to graduate from law school and face a market that rejected her. Florence Allen faced a similar fate.5 After graduating second in her law school class at New York University in 1913, Allen eagerly returned to Ohio to practice law.