REPORTING ABUSE

Reporting anti-LGBTQ+ abuse to Sheffield Wednesday

If you experience or witness homophobia, transphobia or another form of discrimination at a Sheffield Wednesday home game, please report it as quickly as possible to the club's Stadium Control Room via text on 07526 166907.

If possible, please include details of where such incidents occurred, such as row and seat numbers, as well as descriptions of the abuse and/or abuser, including names.

If you don't feel comfortable doing this during a match, or if abuse as an Owls fan occurs online, then you can raise a concern to the club at operationsenquiries@swfc.co.uk

This page on Sheffield Wednesday's website includes further details about reporting abuse to the club and this webpage explains sanctions that can be applied by the club. This includes a ban, ranging from three seasons to a lifetime period, for any discriminatory language and unacceptable behaviour that is proven to be in breach of EFL regulations.

You can also email Kick It Out at report@kickitout.org, if you wish for anti-LGBTQ+ abuse to be logged by them, plus you can download their smartphone app and also contact them on social media. Their reporting hotline is 020 3967 8989 and their online reporting form is on Kick It Out's website.

Rainbow Owls can provide guidance at any stage of the reporting and post-reporting process, too, so please contact us at rainbow.owls@outlook.com if you have any queries.

Reporting an anti-LGBTQ+ hate crime to a third-party service

If you experience or witness an anti-LGBTQ+ hate crime - whether it's online or in-person and whether it's as a Sheffield Wednesday supporter or in your everyday life - then you can also confidentially report it to a third-party hate crime service.

Please note that such reporting centres are not an emergency service, so we urge you to call either 999 or 112 if you experience or witness an anti-LGBTQ+ emergency situation.

SAYiT

Our Sheffield-based LGBTQ+ charity partner, SAYiT, run a confidential and national reporting service, which doesn't have a requirement to talk to the police if you don't want to.

You can email SAYiT any time at hatecrime@sayit.org.uk, or phone them on 0114 201 2633 between 10am and 4pm on Mondays until Fridays. The service is open to all ages and you aren't obligated to give your full name.

When contacting SAYiT, please include the following: when and where the abuse happened; a description of what happened; how the complainant identifies; and a description of the abuser. If you are reporting any social media abuse, then we recommend that you screenshot the abusive post, as well as block the abuser and not engage with them at all.

Other services

Galop's website provides a comprehensive definition of an anti-LGBTQ+ hate crime, while we recommend two Google Chrome extensions, Tune and Shinigami Eyes, which filter out anti-LGBTQ+ content, particularly on social media platforms.