We have been asked by members of Muslim communities about Prevent and whether people can report in cases where they think that there has been anti-Muslim prejudice in Prevent related work.
We have received some cases where people have reported in Prevent related issues to us, where they felt that their child has been targeted because of their Muslim faith. We have acted for these individuals in ascertaining what took place and we have actively advocated for individuals, ensuring that their voice is heard and that their feelings, comments and statements are taken into account.
However, we are also aware that many Prevent officers and practitioners work diligently and sensitively in engaging with families and individuals to ensure the safety of communities.
We feel that it is necessary to highlight this, not because we have an ideological position about Prevent in TELL MAMA, but because the whole ethos of the project is to provide a service to victims of anti-Muslim hate. This means that our primary function is to support the victim and to assist where possible in documenting any anti-Muslim hate, whilst providing casework services and emotional support to individuals.
Additionally, there have been some cases where there has been no evidence of anti-Muslim hate when we have worked with individuals who have reported in Prevent related issues, whilst in other cases, comments and statements made to individuals have pointed to ignorance about Muslims and in an extremely small number of cases, our work has unearthed anti-Muslim statements with Prevent being associated within discussions.
We hope that this provides some clarification and we would treat such cases and issues as we do any case, with due diligence and a desire to advocate for and work with individuals, based on an evidential basis.