Death Threats, Doxxing and Burnout: Charities Say They Feel Under Threat Amid Far-Right Attacks

Charities say they are battling against a growing wave of intimidation, harassment, and threats from the far-right, according to a new report.

Service users, volunteers and staff from over 200 charities say they’ve faced death threats, assaults, racist abuse, their addresses being leaked, and their families being threatened, according to organisations which shared their experiences with refugee and migrants’ rights charities Asylum Matters and Praxis.

The recent targeting of Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) volunteers by the new far-right group Patriot Platform drew a huge amount of public attention and outcry, “but these incidents, while extreme, were far from unique,” the authors write.

The two asylum organisations say the survey “uncover[s] the scale of intimidation being faced by charities as a result of their work supporting marginalised communities.”

Organisations reported online and in-person abuse, and threats including death and rape threats, as well as slurs, doxxing (releasing staff or volunteers’ personal data) and non-consensual filming.

They also reported having to divert valuable resources towards safety planning, mitigating risks and assessing threats, with charities doing extra work to continue providing their services to those who need them.

Stress, burnout and mental health issues were also reported among staff and volunteers as a result of hostility. The result of the abuse includes having to spend more on security, events having to be cancelled or restricted, reduced public visibility, and even service users avoiding support.

The refugee charity Care4Calais took part in the research, telling the organisations they had seen “regular physical harassment and abuse of community members, volunteers and staff” at their distribution and meeting spaces, as well as “online abuse including death threats, rape threats, racism and misogyny.”

“Far-right intimidation impacts us every single day. Whilst we’ve been aware of threats to us for some time, a combination of online misinformation, anti-refugee rhetoric from mainstream politicians, and also proliferation of online anti-migrant content creators/auditors has made things worse over the last three years,” the spokesperson said.

“Our volunteers and staff have been put on lists, and other charities have been targeted for supporting us.”

The group said its volunteers and staff members were “very distressed” by these events: “They have told of how they feel unsafe and worried about coming to sessions, and are particularly fearful for the safety of those we support.”

Care4Calais added that its volunteers and staff have reported being fearful of going to their local towns in general “in case they encounter the protesters and auditors who target us.”

Across the 200+ charities surveyed, nearly half (47%) said they’d experienced actual threats or harassment because of the communities they work with (e.g. refugees and LGBT+ people), in the last three years. The largest group of charities which responded (38% of the total) work with asylum seekers and migrants.

Nearly three quarters (72%) said they felt less safe delivering their services compared to three years ago. And two thirds (65%) had altered their service delivery as a result of perceived threats or risk.

The charities are calling on the Government to act, asking for more protection for voluntary organisations, particularly smaller ones, increased regulatory support from the Charity Commission, and action on dis/misinformation.

The 209 charities questioned for the report, along with 125 individual charity workers and volunteers, have now signed an open letter to Prime Minister Andy Burnham (full text below), calling on him to “protect our charity workers”.

In the letter, they said: “No matter what populations we serve, as charities, we are united in a desire to improve lives, for people of all backgrounds, all across the UK. We do not, and will never, discriminate against the people who need our support on the basis of where they have come from, their gender identity, their race, where they live or their faith or belief system.

“Attacking us for that undermines the very fabric of our society and of who we are as a country.”

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‘Vile Threats’

The report showed organisations supporting marginalised groups, including refugees, migrants, and LGBT+ people, frequently reported being threatened because of the nature of their work.

Meanwhile, organisations providing universal services, such as homelessness and health charities, faced abuse for providing services to marginalised communities including migrants and LGBT+ people, or reported increased hostility toward marginalised staff.

While abuse and threats often came from members of the public, some charities also reported a rise in abuse from their own service users. Many respondents pointed to a wider “political climate” that “emboldened” members of the public to attack and abuse those they disagreed with. Charities also reported that “misinformation” spreading about their work led to abuse.

Minnie Rahman, Chief Executive of Praxis, said: “For years, charities supporting refugees and migrants have raised the alarm that far-right threats against our service users, volunteers and staff are escalating, while the behaviour of some elected politicians gives cover to these threats. Our report shows how widespread this problem now is…

“It is nothing short of authoritarian to use threats and intimidation to stop charities speaking out for, supporting and representing the communities they serve.”

Rahman added: “What will it take for political leaders to take these threats seriously, and to take meaningful steps to protect migrant communities and wider civil society?”

Louise Calvey, Executive Director at Asylum Matters, said what stood out to her in the survey is how charities on shoestring budgets are “now having to divert the resources that could be doing good in our communities to deal with vile threats from a handful of extremists.”

“The Government needs to stand up and protect our charities – or all of us could lose the amazing charity services that so many people rely on,” Calvey added.

Lizzie Kenyon is Chief Executive of the Bike Project, one of the organisations quoted in the report. Her charity provides people who’ve fled war and torture with bikes.

Kenyon said the degree to which considering safety risks has become “business as usual” within her organisation and others was “deeply concerning.”

“I have found myself having conversations with the team about how we would deal with a brick coming through the window, or planning what we’d do if there was a riot outside our premises, and thinking ‘how can this be the conversation that a charity is having while we’re just trying to deliver our charitable work.”

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Open Letter to the PM in Full

To Prime Minister Andy Burnham: “Protect our charities“

“Charities are under attack. Service users, volunteers and staff from a wide range of charities have faced death threats, assaults, their addresses being leaked and their families being threatened. All because we still believe in kindness, fairness and supporting one another in times of need.

“Your Government must act. As charities of all kinds, from across the UK, we are uniting to say: our people deserve to feel safe. It doesn’t matter where we come from, or what kind of work we do, no one should be put in danger for trying to help others.

“The recent attacks on a charity simply discharging its mission to ‘save lives at sea’ from far-right linked actors are utterly shocking. But sadly, this was not an isolated incident. Charities of all kinds have endured threats, intimidation and harassment, all for daring to provide their services to the people who need them. Charities that work with women & girls escaping violence and abuse, with LGBTQ+ people, disabled people, and those working in and around migration & racial justice, broader human rights and even funders have all been targeted.

“Those of us who have not faced threats stand in solidarity with our colleagues across the charitable sector. We know that if charities and volunteers active in all sectors are not protected from intimidation and threats, the impact on the entire charitable sector and the vital work we do could be profound.

“This must be stopped. You have rightly condemned the recent abuse directed at volunteer rescue workers, but you must go further, and send a clear message that attacks against any charities are unacceptable, no matter who is using these services. We urge you to address the environment of fear and hatred that has been allowed to evolve, and ensure those who fuel it with misinformation and discriminatory language, whether politicians or media commentators, are held to account.

“Your Government must urgently explore how to better protect all charities and charitable work from such attacks. It must further address the role of social media in spreading threats, to ensure those spreading false information, or participating in the targeting of our work and the people delivering it are accountable for the violence they drive. And it must ensure that vigilantes abusing, threatening and assaulting people in our country are no longer referred to as ‘protesters’, a term that conveys legitimacy they do not deserve.

“No matter what populations we serve, as charities, we are united in a desire to improve lives, for people of all backgrounds, all across the UK. We do not, and will never, discriminate against the people who need our support on the basis of where they have come from, their gender identity, their race, where they live or their faith or belief system.

“Attacking us for that undermines the very fabric of our society and of who we are as a country.”

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