Racist Incident Helpline now available in B.C.

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A toll-free Racist Incident Helpline is now available in British Columbia for anyone who witnesses or experiences a racist incident, with support available in more than 240 languages. 

Callers will receive culturally appropriate support and resources including referrals to community support services, such as counseling and assistance contacting law enforcement, depending on their needs. 

The non-emergency line is open weekdays from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm at 1-833-457-5463 (1-833-HLP-LINE). People in need of immediate assistance are advised to call 911. 

The B.C. government partnered with the United Way BC 211 information and referral service to create the helpline in response to the increase in racially motivated hate crimes and anti-Asian hate on the rise since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“[United Way] made sure all of the workers that are on the other end of a phone call have a really specific understanding of biases and what the impacts of racist incidents [are], where it comes from, and what racism is,” says B.C. Attorney General Niki Sharma

“It’s a very particular lens you need [to know], and how to be supportive of the victim while they’re going through that. So it’s been a very specialized training process for [phone operators].” 

The government noticed racialized groups hesitate to contact law enforcement, preventing them from getting help and limiting data on incident occurrence. 

Sharma says the helpline was created for people to receive culturally sensitive support and be an alternative to speaking with police so the government can better understand what is happening and respond accordingly.

“We’re hoping the way it’s designed will be less intimidating. Sometimes there’s a mistrust of the police, depending on people’s backgrounds or where they’re from,” Sharma says. 

“We want to create that safe place for people [so] that they can report.” 

She hopes part of what will make the helpline less intimidating and more accessible is its availability in various languages. 

“We didn’t want language to be a barrier for reporting …. If they need to speak in the language that [they] are more comfortable with in order to report, then we should be facilitating that,” Sharma says. 

While there are no Indigenous languages represented right now, the service does offer Indigenous-specific resources for callers. Sharma says the government is working with Indigenous partners to have them available when possible. 

Kwantlen Polytechnic University business management student Ramanpreet Kaur says she would use the service. 

She has experienced racism at her job and found employment difficult because of her race. Back home in India, Kaur was an experienced nail technician and has been trying to get work at a salon. 

“I’ve been to Richmond, and in Surrey, there are many salons. [They] just [hire] workers from their community only, not Indians.”

One salon did hire her, but she left after one month following a customer refusing her services because of her race and her employer siding with the customer.

“If anything like this happens [again], I will contact that number,” Kaur says. 

Fellow KPU business management student Vanshika Vanshika says she would not consider contacting this number, even if she was racially discriminated against. 

“No, I never feel the need because I’m working in a place where all are Indians. Maybe that’s why,” she says.  

Even if an incident were to happen to her outside her workplace, Vanshika says she doesn’t see any reason to call the helpline. 

Sharma says the importance of reporting is crucial for the government to respond effectively. 

“I would counter that to say we need to constantly work at building the society we want,” Sharma says. 

“Even if the person wants to not do anything about what happened, there is a point in reporting so the government knows the data … [which] is so vital to helping us understand how we need to respond.”