Scenario #8
Text message to victims of hate speech

Aims / objectives
The aim is to put oneself in the shoes of victims of bullying, hate speech, threats or discrimination, and to consider what words might give comfort. Empowering victims is an important aspect of combating hate speech and building resilience.
Description of the method
The trainer describes a case of hate speech, a young person being discriminated against or insulted. The participants think about and formulate text messages to comfort and give strength to the person. They show their solidarity through these texts. Afterwards, they discuss which text messages are particularly successful and what mistakes to watch out for.
Overview
Name of the method | Text message to victims of hate speech |
Target group | Children and youth |
Duration | 30 minutes |
Spatial requirements | No special requirements other than room for discussion |
Competences | Critical analysis, empathy, values, counterspeech |
Objectives | To learn how to empower victims of hate speech or discrimination |
Method description | A real or fictional story about someone who has been bullied or discriminated against through hate speech is told to the participants. They then formulate text messages and afterwards discuss what is empowering and what should be avoided. |
Social work context | Suitable for social work context because there are no strong formal requirements |
Preparation | Example needs to be prepared in advance; knowledge of what is empowerment and how to empower |
Risks | Messages need to be discussed, and the trainer needs to know about empowerment; otherwise, counterproductive messages could do more harm than good |
concept / application | Presented by Reinhard Leonhardsberger of the association SOS Menschenrechte (SOS Human Rights) |
References |
See other scenarios
Working with stories 1: The Lonely Duckling
Working with stories 2: Punch or Political puppet theatre
Free associations and prejudice barometer
Deconstruction of Hate Speech
Extremism barometer (What is extreme?)
The District of Legends
Conspiracy video with youth “Le complot nouillles” (The Noodle conspiracy)
Argumentation training and countering hate speech – role play
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