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| The charity aims to raise awareness of prejudice against subcultures. Get in touch today with your experiences, opinions and messages of support. |
Official SOPHIE Merchandise
The key aims of The Sophie Lancaster Foundation are:
To create a lasting legacy to Sophie
Sophie was a gentle, kind and peaceful young woman who had a social conscience and a desire to help others.
She would approve of what we are doing in her name - promoting peace and tolerance.
To change the law
The Judge presiding over Sophie’s attackers court case described the crime as “a hate crime equal to all others”.
Therefore, we are working closely with the three main political parties, as well as the police, to have the hate crime legislation brought up to date – so all attacks on individuals that follow a subculture will be viewed with the same seriousness as a racial attack, for example.
After all, attacking or abusing someone just because you don’t like the way they look or what they believe IS a hate crime.
We have so far met with Michael Gove, David Cameron’s Shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, the leader of the Liberal Democrat party, Nick Clegg and we are set to meet with the Justice Minister, Jack Straw. All of these high profile politicians are behind our quest to bring the law up to date, and allow individuals – young people and adults alike – to feel free and safe to express their individuality.
To make a difference
We believe that many attacks on subcultures are born out of ignorance and a lack of understanding. Therefore, education is key.
Sylvia Lancaster is a professional youth worker who understands what makes young people tick. We have developed a groundbreaking workshop that will be taken into schools to educate young people about different subcultures creating an understanding that doesn’t currently exist.
The vision for the charity is to take the workshops not only nationwide, but to have them incorporated into the national curriculum.
The ‘vision’ is already being supported by a number of education authorities, which understand that children need interesting, thought provoking and real material to help them understand and appreciate something new and ‘a bit different’.
Sylvia is also working with local police forces to help them understand and appreciate subcultures in their communities.