We are currently witnessing a sharp increase in discriminatory speech and hate speech in media discourse, on social media and in parliamentary politics throughout Europe - the streets, walls, buildings and parks of our cities are unfortunately no exception. We find many instances of this in the graffiti, writings, stickers and posters “adorning in our public spaces. The primary target of this hatred, othering, negative stereotyping and stigmatisation are marginalised groups such as the LGBTIQ+ community, asylum seekers and immigrants, people of colour and Muslim women, to name a few.
We are aware that the existence of hate speech in particular and discrimination towards marginalized groups in general is deeply rooted in ideologies and systems of oppression such as racism, patriarchy, misogyny, sexism, homophobia and nationalism. We therefore find it crucial to equip ourselves with tools and knowledge that enable us to imagine an alternative perspective on the world, one based on protecting human rights, international cooperation, intercultural coexistence and respect for differences and diversity.
To allow for monitoring of public hate speech against marginalised groups in the streets as well as provide a concrete starting point for resistance against this hatred, we created an online map of DecontRamination. It shows the location and description of every report of public hate speech, for anyone to look into.
This app helps you submit reports of public hate speech in the streets, so that they can be added to the map. It allows you to select a picture from your gallery and asks you to provide a description and location data (using gps or manually), after which you can send the report with one click via the email app of your choice. You can also find a link to the DecontRamination map and project website in the app.
ABOUT THE PROJECT
The DecontRamination project first started in 2013 as part of the work of the Appareo association. This initiative, along with the online map for documenting hate and discriminatory speech, was recognized as Good Practice by the Council of Europe’s “No Hate” campaign. Now the Ljubljana Pride Association is working on reviving the project, together with INAR, Ireland and Loesje Berlin, Germany, as we recognize that not much has changed in the field of addressing hate speech since the formation of the project in 2013.
The European Commission’s support for the production of this mobile app does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.