Mate crime
Mate crime is when someone is pretending that they are your friend, but they do things that take advantage of you like asking for money often. If someone says they are your friend hurts you, steals from you, asks you to pay for lots of things or makes you do something you don’t want to do, you should tell someone you trust right away.
Tricky Friends
Friends can be tricky and sometimes they might call you names that you don't like but then claims it was all a joke. Maybe you have a friend that asks to spend your money and never pays it back. Maybe your friend brings people to your house to hang out... without your permission. If you are made uncomfortable by or angry at a friend, watch this informative video because you could be experiencing Mate Crime.
Watch Tricky Friends video here:
Selecting from the links below will take you to the Tricky Friends video hosted on the YouTube website.
- Unexplained injuries.
- Being involved in sexual acts which they have not agreed to.
- Losing weight.
- Not taking care of themselves and looking dirty or scruffy.
- Bills not being paid.
- A friend who does not respect, bullies or undermines the person.
- Suddenly short of money, losing possessions or changing their will.
- The person doing what they are told to’ by a ‘friend’.
- Not family or missing weekly activities.
- Goods or packages arriving at a person’s house.(Then someone else collecting them)
- Theft/financial abuse where the abuser demands/receives money without paying it back.
- Physical assault/abuse by hurting or injuring the adult.
- Harassment and/or emotional abuse used to manipulate the person to make them feel worthless
- Sexual assault/abuse to take advantage of the person sexually.
Mate crimes may appear to be invited by the person with a learning disability, raising issues of mental capacity, consent and informed choice.
Mate crimes are likely to occur in private, for example, in people’s own homes, rather than in the public. This includes online crime.
Mate Crimes are unlikely to be disclosed by someone with a learning disability.
This may be not recognizing the abuse for what it is, considering the relationship more important than the abuse within it,
- embarrassment
- shame
- retribution.
Mate crimes are likely to occur within long-term relationships. These relationships may have started as, or may actually still be, genuine friendships. Even if they are not.
What should be done?
If you have experienced a hate crime or mate crime, you probably feel very upset, confused and scared.
Tell someone that you feel comfortable talking to and they will support you to report it to the police.
It might sound scary reporting it to the police, but by doing this, you might help stop these incidents from happening to someone else.
In an emergency phone 999 for the Police.
Or
For non-emergency's call 101
Or
Click report a concern