SYLVIA Lancaster has tireless campaigned to make attacks on different subcultures a hate crime since the murder of her daughter Sophie in 2007.
On today, the eighth anniversary of her 21-year-old daughter’s death, Sylvia is taking comfort in knowing her story has not been forgotten and will be screened on BBC4 in the near future.
Sophie and her boyfriend Robert Maltby were attacked for dressing ‘like a goth’ as they walked through Stubbylee Park in Bacup.
In her memory, Sylvia set up The Sophie Lancaster Foundation to challenge the prejudice and intolerance towards people from alternative subcultures and to campaign to extend the UK Hate Crime legislation to include people from alternative subcultures, lifestyle and dress.
Refusing to be all consumed by her grief, she has turned her daughter’s tragic death into a force for good.
After years of campaigning, Greater Manchester Police began recording attacks on members of subcultures including goths and emos, as hate crimes in 2013, a major victory for the charity.
As a community we must continue to support and do our part of making sure what happened to Sophie never happens again.
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