Britain must confront hate crimes head on

THE recent sexual assault on a young Sikh woman in the UK is an unspeakable crime; it is a shameful indictment of a society that is allowing racism and misogyny to thrive in plain sight. The perpetrators did not just commit a vile act of rape; they used it as a weapon to tell the victim she “did not belong here.” This was racially aggravated hatred, deliberately targeting both her identity as a Sikh and as a woman. British MP Preet Gill has rightly called it “an act of extreme violence” and reminded the country that the Sikh community does belong in Britain — as does every minority that has helped build the nation. Her words reflect the anguish of thousands who are asking: if women cannot walk to work without fear of being violated and are told to “go back”, what does that say about Britain today?