Voluntary and community sector offers ‘Five ways to build resilience’ in report aimed at turning lessons from last summer’s racist riots into action to protect communities in future
Image shows front cover of Riots to Resilience report, featuring VCS Emergencies Partnership logo and Neighbourly Lab logo and an illustration of a group of people talking in a circle.
The Voluntary and Community Sector Emergencies Partnership and research and innovation organisation Neighbourly Lab release a new report today (February 12, 2025) highlighting five ways communities can bolster their resilience against riots, should they happen in future.
The report, Riots to Resilience: Five ways to turn lessons into action, shares stories and experiences from the racist and Islamophobic riots of August 2024, showing what worked and what was missing, and developing that learning into five ways communities can be more resilient in future.
The report is commissioned by the Emergencies Partnership and created by Neighbourly Lab. It documents the experiences of 80 local, national, and statutory organisations affected by last summer’s riots, including the positive steps communities took to cope and recover. The riots erupted in the days and weeks following the shocking murders of three young girls, Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, at a dance event in Southport.
The riots that followed are widely thought to have been triggered by mis and disinformation about the attacker which spread online, incorrectly naming him and incorrectly claiming he was a person seeking asylum, and a Muslim.
In the report, a series of anonymised testimonies paint a picture of what life was like for those being targeted by the riots, through the eyes of people volunteering and working for voluntary and community groups, local authorities and others.
“I was the only one who personally knew individuals from the hotel,” said one person from a local council in the Midlands, where a hotel housing migrants was attacked. “One of them said something heartbreaking: Why do they want to kill us? It was horrendous. I should have stayed in Syria—I would have died with my mum.”
“The counter protests and community organisation was great, showing resistance to, and complete rejection of the racist narrative that was being shared by far right groups,” said another, from the voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise (VCFSE) sector in the South East of England.
“The response to the riots culminated in many people standing in support of the refugee communities by gathering in North Finchley outside of an Afghan greengrocers and also remaining vigilant about a law firm offering specialist immigration advice,” says another VCS representative from the South East of England. “As it turned out there was no counter demonstration from far right and racist organisations.”
Marnie Freeman, co-founder and director of Neighbourly Lab sums up the main findings of the report: “We heard that good information flow between organisations of different size, sector and scale was vital. Where it wasn’t in place, communication felt confused and chaotic, and mis and disinformation did more damage.
“We heard about the importance of visible and vocal leadership and of members of the public showing solidarity. And we heard that sadly, in some areas, people have experienced an increase in racism, Islamophobia and harassment since the riots happened, causing them to withdraw from local services or make changes to their day-to-day lives, like travelling in pairs, to feel safer.
“Learning from the range of experiences across England has meant we can share strategies to help build resilience in the future.”
Neighbourly Lab found only one third of the 80 partners spoken to think their communities are prepared for something similar in future, which is why they worked with them to develop five recommended ways to increase whole of society resilience.
They are:
Know your communities: Map, build and maintain relationships with community groups through outreach and regular updates.
Know your leaders: Ensure community groups know who is leading different parts of a response and develop a network where formal resilience leaders and community leaders collaborate.
Know your places: Make a map of safe spaces for residents who face more risk, allies and volunteers to meet. Include them in emergency plans.
Know your sources of information: Connect smaller community groups to wider community networks and clearly state who to follow for trusted information sources, including responsible local media outlets.
Know your history: Harness lived experiences of prior riots and document it to shape community preparedness and emergency plans, as well as use it for outreach to young people, to help deter them from rioting in the future.
Robyn Knox, director of the Emergencies Partnership, says: “We’re grateful to Neighbourly Lab for this careful piece of insightful storytelling, and to our partners who took part in sharing their experience and highlighting what it takes for communities to rise up stronger against violence like this should it happen again. Each of us has a role to play now, and we can’t sit idly by hoping someone else takes action.”
Click the link below to read or download the full report
Ends
For further information, images and interviews contact Bex Gilbert, communications lead, VCS Emergencies Partnership. Bexgilbert@vcsep.org.uk
About The VCS Emergencies Partnership
The VCS Emergencies Partnership connects voluntary, community and public sector partners before, during and after emergencies, so people and communities are always at the heart, from the start.
We are a leading force for resilience-building across England, bringing more than 300 partner organisations together to build trust, share knowledge and learn skills so we offer better support to people affected by emergencies.
About Neighbourly Lab
Neighbourly Lab is a research and innovation organisation committed to promoting more supportive, inclusive communities. Our mission is to understand how people and communities can be supported to better connect. We work to gain insights into what works, where and how - in order to achieve solutions that can be scaled and replicated from one place to the next. These solutions address the needs of those communities who are less well-heard and demonstrate sensitivity towards their experiences and priorities. For more information visit neighbourlylab.com