Online Hate Speech & Racism Aimed at Children
When a child is targeted by, or exposed to, online abuse based on race, religion, disability, gender, or sexuality — how to recognise it, support your child, and report it in the UK.
Online Hate Speech is abuse directed at a child online because of who they are — their race, religion, disability, gender identity, or sexuality — which can amount to a hate crime under UK law.
What is this?
Online hate speech is abuse that attacks someone because of who they are — their race, religion, disability, gender identity, or sexuality. Children can be targeted directly, dragged into it in group chats and games, or worn down by a steady stream of hateful memes and comments in their feeds. Where it is based on a protected characteristic it can be a hate crime under UK law. This is different from radicalisation (being drawn in to hateful ideologies) — here the child is the victim or the witness, and the harm is to their safety and self-worth.
How it works
Hate reaches children through replies and direct messages, comments on their posts, voice and text chat in games, memes and 'jokes' shared in group chats, and coordinated pile-ons. It can be a one-off slur or a sustained campaign. Because much of it is dressed up as humour or hidden inside gaming banter, children may not name it as abuse, and bystanders may laugh along rather than report it. The cumulative effect on a targeted child's mental health, sense of safety, and belonging can be serious, even when each individual message seems 'minor'.
Warning signs
In your child
- • Becoming withdrawn, anxious, or upset after being online or gaming
- • Reluctance to use an app, game, or group they previously enjoyed
- • Comments suggesting they feel ashamed of, or want to hide, part of their identity
On their device
- • Abusive replies, slurs, or hateful memes directed at your child in messages or comments
- • A pile-on of negative comments on one of their posts
- • Hateful accounts or group chats your child has muted, blocked, or left
Prevention steps
Agree it is never their fault and never 'just banter'
Make clear that abuse based on who someone is is wrong, is not a normal part of being online, and can be a crime. Agree that they can always show you without you overreacting or taking their device away.
Set up blocking, reporting, and privacy together
Show your child how to block accounts, report hate on each platform, and keep profiles private. Practising it once makes them far more likely to use it when it matters.
Build critical thinking about hateful content
Talk about why some accounts and algorithms push divisive or hateful material, and that engaging or sharing spreads it. The Anti-Bullying Alliance and Childnet have good resources for this.
What to do if it happens
- 1Support your child first — listen, reassure them it is not their fault, and take it seriously. Save evidence with screenshots (including usernames, dates, and the platform) before blocking.
- 2Report it to the platform, and report hate crime to the police via 101 or the True Vision site (report-it.org.uk); call 999 if there is a threat of violence.
- 3Tell your child's school if others involved are known to them — schools have a duty to act on discriminatory bullying — and use Childline (0800 1111) or Report Harmful Content for extra support.
Related topics
If you need to report this
In immediate danger: call 999. For non-emergency police matters, call 101.
Concerned about a child but it's not an emergency? NSPCC helpline 0808 800 5000. Childline for young people 0800 1111.
This is practical educational content to support families. For case-specific concerns about a child's safety, contact the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000 or your local safeguarding team.
Myths & facts
Myth: Report it and nothing really happens - it's not worth the hassle.
Fact: Reports are acted on. The police's True Vision service (report-it.org.uk) exists specifically to make online hate crime easy to report, and forces treat crimes motivated by hostility towards someone's race, religion, disability, gender identity, or sexuality seriously. Clear evidence, such as screenshots showing the username, date, and platform, gives police and platforms something concrete to act on.
Myth: If the platform ignores my report, there's nothing more I can do.
Fact: A platform's silence isn't the end of the road. Report Harmful Content, the UK national reporting service run by SWGfL, exists to escalate reports that a platform has failed to act on and can press for removal on your behalf. Keep your original screenshots and the platform's response ready before you escalate.
Myth: It happened in a game or group chat, not at school, so the school can't get involved.
Fact: Schools aren't powerless just because the abuse happened off-site. Department for Education guidance expects schools to address prejudice-based and discriminatory bullying wherever it happens if it affects a pupil's wellbeing, and under the Equality Act 2010 schools have a duty to tackle discrimination between pupils and foster good relations. Tell the school if those involved are known to your child, even if it was purely online.
Age by age
- 8-10
At this age, hate is most likely to appear as name-calling, mimicking accents, or excluding a child in game or app chat, often brushed off as a joke. Keep voice and text chat restricted to real-life friends, sit in on shared games from time to time, and tell your child plainly that being cruel about someone's race, religion, disability, or family is never acceptable, however it's dressed up. Make sure they know they can always show you a message without losing access to the game.
- 11-13
As your child gains their own social media and group chats, hateful memes and 'jokes' aimed at a protected characteristic start to circulate, and children this age often laugh along rather than risk looking oversensitive. Ask regularly what's being shared in their group chats, practise reporting and leaving a chat together, and explain why passing such content on causes real harm even when no one 'meant it'. Reassure them that telling you leads to support, not a ban on the app.
- 14-16
Teenagers are more likely to be targeted directly, including in pile-ons on public posts or in gaming voice chat with strangers, and may hide it from you to protect their independence or their online reputation. Make clear you won't confiscate devices as a first response, talk through when something crosses into hate crime, and encourage them to save evidence and use True Vision or the platform's own reporting tools, with your support.
- 17-plus
Older teenagers are usually managing much of this independently, sometimes with their own public profile, stream, or following that makes them a more visible target. Talk through the reporting routes they'll need as an adult, including True Vision, Report Harmful Content, and the police on 101, and encourage the habit of screenshotting evidence before blocking so a decision to escalate isn't hampered by lost proof.
Frequently Asked Questions
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