Stonewall Cymru community liaison officer honoured

Illustrated rainbow pride flag on a white background.

A Stonewall officer has won an award for “outstanding commitment to diversity” in her work tackling issues of homophobic hate crime.

Jenny Porter, Stonewall Cymru’s community liaison officer, received the award at the North Wales Criminal Justice Board Volunteer and Justice Awards Ceremony this week.

Ms Porter works with the police and criminal justice agencies in Wales to develop ways of dealing with homophobically motivated hate crimes and to help encourage members of the lesbian, gay and bisexual community to report such crimes.

The winner of the award of the award for Individual who has shown “Outstanding Commitment to Diversity”, Gwyn Parry, also acknowledged Ms Porter’s good work.

She said: “It’s thanks to the work of Jenny and Stonewall Cymru that the reporting of homophobic hate crime in the Western Division has substantially increased.”

Other colleagues also praised Ms Porter.

Co-chair of Stonewall Cymru Gruffudd Jones said: “Jenny’s community liaison work is central to putting policy into practice.

“The Home Office estimates that 90 per cent of homophobic hate crimes goes unreported and unprosecuted.

“It is, therefore, vital that the police and other agencies work together to increase the reporting of hate crime by LGB people.”

The awards ceremony, which celebrates the role of volunteers, was hosted by the North Wales Criminal Justice Board in partnership with Barclays Bank and supported by the Wales Council for Voluntary Action and the High Sheriffs of Gwynedd and Clwyd.