Become an Affiliate
Islamophobia Response Unit is an independent charity supporting people affected by Islamophobic incidents in England and Wales.
We provide a virtual platform for people to confidentially report their experiences. We serve four main functions:
Provision of free legal support: Since its inception
IRU has received over 1200 reports. The types of cases we deal with include physical assault; verbal abuse; harassment; neighbour disputes; workplace discrimination; unfair dismissal; education complaints; lack of prayer room facilities, and restrictions on Islamic clothing at work and in schools. We provide legal advice to help victims achieve redress and their desired outcomes.
Provision of basic emotional support:
Victims who may have suffered immediately after an incident or any time following an incident can speak in confidence with someone who understands, which many people find helpful.
Referrals to partner agencies, and signposting to other services:
We have engagements in place with commercial law firms that may support our clients in need of pro bono representation, as well as established relationships with several pro bono organisations.
Data collection and monitoring:
This allows us to map instances of Islamophobia. For example, by recording the location of attacks and the profiles of typical victims and perpetrators, we can understand the national picture of Islamophobia. Using this data, we publish articles to help raise awareness and begin to help produce informed policies to tackle Islamophobia. We monitor how people engage with our services, access to justice and the issues of education, employment, and training.
We are seeking partners whose values and ethos are compatible with our brand, and with whom we can ensure victims receive the services they need to begin rebuilding their lives.
Legal
We are seeking partnerships with law firms and chambers that share the same values and passion to support victims of Islamophobia. We want to ensure victims receive the specialist legal support they need to challenge Islamophobia.
Working in partnership with IRU can secure enduring benefits for your company while helping support those affected by Islamophobia. Being a partner will give you affiliation with a charity that is one of its kind across England and Wales and provide valuable opportunities to reach new audiences through our work in local communities.
Universities
We work closely with several universities to give students the opportunity to get first-hand experience providing direct legal support to our clients. Our bespoke caseworker training programme will equip students with knowledge of various areas of law and provides access to legal skills lectures conducted by our best volunteer lawyers.
Not only will the relationship with universities allow us to designate volunteer recruitment cycles to each specific university, but we will also provide student volunteers with a comprehensive caseworker handbook and legislation manual to get stuck in.
Other Organisations
We have strong relationships in place with other organisations, including charities, advice services, and media outlets to help widen our scope of support for clients that may come to us with multiple issues which require a multifaceted approach. We are able to signpost our clients to organisations better placed to assist and want to continue establishing relationships that serve our wider goals in tackling Islamophobia.
If you are interested in becoming an affiliate of IRU, please email info@theiru.org.uk
Interested in volunteering with us?
The continued commitment of our volunteers across England and Wales ensures that IRU is able to help as many victims of Islamophobia as we do. We are looking for people who are passionate about our cause, have good communication and organisational skills, and are committed to supporting our clients.
See below to find out about the many ways our volunteers help victims to move forward with their lives.
You will need to be based in the UK and over the age of 21 to volunteer with us. The application process may include volunteers being subject to checks such as references, identification, DBS and/or police vetting.
“Volunteering as a caseworker at the IRU has given me the perfect opportunity to work on serious and important cases of Islamophobia alongside other legal professionals.”
Volunteer caseworker
There are three different ways you can get involved
Volunteer Caseworker
Work alongside our staff and our volunteer lawyers to provide practical and emotional support to victims of Islamophobia. You will work directly with clients, conduct strategy phone calls, draft documents and much more. Volunteer caseworkers tend to have some legal knowledge and are required to complete our online caseworker training programme covering various of law and advice necessary to support our clients.
Volunteer Legal supervisor
Work alongside our staff and volunteer caseworkers to provide legal guidance to victims of Islamophobia. You are required to have a valid legal practising certificate with expertise in ideally criminal, employment, education, housing, public and human rights law. You can also provide ad-hoc assistance if you would like direct client work.
Volunteer ambassador
Volunteer Ambassadors help to raise awareness of our work by attending events to talk about our work and encourage others to get involved in volunteering and fundraising activities. This voluntary role involves: (1) inspiring people to support the charity; (2) educating people about what we do, and (3) increasing the geographical reach of IRU so more people can contact us for the support they need. IRU will choose volunteer ambassadors based on relevant qualifications and credentials.
For more information about our volunteer opportunities, please email info@theiru.org.uk.
Volunteer Application Form
Complete the below application form
Upload your references, identification, right to work check and DBS checks if necessary
Telephone interview with an IRU staff member
Complete online caseworker training if necessary
Get started
Get in touch
If you have any questions about IRU or the information on this website, please reach out to us.