This portrait is in support of the great, and important, work that The Sophie Lancaster Foundation is doing. More information on their cause can be found on Facebook (facebook.com/thesophielancasterfoundation ), on twitter (twitter.com/sophie_charity ) and at their website (www.sophielancasterfoundation.com ). Thank you.

Sophie lost her life in August 2007. She and her boyfriend were walking home through a park close to their home, when they were set upon by a gang of drunken teenage thugs, for no other apparent reason than they way they looked. Sophie's mother, Sylvia, along with other family members, set up a charity, The Sophie Lancaster Foundation, that focusses on “creating respect for and understanding of subcultures in our communities.” They have also worked with law enforcement officials to ensure that crimes against such individuals are prosecuted as Hate Crimes. Greater Manchester Police were the first to implement this system, since followed by a number of other police authorities.

Having had first-hand experience of this type of discrimination and prejudice for most of my school life, both primary and secondary, and even into my early to mid-twenties, I know the harm that it can do. I'm lucky, in a way, because being incredibly stubborn, and having experienced enough in life now that the events of my past don't bother me anymore, I can go on with things. That's not the case for everyone who experiences this, however, and I know individuals who still carry the scars of it on into their adult life, who will maybe never be fully free from the events of the past. Some people will say it's silly, or that it's just kids/teenagers being kids/teenagers, but to them I say, talk to someone who's been through it, and really listen to what they have to say, or even, come back to me when your own child or family member is experiencing it. I can't speak for anyone, obviously, but I find it hard to believe you could find it silly or acceptable after that.

Unfortunately, Sophie didn't have the chance to get far enough into adult life to find out how it would have impacted her, but her death, senseless as it was, needn't and shouldn't be in vain. Anything you can do to change other people's attitudes towards those who are different from them is a step forward. In my own experience, it wasn't just kids who were guilty of these things, but adults as well. We all have our prejudices, whether due to our environment, peer group, religion, race, whatever, it's how we handle that, how we change that, that matters. It's a big world, full of wonderful people and places, cultures and creeds, there's plenty to enjoy for everyone. Maybe it's time we started doing just that, and let others do the same.

And I know, believe me, I know, it sounds idealistic, I'm not saying that it's simple or something that will happen overnight, but change, real change, never does. It may take decades, it may take centuries, but every step towards it is one in the right direction. I mean, when it's broken down to basics, if what someone else does is having no impact, or causing no harm to, anyone else, then where is the sense in us expending energy in condemning them?

Many thanks to The Sophie Lancaster Foundation and the family of Sophie Lancaster for letting me post this portrait. Anything you can do to support them would be much appreciated by everyone involved.