Disability hate crime
We want to see a society free from hate. One where disabled people have the same protections under the law.
Our YouGov Poll in August 2023 found that 66% of people would offer to be a witness if they saw a disability hate crime taking place, but ‘evidential difficulties’ are still the main reason for stalled reports.
That’s why we’re calling for more allyship from members of the general public, to offer help and support police investigations where it’s safe for them to do so.
Whatever you can give today will go towards projects raising awareness of disability hate crimes and supporting victims so they can feel safe in their community:
Disability hate crime: what is it?
A disability hate crime is any criminal offence which is perceived by the victim, or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice based on a person’s disability, or perceived disability.
Many people don’t realise they are a victim of hate crime and don’t go on to report it.
It’s important that anyone who’s been a victim of a disability hate crime reports it to police.
Disability hate crime: what are the issues?
- 10,740 disability hate crime reports across England and Wales in 2022/23
- Just 1.2% (132) of disability hate crime reports resulted in a charge or summons in England and Wales in 2022/23
Disability hate crime: what we want to see
To stamp out disability hate crime, we also need to see large-scale investment from the government in disability training, awareness raising, and support for victims.
Educators should teach children about disability issues and disability hate crime
We’d like to see the national curriculum directly address ableism, similar to Hackney Education’s successful Diverse Curriculum model. With 905 victims under the age of 18 in 2020/21 and 1,732 in 2021/22 we believe changing attitudes among children and young people, and raising their awareness of ableism’s harmful manifestations will be positive step to addressing disability hate crime.
Police Services should be better funded to support disabled hate crime victims seek justice
All forces should receive appropriate central funding to appoint at least one dedicated Disability Liaison Officer trained in disability awareness and engagement. The Officers would to support their colleagues in disability awareness, as well as providing a link to the disability community and the issues they face.
The government should reverse its decision to merge an anti-hate crime strategy into a wider plan to tackle general crime, and focus on developing and publishing a bespoke strategy in close consultation with stakeholders and their families
We would like to see a cross-government approach to tackling disability hate crime.
The government should roll out its promised awareness-raising campaign around disability as a priority with a view to educating the public on disability hate crimes and the importance of community when reporting it.
The government should ensure that the Online Safety Bill provides clear parameters to help challenge disability-related abuse happening online when this bill is published.
Government should adopt recommendation 12 of the Law Commission’s Hate Crime Report to widen the scope of aggravated offences to include disability-related hostility and strengthen the legal response when addressing disabled people’s abuse and exploitation.
We would like to see a government-funded pilot training programme on supporting disabled crime victims for police officers with five police forces in England. The training will be developed and delivered by experts by experience and will be piloted in areas where there is both low reporting and charging and sentencing for disability hate crimes.
It should also invest in a ring-fenced fund dedicated to providing State support for disabled people and their families to help navigate the criminal justice system, alongside similar grants allocated to advocacy and community groups.
Finally, it should invest in the establishment, promotion, and rollout of a pilot helpline for victims of disability hate crimes, akin to crisis services used by victims of homophobia and sexual assault.