Disability Hate Crimes in the UK: Prevalence, Impact, and Intervention Strategies
Problem Background
Hate crime is an increasingly common phenomenon today as different groups coexist in various environments. People with disabilities are often victims of such crimes and experience harassment, neglect, and verbal and physical abuse. This problem is also typical for the UK, where the number of disability hate crimes is constantly growing, due to the low level of reporting and the small number of legal prosecutions against offenders. Health and social professionals need to engage in ongoing collaboration to take effective action to early identify signs of victimization of people with disabilities, provide support to victims and witnesses of hate crimes, and ensure victim safety for more frequent case reporting.
What Is a Hate Crime?
Disapproval of specific characteristics of a person may be a reason to use violence or harassment against them. Hambly et al. (2018, p. 5) define hate crime “as any criminal offense which is perceived, by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice based on a person’s race, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity or disability, or the perception of the person of having any of these characteristics.”
It is reported that estimating the prevalence of this type of crime is difficult, since only about half of the cases are reported to the police (Hambly et al., 2018, p. 6). Between 2013 and 2015, about 222,000 episodes per year were recorded in the UK, significantly lower than from 2007 to 2009 (Hambly et al., 2018, p. 6). According to the data, in more than half of cases, hate crimes in the UK are motivated by the race of victims, while disability is the second most frequent cause for this type of crime (Hambly et al., 2018, p. 6). Religion and sexual orientation become a reason for hate crimes much less frequently.
Disability Hate Crimes Prevalence in the UK
The number of hate crimes motivated by disability has continued to grow in recent years. In the UK, disability was added to the list of protected characteristics in 2003 along with sexuality and transgender (Criminal Justice Act, 2003). Disability hate crimes often involve “verbal abuse, intimidation, threats, harassment, assault and bullying, as well as property damage” (as cited in Hall and Bates, 2019). These crimes can be motivated by hostility towards a disabled person, false accusations of fraud, or the use of benefits (Disability Hate Crime, 2022).
According to the Home Office report, “14,242 disability hate crimes had been recorded in the year ending March 2022 – an increase of 43% on the previous year” (Baker, 2022). It is also important that since 2017, the number of hate crimes has doubled, and the most common forms are harassment and stalking (Baker, 2022). The number of hate crimes against people with disabilities is growing steadily every year, having increased more than 8 times since 2011 (Number of police recorded disability hate crimes, 2022). However, only reported cases can be counted, which makes it difficult to assess the real prevalence of this type of crime.
The Impact on Disabled People in the UK
Hate crimes can significantly affect the lives of victims and society. Healy (2019, p. 5) notes that hate crimes “are divisive and result in deterioration of relationships and reinforcement of barriers between groups.” The consequences of hate crimes disrupt the ability of persons with disabilities to interact with society.
In particular, victims of these crimes report massive physical and psychological harm caused by harassment or hate-motivated violence. Victims of hate crimes not only often need to be hospitalized due to their injuries, but are also prone to psychological disorders. One of the consequences of these episodes may be depression and suicide attempts.
The relationship between the parents and the offenders can also heighten the severity of the harm done by a hate crime. It is not uncommon for perpetrators to be relatives of a disabled person who put pressure on the victim, use harassment or violence (Disability Hate Crime, 2022). In such cases, the victim of violence experiences the deepest traumatic experience, which leads to the development of severe psychological disorders (Healy, 2019).
Additionally, often people with disabilities cannot resist the people who provide them with daily care to ensure their livelihoods. Parents or other carers may pressure the victim, which prevents the case from being reported to the police. A disabled person who is a victim of harassment or violence from loved ones may also not be aware of the need to confront or be unable to do so.
All people with disabilities are at risk of becoming the object of hate crimes, but people with learning disabilities may be at increased risk. In particular, this type of disability can often lead to the inability to recognize an episode of violence, which makes them the most vulnerable (Healy, 2019). Wiseman and Watson (2022, p. 10918) report that people with learning disabilities can experience higher levels of hate crimes “in institutional care settings, schools, by friends and people known to them (“mate crime”), and by support workers than other disabled people.” Hate-motivated crimes can take not only the form of violence or harassment, but also the form of neglect. This aspect does not allow monitoring these cases effectively, but such episodes cause no less harm to the victims.
The main problem related to the disability of hate crimes is their low level of reporting. In particular, these episodes negatively affect the self-esteem and equality of people with disabilities, which is especially relevant for members of less socially and economically developed communities. Fear of being rejected by the group, low self-esteem, or shame associated with the abuse often causes victims not to report the abuse to the police. This aspect makes it very difficult to reduce the number of hate crimes and effectively punish offenders.
Disability Hate Crimes Intervention and Prevention
For effective intervention and prevention of hate crimes, it is necessary to ensure a safe reporting system, as well as practical work on the rehabilitation of victims of these episodes. Disability hate crimes in the UK are subject to the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, the Criminal Justice Act 2003, and the Equality Act 2010. Making Safeguarding Personal is a toolkit and practitioner guide, part of the Care and Health Improvement Programme (Making Safeguarding Personal, n.d). These guidelines enable social workers and public health practitioners to apply practices to recognize and help victims of hate-motivated abuse, harassment, or neglect.
Public statement by the Crown Prosecution Service (2022) underlines key steps to be taken to increase case reporting and early identification of hate crime episodes. The National Police Chief’s Council also issued guidelines for carers and supporters that explain how to support and safeguard disabled persons who are at risk of hate crime victimization. Additionally, there is a website in the UK where victims of hate crimes or people aware of these episodes can ask for help and report a case (Disability hate crime, n.d). There are also regular government campaigns in the UK to improve the monitoring of hate crimes and reduce the risk of victimization of people with disabilities, such as Stop Hate (Hate crime, n.d).
Based on this legislation, guidelines, and initiatives, the main recommendations for health and social care practitioners that can improve the process of intervention and prevention of disability hate crimes can be formulated:
- It is necessary to educate people with disabilities about applicable legislation regarding hate crimes, reporting opportunities, signs of harassment and hate-motivated violence, as well as support and rehabilitation options available to them;
- It is essential to provide support and protection to victims and witnesses of hate crimes to reduce the level of fear regarding the reporting of these cases.
- It is essential for health professionals to provide support for victims of hate crimes and people with disabilities who are at risk of victimization through collaboration with social services and the police;
- Social services need to monitor people with disabilities regularly to identify early signs of abuse or neglect by carers and provide support.
References
Baker, K. (2022) Charity research finds that only 1% of disability hate crimes end with a charge.
Criminal Justice Act. (2003).
Crown Prosecution Service. (2022) Hate crime: public statement on prosecuting disability hate crime and other crimes against disabled people.
Disability hate crime. (n.d).
Disability hate crime: a guide for carers and supporters. (n.d).
Disability Hate Crime and other crimes against disabled people – prosecution guidance. (2022).
Hall, E. and Bates, E. (2019) ‘Hatescape? A relational geography of disability hate crime, exclusion and belonging in the city,’ Geoforum, 101, pp. 100-110.
Hambly, O., Rixom. J., Singh, S. and Wedlake-James, T. (2018) Hate crime: a thematic review of the current evidence.
Healy, J. C. (2019) ‘It spreads like a creeping disease: experiences of victims of disability hate crimes in austerity Britain,’ Disability & Society, pp. 1-25.
Hate crime. (n.d).
Making Safeguarding Personal. (n.d).
Number of police recorded disability hate crimes in England and Wales from 2010/11 to 2021/22. (2022).
Wisems, P. and Watson, N. (2022) ‘Because I’ve got a learning disability, they don’t take me seriously:” violence, wellbeing, and devaluing people with learning disabilities,’ Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37(13-14), pp. N10912-N10937.
