Combating Hate Crime

Jonathan Shaw, Minister for Disabled People, discusses hate crime.

One of my priorities for 2009 will be to focus on hate crime. As Minister for Disabled People I am appalled to hear that hostility and prejudice can be a common occurrence for many disabled people, which can then escalate into a crime against the person.

We have all read cases in the media where disabled people have been seriously injured or even killed; although such cases are extremely rare, just one incident is one too many. What we don’t hear about is the abuse – both physical and verbal – that many disabled people have to deal with as part of their daily lives. Whether on the bus, or in the shops, or simply trying to go to and from their homes, abuse and the fear of violence can be a constant, unwanted companion.

As yet, there are very few statistics to tell us what we are dealing with. In fact this year was the first time that information on disability incidents was captured by the Crown Prosecution Service. Earlier this year the Home Office agreed to change the British Crime Survey so that all respondents who have been assaulted are asked if the incident was aggravated by hate, and if so, what sort – vital if we are to know the extent of the problem. In the meantime I welcome reports by organisations – such as Scope, the UK Disabled People’s Council (UKDPC) and Mind – and thank them for highlighting the issue and putting it on the disability agenda.

Sometimes even the way disabled people are spoken about can perpetuate prejudice. Using words such as “vulnerable” can single people out. We do know that the overwhelming majority of individuals and organisations do not intentionally go out of their way to discriminate against disabled people. Most of the time it’s because people are fearful or ill-informed about issues around disability. Through disability awareness workshops and training we can replace fear with understanding. This in turn improves attitudes to recognising and valuing difference.

Change must come from all corners of society, whether it be by tackling bullying as soon as it starts or working with employers to change their perceptions of employing disabled people. Together, we must aim to eradicate disability hate crime and make our society a fairer, better informed and more accepting place to live. I will have more to say on the subject over the coming months and look forward to the debate.