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The Equality Act defines a disability as a physical or a mental condition which has a substantial and long-term impact on your ability to do normal day to day activities.
Society presents significant challenges for people with disabilities, and this can have an effect in every area of their life. This might include issues such as inaccessible housing or transport and inaccessible information, which affects a person’s standard of living, social protection, ability to live independently or be part of the larger community.
These challenges can also reside in sport and physical activity. We know that disabled people participate less than non-disabled people and they are also twice as likely to be inactive. In addition, research from Activity Alliance tells us that only 3 in 10 disabled people agree that disabled people have the same opportunity to be active as non-disabled people.
Over 14 million people in the UK consider themselves a disabled person. This represents a significant proportion of the population. Sport and physical activity play an essential role in the health of the nation and so must be a level playing field for everyone, however this is currently far from the case with negative attitudes and stereotypical views of disabled people still alarmingly prevalent.
There are six main types of disability discrimination:
- direct discrimination
- indirect discrimination
- failure to make reasonable adjustments
- discrimination arising from disability
- harassment
- victimisation
Most incidents of hate crime towards disabled people include verbal and physical abuse, and threatening behaviours, such as attacks on assistance dogs, threats of physical attack, offensive name-calling or being refused service by businesses.
According to Home Office figures in the year 2021/2022, over 14,000 disability hate crimes were reported to the police across England and Wales
However, disability hate crime is significantly underreported to the police, and according to the CPS, disabled people prefer to report incidents to third party services such as helplines and charities rather than directly to the police.
A 2022 report into disability hate crime commissioned by Leonard Cheshire and United Response found that:
- Many who commit hate crime identify disabled people as scroungers
- The role of the media in demonising disabled people was significant
- People commit hate crimes because it is easy to get away with them
Access the full report here: https://leonardcheshire.org/sites/default/files/2022-10/Disability-Hate-Crime-Report-2022-reduced.pdf
Report
The Metropolitan Police define Hate crime as '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 race or perceived race; religion or perceived religion; sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation; disability or perceived disability and any crime motivated by hostility or prejudice against a person who is transgender or perceived to be transgender.'
A hate incident is any incident which the victim, or anyone else, thinks is based on someone’s prejudice towards them because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, disability or because they are transgender.
Reporting a crime can be powerful in bringing about long-lasting change. It could stop it from happening again and send a strong message that hate won’t be tolerated. It can also help authorities in understanding the real picture of hate crime, enabling them to put the correct measures in place in the future.
If you witness a hate crime/incident or are the victim of one then you can report it to the police using the below:
Police
Emergencies: 999
Non-emergencies: 101
Trains: Text 61016 or call 0800 40 50 40.
Online: www.report-it.org.uk
Crime Stoppers
Call 0800 555111 or go to www.crimestoppers-uk.org
Support
The easiest way to make people feel supported after they have been the victim of a hate crime or incident is to make it clear that you believe them and that the incident isn’t their fault.
Think about how accessible your site and settings are for people with both physical and learning disabilities, the more inclusive the space the more likely the person is to feel able to disclose they have been the victim of a hate crime. For advice and information on how best to do this visit: https://www.activityalliance.org.uk/