Saturday, the 8th to Saturday the 15th of October marked National Hate U.K. Taking place annually, the week features topical events, speeches and reports that aim to highlight the true reality of Hate Crime in Wales.
As explained by Becca Rosenthal, Victim Support’s Operations Manager of the Wales Hate Support Centre, a Hate Crime is; “…an offence targeting a victim’s race, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity or disability…a person can be targeted for more than one of these things at the same time…”
According to a report released by BBC Wales near the beginning of October, recorded Hate Crime has risen by 35%, in Wales alone. This percentage goes up to 71% if you are looking just at disability crime.
There is also something called a Hate Incident. This is different from a Hate Crime. According to the Home Office, a Hate Incident is any action towards a person that is spurred on by prejudice for something that that person embodies, where there is no criminal element, or where the crime has yet to be identified. Hate Crimes are Hate Incidents where an actual crime has been committed, as determined by the Police.
The statistics in this article are for recorded Hate Crimes only and don’t identify hate Incidents recorded by Police forces around Wales.
As someone who has a physical disability myself, I find these statistics to be very alarming. There are a number of reasons why the figure could have climbed the way it has for disability hate crime.
One reason for recorded disability Hate Crimes going up by 71% could be that more Hate Crime is being committed. During the pandemic for example, lockdowns may have meant that people were spending more time in their close communities, increasing the likelihood of Antisocial Behaviour (ASB) related hate crime.
People will have also had increased emotions and stress during the pandemic, that they most likely would not have been equipped to handle. It is possible that they may have been looking for a release. However, committing a crime as an emotional or physical release is not appropriate or acceptable.
Another reason for the increase could be a rise in the number of hate crimes that are being reported. Becca Rosenthal (Victim Support’s Operations Manager of the Wales Hate Support Centre) succinctly explains this; “Due to new campaigns, we are seeing that more people are speaking up about the Hate Crimes that they have experienced…
Although this will make Hate Crime figures and statistics go up, the increase in public confidence to report Hate Crimes, is without a doubt positive.”
When I read the report and saw the 71% increase, it made me think about the unique barriers that someone who isdisabled could encounter if they want to speak up about a Hate Crime.
To understand the barriers that someone who is disabled could face when actually reporting an initial Hate Incident, we must first understand The barriers they could face when deciding whether or not to report it.
If the victim of a Hate Incident is disabled, they may be concerned about being seen as vulnerable and maybe even incapable, if they came forward. As such, they may be worried that reporting the Hate Incident will lead to them losing their independence.
I have first-hand experienced the impact of someone misunderstanding my experience and as a result having my independence restricted, which led to a significant negative effect on my mental health. With this in mind, I cannot imagine how the fear of losing independence would be magnified if someone was the victim of a Hate Incident or Hate Crime.
Another barrier that might get in the way of people who are disabled reporting a Hate Incident may be that they live near the perpetrator, and may be afraid that by reporting it, they are going to get backlash from the perpetrator.
People who are disabled often have a lot less options when it comes to being able to move location. Their options are even more limited if they need to move urgently, with no notice and no time to plan in advance. So if they reported the Hate Incident, they could be trapped in an even more hostile and unsafe environment than they are now.
In other words, if someone who is disabled reports a Hate Incident, and is unable to move to a safe environment, their action could inspire further Hate Incidents. This would put them in greater danger than before.
Another barrier could be a lack of knowledge that it is something that is reportable. People who are disabled are among those who are more susceptible to becoming physically and socially isolated.
There are undoubtedly people who have a disability, who also do not have access to a reliable internet connection. This would only increase their inability to access the information they need to know.
If people live on their own and do not have appropriate technology to bridge that information gap, it is possible that they don’t know they can report what happened to them.
The victim may know that what happened to them is definitely wrong.
However, they may not be aware that what happened is also a Hate Crime, or at the very least, a Hate Incident. In other words, they may not know that what happened to them is something that positive action can be taken on – that they can experience support and justice.
Someone who has a disability may find it hard to speak coherently on the phone. For this reason, they may need assistance from someone around. This would obviously be a problem for someone who is physically and socially isolated, or where the people within their support network are friendly with the perpetrator.
However, needing support to report over the phone or in person could also be a barrier for people who do not feel able to speak out to those around them.
While many services such as Victim Support facilitate completely anonymous and confidential reporting, if someone needs support to report a Hate Incident, then they will need to tell someone close to them what happened.
The victim of a Hate Incident may be left with no choice but to tell someone around them what happened, in order to have the assistance they need to report it. If they do need to do this, a layer of that promised anonymity and confidentiality is instantly removed. This may make victims of Hate Incidents hesitant to come forward if they need assistance as they may feel more vulnerable.
If the victim of a Hate Incident is deaf or hard of hearing. If they need to be able to communicate in British sign language (BSL), then they will also need assistance. In this case, they may also be hesitant to report the Hate Incident for needing to tell people around them about it.
Victim Support runs the Wales Hate Support Centre – a specialist support service that supports people who have been a victim of hate, whether they have gone to the Police or not.
Victim Support also offers a range of different ways to communicate with the service. Live Chat is available on the main website, and Sign Live is available for people who wish to communicate via BSL. Both of these help to address the communication problems often experienced by disabled people. You can report a Hate Crime or incident to the Police through Victim Support, or you can reach out to them just for support.
It is clear that organisations like Victim Support are working to bridge the gap between people who want to report Hate, and the barriers that may stop them. Let’s hope that if the statistics continue to grow, it is due to increased public confidence in reporting Hate.
