Disability hate crime has only existed in law for a decade, when it was put on the statute book through the Criminal Justice Act 2003. Before then, when we talked about hate crime against people with a learning disability – like Mencap did in our 2000 research report, ‘Living in fear’, which found that a staggering 9 out of 10 people we surveyed had been victims – we called it ‘bullying’. But this didn’t accurately describe the nature of what so many people with a learning disability faced: verbal abuse, physical assaults, threats, and the hostility and prejudice which underpinned it all.
Having a law which recognised what was really going on - that some people commit crimes against disabled people for the same reasons others commit crimes against black or gay people - was huge progress. Since 2003 if someone is convicted of a crime against a disabled people and there is evidence that they were motivated by hostility or prejudice towards that person’s disability, they can be given a tougher sentence. But Mencap is not satisfied that the law is as strong as it could be, especially compared to other types of hate crime.
While a disabled person only has the ‘sentence uplift’ to get real justice if they are a victim of hate crime, someone who is targeted because of their race or religion has that and two other weapons in their arsenal: the ‘aggravated offence’ and the ‘stirring up offence’. The first of these are standard offences with an aggravating factor – for example, racially aggravated assault – and they carry stronger maximum sentences and, perhaps more importantly, a clear steer on what rehabilitation needs to address. The second of these is a brand new offence which makes it a crime to stir up – or incite – hatred against a particular group.
The discrepancies in the law is more because of the unusual way it evolved than the differing value placed on protecting different groups, but Mencap believes it creates a hierarchy; where hatred against a person because of their race or religion is treated more severely than if this hatred was based on their disability. The Law Commission has been instructed by the Government to examine whether the law should be reformed so all types of hate crime are treated equally, and Mencap has urged the Law Commission to recommend just that.
We understand that a disability-aggravated offence will result in little difference to a standard offence and sentence uplift in many ways. But we believe that its existence will mean the potential hate element of a crime is investigated from the start - so motivating factors are not overlooked and strong evidence is available to judges when they give sentences. What's more, the ‘label’ on the offender will be more accurate, and show what must be tackled in rehabilitation if we are to truly deal with the problem.
We also believe that there is a real need for an offence against stirring up hatred towards disabled people. When this offence was extended to incitement of homophobic and religious hatred in 2010, it was considered unnecessary to extend it to disability as there was no real evidence that hatred towards disabled people was being stirred up. But Mencap has been involved in two incidents in the last year which have shown us that there is a gap in the law.
The first was in December 2012, when we discovered that a UKIP candidate for election to Kent county council had posted on his website calls for a review into the NHS, including a look at "compulsory abortion when the foetus is detected as having Down's, spina bifida or similar syndrome which, if it is born, could render the child a burden on the state as well as on the family". Mencap publicly condemned the comments, as did many people with a learning disability, their families and friends. The man was subsequently suspended as a UKIP candidate.
The second incident came to light in February 2013 when we were informed that a Cornwall councillor had told a disability charity worker that "disabled children cost the council too much money and should be put down". A formal investigation was started after he told the Disability News Service he believed there was a good argument for killing disabled babies with high support needs because of the cost of providing them with services. He likened this to a farmer killing “misshapen” lambs. The council found him guilty of misconduct but did not have the power to fire him. Cornwall Police received many complaints but judged that he had not committed a crime, so he didn’t face charges.
By having no legal penalty for this, we are saying that we have no problem with someone denying disabled people’s right to life – and, in fact, advocating their mass killing. Aside from the practical benefits to reform of the law, fundamentally Mencap believes the law does not currently reflect how most people feel about this issue. The law should show – without a shadow of a doubt – that hatred towards disabled people is just as damaging to individuals, communities and wider society as hatred towards people of a different race, religion or sexuality.
That’s why we’re calling for change, and this week – as it’s hate crime awareness week – we urge the Government not to miss this opportunity to make it happen. Find out how you can help, over here.