Disability Hate Crime Faye Savage – Lived Experience Officer, ecdp Friday 21 September 2012

1. Disability Hate Crime Faye Savage – Lived Experience Officer, ecdp Friday 21 September 2012

2. ecdp and lived experience ecdp’s work on disability hate crime Disability hate crime nationally and locally What was going wrong? EHRC report Essex Police and disability hate crime Hate crime in 2012 How are people with mental health difficulties affected by hate crime? Disability Hate Crime Disability Hate Crime

3. Established in 1995 30 FTE staff £1.5m turnover 100% board are disabled people Nearly 2000 members and 4000 service users Volunteers ecdp Disability Hate Crime

4. We estimate Essex’s total population of disabled people to be potentially more than 348,600. ecdp’s membership in January 2010 was 1,636 people. 21.6% have a learning disability 6.8% have a long-term health condition 5.2% have a mental health condition 61.2% have a physical or sensory impairment ecdp members Disability Hate Crime

5. Faye Savage - Lived Experience Officer at ecdp since 2010. Ensuring lived experience is captured across the organisation. Working on the issues which affect disabled people. Lived Experience Officer Disability Hate Crime

6. Lived experience is formed of the experiences disabled people have in their every day lives. Taking a lived experience approach means recognising these experiences and forming a collective voice. What is lived experience? Disability Hate Crime

7. Disability hate crime is an issue which many our members were concerned about. Media attention had been focused on hate crime following some high profile cases. ecdp and disability hate crime Disability Hate Crime

8. First hate crime report (2010) examined disability hate crime in a national context: Disability organisations recognised huge problem but generally there was a lack of understanding about the issues Hate crime falling through gaps in terms of responsibility. ecdp and disability hate crime Disability Hate Crime

9. Disability Now launched a Hate Crime dossier as part of the ‘No hiding place’ campaign. It listed over 50 serious crimes which were mostly not viewed as hate crime by the police. The national picture Disability Hate Crime

10. Nacro: disabled people are 4 times more likely to have property stolen with the threat of violence or to be sexually assaulted. Scope: 47 times as many race hate crimes prosecuted and 5 times as many homophobic hate crimes prosecuted. The national picture Disability Hate Crime

11. Mencap: 9 of 10 people with learning difficulties had been bullied in the last year. 2 of 3 were bullied on a regular basis. Mind: 71% of people with mental distress had been victimised in the last 2 years. 22% had been physically assaulted. The national picture Disability Hate Crime

12. In 2008-9 a total of 4 disability hate crimes had been recorded in Essex. 100% had been prosecuted. The local picture - 2010 Disability Hate Crime

13. Disabled people and agencies involved in supporting us/addressing hate crime did not know what hate crime was or how to support people. Police did not understand disability hate crime/take it seriously. Reporting/support inaccessible. Other services were sporadic and inconsistent (or non-existent). Perception of disabled people as naturally vulnerable. Systems of support potentially abusive. What was going wrong? Disability Hate Crime

14. The ecdp USER model demonstrates the four key areas that need addressing in order to address disability hate crime. Based on the national picture and recommendations made by national disability organisations. USER model Disability Hate Crime

15. Understanding Signposting and Support Education Reporting USER model Recommendations focused on Essex, but could be extended or replicated. Disability Hate Crime

16. Understanding – there needs to be a greater understanding of disability hate crime Signposting and Support – services which signpost and support disabled people when they are victims of hate crime should be widely available and well coordinated Education – to ensure wider change for disabled people, we believe education work should be focused on three particular groups of stakeholders: disabled people themselves, professionals and wider society Reporting – we believe stronger processes for reporting will increase the number of investigated and prosecuted cases. USER model Disability Hate Crime

17. Online survey and focus group with disabled people in Essex. Demonstrated disability hate crime was a big issue locally. Issues identified nationally were also apparent in Essex. Tackling disability hate crime in Essex Disability Hate Crime

18. Roundtable with a large group of professionals (police, local authority, education officials, Victim Support, Adult Safeguarding etc) Inconsistent procedures to recognise or address hate crime. Unaware of other support. Tackling disability hate crime in Essex Disability Hate Crime

19. ecdp recommendations • ecdp published a second disability hate crime report (2011). • In order to implement USER, ecdp recommended the creation of a Disability Hate Crime Officer, within a user-led organisation. Disability Hate Crime

20. EHRC: Hidden in Plain Sight • EHRC published the findings of an inquiry into disability related harassment in September 2011. • Observed ‘systemic institutional failure to protect disabled people and their families from harassment’. Disability Hate Crime

21. EHRC: Hidden in Plain Sight • The report presented 10 specific cases of disability hate crime. • Examined the wider problems around disability hate crime, observing ‘the cases which reach the courts and media are just the tip of the iceberg, and represent the public face of a deeper social problem’ Disability Hate Crime

22. EHRC recommendations 1. Taking ownership. 2. Definitive data. 3. Better access to a responsive criminal justice system. 4. Motivations and circumstances of perpetrators. 5. Wider understanding of disabled people and disability hate crime 6. Approaches to hate crime evaluated and disseminated. 7. Frontline staff recognise and respond to hate crime. Disability Hate Crime

23. Essex Police addressing hate crime • Changed focus from reducing crime to reducing repeat victimisation; allows hate crime stats to rise and represent the true extent of the problem. • Appointment of specialist hate crime officers across county. • Better monitoring of stats. • Training to understand issues. • Working with experts and cross-sector. Disability Hate Crime

24. Rise in all hate crimes but particularly good results with disability hate crimes. Rise in disability hate crime is 118%. The local picture - 2012 Disability Hate Crime

25. Hate crime in 2012 • Media reporting a huge rise in disability hate crime. • Given the statistics still do not represent the picture, we actually welcome the rise. Disability Hate Crime

26. Hate crime in 2012 • Disabled people are experiencing a rise in hostility due to image of ‘scrounging’? Disability Hate Crime

27. The power of the Paralympics to change perceptions… will this have an impact? How can this be maintained? Hate crime in 2012 Disability Hate Crime

28. People with mental health difficulties experience particular problems around discrimination and stigma. This can lead to disability hate crime. Is this recognised or being addressed? What about mental health? Disability Hate Crime

29. Targeted violence and harassment against disabled people What about mental health? Disability Hate Crime