World Tonight 27 July
Listen to broadcast on the BBC website. The report begins after 21.40 minutes. Our CEO Liz Sayce is interviewed after 23.37 minutes.
Liz Sayce says that disability hate crime is, often, still something which goes unreported and unnoticed. This can be because disabled people don’t think their account will be taken seriously or due to a distrust of the system. When times are harder people often become more intolerant and pick on those who are different.
Attacks on disabled people seem to be increasing - partly because of improved reporting rates, which is a positive testimony to the work of some police forces and prosecutors, and partly because sadly we live in an era in which intolerance still thrives. More positively, prosecutions are increasing – but still we see clear cases of crimes motivated by hate not categorised as such. We need sustained action by police, CPS and the courts’
The Crown Prosecution Service’s eighth Hate Crime Report details a 41 per cent increase in disability hate crime prosecutions, compared to 2014/15.
If you, or someone you know, have been personally affected by hate crime see our factsheet on how to report it.
The Home Affairs Committee will be carrying out an inquiry into hate crime and its consequences