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Hate Crime against People with Disabilities
What is hate crime?
Criminal Offence+ Bias Motivation= Hate Crime
Hate crimes comprise two elements: a criminal offence and a bias motivation.
• Hatecrimesrequireabaseoffencetohaveoccurred.In other words, the act committedmustconstituteanoffenceunderordinarycriminal law. If there is no underlyingcrime,thereisnohate crime.
• Theperpetratormustcommit the criminal act with aparticularmotive,referredto as a “bias”. It is this element of bias motive that differentiates hate crimes fromordinarycrimes.Thismeans that the perpetrator intentionallychosethetargetofthecrimebecauseofaprotected characteristic or expressedhostilityduringthe crime.
What is disability?
Disabilityandimpairmentaretwoseparatethings.Apersonwithdisabilityissomeonewith an impairment who experiences disability.
Anumberofnegativeviews have developed in societies towards people with disabilities. Some of these stereotypesholdthatpeoplewith disabilities are dependent, uneducable,unemployableandunproductive,andthattheyare,therefore,inneedofinstitutionalizedcare,shelteredemploymentandwelfare.Thisprejudicerelatedtothehealthofapersonistheprimaryreason for discrimination and disadvantage,andcanbethemotive for hate crimes.
Peoplewithdisabilitiesareregularly
thetargetsofhatecrime.Disability
hatecrimeremainswidelyhidden
andmisunderstood.Thesecrimes
oftenhaveuniquecharacteristicsthat
differentiatethemfromothertypesof
hatecrimes.Forexample,manyare
committedrepeatedlyoveryearsand
involve people who are close to the
victims.Recognizingthemagnitude
of the problem is the first step in
effectivelycounteringthesecrimes.
Hate Crime against People with Disabilities
Participantsataworkshoponcombatinghate-motivatedcrimesagainstpeoplewithdisabilities,organizedbyODIHRand the EuropeanNetworkofIndependentLiving(ENIL).
AlesGiaoHanek,ODIHRHateCrimeOfficer,presentingataOSCE/ODIHR-organizedworkshoponhatecrimeagainstpeoplewithdisabilities.
What is disability hate crime?
Disabilityhatecrimesaremotivatedbyprejudicetowards people with disabilities,suchastheprejudicedescribedabove.Perpetratorsmaytargetpeoplewith disabilities, or people who are perceived to have a disability,becausetheyareconsideredtobevulnerableduetothesymptomsoftheir impairment or health condition.Theperceptionof all people with disabilities asvulnerableultimatelyminimizesordisregardsthesocial factors associated with their participation and inclusionwithinsociety,andisprejudicial.
Thisprejudicemanifestsitselfeither in the selection of the target,orinexpressionsofhostilitytowardspeoplewithdisabilities in a crime. For example,selectivelytargetingpeople with disabilities becausetheyareconsidered“easytargets”isanexpressionof bias and is, therefore, considered a hate crime.
How can you recognize these hate crimes?
Thereareanumberofindicatorsthatcanidentifyabiasagainstpeoplewithdisabilities. Incidents can includeoneormoreofthefollowingelements:
• Incidentsescalateinseverityandfrequency;
• Physicalattackstargetdisabilityaids,forexamplecanesorhearingaids;
•Sustainedattacks,excessiveviolence;
•Falseaccusationsofthevictimbeinga“paedophile”,ofinformingonothersorofspoilingfunforothers;
• Cruelty,humiliation,degradingtreatment,oftenrelatedtothenatureofthevictim’sdisability;
• Perpetratorsareoftenknowntothevictims,theycanbeso-called“friends”,caregivers,acquaintancesorneighbours;
• Attacksmaytakeplaceincareinstitutionsandbecarriedoutbystaff;
• Theftbypeopleclosetothevictim,suchascaregiversorfamilymembers;and
•Multipleperpetratorsare involved in incidents, condoningandencouragingthemainoffender(s).
Reporting hate crime against people with disabilities
Hatecrimesagainstpeoplewithdisabilitiesarecriticallyunder-reported.Thereareahostofchallengestoreportingthistypeofhateincident,notablythevictims’potentialisolationorproximitytotheperpetrator, the fear that their claim will not be taken seriouslyandtheriskthatlawenforcement officers will not recognizetheseverityofthistypeofhatecrime.
Accesstojusticeremainsacriticalchallenge.Governmentshaveacentralroletoplayinensuringthis access, from the initial assessment of victims’ needs bypoliceofficerstosupportmechanisms for victims, throughgovernmentalornon-governmentalinstitutions.
Developingeffectivepoliceresponsestocounterthesecrimes is dependent on collectingreliabledata.Asstates,civilsocietygroupsandindividualsrecognizehatecrimesagainstpeoplewith disabilities and their impacts, increased awareness, reportingbyvictimsandrecordingbystateswillhelprevealthefullmagnitudeof the problem and enable policymakerstoidentifytheappropriate responses.
ODIHRhasbeencollectingandpublishingdataonhatecrimesagainstpeoplewithdisabilities since 2006. Find outmoreaboutthesecrimesand how to report them to ODIHRat hatecrime.osce.org.
Examples of Disability Hate Crime
1) Awomanusingawheelchairreportedbeingsubjectedtoon-goingviolencefromherneighboursoveraperiodofthreeyears.Whatbeganwithverbalassaultbasedonherimpairmentculminatedinphysicalassault,duringwhichthevictimwaspulledoutofherwheelchair.
2) Followingyearsofcruelmistreatmentandabuseofpatients with disabilities, six workers at a care home were givenprisonterms.Thecaregiverswerefilmedassaultingpatientsbyslappingthem,pinningthemunderchairs,tauntingandverballyabusingthem.
3) Amanwithanintellectualdisabilitywastargetedbyagroupandbeatentodeath.Theperpetratorstookadvantageofthevictim,befriendinghimunderfalsepretencestogethimtospendhismoneyonalcoholandcigarettesforthemoveraperiodofthreemonths.Itemergedduringthecourtproceedingsthattheperpetratorshadmadeabettoseewhocouldknockoutthevictimfirst,andrepeatedlybeathimoverthecourseofanevening.Oneoftheperpetratorsusedaderogatoryexpressioninsultingthevictim’sintelligence.
More information:
Fordetailedinformationabout
ODIHR’shatecrimeinitiativesand
toviewitsfullrangeofresources
andpublications,pleasevisit:
www.osce.org/odihr/tolerance
OSCE Office for Democratic
Institutions and Human Rights
ul.Miodowa10
00-251Warsaw
Poland
Tel.:+48225200600
Fax:+48225200605
E-mail:[email protected]
What can you do?
OmbudsInstitutionsaddressingdiscriminationandlocalassociationsworkingwith people with disabilities provideinvaluableassistancetohatecrimevictims.ContactyourlocalsupportassociationorOmbudsInstitutiontofindoutmoreabouthatecrimesagainstpeoplewithdisabilities:
•EuropeanNetworkonIndependentLiving(ENIL):www.enil.eu/about-enil/membership
•TheInternationalOmbudsmanInstitute(IOI):www.theioi.org/ioi-members
ODIHR guides on hate crime
ODIHRhascompiledgoodpracticesfromOSCEparticipatingStatesandhavesharedthosethroughanumberofpublications.Thesepublicationsareavailableonourwebsiteat: www.osce.org/odihr/124602
VisitODIHR’sdedicatedhatecrimereportingwebsiteat:www.hatecrime.osce.org
Landmark Ruling
OveraperiodoffouryearsDaliborĐorđević,aCroatianmanwithaphysicalimpairmentandalearningdisability,wasthesubjectofon-goingabuseandviolentphysicalassaults.Policeintervenedwhencalledupon,buttheydidnottakeconcreteaction.In2012,theEuropeanCourtofHumanRightsstatedinalandmarkrulingthatthestatehadfailedinitsresponsibilitytoprotecthimfromcontinuedabuse.ThiswasavictoryforĐorđevićandforpeoplewithdisabilitieswhofaceintoleranceintheirdailylives,re-emphasizingtheroleauthoritiesmustplaytoeffectivelycounterhatecrimesagainstpeople with disabilities.