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:tndinfo@odihr.pl

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.