Do mates hate? A framing of the theoretical position of mate crime and an assessment of its practical impact
| Date | 12 October 2015 |
| Published date | 12 October 2015 |
| Pages | 296-307 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JAP-12-2014-0041 |
| Author | Ged Doherty |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Vulnerable groups,Adult protection |
Do mates hate? A framing of the
theoretical position of mate crime and an
assessment of its practical impact
Ged Doherty
Ged Doherty is a PhD Student
at the School of Sociology and
Social Policy, University of
Leeds, Leeds, UK.
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to explore the phenomenon of mate crime and attempts to assess its
practical as well as its theoretical implications.
Design/methodology/approach –It begins with an account of the short history of the concept and then
positions mate crime within academic theorising around general hate crime and disability.
Findings –Particular reference is made to the significance of the issue of vulnerability and how its
interpretation might affect understanding of this phenomenon.
Research limitations/implications –This is followed by some observations on how agencies of social
policy and the legislature are responding to the issue of mate crime.
Practical implications –Particular reference is paid to the impact of safeguarding adults procedures.
Originality/value –It concludes that, although “mates”can (and do) “hate”, further research is required on
the subject in order to gain better knowledge of the issue from both a theoretical and a practice position.
Keywords Safeguarding, Disability, Vulnerability, Hate crime, Homicide, Mate crime
Paper type Conceptual paper
Introduction
The recently-coined term mate crime is regarded as being descriptive of a form of hate crime
against disabled people, predominantly those with learning disabilities (Association for Real
Change, 2012). Mate crime is distinctive in that there appears to be no equivalent in other strands
of hate crime perpetrated against other identity groups (Thomas, 2011). This paper intends to
explore this under-researched area and assess its theoretical as well as its practical implications.
It begins with an examination of the concept, including a brief history of the subject, references
to some significant cases and a discussion of the boundaries of mate crime. It then moves on to
discuss how the concept of mate crime fits theoretically into its wider hate crime grouping before
also considering the relevance of scholarly comment emanating from the field of disability studies.
There then follows a consideration of the significance of the practical implications of mate crime by
exploring the response of the statutory agencies and the legislature. This then leads to a brief
discussion over whether there are sufficient grounds to recognise mate crime as a genuine concept.
The paper then concludes with an acknowledgement that there is more work to be done on this issue.
Mate crime
The precise provenance of the term mate crime does not yet appear to have been confirmed.
However, the first significant reference to the term appeared in 2009 when the Association for
Real Change (ARC), a non-governmental organisation, successfully secured funding from the
Received 9 December 2014
Revised 24 March 2015
22 April 2015
Accepted 29 May 2015
PAGE296
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THE JOURNAL OF ADULT PROTECTION
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VOL. 17 NO. 5 2015, pp. 296-307, © Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1466-8203 DOI 10.1108/JAP-12-2014-0041
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