Hate crime against people with learning difficulties: the role of the Crime and Disorder Act and No Secrets in identification and prevention
| Date | 01 April 2004 |
| Published date | 01 April 2004 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14668203200400005 |
| Pages | 27-34 |
| Author | Joanna Perry |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Sociology |
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The Journal of Adult Protection Volume 6 Issue 1 • April 2004 © Pavilion Publishing (Brighton) Limited 27
key words
Introduction
Every day, people are spat at, shouted at and hit because they
have learning difficulties. Values Into Action’s Action Against
Harassment Project has been researching and raising awareness
of these experiences since 1999. The countless stories that
have been related are reports of hate crime:
‘This is a crime where the perpetrator’s prejudice against any
identifiable group of people is a factor in determining who is
victimised… anyone can be a victim of a hate crime’ (ACPO,
2002).
‘Hate crime victims feel the added trauma of knowing that the
perpetrator’s motivation is an impersonal, group hatred,
relating to some feature that they share with others… A crime
that might normally have a minor impact becomes, with the
hate element, a very intimate and hurtful attack that can
undermine the victim’s quality of life’ (ACPO, 2002).
Some examples of hate crime
‘We had stones thrown at our windows and yoghurts and bad
Hate crime against people
with learning difficulties:
the role of the
Crime and
Disorder Act
and
No Secrets
in identification and
prevention Joanna Perry
Project Leader, Rights for All
Values into Action
hate crime
learning disabilities
good practice
human rights
abstract
This article considers the
experiences of people with learning
difficulties as victims of hate crime.
It considers how the
Crime and
Disorder Act
and
No Secrets
can help
identify and prevent hate crime, and
examines an example of good
practice designed to produce an
effective response.
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