Introduction
Disability hate crime is defined as “any incident/crime which is perceived by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by a hostility or prejudice based on a person’s disability or perceived disability” and is known to be the least reported hate crime compared with the other four monitored strands. This report will discuss the scale and scope of the problem, how theories help us to understand why this prejudice happens and what can be done to reduce the number of offences through policies and legislation.
Section 1 - Scale
A major problem involved in hate crime against the disabled is the under-reporting of offences and it has been shown that “compared with racist and religiously-motivated hate crime, hate crime against
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This was done in Section 146 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 with new documents being introduced that strengthened sentencing requirements attached to hate motivated offences (Roulstone 2010), known as the sentencing uplift. Statistics from the Hate Crime Annual Report in 2016/17 showed that the use of the sentencing uplift has increased to 52% of cases. This has clearly been a positive implementation as it demonstrates that the courts are recognising hate crime and is a start to providing victims with the justice they deserve. The fight against disability hate crime began with the Disability Discrimination Act created in 1995 with the intention to address the social exclusion and isolation of disabled people and set out the rights of people with disabilities in relation to employment, education, access to goods and services, buying or renting property. However, despite this, there was still evidence to suggest that when disabled people go out in public they are subject to harassment. Many other policies and charities like this have now been implemented as an attempt to tackle hate crime against disabled people. The charity, Mencap, founded in 1946, fight for the equal rights and opportunities for people with learning disabilities and aim at helping to improve their lives as well as their families. They do this by offering a variety of services from around the clock care to …show more content…
True vision is a police funded website set up to provide information on the different forms of hate crime and how to report it. Victims and families are able to access information on the ways they can report hate crimes and people that can be of help and support to them. There is also an online report form which is sent directly to the police. This website encourages victims to come forward and by creating a simple way of reporting enables communities to highlight the main concerns within an area, improving all of society. There has also been a new national police hub set up to stamp down on those who commit hate crime online with its main aim is to ensure victims have the confidence to come forward. The hub’s activities include “assessing whether the particulars of a complaint amount to a crime, combining duplicate reports and identifying perpetrators” (The Independent, 2017) fighting against those who use online anonymity as an excuse to commit
The Disability Act promoted these behaviors by making it the law that the disabled be treated fairly. Therefore, people are not treating the disabled equally; people are treating the disabled differently because they feel it is politically correct. In Birnbaum’s case, a lot of people overlooked him when they considered someone committing a crime because there are always chances that the accuser could be prosecuted against for discrimination (228-230). In Toby Sieber’s “Disability Theory”, the author makes this statement, “The right to have rights, according to Hannah Arendt’s valuable formulation, bases human rights on the right to belong to a political community in which individuals are judged by their actions and opinion” (176); Sieber’s statement illustrates how every person’s actions should be judged equally and this is the definition of having rights. Problems occur when people emotionally react to situations rather than logically. As discussed before, Birnbaum’s smuggling of Cuban cigars into the U.S. was a result of airport official’s negligence to his capabilities (229). Though, not only was the airport officials negligent, Birnbaum was deceitful because he knew his action was against the law, but he still committed the crime (Birnbaum
There are several reasons why offenders commit hate crimes, they vary from case to case, however, one key element is fear which is caused by ignorance. The offenders fear the unknown and the competition they feel that exists, them vs. the ‘others’. When fear is accompanied by other factors it could potentially lead to a violent crime. “The
Profile of a Hate Crime Offender Sterilized from emotion, hate crime, also called bias crime, is those offenses motivated in part or singularly by personal prejudice against other because of a diversity-race, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity/national origin, or disability. Hate crimes are committed out of anger, ignorance, and lack of knowledge of another’s ideas and beliefs. There are many causes for an individual to commit a hate crime. Also, many different profiles fit the description of a hate crime offender. There are ways to prevent and control hate crimes, but they will always be present in society as long as every person has the right to express his or her opinion.
When the topic of hate and bias crime legislation is brought up two justifications commonly come to mind. In her article entitled “Why Liberals Should Hate ‘Hate Crime Legislation” author Heidi M. Hurd discusses the courts and states views that those who commit hate and bias crimes ought to be more severely punished. She takes into consideration both sides of the argument to determine the validity of each but ultimately ends the article in hopes to have persuaded the reader into understanding and agreeing with her view that laws concerning the punishment of hate and bias laws should not be codified. Hate crime is described as a violent, prejudice crime that occurs when a victim is targeted because of their membership in a specific group. The types of crime can vary from physical assault, vandalism, harassment or hate speech. Throughout the article Hurd tried to defend her view and explain why there should be no difference of punishment for similar crimes no matter the reason behind it. Her reason behind her article came from the law that President Obama signed in 2009 declaring that crimes committed with hatred or prejudice should have more sever punishments. While the court has their own views to justify their reasoning behind such decisions, in the article Hurd brings up points and facts to prove the wrongfulness of creating such a law. However, though Hurd has made her views clear in the following essay I will discuss reasons why the penalties are justifiable, why they should receive the same degree of punishment, less punishment and my personal view on the topic.
Hate crime can also be called a bias crime, which means that someone commits a crime against someone based solely on their particular characteristic that they cannot or do not want to change such as religion or gender (Hate Crimes, n.d.). Sadly, hate crimes occur often and can have a lasting effect on the victim. The definition of what constitutes a hate crime has broadened over the years, as the FBI has changed it to address those who are victimized by disability or gender identity as society has continued to grow more diverse and change substantially (Hate Crimes, n.d.). It is crucial that the United States understands how many people are victims of hate crimes and how often it occurs to better understand the scope of the problem. According to the FBI, the most frequent hate crimes are racially motivated at almost fifty percent (Latest Hate Crime Statistics, 2015). This means that there are many people that are victimized because of their race, which is unchangeable and pre-determined. Religious hate crime and sexual orientation hate crimes were tied for the second most prevalent in the United States (Latest Hate Crime Statistics, 2015). These people are victims because of who they are and how these offenders see
What is meant by the term “hate crime”? Discuss with reference to at least one type of hate crime, paying particular attention to the social and cultural context in which some identities become targets.
McVeigh, Rory., Michael R. Welch, Thoroddur Bjarnason. 2003. “Hate Crime Reporting as a Successful Social Movement Outcome.” American Sociological Association. 68: 843-867.
A hate crime is a crime motivated by several reasons that include religion, sexual orientation, race, nationality, gender etc. It typically involves physical violence, intimidation, threats and other means against the individual that is being targeted. It is a crime against the person and it can have a devastating impact on the victim. Several argue that hate crimes should be punished more severely. However, it is not a crime to hate someone or something if it does not lead to some sort of criminal offense.
...ith these differencesAs Barbara McQuade said, “A hate crime is different than a simple assault because it is an attack on not just one individual victim, but an attack on everyone who shares a particular characteristic.”As presented in this paper, hate crime isn’t new but isn’t talked about too much either. These crimes are not taken as serious as they should be. Attention was brought to what hate crime is, who commits them, at what ages they are being committed, how often they occur, which states have the most and which people are targeted the most. Hate crimes are done every day and it isn’t taken seriously. It can happen to anyone in this country at any time. After reading this paper there should be enough information gathered to try and avoid these crimes. It is also shown that participating to try and put an end to these crimes would be very helpful to society.
It is quite certain to say that discrimination can be deadly and can deprive a person from living a normal and happy life. Especially those with disability. Therefore, it is important for discriminatory practices to be avoided and dealt properly ones reported.. If these effects are dealt properly ,long term effects can be eliminated.
Today we have looked at the problem known as hate crimes and the varied causes which keep it in existence. We have also discussed some solutions to this act of hate.
It doesn’t matter what you look like on the outside, it’s what’s on the inside that counts, but our society today lacks to understand that. In today’s time different is not accepted, people that are different are discriminated, looked down upon and usually picked on. People with disabilities are seen as different creatures by most people, the disabled don’t choose to be the way they are, but still our society alienates them. There are different types of disabilities, some type of disabilities are; mental disability, physical disability, learning disability and socializing disability. These disabilities are seen as weakness in our society that hence contribute to the stereotype that leads to the discrimination against the disabled.
Every day in America, a woman loses a job to a man, a homosexual high school student suffers from harassment, and someone with a physical or mental disability is looked down upon. People with disabilities make up the world’s largest and most disadvantaged minority, with about 56.7 million people living with disabilities in the United States today (Barlow). In every region of the country, people with disabilities often live on the margins of society, deprived from some of life’s fundamental experiences. They have little hope of inclusion within education, getting a job, or having their own home (Cox). Everyone deserves a fair chance to succeed in life, but discrimination is limiting opportunities and treating people badly because of their disability. Whether born from ignorance, fear, misunderstanding, or hate, society’s attitudes limit people from experiencing and appreciating the full potential a person with a disability can achieve. This treatment is unfair, unnecessary, and against the law (Purdie). Discrimination against people with disabilities is one of the greatest social injustices in the country today. Essential changes are needed in society’s basic outlook in order for people with disabilities to have an equal opportunity to succeed in life.
Democracy Democracy first appeared in ancient Greece. First, they had no word “Democracy”. Democracy system was just the ideal that they agree to use for ruled people. Before they ruled by democracy system they used to rule by monarchy.
Like Sharron Angle said, “There is a plan and a purpose, a value to every life, no matter what its location, age, gender or disability”. We all are one; we all are special in our own way, so why treat someone else different just because they look different from what is viewed as “normal”? Why commit violence against people with disabilities? According to Cook, L. (2015), Americans with disabilities are more often victims of violent crimes. The violence against the disabled was thirty-six per one thousand in 2013, two times the amount of people without disabilities.