MEP DESCRIBES DISABILITY HATE CRIME REPORT AS "SICKENING"
August 22, 2008 11:31 AM
Liz Lynne, the local Liberal Democrat MEP, has said that she was "absolutely sickened" by a recent BBC Radio 4 programme investigating crimes committed against people with disabilities.
'The Hidden Crime of Hate' examined how laws on crimes against disabled people have failed to be enforced by police with a series of horrific and brutal attacks failing to meet the standard required to be defined as a 'hate crime'.
It found that the provisions of the 2003 Criminal Justice Act, which makes it a more serious offence to commit a crime based on someone's disability, were failing to be implemented as police could not objectively prove that disability was the motive. In some cases this was despite a history of abuse by the perpetrator against the victim, and clear evidence that they already knew that the victim was disabled before committing the attacks.
Liz Lynne, who is the Vice President of the European Parliaments All Party Disability Intergroup and one of the foremost campaigners for disabled people's rights said:
"This report highlights just some of the barbaric, disgraceful and inhumane acts that are committed against disabled people. More needs to be done to ensure that those who attack a person simply because they are disabled have their actions exposed for what they are- hate crimes."
She expressed her disappointment that since 2003 only two cases had been successfully prosecuted as disability hate crimes:
"Unlike many other EU countries, we are lucky in that we have a law that puts hate crimes against disabled people on the same level as hate crimes based on race, religion or sexual orientation. What is important is that we use these laws to their full potential.
"Often too much emphasis is placed on the fact that the victim may be vulnerable, and the police lose sight of the fact that the crime may have been motivated by hatred towards disabled people. We need to remember that a crime may be committed simply because someone is disabled and make sure we use the hate crime legislation as it is intended."
END
Notes:
Liz has long campaigned on disability rights including being rapporteur for the European Parliament on the European Year of People with Disabilities 2003.
Her report calling for a new European Directive on Anti-Discrimination on the grounds of age, race, sexual orientation and disabilities in the provision of goods and service was adopted earlier this year. The report can be found at:
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