Report reveals hate crimes against disabled people in Northern Ireland

From The News Letter in Belfast, Ireland:

Breeze blocks, trees and even dead birds were hurled at a disabled person's home in Northern Ireland, a report revealed July 9.

Verbal and physical abuse in the street humiliated victims, research for the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister added.

The hate crime dossier said awareness of disability issues was believed to be low among the general public.

One anonymous sufferer of the taunts said: “They thought I was a bit soft. People pick on me and try to humiliate me and try to make me feel small.”

The paper, Hate Crime against People with Disabilities – A baseline study of experiences in Northern Ireland, interviewed 172 adults and 13 representative disability organisations plus the police.

It was drawn up by Dr Neil Jarman, chief executive of the Institute for Conflict Research.

It said: “People with a disability reported experiencing a wide range of forms of hate crime, including verbal abuse, assaults and damage to property, such hostility occurs towards people with a wide range of forms of disability.”

Perpetrators are often young people but some adults were also responsible. Around eight per cent of men and five per cent of women experienced problems, last year’s research found. It noted there were 49 incidents in 2007/08.

Police superintendent Andy McQuiggan said: “This is an important piece of research which confirms that there is still a lot of work to be done in the area of disability hate crime.

“The report confirms that under-reporting is an issue that needs to be addressed. We remain dedicated to dealing with all forms of hate crime and would encourage everyone who is a victim or witness to report it to us.”