DISABILITY and anti-sectarian campaigners have welcomed Police Scotland’s campaign against disability hate crime after three of the country’s top para-athletes were drafted in for the launch of a month-long crackdown.
Athlete Jo Butterfield, footballer Jonathan Paterson and boccia player Kieran Steer highlighted crimes against disabled people, which rose by an alarming 20 per cent last year.
The Scottish Disability Equality Forum said it was delighted that the police were raising awareness of hate crime, with the particular focus on disability. The charity said it was working with reporting centres across Scotland, of which there are currently around 300, to encourage people in the community to report third-party hate crimes.
Disability hate crimes increased 20 per cent in the past year to 177 in 2014-15 but the Forum said these figures were only the tip of the iceberg as many victims were reluctant to report crimes for fear of repercussions. It says third-party hate crime reporting enables victims to act without fear of reprisal.
Susan Grasekamp, the Forum’s chief executive, said: “Many of our members report anecdotally of hate crimes they have been subjected to, but very often, it is seen as a ‘part of life’. This has to change, as no-one has the right to inflict injury or insult on account of race, gender, sex, orientation, age or disability. Scottish Disability Equality Forum is hopeful that these next four weeks will create awareness in the general population of what a hate crime is and what we can do to report it.”
Scotland’s leading anti-sectarian charity Nil By Mouth, which recently launched the #KissBigotryGoodbye online campaign, said hate crime was a “depressing reality” for many Scots.
Campaign director Dave Scott said: “This isn’t about ‘political correctness’ or suppressing free speech, as some might have you think, it’s actually about treating others with respect and not being scared of difference.”
The police campaign Scotland – No Place for Prejudice, which launched at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow yesterday, is backed by the Scottish Government and Cabinet Secretary for Justice Michael Matheson.
Superintendent Ross Aitken, of Police Scotland’s Safer Communities team, said: “If anyone feels they have been the victim of a crime which is motivated by malice or ill will because of their sexual orientation, gender identity, faith, ethnicity or disability, they should report it to us.
“We take all such reports very seriously and will conduct thorough investigations to ensure perpetrators are brought to justice.”
The second week of the campaign will focus on sexual orientation and transgender identity hate crime. Last month a report published by the Equality Network found that nine out of 10 LGBT Scots believe acceptance remains a problem.
Almost all those who took part in the survey said they had faced prejudice or discrimination at some time, often in the past year.
Last year, there were 841 charges made with an aggravation of prejudice relating to sexual orientation, and 21 charges relating to transgender identity.
Matheson said: “As a society, we’ve made good progress in raising awareness of this type of crime but there remains much more to be done. This campaign is crucial as it gives clear advice on where victims can go for help.
“The Scottish Government is working hard with third sector organisations to address the underlying causes of hate crime and have invested over £80 million over the past four years in ongoing work to promote equality and tackle discrimination. There is no place for hate crime in modern Scotland.”
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