Young people, MET and Ministers to join forces on disability hate crime
A press release from Trailblazers:
What
Young disabled people are joining forces with Ministers, the Metropolitan Police Service and charities to tackle the underreporting of disability hate crime, after an investigation found that young people are failing to report threatening behaviour and verbal and physical abuse in public due to the fear that these crimes will not be taken seriously. The campaign has been led by Krishna Talsania (29), who has a muscle-wasting condition and was surrounded, abused, spat and sworn at in a dark street after using a disabled parking space.
The Muscular Dystrophy Campaign Trailblazers, a group of four-hundred 18-30 year-old disabled campaigners from across the UK will hold talks with senior MET officers, Minister for Disabled People, Maria Miller MP, Minister for Equalities and Criminal Information, Lynne Featherstone MP and the Equalities and Human Rights Commission. The group says a nation-wide police initiative is vital to giving disabled people the confidence to report intimidation and to address “inconsistent, inefficient and outdated” systems for recording hate crime.
An investigation of young disabled people’s experiences of hate crime published by the Trailblazers in February 2012 found that:
- two out of three young disabled people have been taunted or verbally abused because they are disabled
- three out of five young disabled people say they think they have been the victim of disability hate crime
- only four out of ten young disabled people who completed the survey and have been harassed or abused, had reported the incident to a person in authority
- eight out of ten young disabled people think the police do not take disability hate crime seriously enough.
The meeting is one of a series by the All Party Parliamentary Group for Young Disabled People, which was set up to investigate the issues facing young disabled people in the UK.
Who
Muscular Dystrophy Campaign Trailblazers campaigners
Krishna Talsania (29), Harrow, London
Krishna no longer goes out in her car alone after being surrounded and threatened by a group of men on a dark street after using a disabled parking space
Tmara Senior (27), Dewsbury, Yorkshire
Tmara faced intimidation from both students and teachers whilst in further education
Tanvi Vyas (29), Edgeware, London
Tanvi led the Trailblazers investigation
Panel
- Maria Miller MP, Minister for Disabled People
- Lynne Featherstone MP, Minister for Equalities and Criminal Information
- Mike Smith, Commissioner, Equalities and Human Rights Commission
- Kathryn Stone, Chief Executive, Voice UK
- Colin Young, Campaigns and Policy Officer for Children and Young People, Mencap
- Marije Davidson, Disability Rights UK, Policy and Research Manager
- Gerry Campbell, Detective Chief Inspector, Metropolitan Police
- Jim Foley, Detective Inspector, Metropolitan Police
When
Wednesday, June 13th 2012, 1pm-3pm
Where
Same Difference 
it is this government and their misuse of the media who are responsible for the rise in disability hate crime, making the lives of the disabled a living hell through their tests and benefit cuts, and then they turn round and say they want to do something about it. Hypocrisy at its worst and all the more disgusting because of it.
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