Say NO more autism and learning disability hate crime – #ImWithSam
Our #ImWithSam hate crime campaign is a long term mission to tackle hate crime at its roots and promote better support for victims.
Sam represents the 73% of people with a learning disability and/or autism who have experienced hate crime. People who have been subjected to physical attacks, sexual assault and emotional manipulation because of their disability.
Use the buttons below to find out more about hate crime and how you can help.
What is a disability hate crime?
A hate crime is any crime where somebody is targeted because of their disability.
A hate incident is when somebody is targeted because of their disability, but the act committed against them doesn’t amount to a crime. Multiple hate incidents committed by the same person against the same victim can become a hate crime.
The Crown Prosecution Service defines a disability hate crime as:
“Any offence which is perceived, by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice based on a person’s disability or perceived disability.”
Hate crime can come in many forms:
- Verbal abuse
“I’ve been called a paedophile, druggie, weirdo, r****d…”
- Physical abuse
“My son was bullied at school and online…He has been called a r****d and a boy tried to gouge his eyes out.”
“I had my mobile phone stolen in GCSEs…at uni other students told me I was targeted because I was weird.”
“I have been at the end of very serious threats to my life and being spat at and laughed at in the street near my home and in the town centre too.”
- Property damage
“We had equipment provided to keep our disabled child safe repeatedly damaged and were mocked for having extra needs.”
- Coercion by someone you do or do not know
“A group of people pretended to be my friends and conned me out of £4,000.”
- Sexual abuse
“I was targeted for gang rape because I’m autistic and was easy to trick…they said I should enjoy it…it’s the only time anyone is ever going to f*** me.”
Disability hate crime is serious – the motivations are different to other crimes and it’s important the police force and Crown Prosecution Service are aware of this.
It’s important victims understand their rights and the people who support them do too.
Watch our video and use the buttons below to find out more.