/>Harassment of disabled people is a scourge on society and a key challenge
I was recently at a social care event when I was reminded of the horrific murder of Steve Hoskin, a Cornish man with learning disabilities. Having dealt with loneliness and isolation he befriended a couple who tormented him, eventually forcing him to take his own life by jumping off a bridge. A few weeks later I read that a man in Manchester , David Askew, also with learning disabilties had died of a heart attack after confronting people who were harassing him on his doorstep. He had suffered 17 years of abuse. This was also on the back of the case of Fiona Pilkington which gained significant public attention in 2007, as she took her own life and that of her learning disabled daughter after sustaining years of torment.
It was on the back of the Pilkington case that the Equality and Human Rights Commission initiated an inquiry into the safety and security of disabled people. In their research so far, they have concluded that the basic human rights of being able to live free from persecution and torture is denied to many disabled people. This is something that most people would find shocking and equate with oppressive regimes in distant lands as opposed to British Society – but in many cases, for people with mental health problems and learning disablilities in particular, it is an everyday truth.
In defining the key challenges we face to make a more equal society, surely this is a key one. In each of these tragic cases there must have been public servants, local officials and communities who knew of the harassment of these people and thus were in some way complicit in it. As a society we must all take responsibility, not only for turning a blind eye but also, in the case of Steve Hoskin, and certainly many others, being complicit in the isolation which lead him to seek solace in people who intended to manipulate this vulnerability.
What is clear is that a society we still regard disabled people as being intrinsically vulnerable – however these deaths illustrate that their vulnerability is not inherent. It is a function of a society that permits people to prey on those who are the weakest. In the fight for gender equality and against racism there must also be a battle cry for equal dignity and respect for disabled people.
The response to disability hate crime cannot be a return to protectionism, segregation and paternalism however. Instead, we must examine ourselves, our prejudices and behaviours whilst ensuring that disabled people are able to make their own choices and control their lives. And where there are dangers to disabled people and their freedom restricted the Police, Housing and other services must act swiftly to both diagnose and respond to disability hate crime. It is good news that this week the Crown Prosecution Service pledged to identify and prosecute such crimes.
Today I was told by a drunk on the bus that I was a ****head fraud faker. I was sat in a powerchair & had never met this guy before it was total stranger. This is what disabled people have to put up with. I have been disabled 14 years & it was one of the worst experiences Ive had. It makes me want to shut myself away indoors to hide…from people. People who home in on someone in a wheelchair to attack them for no reason. People who say horrible things like, “perhaps being scared of leading a normal life is why you are living like this.”