Mark Brookes has been living a life marred by the dark shadows of disability hate crime and now, he is encouraging more victims to come forward.
But he, along with the rest of the disabled community, fear they will not be listened to or taken seriously by police as shocking new figures reveal victims of disability hate crimes are unlikely to receive justice.
Just 1.2 percent of the 11,000 incidents reported between April 2022 and March 2023 resulted in a charge or summons, according to the charities Leonard Cheshire and United Response.
Considering that new research shared with the Daily Express showed a fifth of the British public has admitted to abusing disabled people simply because of their condition, it is no surprise that Mark is filled with a sense of dread whenever he steps outside of his Essex home.
Mark, 57, has a learning disability and was abused when walking home from work a few years ago on a late and cold evening in October.
The Campaigns Advisor from Essex, said: “I was walking back home from work when I heard a vehicle revving up and some guys shouting.
“At first, they were being friendly but then they started calling me names like ‘fatto’ and ‘four eyes’.
“It went on for a while and I tried to ignore it. The next thing I knew, something hit me. They carried on calling me names and laughing and then drove off.”
Unfortunately for Mark, the street wasn’t well-lit, so he couldn’t see what they looked like, or what it was that hit him, so he quickly rushed home.
When he got inside, he realised that he was covered in egg.
He added: “I’m usually pretty confident with travelling and can get myself out and about but it was scary.”
The research by not-for-profit support provider Dimensions also revealed that six per cent of UK adults admit to having physically hurt someone because of their learning disability or autism – equivalent to 3.6 million people.
Worryingly, younger people tend to have more negative views, according to the study, and Dimensions believes “if we don’t take action now, the problem will only get worse.”
A quarter of adults aged under 35 would feel uncomfortable having someone with learning disabilities as their neighbour (24 percent), sitting next to them on public transport (26 percent), or being friends with them (26 percent).
Rachael Dodgson, Chief Executive of Dimensions, said: “Our research sends a clear message – our society is failing people with learning disabilities and autism.
“Imagine feeling unsafe every time you leave your home or interact with others – this is the unacceptable reality for many.”
Mark didn’t report what happened to him at the time out of fear that he wouldn’t be taken seriously, particularly as the latest figures show that hate crimes are down.
The number of hate crimes recorded by police in England and Wales has fallen year-on-year for the first time in a decade from 153,536 in the 12 months to March 2022 to 145,214 offences in the year ending March 2023.
The total had previously risen every year since comparable data began in 2012/13 but it is still very much a problem.
Mark added: “For too long, people with learning disabilities and autism like me have had to live in fear of being targeted simply because of our disability.
“When I hear stories of hate crime and abuse, I feel awful and sad. We have to keep pushing and going until this stops.
“We need to be listened to and taken seriously, and we all have to work together to change people’s attitudes and to support people to report a hate crime.”
The mother of Andy – not his real name – an autistic man with a learning disability, recounted her son’s experiences of hate crime.
Heartbreakingly, she said that young people would pull Andy’s trousers down in public, and fellow students at school would purposely rearrange his things, even though they knew he needed things arranged “just so”.
She said: “The psychological abuse Andy has suffered over the years has left him needing long-term mental health support.
“It has made him nocturnal – he sleeps in the day and goes out only in the quiet of the night.
“What would Andy want from all those who have persecuted him over the years? That’s easy. For them to walk a mile in his shoes. Together, let’s call time on hate crime.”
Dimensions, along with charities Leonard Cheshire, United Response, and the Daily Express, is calling on the Government to reverse its decision to merge an anti-hate crime strategy into a wider plan to tackle general crime, and instead focus on developing a bespoke hate crime strategy, in consultation with stakeholders and their families.
In a joint statement, Leonard Cheshire and United Response said: “We need to narrow the justice gap between the number of disability hate crimes recorded and the number of offences resulting in a charge.
“There are real people behind these numbers and once a person has been a target of hate, they can be utterly changed.
“We are asking the Government to rethink the plan not to publish a hate crime strategy.
“If they want to set targets for police responses to crime then disability hate crime should be a key focus, not brushed aside.
“Our research shows people want to help in a safe way. We need everyone to be allies in the fight against disability hate crime.”
