Missing links: safeguarding and disability hate crime responses

Missing links: safeguarding and disability hate crime responses Jane C. Healy, Rosslyn Dray The Journal of Adult Protection, Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print, pp.- This paper aims to consider the relationship between disability hate crime and safeguarding adults. It critically considers whether safeguarding responses to disability hate crime have changed following the implementation of the Care Act 2014. Historically, protectionist responses to disabled people may have masked the scale of hate crime and prevented them from seeking legal recourse through the criminal justice system (CJS). This paper investigates whether agencies are working together effectively to tackle hate crime. The research presented draws on semi-structured interviews with key informants who work with disabled people and organisations as part of a wider study on disability hate crime. Prior to the Care Act, safeguarding practice often failed to prioritise criminal justice interventions when responding to reports of disability hate crimes. Improving engagement within multi-agency safeguarding hubs and boards has the potential to increase hate crime awareness and reporting. This research was limited in scope to 15 participants who worked in England within safeguarding teams or with victims of hate crime. Raising the profile of disability hate crime within safeguarding teams could lead to achieving more effective outcomes for adults at risk: improving c...
Source: The Journal of Adult Protection - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Source Type: research