2024 was a mixed year for the fight against disability hate crime (DHC). The Home Office hate crime stats released in October contained some good news, namely that rates of disability hate crime are down on last year.

Despite this encouraging headline, there were still 11,719 instances of DHC in 2023/24. And with serious reporting issues highlighted in both our survey and the Home Office data itself, it’s hard to say if things are really getting better as we head into 2025.

One problem continues to be the lack of attention paid to DHC by government, parliament, and civic society. Astonishingly, the phrase ‘disability hate crime’ appears just once in the written record of everything said in the House of Commons this year. Particular thanks must go to Debbie Abrahams, Labour MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth, for mentioning DHC on the 3rd of December this year, in a debate she secured. That it took the International Day of Persons with Disabilities for DHC to get even a single mention is an indictment of how little this is talked about. Even worse, in the entirety of the pre-election 2019-2024 Parliament, disability hate crime was mentioned just once in the House of Commons.

There are lots of ways to raise the importance of this issue with MPs, particularly if you have been a victim of disability hate crime. MPs are often very willing to speak to constituents, either at in-person events, or via email or phone. If you have experienced DHC and feel comfortable and willing to do so, contacting them with details of your story might help them understand what a serious problem this is. More than half of all current MPs were newly elected in July 2024, and many will simply not know about this issue, and how lack of action from the government is hurting disabled people. It has never been easier to get in touch with your MP, and you can use Find your MP to quickly discover who your representative is, and how to talk to them.

Taking a stand against disability hate crime

At United Response, we’re also pushing for change. We want to take our in-development report, the result of our year-long research project into disability hate crime on public transport, right to the heart of government, at an event in 2025. We’ve discovered that most disabled people don’t report hate crimes, most are alone when they are victimized, and that most experience feelings of vulnerability afterwards. But it doesn’t have to be like this.

If you are a disabled person who has experienced DHC, and would like to get involved in our project, please get in touch by emailing policy@unitedresponse.org.uk. Equally, if you are an MP, or other politician, and want to help us raise awareness of this issue at any political level, please reach out. We are actively engaging with MPs, and would love to hear from you. Working together, we can make 2025 a better year for all victims of disability hate crime.

Click here to read the previous entry in the Experts on Disability Hate Crime blog, which explains how useful reasonable adjustments on public transport would be for all users. Further discussion of this issue, including updates on the DHC research project, will feature in the coming months. 

Image credits © iStock.

  • Dr Freddie Jobbins is a Disability Hate Crime Project Researcher for United Response