“expanding hate crime laws to cover disability, sexuality and transgender identity”
The UK government plans to strengthen disability hate crime laws by introducing tougher punishments for offenders. This move follows an announcement by Home Office minister Diana Johnson, who stated that “aggravated offences” will be expanded to cover hate crimes based on disability, sexual orientation, or transgender identity.
Assault or harassment that are aggravated by hostility towards a disabled person.
Currently, aggravated offences only apply to crimes motivated by race or religion. However, the proposed change will allow for charges to be brought from the start for offences such as assault or harassment that are aggravated by hostility towards a disabled person. This would result in automatically tougher sentences if found guilty.
The change has been welcomed by Labour MP Rachel Taylor, who proposed the reform, and disabled Labour MP Marie Tidball. Disabled campaigners have been advocating for this improvement for over a decade.
However, some campaigners argue that the government is not going far enough. The Law Commission had recommended additional reforms, including extending “stirring up hatred” offences to cover disability and LGBT+ people and ensuring that someone can be guilty of a disability hate crime if motivated by prejudice. The government says it is still considering these recommendations.
Dr. David Wilkin, a disabled activist, supports the change but criticizes the government for not implementing the Law Commission’s other recommendations. A Home Office spokesperson emphasized that nobody should be attacked because of who they are and confirmed that offenders motivated by hatred will face longer jail sentences.
