User:Izzyboolugo/Geography of disability

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Geographies of Disability Hate Crime

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Disability hate crime is known as individuals

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Given the evidence of fear and harassment permeating the everyday lives of many disabled people in an array of private and public spaces (Equality and Human Rights Commission [EHRC], 2016), the absence of research by geographers of disability on what has become known as disability “hate crime” 1 is notable (except Pain, 1997). REWRITTEN: There is a gap in research on disability hate crime however, evidence conveys that fear and harassment pervade the everyday lives of a multitude of disabled people in an array of private and public spaces.

. A call for research is timely; there has been a recent sharp rise in reported incidents of harassment and violence against disabled people,2 in the context of a political and popular discourse of disabled people as welfare benefit “scroungers” (Riley-Smith, 2012). REWRITTEN: Political and popular discourse refer to disabled people as welfare benefit Due to recent rises in reported incidents of harassment and violence against disabled people

Geographies of Disability Hate Crime

A notable amount of disabled people, especially individuals with learning disabilities and mental health conditions, are more likely to experience bullying, harassment, and violence in institutions such as care homes, schools, public spaces, the street, neighbourhoods, and their homes. These acts are committed by professional carers, family members, friends and unknown people. Areas that are designated for disabled people tend to attract violence due to bystanders knowing disabled individuals will be located in these specific spaces. Disabled individuals face a wide range of harassment in different settings,

"Harassment, name-calling and sometimes violence on streets, in shopping areas and parks, and in local neighbourhoods; harassment near, and damage to, people’s homes, access ramps, gardens and adapted cars; being shouted at and victimised for use of disabled parking spaces at shopping centres and for occupying wheelchair spaces on public transport; verbal abuse and being pushed past in shops, cafes and pubs; abuse in online spaces; being taunted outside care facilities; and abuse, violence and exploitation within institutional care, day centres and individuals’ homes"

A survey was conducted where individuals who experienced hate crime were asked where bad things happen,

"In Medway, Kent (SE England), people with learning disabilities described the following as “where bad things happen”: school, college or day centre (43%); in the street as they were walking somewhere (35%); in and around their home (28%); in their neighbourhood (28%); and on public transport (25%)"

Another study by McClimens et al. in 2014 found that people with learning disabilities had fear about their personal safety which shaped the way they Sheffield city centre,

"Similarly, a study by McClimens et al. (2014) found that fears about personal safety shaped people with learning disabilities’ use of Sheffield city centre: certain places (e.g., near a homeless shelter), certain people (e.g., those begging for money) and certain times (e.g., after dark) made people fearful. As with Pain’s (1997) respondents, no one reported being a victim of crime. Their fears, however, were “real enough” and “they tend to avoid certain places and situations” (McClimens et al., 2014, p. 17). Pain concludes that fear of crime is “an extension of the discrimination and, in some cases, harassment which disabled people may face using urban spaces in everyday life” (1997, p. 241). As such, fear of crime has an arguably greater impact on many more people’s lives than exceptional incidents of violence"

Hate crime incidents against disabled people are shaped by spatial and he encounters through which disability hate incidents emerge are shaped by spatial and attitudinal contexts, specific locations have the ability to produce an exclusionary or enabling environment,

"As Hall and Wilton argue, disabled parking bays, wheelchair spaces on public transport and other such “designated” disability spaces are not necessarily spaces of inclusion. It is the interactions of those using them that make them what they are – if the nature of the encounters within them are commonly negative, as with the above example, such spaces can become exclusionary."

Due to disabled individuals belief that the hate crime they experience will not be taken seriously by the police and others they are reluctant to report it. There are possibilities to reshape the way disability hate crime is addressed and looked at,

"reshape the ways in which the police and local authority agencies interpret and address hate crime, from the current focus on increasing reporting of incidents and prosecutions to prevention strategies, to identify and intervene in spaces and relations where hostility is likely to emerge. More positively, a relational perspective can demonstrate the potential of engendering positive connections and alliances, and spaces, between disabled and non-disabled people to reduce the likelihood of disability hate crime"

Evidence shows that many disabled people are reluctant to report the regular harassment they experience as a hate crime, because they don’t recognise it as such, do not believe it will be taken seriously by the police and others, or because it involves someone they know (Clayton et al., 2016; Sin et al., 2009

'''A significant minority of disabled people, in particular people with learning disabilities and mental health conditions, experience bullying, harassment and violence in institutions (e.g., care homes and schools), public spaces and the street, neighbourhoods and their homes. These acts are committed by professional carers, family members, “friends” and those unknown to them (Beadle-Brown et al., 2014; Coleman et al., 2013; Disability Rights Commission, Capability Scotland, 2004; EHRC, 2011; Hughes et al., 2012; Mencap, 2000; Mind, 2007; Quarmby, 2011; Scope, 2008; Sin et al., 2009) REWRITTEN'''

these cases characterise disability hate crime as individually targeted placeless acts of extreme abjection against disabled people, at the same time drawing attention away from the everyday “low-level” harassment, name-calling, fear and neglect experienced by many in mainstream spaces and the impact on senses of social inclusion and belonging (Hollomotz, 2013). REWRITTEN

. Evidence shows that many disabled people are reluctant to report the regular harassment they experience as a hate crime, because they don’t recognise it as such, do not believe it will be taken seriously by the police and others, or because it involves someone they know (Clayton et al., 2016; Sin et al., 2009) REWRITTEN

Sin et al. (2009) emphasise that violence has a traumatic impact on the individual and generates fear within the broader community of disabled people. REWRITTEN

Sin et al. (2009) emphasise that violence has a traumatic impact on the individual and generates fear within the broader community of disabled people. REWRITTEN

Sin et al. (2009) emphasise that violence has a traumatic impact on the individual and generates fear within the broader community of disabled people. Pain (1997) is one of the few 250 | HALL geographers to have examined disability-related fear of crime

Similarly, a study by McClimens et al. (2014) found that fears about personal safety shaped people with learning disabilities’ use of Sheffield city centre: certain places (e.g., near a homeless shelter), certain people (e.g., those begging for money) and certain times (e.g., after dark) made people fearful. As with Pain’s (1997) respondents, no one reported being a victim of crime. Their fears, however, were “real enough” and “they tend to avoid certain places and situations” (McClimens et al., 2014, p. 17). Pain concludes that fear of crime is “an extension of the discrimination and, in some cases, harassment which disabled people may face using urban spaces in everyday life” (1997, p. 241). As such, fear of crime has an arguably greater impact on many more people’s lives than exceptional incidents of violence REWRITTEN

Harassment, name-calling and sometimes violence on streets, in shopping areas and parks, and in local neighbourhoods; harassment near, and damage to, people’s homes, access ramps, gardens and adapted cars; being shouted at and victimised for use of disabled parking spaces at shopping centres and for occupying wheelchair spaces on public transport; verbal abuse and being pushed past in shops, cafes and pubs; abuse in online spaces; being taunted outside care facilities; and abuse, violence and exploitation within institutional care, day centres and individuals’ homes (Beadle-Brown et al., 2014; EHRC, 2011; Scope, 2008; Sin et al., 2009). REWRITTEN

One specific example: in Medway, Kent (SE England), people with learning disabilities described the following as “where bad things happen”: school, college or day centre (43%); in the street as they were walking somewhere (35%); in and around their home (28%); in their neighbourhood (28%); and on public transport (25%) (Beadle-Brown et al., 2014, p. 81) REWRITTEN

. Iganski’s (2008) study of “race” hate crimes in London found that “the geography of space and place clearly plays a role in generating encounters between offenders and victims. It mediates between the background structural context of hate crime and the foreground of offending and victimisation” (2008, p. 45). REWRITTEN

For example, incidents are more likely when large numbers of people are using a public space, such as a busy high street, and when there is a conflict over resources in a local area, such as housing, with a minority group of people identified as the cause. REWRITTEN

Hall and Wilton (2017) draw on the notion of “force” (Grosz, 2005) to recognise that these relational practices and emotions occur in contexts of politics and power “that structure, frame, scale and institutionalise particular spatial orders over time” (Hall, E., & Wilton, 2017, pp. 731–732). The encounters through which disability hate incidents emerge are shaped by spatial and attitudinal contexts, from in/accessible urban environments to disablist/inclusive actions which, as noted above, “have the capacity to produce both exclusionary and/or enabling arrangements” (2017, p. 728). One example of a space and set of relations where disability hate incidents can emerge is designated parking spaces near shops and leisure sites: One [incident] involved a dispute over a supermarket parking bay. As all of the accessible bays were occupied, she [the disabled person] parked her adapted car in a standard bay. As the bay was not wide enough to fit her scooter and wheelchair, the cars tyres extended into the next bay. As she was disembarking, a man shouted at her, calling her ‘a stupid f****** spastic’ for taking up the extra space. ‘When I came out of the shop I was really worried he would still be there. Instead, I found a note written on what looked like the inside of a toilet roll. It was left under the windscreen wiper directly above my blue badge [disabled person’s parking permit]. It said in capital letters: “YOU STUPID BITCH.”’ (EHRC, 2011, p. 65) REWRITTEN

. As Hall and Wilton argue, NRT’s understanding of space as constituted by encounters “offers an important challenge to static designations of spaces as either marginal or mainstream, inclusive or exclusionary” (2017, p. 733); instead it is relations “that shape and reshape the character of specific settings” (2017, p. 733). Disabled parking bays, wheelchair spaces on public transport and other such “designated” disability spaces are not necessarily spaces of inclusion. It is the interactions of those using them that make them what they are – if the nature of the encounters within them are commonly negative, as with the above example, such spaces can become exclusionary. REWRITTEN

Rather, they emerge through social relations between disabled and non-disabled people in particular micro-spaces and times, within broader contexts of sociospatial exclusion and cultural abjection REWRITTEN

In turn, this could reshape the ways in which the police and local authority agencies interpret and address hate crime, from the current focus on increasing reporting of incidents and prosecutions to prevention strategies, to identify and intervene in spaces and relations where hostility is likely to emerge. More positively, a relational perspective can demonstrate the potential of engendering positive connections and alliances, and spaces, between disabled and non-disabled people to reduce the likelihood of disability hate crime. To conclude, the approach proposed in this paper offers potential for an expanded geographical study of all forms of hate crime. REWRITTEN

Geographies of Disability Hate Crime

A notable amount of disabled people, especially individuals with learning disabilities and mental health conditions, are more likely to experience bullying, harassment, and violence in institutions such as care homes, schools, public spaces, the street, neighbourhoods, and their homes. These acts are committed by professional carers, family members, friends and unknown people. Areas that are designated for disabled people tend to attract violence due to bystanders knowing disabled individuals will be located in these specific spaces. Disabled individuals face a wide range of harassment in different settings,

"Harassment, name-calling and sometimes violence on streets, in shopping areas and parks, and in local neighbourhoods; harassment near, and damage to, people’s homes, access ramps, gardens and adapted cars; being shouted at and victimised for use of disabled parking spaces at shopping centres and for occupying wheelchair spaces on public transport; verbal abuse and being pushed past in shops, cafes and pubs; abuse in online spaces; being taunted outside care facilities; and abuse, violence and exploitation within institutional care, day centres and individuals’ homes"

A survey was conducted where individuals who experienced hate crime were asked where bad things happen,

"In Medway, Kent (SE England), people with learning disabilities described the following as “where bad things happen”: school, college or day centre (43%); in the street as they were walking somewhere (35%); in and around their home (28%); in their neighbourhood (28%); and on public transport (25%)"

Another study by McClimens et al. in 2014 found that people with learning disabilities had fear about their personal safety which shaped the way they Sheffield city centre,

"Similarly, a study by McClimens et al. (2014) found that fears about personal safety shaped people with learning disabilities’ use of Sheffield city centre: certain places (e.g., near a homeless shelter), certain people (e.g., those begging for money) and certain times (e.g., after dark) made people fearful. As with Pain’s (1997) respondents, no one reported being a victim of crime. Their fears, however, were “real enough” and “they tend to avoid certain places and situations” (McClimens et al., 2014, p. 17). Pain concludes that fear of crime is “an extension of the discrimination and, in some cases, harassment which disabled people may face using urban spaces in everyday life” (1997, p. 241). As such, fear of crime has an arguably greater impact on many more people’s lives than exceptional incidents of violence" "

Hate crime incidents against disabled people are shaped by spatial and he encounters through which disability hate incidents emerge are shaped by spatial and attitudinal contexts, specific locations have the ability to produce an exclusionary or enabling environment,

"As Hall and Wilton argue, disabled parking bays, wheelchair spaces on public transport and other such “designated” disability spaces are not necessarily spaces of inclusion. It is the interactions of those using them that make them what they are – if the nature of the encounters within them are commonly negative, as with the above example, such spaces can become exclusionary."

Due to disabled individuals belief that the hate crime they experience will not be taken seriously by the police and others they are reluctant to report it. There are possibilities to reshape the way disability hate crime is addressed and looked at,

"reshape the ways in which the police and local authority agencies interpret and address hate crime, from the current focus on increasing reporting of incidents and prosecutions to prevention strategies, to identify and intervene in spaces and relations where hostility is likely to emerge. More positively, a relational perspective can demonstrate the potential of engendering positive connections and alliances, and spaces, between disabled and non-disabled people to reduce the likelihood of disability hate crime." References

Hall, Edward. “A Critical Geography of Disability Hate Crime.” Geography, School of Social Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK, Royal Geography Society, edited by Edward Hall. 29 MRCH 2018