Disabled Victims need independent hate crime advocates

To improve the outcomes for disabled victims of hate crime, there must be investment in long-term independent advocacy support.

Posted: 5 September 2022

Two women (one Asian woman of restricted height and one Black woman in a motorised scooter) are talking at a sofa

This year for National Hate Crime Awareness Week, we wanted to focus on raising awareness of the needs of Disabled victims to get justice. It is so important for victims of crime to have access to independent advocacy. With the support of independent advocates, victims are more likely to stay engaged and achieve better outcomes, including victims who are not involved with the Criminal Justice System.

We are keen for commissioners and funders to see how independent hate crime advocates can improve outcomes for Disabled victims of hate crime.

We are publishing this report with the aim of raising awareness about the need for independent hate crime advocates. The report includes specific costings and job descriptions for DDPOs to use to apply for funding.

The Hate Crime Secondment Project, which is part of the London DDPO HC Partnership, has been supporting DDPOs to train and upskill their staff, volunteers and trustees to better support Disabled victims of hate crime. Despite the project’s success, the organisations who received this capacity building have not been able to secure follow on funding. This means that the knowledge and skills learned can not be used as effectively and we think Disabled victims of hate crime deserve better.

This is part of our ongoing campaign to improve services for Disabled victims of hate crime. There is another report in relation to this focusing on options for hate crime advocacy qualifications. You can read more that this here.

Hate Crime Advocates for DDPOs (Word)