Intellectual Disability, Stigma and Hate Crimes

Mark Sherry and Anna Neller

Abstract

Disability hate crimes – criminal victimization which is aimed at people specifically because of

their disability identity – are alarmingly common in the lives of people with an intellectual

disability and have serious (often life-long) psychological and physical effects. This chapter

provides many examples of disability hate crimes against people with intellectual disabilities in

the US and UK for the period 2011 to 2015. In addition, the chapter outlines strategies that can

be used to more effectively respond to disability hate crimes.

1
Introduction

Disability hate crimes involve criminal victimization which is aimed at people

specifically because of their disability identity. Using recent examples of disability hate crimes

directed towards people with intellectual disabilities in the UK and US, the chapter highlights the

magnitude of this problem, as well as the reasons why disability hate crimes are usually

unreported. The time period 2011 to 2015 was selected largely because previous studies such as

Sherry (2010) and Quarmby (2010) have outlined a number of crimes before this period, and

with the subsequent increased awareness of disability hate crimes since then, it is important to

examine whether there have been any significant cases since that time. Cases were selected on

the basis of three criteria. First, they had to already be publicly reported (the authors were careful

not to discuss cases where the victim/survivors did not want publicity). Second, they had to

reflect a diverse range of locations, in order to give a sense of the global nature of this problem.

This criterion was somewhat difficult because disability hate crimes are not officially recognized

as a specific form of criminal activity in many countries. And third, the crimes had to range in

severity. Although a large number of disability hate crimes result in fatalities or serious injury,

other examples of hate crime needed to be included as well.

Labels and Insults

Over time, terms once associated with the medical diagnosis of intellectual disability

have morphed into the language of insult used in hate speech and in the commission of disability

hate crimes. Historically, public health institutions often regarded those with intellectual

disabilities as sub-human, relying on eugenic ideas which suggested that some lives are less

worthy than others (Wolfensberger & Nirje, 1972). The category of ‘intellectual disability’ was

initially defined through a medical model replete with negative labels such as ‘feebleminded’,

2
‘idiot’, ‘mental defective’, ‘subnormal’, ‘imbecile’, ‘moron’ and ‘retarded’. Such terms over time

have trickled into common usage as generic slurs which take on extra layers of meaning when

aimed at people with intellectual disabilities. For instance, the word ‘retard’ is widely-used as an

insult as well as a specific form of hate speech used in the commission of disability hate crimes.

Disability scholars consistently stress the importance of understanding intellectual

disability in its social context (Gill, 2015). This means that one cannot understand intellectual

disability without noting the wider social context of disablism (prejudice and discrimination

against disabled people) and ableism (processes and practices that privilege nondisabled minds,

senses or bodies) (Campbell, 2009). Attitudes towards intellectual disability are not just

characterized by stigma and prejudice; they may involve hostility and even hatred as well. The

results of such attitudes include higher rates of violence, criminal victimization, and social

exclusion. These experiences are framed by disablism and ableism - wider power systems that

devalue and marginalize people with disabilities. The combined effects of stigma, disablism,

ableism and intolerance are seen most starkly in the violence of disability hate crimes.

In such a context, it may be easier to identify disablism because one can identify hurtful

interpersonal experiences such as name-calling, teasing, and bullying – a commonplace and

devastating experience in the lives of many people with intellectual disabilities (Robinson,

2013). But it is equally important, and often harder, to examine ableist social dynamics which

usually operate under the surface, creating situations of privilege or disadvantage, safety or harm,

inclusion or exclusion. Both disablism and ableism operate in the context of stigma and

intellectual disability, and both need to be addressed in order to challenge the connections

between intellectual disability, stigma and disability hate crime.

3
 By situating disability hate crimes within a wider social content of prejudice and

discrimination, it may seem that they are simply another manifestation of overall hostility to

disabled people. Clearly, there is some weight to this suggestion. Disablist slurs are commonly

used in the commission of disability hate crimes. But failing to distinguish these crimes from

other beliefs, attitudes and practices is not entirely satisfactory. There are distinct differences

between prejudice (which is often unexpressed), disabling barriers (which are oftentimes legal)

and criminal activity. Disability hate crimes are often felonies – serious actions which (if

successfully prosecuted) result in imprisonment. Clearly, such actions and consequences are

significantly different from other non-felonious patterns of discrimination and prejudice.

People with intellectual disabilities experience more interpersonal abuse in schools;

violence perpetrated by staff and other people with disabilities in institutional settings; and hate

crimes (both from strangers and from people pretending to be friends) which are often brutally

violent and hypersexual (Sherry, 2010). They also experience higher rates of criminal

victimization than the rest of the population (Petersilia, 2001). Sexual abuse is also alarmingly

common for both children and adults with intellectual disabilities (McCarthy, 2014) - some cases

have been considered disability hate crimes. The classification of such sexual and criminal acts –

particularly whether they are labeled ‘disability hate crimes’ or not – varies from one jurisdiction

to another. In some cases, they are immediately labeled as hate crimes, in others they may be

given another classification, such as a crime against a dependent adult. When crimes against a

dependent adult are successfully prosecuted, they do involve serious consequences and enhanced

penalties if the victim/survivor receives serious injuries. Lesser crimes against dependent adults

are usually not associated with the additional sentencing provisions of a disability hate crime.

4
Such inconsistencies seem to be linked to the prevalent attitudes and legislation about disability,

care, crime, and victimization in a particular region.

The decision to prosecute a crime as a ‘hate crime’ is incredibly significant because when

an act is labeled a ‘hate crime’, penalty enhancement occurs. Accordingly perpetrators often

receive time and a half sentencing for their felonies. Such penalty enhancement is associated

with hate crimes because the law recognizes that there are two victims in any hate crime: the

individual victim, and the community to which they belong. For instance, when a person with an

intellectual disability is violently attacked in a hate crime, they are likely to avoid the area in

future – but so too are other people with intellectual disabilities. Their freedom to travel in any

area without fear has been taken away. This flow-on effect of a disability hate crime is the

ultimate reason behind penalty enhancement.

People with intellectual disabilities may also suffer injustice in the legal system,

particularly when it is assumed that they are considered ‘unreliable witnesses’ whose victim

testimonies do not have sufficient credibility to be believed (Bottoms et al., 2003). This faulty

assumption has meant that many cases of crime, including sexual assault, rape, violence, theft,

maltreatment, abuse, and hate crimes against people with intellectual disabilities have not been

prosecuted (Henry & Wilcock, 2013). This is particularly troubling because victims of crime

who have intellectual disabilities may experience psychological distress at greater levels, and for

longer periods, than non-disabled victims (Khalifeh et al., 2013). Additionally, when offenders

feel that they will not be prosecuted for crimes against this population, they may feel encouraged

to continue or escalate their crimes. A review of various forms of violence against children with

disabilities published in The Lancet suggested that the social factors which result in lower

prosecution rates include:

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 ‘… societal stigma and discrimination, negative traditional beliefs and ignorance within

communities, lack of social support for carers, type of impairment (e.g. communication

difficulties), and heightened vulnerability as a result of the need for increased care,

including medical attention.’ (McCarthy & Thompson, 1997, p. 1)

People with intellectual disabilities experience significant prejudice and social exclusion

globally, including in Taiwan (Chen & Shu, 2012); China and Hong Kong (Human Rights

Watch, 2013) and Africa (Njenga, 2009). These attitudes and behaviors often result in a failure to

take the testimonies of some victims with intellectual disabilities and lack of access to the justice

system. As well, responses to disability hate crimes differ greatly across the globe. Few countries

formally recognize disability hate crimes, leaving victims with intellectual disabilities without

legal recourse or protection. When disability hate crimes occur, few people know exactly what

legal protection and redress is available (Scior et al., 2015). This failure to properly recognize

and respond to disability hate crimes has been a major focus of the activism of disability rights

campaigners in the United Kingdom.

UK examples of disability hate crimes 2011-2015

Personal stories of violent victimization put a human face on disability hate crimes. There

are many well-known cases of crimes against people with intellectual disabilities. Some of these

hate crimes were immediately recognized as hate crimes, but others were not – leading to

campaigns by disability advocates (and sometimes prosecutors) to argue that they should have

been identified in this way. In the UK, some of the horrific crimes against people with

intellectual disabilities include the 2014 crimes against Craig Kinsella, who had been ‘living like

a slave’ in a garage, sleeping on a piece of carpet, using an old curtain as a blanket, and eating

scraps of food from a garbage bin (BBC Staff Reporter, 2014); the 2011 murder of Gamma

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Hayter, who was locked in a toilet, forced to drink urine, beaten and left with a broken nose, and

who choked on her own blood before she was stripped naked and dumped near a disused railway

track (Slater, 2011); the violent assaults against David Busby, who was beaten with a cricket bat

and a metal dumbbell in 2012, sustaining 14 fractured ribs, a displaced breastbone and a broken

shoulder blade (Cockerton, 2012); and an (unnamed) woman in Oldham who in 2014 was kicked

in the groin, punched, burned with a lighter, had her head and eyebrows shaved, and forced to eat

dog food and raw sausages (Cox, 2014). While disability rights campaigners immediately

labeled these as ‘hate crimes’, law enforcement was often much more reluctant to use this term.

One problematic term which has been applied to certain hate crimes in the UK is the

notion of ‘mate crime’. This term suggests that people who pose as friends of the victim then use

their position of trust to attack the person with an intellectual disability. While such a term has

gained some currency in the press and among disability advocates, it is problematic because it

risks biasing the understanding of disability hate crime in favor of male victims. Female victims

also commonly know their attackers, but are more likely to experience rape and assault in hate

crimes (Sherry, 2010). Rape and sexual assault are never considered ‘mate crime’ (and often they

are not considered ‘hate crime’ either). So responses to the incidence of ‘mate crime’ tend to

have an implicit masculinist bias.

Surprisingly, however, it is difficult to estimate the exact number of disability hate crimes

against people with intellectual disabilities in the UK. Between 2007 and 2015, only 4,000 cases

of disability hate crimes were prosecuted in the UK (Wheeler, 2015). However, the UK

Disability Hate Crime Network estimates the actual number of disability hate crimes to be much

larger – ‘at least 30 times higher than official police records indicate’ (Dodenhoff, 2014). The

Equality and Human Rights Commission also believes that police statistics vastly underestimate

7
the actual numbers of disability hate crimes – they believe that there are approximately 72,000

incidents of disability hate crime per year in the UK (Coleman et al., 2013).

Unfortunately, despite widespread recognition of the problem of disability hate crime

(Beadle-Brown et al., 2014), the response from the UK authorities has been disappointing

overall. In 2013, a major report entitled Living in a Different World: Joint Review of Disability

Hate Crime was published as a result of a collaboration of major institutions involved in the UK

criminal justice system (HMCPSI, HMIC, & HMIC Probation, 2013). It stated that disability

hate crime was ‘the hate crime that has been left behind’ (p.5) in comparison to other forms of

hate crime, such as hate crime related to race, religion, or sexual orientation, and that there was

significant under-reporting of such crimes. Some of the problems it specifically identified

included lack of knowledge, misunderstanding, misclassification of crimes, and failure to record

significant information at all levels of the criminal justice system. Specifically, the above report

identified lack of training and lack of prioritizing disability hate crimes among police,

prosecutors, witness care units, the probate service, and those involved in the post-conviction

process.

A 2015 follow-up report by the same institutions found that the problems identified in the

Living in a Different World report are ongoing (HMCPSI, HMIC, & HMIC Probation, 2015).

There are still major problems in the way disability hate crimes are identified; the number of

reports remains low; data handling errors persist; the information recorded is often inadequate;

there are insufficient cases where penalty enhancements (referred to as ‘uplifts’) are applied to

disability hate crimes; and training has been ‘inconsistent and slow’ (p.4-5).

US examples of disability hate crimes 2011-2015

8
 The situation in the US appears to be worse, because much smaller numbers of cases of

disability hate crimes are prosecuted. For instance, despite the inclusion of disability hate crimes

in Federal legislation in 2009, only one case was prosecuted in the US in the subsequent two

years. This was the first time federal charges covering disability hate crimes had been laid under

the 2009 Shepard-Byrd Hate Crimes Prevention Act. The fact that this was the first case to

involve such charges is itself noteworthy, given that the FBI had reported 102 disability hate

crimes in 2012, 58 in 2011, and 46 in 2010 (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2010-2013). The

FBI does not provide details on the outcome of these other cases.

In that case, in Philadelphia, disability hate crimes were allegedly inflicted upon four

people with intellectual disabilities over a ten-year period. In January 2013, a federal indictment

claimed that from 2001 to 2011, Linda Ann Weston kidnapped four people with intellectual

disabilities, locked them in a tiny basement, beat them, starved them, and stole their disability

benefit checks (Dolak, 2013). Weston was allegedly assisted by four others who would confine,

discipline and transport the victims. She allegedly lured one of the victims, Maxine Lee (a

woman with an intellectual disability) over the internet, forced her into prostitution, beat her with

sticks and bats, locked her in a cabinet under a kitchen sink, and left her in a basement where she

died in a malnourished state, suffering from bacterial meningitis (Martin, 2013).

In another case, in 2014, three teens from Newark, New Jersey were charged with a

disability hate crime under State legislation after they allegedly kicked and punched an

intellectually disabled man in the head (Associated Press, 2015). They were originally charged

with offensive touching and assault of a vulnerable adult, but their charges were later upgraded

to include a hate crime element. But throughout the US, there seems to be no clear rationale

behind the process of labeling some acts ‘disability hate crimes’ and not labeling similar sadistic

9
crimes in the same way. For instance, in May 2015, a Florida man was charged with using a

walking stick he called the ‘Stupid Stick’ to perpetrate repeated physical abuse against his

housemates, a disabled woman and her 15-year-old son child with an intellectual disability and

no verbal communication skills (WTSP10 News Staff, 2015). The alleged perpetrator, Phillip

Simons, was a 52 year-old former policeman. Simons allegedly threatened the crime victims

with guns, beat them with his hands, and in verbally abused them. He is also accused of grabbing

the minor’s genitals in order to traumatize and intimidate him (Fox 8 News Staff Winterhaven,

2015). According to news reports, the woman reported his behavior to police only after he put a

gun in her mouth and threatened to kill her, while her son and another boy watched (Wagner,

2015). But his actions were never described in terms of ‘disability hate crimes’.

Another US crime which arguably could have been identified as a disability hate crime

occurred in Ohio in 2014. It involved a 14-year-old boy who was tricked into participating in the

‘ice bucket challenge’– but the bucket was actually drenched in classmates’ feces, urine, and spit

(Caulfield, 2014). The crime was committed by multiple perpetrators – five teenagers aged

between 14 and 16. All five were charged in juvenile court with disorderly conduct and three

were also charged with delinquency and assault (Corcoran & Faberov, 2014). However, another

element of their actions deserves attention for those interested in the connection between stigma

and disability hate crimes: they assumed that a crime against someone with an intellectual

disability was socially acceptable, not shameful, and that it was funny or entertaining enough to

share widely online.

Uploading such material online is becoming an alarmingly common feature of crimes

against people with disabilities – four examples (of the many which are online) should

demonstrate their nature. One video which was uploaded to the internet by the perpetrators

10
shows two men tormenting a 42 year-old woman with an intellectual disability outside a

Sacramento donut store. They then push her, spit on her, and punch her in the face, laughing as

they assault her (CBS13 Staff Reporters, 2011a, 2011b). Another video shows three teenagers in

Winston-Salem, North Carolina, pushing a man with physical and intellectual disabilities down

an embankment, chasing him, and continuing to attack him until he is motionless on the ground

(Anthony, 2015). A third video, uploaded to Facebook, shows six people attacking a 48-year-old

intellectually disabled woman with their fists and their shoes, as well as kicking her (Pow &

Staff Reporter Daily Mail, 2013). A fourth video shows a group of girls beating a man with an

intellectual disability in Caruthersville, Missouri as he says ‘Baby, leave me alone’ (St. Amand,

2012).

This small number of cases from the US, alongside those discussed earlier from the UK,

only scratch the surface of the global dimension of this problem. Reports from many other

countries suggest that similar cases of violence, abuse, torture, murder, and kidnapping, as well

as sexual assault, occur with alarming frequency – particularly for those people with disabilities

who reside in institutions. Placement in segregated institutions, located far away from the rest of

the population, adds to the stigma and prejudice experienced by people with intellectual

disabilities. Their social isolation is compounded by the reluctance of other people to visit them

in hospital-like institutions. Without external support and safeguards, institutionalized people

become more vulnerable to victimization, violence and abuse.

A horrifying case of institutional abuse (involving, among other things, severe physical

abuse of people with intellectual disabilities) was uncovered by the BBC at the Winterbourne

11
View care home in 2011. Because of their segregation from the rest of society, and the relative

isolation of residents, institutions can be permeated by a culture of abuse. Often a country will

claim that they have no institutions, because the label ‘institution’ has been removed from a

facility, but many disability agencies nevertheless operate as de-facto institutions. Long-term

residents have few alternative accommodation options and as a result, stay for many years.

Demeaning attitudes that deny the rights of people with intellectual disabilities can flourish in

such de-facto institutions. For instance, in many of these institutions, residents are dehumanized,

devalued, and denied their right to choose the most basic things, such as when they will eat

meals. In the aftermath of the Winterbourne exposé, many family members reported abuse in

other UK institutions. Within a year, a joint report by two disability agencies reported another

260 cases of neglect or abuse identified by people who had family members with intellectual

disabilities in institutions (Mencap and the Challenging Behaviour Foundation, 2012). Instead of

providing more statistics about this gruesome problem, we will now turn to ways of addressing

disability hate crimes.

Tackling disability hate crime

There are a number of effective strategies which have been developed to tackle disability hate

crime. Some of these include:

 Establishing community education programs which address common misunderstandings

(both among victims and law enforcement) about what constitutes a disability hate crime;

 Involving families, friends and other advocates in the process of safeguarding people

with intellectual disabilities and emphasizing their key role in reporting abuse, neglect

and hate crimes;

12
 Emphasizing accessible communication with people with intellectual disabilities,

ensuring that they know they have the right to be safe, that their experiences may be

disability hate crimes, and that they can get support and seek justice through the legal

system if they want;

 Stressing to people with intellectual disabilities that such instances are not ‘just a part of

normal life’ but do deserve police involvement;

 Ensuring that disability hate crimes are appropriately identified and not mislabeled as

something else;

 Acknowledging and addressing disagreements among various parts of the legal system

over the use of disability slurs during the commission of a crime, especially as to whether

they are indicators of hate or simply generic insults;

 Acknowledging the reluctance of victims to report the crimes (particularly their fears of

retaliation or not being believed) and putting in place meaningful safeguards which

ensure that they are safe and protected, and that their complaints are given a fair hearing;

 Demonstrating to victims that making a complaint about a disability hate crime will not

just involve reliving some of the worst experiences in their life without recourse to any

real justice;

 Community education programs which increase knowledge about the nature of disability

hate crimes and teach people what they can do about them;

 Partnerships between law enforcement agencies and disability groups to build trusting

relationships which might lead to an increase in reporting of disability hate crimes;

 Community education tools which involve personal accounts of disability hate crimes,

discussing their physical and emotional effects;

13
  Removing the stigma attached to intellectual disability so that people are not afraid of

being publicly identified as someone with a disability;

 Innovations that make it easier to report disability hate crimes, such as a reporting app for

mobile phones, and the establishment of third-party reporting programs;

 Enhanced education programs throughout the entire law enforcement system – from

street-level policing to prosecutors, judges, parole officers, and so on; and

 Tracking the numbers of reported disability hate crimes which are successfully

prosecuted.

Conclusions

Disability hate crimes are a graphic reminder of the insult, abjection and violence

directed towards people with intellectual disabilities. This chapter mainly focused on the UK and

the US, but the problem of violence, abuse, and disability hate crime is not confined to those

countries – far from it. Disability hate crimes are a global problem. In challenging environments

that produce such crimes, it is necessary to confront both ableism and disablism. Both create

environments which devalue, segregate, marginalize, stigmatize and endanger people with

disabilities. But there are also specific responses to disability hate crimes which are necessary –

for instance, community education, increased liaison between law enforcement and disability

groups, improved training for people at all levels of the criminal justice system, and innovations

in reporting processes such as the advent of third-party reporting systems and the development of

reporting apps on telephones. But most importantly, there needs to be improved communication

with people with intellectual disabilities, and their families and friends in order to ensure that

they know what disability hate crimes are, and how they can seek justice when such crimes

occur.

14
Key Learning Points

 The stigma attached to intellectual disability, combined with the wider power structures of

ableism and disablism, create an environment which can be exclusionary, unsafe and hostile

for people with intellectual disabilities.

 Historical medical terms for intellectual disability are now being recirculated as terms of

insult and hate – for instance, people are often called a ‘retard’ during disability hate crimes.

 Disability hate crimes are often directed towards people with intellectual disabilities – both

the size of the problem and the violence of the attacks are alarming.

 Such crimes are usually unreported.

Accessible Summary

 Sometimes people will hit you, kick you or hurt you in some other way just because you have

a disability. This is not ok. It is called a disability hate crime.

 You are not alone. This type of crime has happened to many other people and you can get

support and help.

 You can report it to the police if you want to, or someone else can help you report it. They

are less likely to hurt you, your family, or your friends again if you go to the police.

 You have the right to be safe.

 No one has the right to harm you or discriminate against you.

15
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