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Hidden in 
plain sight
Inquiry into
disability-related
harassment
Executive summary


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Executive summary
Key findings
There is a systemic failure by public
authorities to recognise the extent and
Several serious cases of abuse of disabled
impact of harassment and abuse of
people – such as Fiona Pilkington and her
disabled people, take action to prevent
daughter, Francecca, who died in 2007
it happening in the first place and
after suffering years of harassment – have
intervene effectively when it does.
been reported in the media over the last
These organisational failings need to be
few years. Our inquiry shows that
addressed as a matter of urgency and
harassment of disabled people is a serious
the full report makes a number of
problem which needs to be better
recommendations aimed at helping
understood. 
agencies to do so.
Any serious attempt to prevent the
The inquiry has confirmed that the
harassment of disabled people will need
cases of disability-related harassment
to consider more than organisational
which come to court and receive media
change, although that will be an
attention are only the tip of the iceberg.
important precondition to progress.
Our evidence indicates that, for many
The bigger challenge is to transform the
disabled people, harassment is a
way disabled people are viewed, valued
commonplace experience. Many come
and included in society.
to accept it as inevitable.
Disabled people often do not report
harassment, for a number of reasons: 
it may be unclear who to report it to;
they may fear the consequences of
reporting; or they may fear that the
police or other authorities will not
believe them. A culture of disbelief
exists around this issue. For this reason,
we describe it as a problem which is
‘hidden in plain sight’. 
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Inquiry into disability-related harassment – Executive summary
Many of the victims in these cases were
Ten cases
socially isolated, which put them at
greater risk of harassment and violence.
As part of this inquiry we examined ten
The harassment often took place in the
cases in which disabled people have died
context of exploitative relationships. 
or been seriously injured. Our intention in
looking at this selection of cases is to
Left unmanaged, non-criminal
illustrate some of the key features of
behaviour and ‘petty’ crime has the
disability-related harassment. They give us
potential to escalate into more extreme
some clues as to how and why such
behaviour. Several of the deaths were
behaviour happens, and how, even when it
preceded by relentless non-criminal
is of a very extreme nature, it can go
and minor criminal behaviour, which
unchallenged. 
gradually increased in frequency and
intensity.
The victims in these cases were: David
Public authorities sometimes focused
Askew, ‘the vulnerable adult’, Keith
on the victim’s behaviour and suggested
Philpott, Shaowei He, Christopher
restrictions to their lives to avoid
Foulkes, Colin Greenwood, Steven Hoskin,
harassment rather than dealing with
Laura Milne, Michael Gilbert and Brent
the perpetrators. 
Martin. For more details of the cases
please see the full report.
There was often a failure to share
intelligence and co-ordinate responses
The key findings from examining these
across different services and
cases are:
organisations.
Public authorities were often aware of
Disability is rarely considered as a
earlier, less serious incidents but had
possible motivating factor in crime and
taken little action to bring the
antisocial behaviour. As a result, the
harassment to an end. In some cases,
incidents are given low priority and
no effective action was taken to protect
appropriate hate incident policy and
the disabled person even when public
legislative frameworks are not applied.
authorities were aware of allegations of
very serious assaults. This left the
disabled person at risk of further harm.
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Around 1.9 million disabled people
Hidden in plain sight
were victims of crime in 2009/10.
While we do not know exactly how
The harassment of disabled people is not
many were victims of harassment, we
confined to just a few extreme cases. The
do know that disabled people are more
incidents which reach the courts and the
likely to be victims of crime than people
media are just the most public examples of
who are not disabled. There are some
a profound social problem.
studies which indicate that disabled
For many disabled people, harassment is
people may be more likely to be victims
an unwelcome part of everyday life. Many
of antisocial behaviour, although more
come to accept it as inevitable, and focus
research is needed.
on living with it as best they can. And too
Fear of crime and its impact are greater
often that harassment can take place in
for disabled people.
full view of other people and the
Harassment takes place in many
authorities without being recognised for
different settings, including in the
what it is. A culture of disbelief exists
home, on public transport and in public
around this issue. 
places, and at school or college.
The harassment of disabled people can
Harassment can be perpetrated by
take many different forms, including
strangers, but also by friends, partners
bullying, cyber-bullying, physical violence,
and family members.
sexual harassment and assault, domestic
violence, financial exploitation and
Disabled people often do not want to
institutional abuse.
report harassment when it occurs, for a
range of reasons including fear of
consequences, concerns that they won’t be
believed and lack of information about
who to report it to.
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Left unmanaged, low level behaviour
Responses to harassment
has the potential to escalate into more
extreme behaviour. Opportunities to
A central aim of this inquiry was to
bring harassment to an end are being
investigate how disability-related
missed.
harassment is dealt with by public
authorities, public transport operators 
There is sometimes a focus on the
and others. The current system is not
victim’s behaviour and ‘vulnerability’
succeeding in preventing harassment
rather than dealing with the
occurring in the first place; neither is it
perpetrators.
ensuring that perpetrators face the
Agencies do not tend to work effectively
consequences of their actions. Taken
together to bring ongoing disability-
together, this amounts to systemic
related harassment to an end. 
institutional failure to protect disabled
people and their families from harassment. 
There has been little investment in
understanding the causes of
Our key findings are:
harassment and preventing it from
happening in the first place. 
Incidents are often dealt with in
There are barriers to reporting and
isolation rather than as a pattern of
recording harassment across all sectors.
behaviour.
There are barriers to accessing justice,
There is a lack of consideration by
redress and support so most
agencies of disability as a possible
perpetrators face few consequences for
motivating factor in bullying, antisocial
their actions and many victims receive
behaviour and crime. As a result, the
inadequate support.
response to harassment is given low
There is a lack of shared learning from
priority and appropriate hate incident
the most severe cases, so the same
policy and legislative frameworks are
mistakes are repeated again and again.
not applied.
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Inquiry into disability-related harassment – Executive summary
constraints which public authorities are
Manifesto for change
under. For this reason we are keen to
engage with all parties to find out how the
Our inquiry uncovered evidence that there
improvement can be achieved for the most
is much which all agencies involved could
reasonable cost. 
do to improve their performance in
preventing and dealing with disability-
related harassment. Our full report sets
Seven core
out specific measures for each relevant
recommendations
sector which our evidence suggests could
make a major difference. These include:
There is real ownership of the issue in
ministers in key departments, local
organisations critical to dealing with
government leaders, housing providers,
harassment. Leaders show strong
the NHS, the police, the courts, schools
personal commitment and
and public transport operators.
determination to deliver change.
Over the next six months we will consult
Definitive data is available which spells
widely with stakeholders on whether these
out the scale, severity and nature of
are the right steps, how they might work
disability harassment and enables
and whether there are any other measures
better monitoring of the performance of
which might be more effective. We want to
those responsible for dealing with it.
find out how these recommendations can
The criminal justice system is more
be embedded in planned initiatives, and
accessible and responsive to victims
be cost-effective. Most importantly, we
and disabled people and provides
recognise that we will only succeed in
effective support to them.
effecting change when others take
responsibility and ownership for these
We have a better understanding of the
recommendations. 
motivations and circumstances of
perpetrators and are able to more
At this stage, it is clear that there are seven
effectively design interventions.
areas where improvements will show to us
The wider community has a more
that society is achieving real progress in
positive attitude towards disabled
tackling harassment.
people and better understands the
nature of the problem.
They require multi-agency co-operation in
Promising approaches to preventing
most instances and a real commitment to
and responding to harassment and
effective partnership working if we are to
support systems for those who require
see results. We understand that, in some
them have been evaluated and
areas, they may require additional
disseminated.
resources and extra cost and we are
conscious of the financial and operational
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All frontline staff who may be required
Definitive data is available which
to recognise and respond to issues of
spells out the scale, severity and
disability-related harassment have
nature of disability harassment and
received effective guidance and
enables better monitoring of the
training.
performance of those responsible
for dealing with it

There is real ownership of the issue
in organisations critical to dealing

While our inquiry has uncovered a great
with harassment. Leaders show
deal about disability-related harassment,
strong personal commitment and
there remains much which we don’t know.
determination to deliver change
Without comprehensive data, across all
agencies, it will be impossible for our
Our evidence shows the most critical
society to properly respond. In the
factor in organisations improving their
interests of transparency, we also need
performance, is the level of commitment
public authorities to publish their
and determination to address the issue
performance so that the public can assess
shown by their leaders. It is, after all,
how they are performing.
senior officers and executives who set the
priorities for organisations. If there is a
We recommend that all data systems in
real and visible commitment to change at
these agencies:
the most senior level then it is likely that
are able to record whether the victim is
this will drive real change throughout the
a disabled person (and/or has another
organisations which they lead.
type of protected characteristic)
In addition to showing leadership within
are able to determine:
their organisations, we would expect
– whether the incident was motivated 
leaders to embrace public accountability.
by the victim’s disability and/or any 
Transparency over performance is one
other form of protected characteristic
aspect to this – which involves a real
– the clearly identified lead officer who
commitment to share data which shows
will take the issue forward
how their organisation is performing.
Another aspect is the display of a personal
– whether or not this is a first instance 
willingness to be publicly accountable for
of harassment or part of a more 
any serious instances which occur in their
general, or escalating, pattern
area. Finally, we would expect this
– the priority status accorded to each 
personal commitment to be formally
incident in relation to risk to the 
recognised within public authorities’ core
victim or, if known, motives and 
objectives, either within their governance
circumstances of the perpetrator
structures or otherwise.
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Inquiry into disability-related harassment – Executive summary
– where harassment persists, whether 
We recommend the following:
and to what extent priority status 
all agencies involved with dealing with
should be given to a situation
the issue should review, and, where
– which other local agencies have been 
necessary, remove all obstacles to the
alerted to the problem or, if this has 
reporting of disability-related
not occurred, why not and under 
harassment. This will, in particular,
what circumstances should such 
involve seeking the views of disabled
agencies become involved. Also what 
people and their representatives
appropriate partnership 
the police and prosecution services
arrangements should be in place
should always establish whether a
enable identification of all ongoing or 
victim is disabled and, if they are,
repeat instances to avoid the risk that
should consider whether that may be a
such instances of behaviour will
factor in why the crime/incident
become progressively more serious
occurred. They should not rely solely on
share data across agencies and 
the victim’s perception. They should
identify solutions to effective data 
reconsider this at several stages
sharing, particularly where lives may 
throughout the investigation. Crimes
be at risk, to ensure that all involved 
against disabled people should rarely be
have a comprehensive picture. 
considered motiveless.
The criminal justice system is more
We have a better understanding of
accessible and responsive to victims
the motivations and circumstances
and disabled people and provides
of perpetrators and are able to more
effective support to them
effectively design interventions
Another major requirement of the general
One fundamental issue in dealing with the
response to disability-related harassment,
problem of disability-related harassment,
and other forms of crime and antisocial
and other forms of abuse, is to understand
behaviour, is that victims feel adequately
why it occurs.
supported by all the agencies involved and
The most urgent issue is getting a better
that these agencies respond to their
understanding of the characteristics and
concerns effectively.
motivations of those who commit acts of
Wherever a disabled person first reports
disability-related harassment. 
an incident, the route to reporting,
including ultimately the criminal justice
system, needs to be clear and unhindered.
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In addition, there needs to be more
In order to initiate change in this area, we
awareness of the general structures and
recommend that public authorities:
attitudes (and the interactions between
review the effectiveness of current
them) which give rise to the problem in
awareness-raising activities concerning
the first place. 
disability-related harassment where
they exist and assess where gaps in
To address these issues, we recommend
their campaigns could usefully be filled
that:
use the public sector equality duty as a
targeted research is undertaken in
framework for helping promote positive
collaboration with the National
images of disabled people and redress
Offender Management Service and local
disproportionate representation of
authorities in Scotland to build a clearer
disabled people across all areas of
picture of perpetrator profiles,
public life
motivations and circumstances and, in
particular, to inform prevention and
encourage all individuals and
rehabilitation
organisations to recognise, report and
respond to any incidences of disability-
criminal justice agencies support bodies
related harassment they may
that commission research to stimulate
encounter.
and support studies that look into why
harassment occurs in the first place and
All frontline staff who may be
broader attitudes towards disabled
required to recognise and respond
people. 
to issues of disability-related
harassment have received proper

The wider community has a more
training
positive attitude towards disabled
people and better understands the

It is clear from our evidence that reporting
nature of the problem
of and responses to harassment would
both be improved substantially with better
With the possible exception of some of the
training for frontline staff providing public
cases which are given a high profile by the
services. The cases show that even staff
media, disability-related harassment does
such as environmental health officers may
not seem to be perceived as serious or
come across instances of harassment and
widespread by the public. It is, as we
the ability to make appropriate
describe, hidden in plain sight. Changing
safeguarding referrals could make a
wider public attitudes towards the
significant difference to people’s lives.
seriousness of such harassment, and more
general social attitudes towards disabled
people, forms an important part of a wider
solution. 
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Inquiry into disability-related harassment – Executive summary
To address these issues, we recommend
Therefore, we recommend that public
that:
bodies conduct rigorous evaluation of
all frontline staff working in all
their response and prevention projects
agencies, whether public authorities or
over a three year time frame so that we
voluntary and private sector
can build a shared knowledge of the most
organisations, where disability-related
effective routes to take to deal with
harassment, antisocial behaviour or
harassment and reduce its occurrence. 
other similar forms of activity are likely
All evaluations should then be widely and
to be an issue, are trained in how to
openly shared so that all bodies can learn
recognise and ensure appropriate
from them. 
safeguarding 
More detailed recommendations can be
more generally all agencies should
found in the full report in respect of key
consider whether their wider staff
sectors including:
training and development processes
Education 
and appraisal and promotion systems
should be amended to ensure such
Criminal justice
knowledge becomes embedded and an
Local and central government
incentive for better job performance
Health
staff gain an understanding of disability
Housing
equality matters and appropriate
engagement with disabled service users.
Social care
Transport 
Promising approaches to preventing
and responding to harassment have

Partnerships
been evaluated and disseminated
Regulators and inspectorates
There is much in what many public bodies
are doing which might emerge as good
practice and create vital learning which
other bodies can follow to help reduce the
problem. However, many of these
promising approaches are in their infancy
and as yet we do not know conclusively
what works and what doesn’t. 
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© Equality and Human Rights Commission 
September 2011
ISBN 978 1 84206 401 6
Artwork by Epigram
www.epigram.co.uk

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