DOCSLIB.ORG

Violence Against Children with Disabilities

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Violence Against Children with Disabilities EQUALITY FRA Violence against children with disabilities: legislation, policies and programmes in the EU with disabilities: policies and programmes legislation, children against Violence Violence against children with disabilities: legislation, policies and programmes in the EU This report addresses matters relating to the right to integrity of the person (Article 3), the rights of the child (Article 24), and the integration of persons with disabilities (Article 26), falling under the Titles I ‘Dignity’ and III ‘Equality’ of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. Europe Direct is a service to help you find answers to your questions about the European Union. Freephone number (*): 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (*) The information given is free, as are most calls (though some operators, phone boxes or hotels may charge you). Photo (cover & inside): © Shutterstock More information on the European Union is available on the Internet (http://europa.eu). FRA – European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights Schwarzenbergplatz 11 – 1040 Vienna – Austria Tel. +43 158030-0 – Fax +43 158030-699 fra.europa.eu – [email protected] Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2015 Paper: 978-92-9239-942-9 10.2811/932051 TK-04-15-511-EN-C PDF: 978-92-9239-941-2 10.2811/985117 TK-04-15-511-EN-N © European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, 2015 Reproduction is authorised, provided the source is acknowledged. Printed in Italy Printed on process chlorine-free recycled paper (PCF) Violence against children with disabilities: legislation, policies and programmes in the EU Foreword International, European and national law all recognise the right to protection from all forms of violence, which applies to all children, including those with disabilities. Nonetheless, girls and boys with disabilities are more likely than their peers to experience violence, sexual abuse and bullying in schools, at home and in institutions across the European Union; they also often face violence linked to their disability. This report scrutinises the important but under-reported issue of violence against children with disabilities. Comple- menting other research carried out by FRA – on the rights of persons with disabilities, rights of the child, hate crime, victims of crime and multiple discrimination – it aims to raise awareness of the diverse challenges faced by children with disabilities. After outlining relevant international and European standards, the report reviews national legislation and policies addressing violence against children with disabilities. In addition, the report explores the extent and different causes, settings and forms of such violence. To encourage European Union (EU) Member States to share experiences and practices, the report also presents examples of promising practices and includes a concluding chapter outlining pro- tective measures and initiatives adopted in various countries. EU Member States have shown their commitment to the rights of children with disabilities in various ways. All of them have ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and almost all have ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The EU itself is signatory to the CRPD, sending a strong message about the issue’s importance. In its recently adopted Concluding Observations on the EU’s implementation efforts, the CRPD Commit- tee recognised the EU’s commitment, but also voiced some criticism and specified recommendations for improve- ment, noting that children with disabilities still face abuse and exploitation, are often excluded from society, and lack access to mainstream education. By presenting the current legal and policy landscape, shedding light on the extent and diverse aspects of the prob- lem, and identifying remaining hurdles as well as possible solutions, FRA hopes to support future EU and Member State efforts to confront these lingering challenges. Constantinos Manolopoulos Director a. i. 3 Acronyms CAT Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women CoE Council of Europe CRC Convention on the Rights of the Child CRPD Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities DPO Disabled Persons’ Organisation ECHR European Convention on Human Rights (Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) ECtHR European Court of Human Rights EHIS European Health Interview Survey EHSIS European Health and Social Integration Survey ENIL European Network for Independent Living ESF European Social Fund ESIF European Structural and Investment funds EU European Union EU‑SILC EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions FRA European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights NGO Non-governmental organisation NHRB National human rights body OHCHR Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights OP Operational Programme PA Partnership Agreement UN United Nations UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund 4 Contents FOREWORD ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 3 ACRONYMS ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND FRA OPINIONS ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 7 INTRODUCTION ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 17 1 INTERNATIONAL AND EUROPEAN STANDARDS ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 21 1.1. United Nations ........................................................................................................................................................... 21 1.2. Council of Europe ...................................................................................................................................................... 28 1.3. European Union ........................................................................................................................................................ 30 Conclusions .......................................................................................................................................................................... 34 2 NATIONAL LEGAL AND POLICY PROVISIONS ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 35 2.1. Legislation ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 35 2.2. Policies ........................................................................................................................................................................ 41 2.3. Challenges to implementing national law and policies ...................................................................................... 45 2.4. Data collection mechanisms on violence against children with disabilities ................................................... 48 2.5. Participation of children with disabilities and their organisations ................................................................... 52 Conclusions .......................................................................................................................................................................... 54 3 EXTENT, CAUSES AND SETTINGS OF VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES ���������������������������������������� 55 3.1. Extent of violence .................................................................................................................................................... 55 3.2. Causes of violence against children with disabilities ......................................................................................... 59 3.3. Settings and forms of violence against children with disabilities �������������������������������������������������������������������� 65 3.4. Intersection with other characteristics and multiple layers of risk .................................................................. 79 Conclusions .......................................................................................................................................................................... 84 4 MEASURES AND INITIATIVES FOR PREVENTING VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES �������������������� 85 4.1. Measures targeting all stakeholders ..................................................................................................................... 86 4.2. Measures targeting children with disabilities ...................................................................................................... 88 4.3. Measures targeting families and communities ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 92 4.4. Measures targeting professionals and institutions ............................................................................................. 93 4.5. Multiagency cooperation ........................................................................................................................................ 98 4.6. Support
Load more

Recommended publications
  • A Comparative Analysis of Hate Crime Legislation
    A Comparative Analysis of Hate Crime Legislation A Report to the Hate Crime Legislation Review James Chalmers and Fiona Leverick University of Glasgow, July 2017 i A Comparative Analysis of Hate Crime Legislation: A Report to the Hate Crime Legislation Review July 2017 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ________________________________________________ 1 1. WHAT IS HATE CRIME? ________________________________________ 4 2. HATE CRIME LEGISLATION IN SCOTLAND __________________________ 7 3. JUSTIFICATIONS FOR PUNISHING HATE CRIME MORE SEVERELY ______ 23 4. MODELS OF HATE CRIME LEGISLATION __________________________ 40 5. CHOICE OF PROTECTED CHARACTERISTICS _______________________ 52 6. HATE SPEECH AND STIRRING UP OFFENCES _______________________ 68 7. HATE CRIME LEGISLATION IN SELECTED JURISDICTIONS _____________ 89 8. APPROACHES TAKEN IN OTHER JURISDICTIONS RELEVANT TO THE OFFENSIVE BEHAVIOUR AT FOOTBALL AND THREATENING COMMUNICATIONS (SCOTLAND) ACT 2012 ____________________________________________________ 134 ii INTRODUCTION In January 2017, the Scottish Government announced a review of hate crime legislation, chaired by Lord Bracadale.1 Lord Bracadale requested that, to assist the Review it its task, we produce a comparative report detailing principles underpinning hate crime legislation and approaches taken to hate crime in a range of jurisdictions. Work on this report commenced in late March 2017 and the final report was submitted to the Review in July 2017. Chapter 1 (What is Hate Crime?) explores what is meant by the term “hate crime”, noting that different definitions may properly be used for different purposes. It notes that the legislative response to hate crime can be characterised by the definition offered by Chakraborti and Garland: the creation of offences, or sentencing provisions, “which adhere to the principle that crimes motivated by hatred or prejudice towards particular features of the victim’s identity should be treated differently from ‘ordinary’ crimes”.
    [Show full text]
  • Still Getting Away with Murder: Disability Hate Crime in England
    Still Getting Away with Murder A report about Disability Hate Crime in England Disability hate crime: this means when somebody commits a crime against a Disabled person because of their impairment. Impairment: in the document, this is used to talk about a Disabled person’s medical condition, diagnosis or difference. This could be physical or mental. Not all Disabled people are comfortable with the word ‘impairment’. However, we are not using this word to talk about who the person is. That is a personal choice. Part A – A Summary of the report One out of five Disabled people say that they have faced unkind or threatening behaviour or even been attacked (Inclusion London, 2020). Disabled people: in this document, this means people with impairments who choose to be part of the Disabled people's movement in the UK. These people stand up for rights for Disabled people across the country. This document looks at the fight against disability hate crime in England over the last 10 years. In 2008, we wrote a report called Getting Away With Murder . Getting Away with Murder Report: this was a report that was written in 2008 by Katharine Quarmby, together with Disability Now, the UK Disabled People’s Council and Scope. It looked at Disabled people’s experiences of hate crime in 2008. Since then, there have been lots of changes in the ways that disability hate crime is dealt with. This document looks at how things have changed since the last report was written. It is hard to say how much change there has been over the last 12 years.
    [Show full text]
  • Copyright © and Moral Rights for This Thesis Are Retained by the Author And/Or Other Copyright Owners
    Jacobs, Naomi Lawson (2019) The Upside‐down Kingdom of God : A Disability Studies Perspective on Disabled People’s Experiences in Churches and Theologies of Disability. PhD thesis. SOAS University of London. http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/32204 Copyright © and Moral Rights for this thesis are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non‐commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder/s. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. When referring to this thesis, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given e.g. AUTHOR (year of submission) "Full thesis title", name of the School or Department, PhD Thesis, pagination. The Upside-down Kingdom of God: A Disability Studies Perspective on Disabled People’s Experiences in Churches and Theologies of Disability NAOMI LAWSON JACOBS Thesis submitted for the degree of PhD 2019 Department of Religions and Philosophies SOAS, University of London 1 Abstract This thesis argues that, in many churches, disabled people are conceptualised as objects of care. However, disabled Christians are capable of being active agents in churches, with service, ministry and theologies of their own to offer. In Part A, I explore the discourses that have historically functioned in churches to marginalise disabled Christians. Using a Foucauldian approach, I argue that the Christian pastoral model has a fundamental orientation towards individualism, addressing disability through frameworks of care and charity, rather than through a model of justice.
    [Show full text]
  • Table of Contents
    Review of Disability Studies: An International Journal Volume 10, Issues 3 & 4 Copyright 2014 Table of Contents Editorial: Progress Megan A. Conway, PhD, RDS Managing Editor p. 3 Forum: Art History and Disability Guest Editors: p. 4 Ann Millett-Gallant, University of North Carolina, USA Elizabeth Howie, Coastal Carolina University, USA Forum Editors Introduction p. 4 Forum Articles Composing Dwarfism: Reframing Short Stature in Contemporary Photography Amanda Cachia, University of California, San Diego, USA p. 6 A 16th Century Portrait of Disability? Quentin Matsys' A Grotesque Old Woman p. 20 Sara Newman, Kent State University, USA Shifting Perception: Photographing Disabled People During the Civil Rights Era Timothy Hiles, University of Tennessee, USA p. 30 Becoming Aware of One’s Own Biased Attitude: The Observer’s Encounter with Disability in Chris Ware’s Acme Novelty Library no. 18 p. 40 Nina Heindl, Ruhr-University, Germany Research Articles Facing Dyslexia: The Education of Chuck Close p. 52 Ken Gobbo, Landmark College, USA Summer of 2012: Paralympic Legacy and the Welfare Benefit Scandal p. 62 Liz Crow, Bristol University, United Kingdom RDSv10 i3&4 1 A Capabilities View of Accessibility in Policy and Practice in Jordan and Peru Joyojeet Pal, PhD, University of Michigan, USA p. 77 Book and Media Reviews Both Sides of the Table: Autoethnographies of Educators Learning and Teaching With/In [Dis]Ability. Disability Studies in Education, Vol 12. Eds. Susan L. Gabel and Scot Danforth p. 94 Reviewed by Steven E. Brown, PhD, University of Hawaii, USA Quality of Life and Intellectual Disability; Knowledge Application to Other Social and Educational Challenges, Edited by Roy I.
    [Show full text]
  • Online Abuse and the Experience of Disabled People
    House of Commons Petitions Committee Online abuse and the experience of disabled people First Report of Session 2017–19 Report, together with formal minutes relating to the report Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 8 January 2019 HC 759 Published on 22 January 2019 by authority of the House of Commons Petitions Committee The Petitions Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to consider e-petitions submitted on petition.parliament.uk and public (paper) petitions presented to the House of Commons. Current membership Helen Jones MP (Labour, Warrington North) (Chair) Martyn Day MP (Scottish National Party, Linlithgow and East Falkirk) Michelle Donelan MP (Conservative, Chippenham) Steve Double MP (Conservative, St Austell and Newquay) Luke Hall MP (Conservative, Thornbury and Yate) Mike Hill MP (Labour, Hartlepool) Catherine McKinnell MP (Labour, Newcastle upon Tyne North) Damien Moore MP (Conservative, Southport) Paul Scully MP (Conservative, Sutton and Cheam) Liz Twist MP (Labour, Blaydon) Daniel Zeichner MP (Labour, Cambridge) Powers The powers of the Committee are set out in House of Commons Standing Orders, principally in SO No. 145A. These are available on the internet via www.parliament.uk. Publications Committee reports are published on the Committee’s website and in print by Order of the House. Committee staff The current staff of the Committee are David Slater (Clerk), Lauren Boyer (Second Clerk), Kate Anderson (Petitions and Communications Manager), James Clarke (Petitions and Engagement Manager), Zoe Hays (Senior
    [Show full text]
  • Hate Crimes Resources & Support Guide
    Hate Crimes Resources & Support Guide Location Contact Us Timberwolf Learning Commons Website: http://www.ntc.edu/library Wausau Campus, C178 Email: [email protected] Phone: (715) 803-1115 SUGGESTED TERMS Keywords Race relations African Americans Anti-Semitism Retaliatory crimes American Indians Bias incidents Stereotypes Asian & Pacific Islanders Bias-motivated crime Unconscious bias Disability Campus violence prevention Vandalism Gender identity Conflict resolution White supremacist groups Hispanics Dehumanization Immigrants Discrimination Laws & Legislation LGBTQ+ Fighting words doctrine Campus Hate Crimes Right to Know Minority groups Act (1997) First Amendment protections National origin Church Arson Prevention Act (1996) Gangs Religion Civil Rights Act (1968) Genocide Hate Crimes Prevention Act (2009) Harassment Hate Crime Statistics Act (1990) Hate speech National Crime Victimization Survey Hate crimes—motivation Violence Against Women Act (1994) Hate crimes—prevention Violent Crime Control and Law En- Mission offenders forcement Act (1994) Neo-Nazism Wisconsin v. Mitchell (1993) Persecution Prejudices Hate Crimes and ... Protected groups Arabs / Middle Easterners STREAMING VIDEOS Click on titles KKK: The Fight for White Treasure: From Tragedy to Forgiving Dr. Mengele White Right: Meeting the Supremacy Transjustice Enemy 6/1/2020 CURRENT ISSUES & EVENTS Leaders say mosque shooting was a hate crime May 29, 2020 Indianapolis Star 'Sickening and hurtful': Town hall on George Floyd death brings together black leaders, police chiefs May
    [Show full text]
  • ( 2 7 MAY 2015 ) Proquest Number: 11003578
    Susie Balderston, MSc. Ph.D. Applied Social Science (Law)/ Lancaster University Surviving Disabiist Hate Rape: Barriers, Intersectionalities and Collective Interventions with Disabled Women in the North of England April 2014 I declare that this thesis is my own work and has not been submitted in substantially the same form fo r the award of a higher degree elsewhere. ( 2 7 MAY 2015 ) ProQuest Number: 11003578 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 11003578 Published by ProQuest LLC(2018). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 Sections from the following publications have been used within this doctoral thesis: Balderston, S. (2013) Victimised again? Intersectionality and Injustice in disabled women's lives after hate crime and rape'. Gendered Perspectives on Conflict and Violence: Advances In Gender Research, 18a, pp. 17-51. Balderston, S. (2012) 'After Disablist Hate Crime: Which Interventions Really Work to Resist Victimhood and Build Resilience with Survivors?', in Roulstone, A., Mason-Bish, H. (eds) Disability, Hate Crime and Violence, London: Routledge. Ch.14, pp. 177-192. Roulstone, A., Thomas, P., Balderston, S.
    [Show full text]
  • A Sociological Exploration of the Impact of Hate Crime on the Health and Wellbeing of People with Learning Disabilities in Scotland
    1 Narrative Report: A Sociological Exploration of the Impact of Hate Crime on the Health and Wellbeing of People with Learning Disabilities in Scotland Dr Phillippa Wiseman and Professor Nick Watson Scottish Learning Disabilities Observatory Introduction This narrative literature review focuses on hate crime, learning disability and wellbeing in Scotland. This review forms part of an ongoing piece of research linking hate crime to health and wellbeing for people with learning disabilities. Coverage and awareness of hate crime targeted at disabled people in general and people with a learning disability in particular have recently become much more prominent both in the mass media and in academic literature. There has for example been a great deal of publicity around a relatively small number of very serious and high profile hate crimes such as those targeted at Fiona Pilkington and Brent Martin (see Quarmby 2013). This has been accompanied by an increase in media coverage about the rising number of reported cases of disability hate crime. This increase in coverage notwithstanding there is evidence to suggest that a large number of disability hate crime incidents go unreported and that the statistics greatly under-represent the size of the problem and despite increased media attention directed towards disability hate crime it continues to receive relatively limited academic and policy attention in comparison to other forms of hate crimes (Sin 2014). In addition we know very little about disability hate crime by impairment group and there is very poor recording of hate crime by type of impairment. A report published by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC 2011), claims that 1.9 million disabled people were victims of hate crime in the UK in 2009-10 yet only 1942 such crimes were reported in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2011, with the number of convictions as low as 523.
    [Show full text]
  • Offences (Aggravation by Prejudice) (Scotland) Bill
    AP14 Justice Committee Offences (Aggravation by Prejudice) (Scotland) Bill Written submission from the Equality and Human Rights Commission Introduction 1 The Equality and Human Rights Commission was established by the Equality Act 2006 and came into being on 1 October 2007. We are the independent advocate for equality and human rights across the three nations of Great Britain, and we work to reduce inequality, eliminate discrimination, strengthen good relations between people, and promote and protect human rights. We enforce equality legislation on age, disability, gender, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, and sexual orientation and encourage compliance with the Human Rights Act. In Scotland, we co-locate and work in partnership with the Scottish Commission for Human Rights. 2 The Commission welcomes the opportunity to give evidence to the Justice Committee on the Offences (Aggravation by Prejudice) (Scotland) Bill. The Commission, and its legacy organisations, the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE), Disability Rights Commission (DRC) and the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), have been closely involved in the debate on criminal justice responses to hate crime in Scotland, with the CRE represented on the Cross-Party Working Group on Religious Hatredi, and both the DRC and the EOC members of the Working Group on Hate Crimeii. 3 The Commission has sought to build on this work from its legacy commissions, and is currently taking forward a number of pieces of work looking at legislative and policy responses to crime targeting different social groups and at how different types of offence disproportionately affect different sections of society. At the GB level, work is underway on identifying the priorities for promoting personal safety and security for disabled people, looking at criminal justice responses, but also those from the health and social care sectors.
    [Show full text]
  • Hate Crime and the “Justice Gap”: the Case for Law Reform
    Hate crime and the ªjustice gapº: the case for law reform Article (Accepted Version) Walters, Mark Austin, Owusu-Bempah, Abenaa and Wiedlitzka, Susann (2018) Hate crime and the “justice gap”: the case for law reform. Criminal Law Review, 12. pp. 961-986. ISSN 0011- 135X This version is available from Sussex Research Online: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/78596/ This document is made available in accordance with publisher policies and may differ from the published version or from the version of record. If you wish to cite this item you are advised to consult the publisher’s version. Please see the URL above for details on accessing the published version. Copyright and reuse: Sussex Research Online is a digital repository of the research output of the University. Copyright and all moral rights to the version of the paper presented here belong to the individual author(s) and/or other copyright owners. To the extent reasonable and practicable, the material made available in SRO has been checked for eligibility before being made available. Copies of full text items generally can be reproduced, displayed or performed and given to third parties in any format or medium for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge, provided that the authors, title and full bibliographic details are credited, a hyperlink and/or URL is given for the original metadata page and the content is not changed in any way. http://sro.sussex.ac.uk This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in The Criminal Law Review following peer review.
    [Show full text]
  • Disabled People's Experiences of Targeted Violence and Hostility
    Research report: 21 Disabled people’s experiences of targeted violence and hostility Chih Hoong Sin, Annie Hedges, Chloe Cook, Nina Mguni and Natasha Comber Office for Public Management Disabled people’s experiences of targeted violence and hostility Chih Hoong Sin, Annie Hedges, Chloe Cook, Nina Mguni and Natasha Comber Office for Public Management © Equality and Human Rights Commission 2009 First published Spring 2009 ISBN 978 1 84206 123 7 Equality and Human Rights Commission Research Report Series The Equality and Human Rights Commission Research Report Series publishes research carried out for the Commission by commissioned researchers. The views expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Commission. The Commission is publishing the report as a contribution to discussion and debate. Please contact the Research Team for further information about other Commission research reports, or visit our website: Research Team Equality and Human Rights Commission Arndale House The Arndale Centre Manchester M4 3AQ Email: [email protected] Telephone: 0161 829 8500 Website: www.equalityhumanrights.com You can download a copy of this report as a PDF from our website: www.equalityhumanrights.com/researchreports If you require this publication in an alternative format, please contact the Communications Team to discuss your needs at: [email protected] Contents Page List of abbreviations i Acknowledgements ii Executive summary iii 1. Introduction 1 1.1 Aims and objectives of the research 1 2. Methodology 4 2.1 Literature review 4 2.2 Stakeholder interviews 5 2.3 Interviews with disabled people 5 2.4 Reading this report 7 3.
    [Show full text]
  • Ensuring Justice for Hate Crime Victims: Professional Perspectives Europe Direct Is a Service to Help You Find Answers to Your Questions About the European Union
    JUSTICE FRA Ensuring justice for hate crime victims: professional perspectives professional crime victims: hate for Ensuring justice Ensuring justice for hate crime victims: professional perspectives Europe Direct is a service to help you find answers to your questions about the European Union. Freephone number (*): 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (*) The information given is free, as are most calls (though some operators, phone boxes or hotels may charge you). Photo (cover): © Shutterstock More information on the European Union is available on the internet (http://europa.eu). FRA – European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights Schwarzenbergplatz 11 – 1040 Vienna – Austria Tel. +43 158030-0 – Fax +43 158030-699 Email: [email protected] – fra.europa.eu Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2016 Paper: 978-92-9491-258-9 10.2811/758410 TK-04-16-289-EN-C PDF: 978-92-9491-259-6 10.2811/963973 TK-04-16-289-EN-N © European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, 2016 Reproduction is authorised, provided the source is acknowledged. Printed in Luxembourg Printed on process chlorine-free recycled paper (PCF) Ensuring justice for hate crime victims: professional perspectives Foreword Hate crime is the most severe expression of discrimination and a core fundamental rights abuse. It demeans victims and calls into question an open society’s commitment to pluralism and human dignity. The European Union (EU) has demonstrated its resolve to tackle hate crime with legislation such as the 2008 Framework Decision on combating certain forms and expressions of racism and xenophobia by means of criminal law. Nonetheless, the majority of hate crimes perpetrated in the EU remain unreported, unprosecuted and therefore invisible, leaving victims without redress for their suffering.
    [Show full text]