"Shocking and unacceptable-" Minister makes hate crime pledge

Speaking at an event to mark Learning Disability Week, Jane Hutt will re-iterate the Government’s strong commitment to tackling this specific type of offence through legislation, guidance and funding.

The national annual week of raising awareness is run by Mencap, and this year the charity launches the three-year “Stand By Me,” campaign against hate crime.

Although the issue has not been devolved to Wales, the Welsh Government has made a key commitment to work with partners reduce homophobic, transphobic, disability-related and religiously motivated bullying and hate crime. 

The Minister will say:

"I have a determination and a commitment to ensure that we can build a Welsh society that treats people with dignity and respect.  I fully believe that incidents of disability-related violence and hate crime are shocking and unacceptable.

"We all have a duty to protect the most vulnerable in society and to ensure that disabled people and those with long term health conditions are able to live a life without fear."

The Welsh Government has allocated £5m to tackling local cohesion issues between 2009 and 2012.

Funding has been used by local authorities to tackle hate crime by, for example, paying for dedicated hate crime officers, raising awareness and supporting victims.

Further examples of Community Cohesion projects include hate crime workshops in schools. These projects have looked to tackle under lying prejudices and to challenge perceptions and stereotypes.

The Welsh Government continues to work with partners such as the police and Disability Wales to raise awareness and take forward work to tackle the issue of disability hate crime.

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