ABSTRACT
Studying disability hate crimes is not an easy task. The crimes are often so appalling, so hyperviolent, so hypersexual, or so cruel that they leave observers stunned and shocked, wondering how such injustice can occur and what motivates it. So many people, with so much to give, have been cruelly murdered, assaulted, robbed, and otherwise victimized. The pain they have felt is tangible and must be acknowledged. But it would be a grave mistake to stop there. The story of disability hate crimes cannot simply be one that ends with recognizing injustice but not doing anything about it. It is just as important to identify ways of addressing this problem, reducing and preventing disability hate crimes in the future. This is the goal of this chapter: to discuss a range of legal, political and social strategies for addressing the problem. The emphasis on political and social strategies in this chapter is not an accident: hate crimes legislation is only one element in creating safer communities. Other strategies must also be adopted which reduce the criminal victimization of disabled people and enhance their access to justice. These include a change in public attitudes towards disability, an end to segregation, improved service provider practices, and support for disabled people who are victims of hate crimes.
