Inequalities and challenges experienced by disabled people in Scotland: evidence review

Crime and Justice

According to the Scottish Crime and Justice survey 2023-24, disabled people were more likely to experience crime than non-disabled people, with 23.5% of disabled people experiencing crime in comparison with 18.6% of non-disabled people^[160]. Similarly, fewer disabled adults say that crime has decreased or stayed the same, in comparison to adults without disabilities, (64% and 73% respectively)^[161].

Hate crime charges on the basis of disability reported to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service by Police Scotland^[162] have increased over time. “Disability aggravated offences” is defined as a substantive charge that is aggravated by hostility towards a person’s perceived or actual disability in terms of Section 1 of the Offences (Aggravation by Prejudice) (Scotland) Act 2009. In 2019-20, 7% of all hate crimes were an aggravation of prejudice related to disability^[163]. This proportion rose to 18% in 2024-25, making it the third most commonly reported type of hate crime after racial and sexual orientation (56% and 28% respectively). In 2024-25, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service operational database recorded 1,069 hate crime charges related to disability. This is an increase of 15% from the previous year (2023-24) and also marks the highest annual number of charges since the legislation on this aggravation came into force in 2010. In 2024-25, 80% of offences reported with a disability aggravation related to threatening or abusive behaviour.

Research suggests that the lower numbers for disability hate crime reported in earlier years may not be evidence of low levels of violence but rather likely under-reporting and the potential normalisation of violence against disabled people^[164]. As Chakraborti & Hardy^[165] suggests that disabled people, and people with learning disabilities specifically, may find it challenging to report targeted violence not only because of inaccessible reporting systems but also out of fear of institutional reprisals from the police, for example. People with learning disabilities are also concerned that they will not be seen as credible or they face barriers to reporting as the person “supporting” them may also be the perpetrator of violence^[166].

Hall and Bates 2019 found that disabled people experience harassment and violence as well as low-level micro-aggressions as they attempt to navigate large cities in Scotland^[167]. Similarly, Wiseman & Watson^[168] carried out interviews with 12 adults with learning disabilities and two focus groups with ten adults with learning disabilities across four cities in Scotland. The four key themes found in this study were: “community violence,” “impacts on wellbeing,” “invalidation,” and “belonging.” This article describes participant experiences of violence in community settings such as transport, care and within their own homes. The research highlights that these experiences of violence impacted the wellbeing of participants.

Incarceration can be a difficult experience for people with learning disabilities due to inaccessible prison structures and regimes, as well as a lack of support and discrimination^[169]. A study by Gormley found that the participants in the research, who were prisoners with learning difficulties, did not understand their sentence or understand how long they were going to spend in prison despite having been assessed as legally competent. This study highlighted the failures in prison structures and practices in accounting for people with learning disabilities. This study also demonstrated that incarcerated people with learning difficulties have reported feeling excluded from systems and decisions being made about them. These decisions and systems are not communicated in an accessible way, and this report argues that it further marginalises disabled people in the criminal justice system.