providing support for those affected by
autism and Asperger's syndrome
autism and Asperger's syndrome
Living in Fear Newsletter (Summer, 2011)
LIVING IN FEAR promoting better outcomes for people with autism and learning disabilities
Crimes against people with learning disabilities and autism seem to be in the news more often, some of the crimes have been horrific. The Department of Health has said that hate crime against people with learning disabilities is a major issue and self advocacy groups have said that public organisations need to do a lot more to prevent hater crimes and support victims. Currently the British Crime Survey does not gather information on whether participants have learning disabilities or autism and most local authorities, police forces and community safety partnerships don’t know how many people with learning disabilities or autism are victimised. It has been descirbed as a 'hidden problem' by a group from Parliment.
The Living in Fear project aims to find out
- How many people are victims of harassment and hate crime when they are out and about in the community?
- What types of victimisation do people experience or fear?
- What are the characteristics of people who report victimisation?
- What affect victimisation has on people’s quality of life and well being.
- How people report victimisation and what response they get
Methods used for the project
The project will be led by autism london in partnership with mcch society, the Tizard Centre at the University of Kent and Kent Police.
The project will start with focus groups, asking people with disabilities living in Medway about their experiences and opinions.
Focus groups will also be held for people who have to respond to reports of victimisation, and for carers.
The police will be asked what they find difficult when they get reports of victimisation for people with learning disabilities and autism.
We will ask people from black and ethnic minority groups who have disabilities about their experiences, as we have heard they are especially at risk.
The findings from the focus groups will be used to design survey questionnaires.
People with learning disabilities and autism will be invited to take part in the survey to tell us about their experiences of victimisation
People from outside Medway will be able to take part in the survey.
People who have been victimised or feel unsafe can also offer to be interviewed.
autism london has a helpline. Information about the number and types of calls about victimisation will be used to help the research.
Police staff handling calls to their control room will also be asked to tell us about the number of types of calls that they get.
How the research will be used
The findings from the surveys will help the partners, including the police, to improve the support and services on offer to people with autism and learning disabilities.
We might suggest better reporting methods for victims.
Community Safety Partnerships should be able to plan more effectively.
The findings will be given to police forces and community safety organisations across the UK.
All of the information received will kept strictly confidential.
People who agree to take part in the research will not have their names or other personal information stored on any records.
This is a research project so that people with autism and learning disabilities will be taken seriously and get the right support if they are victimised. If you are a victim of harassment and hate crime you should tell the police.
If you believe you are in danger you should call 999
If you feel you have been verbally or physically abused because of prejudice or hate, you can tell the police and you can choose to have a supporter with you.
You can go to a police station or ask the police to visit you in a place you feel safe.
If you have autism or learning disability you should tell the police and ask them to make sure you have experienced support, of your choice.
You can find more information from the Hate Crime Action Plan the Government published in 2009 and from the following organisations:
To download a flyer about the Living in Fear project, click here to download in easy read, click here.
For news about the project, click here.
Colin Guest
Project Manager
Autism London
23 Salisbury Road,
Leyton,
London
E10 5RG
Email: livinginfear@mcch.co.uk
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