The aim of Disability, Hate Crime and Violence is ‘to bring together international perspectives’, ‘to add to criminology, disability studies, sociology and policy studies’ in order ‘to look at issues and solution to disablist hate crime’. The 14 chapters that follow the introduction cover a range of conceptual issues (Mason-Bish, Roulstone, Sadique, Perry, Hollomotz, Sherry), media reporting (Quarmby), disabled women and domestic violence (Thiara, Hague), campaigns and the UK Disability Hate Crime Network (Novis, Brookes), ‘mate’ crime (Thomas), the reporting of hate crime (Sin) and responses to hate crime (Brandon, Keyes), including interventions to resist victimhood and build resilience among survivors (Balderstone). They also cover a range of styles from narrative accounts of specific campaigns/activities/activities to more academic musing on current constructions of hate crime.
There is much to be recommended in this book. It does an excellent job of giving an insight into what is, in essence, a very young (and rather small) field of study. To give two examples (there could be several more): Hannah Mason-Bish provides a very clear and thoughtful overview of issues relating to terminology, and Alan Roulstone and Kim Sadique deal admirably with notions of ‘vulnerability’.
The book does have some limitations. The attempt ‘to bring together international perspectives’ has limited success; only two of the chapters that follow the introduction include non-UK authors (Mark Sherry and Jack Levin, both from the United States), and Mark Sherry’s chapter on international perspectives is a US/UK comparison. Notably missing is any contribution from or commentary on disability hate crime in low-income or middle-income economies. While not too surprising given the youth and size of this field of study (two recent reviews in The Lancet also drew attention to the predominance of research from Anglophone high-income countries in relation to studies of violence against disabled people; Hughes et al. 2012; Jones et al. 2012), it would be important to see this omission addressed in a second edition.
Other notable omissions (e.g. the little that is known about the personal and social impact of disability hate crime as opposed to other forms of violent and generally targeted crime) also reflect the youth and size of this field of study. Others, less so (e.g. the almost exclusive focus on adult victims).
So would I recommend Disability, Hate Crime and Violence? Absolutely. For anyone who is concerned with the notion of disability hate crime, the book provides an excellent overview of enquiry and policy relating to disability hate crime in the United Kingdom and, to an extent, the United States. This should also be compulsory reading for people who should be concerned with disability hate crime (police, social workers, disability support organisations and services). While this may be a young field of study, it is readily apparent that it addresses an important and far too prevalent social issue.
Eric EmersonCentre for Disability Research & Policy University of Sydney, Australia
[email protected]
© 2014, Eric Emerson
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2013.864861
References
- Hughes, K., M. A. Bellis, L. Jones, S. Wood, G. Bates, L. Eckley, et al. 2012. “Prevalence and Risk of Violence against Adults with Disabilities: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies.” Lancet 379 (9826): 1621–1629.
- Jones, L., M. A. Bellis, S. Wood, K. Hughes, E. McCoy, L. Eckley, et al. 2012. “Prevalence and Risk of Violence against Children with Disabilities: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies.” Lancet 380 (9845): 899–907.