Fears of increase in disability hate crimes

The neighbourhood watch are urging people to be considerate to disabled people during the coronavirus pandemic.

The current laws about wearing face masks mean some people are exempt from wearing one due to prior medical conditions.

Their has already been an increase in disability hate crimes due to the exemptions.

Many disabled people have reported that they are scared to go out because people are not just being hostile

The neighbourhood watch say

“We should all take notice and ensure that disabled people are not bullied out of any normal life we should be able to expect, and remind the public and those who affect our lives that the added pressure of fear should not be added to an already difficult situation.  Potentially there are thousands of disabled people who fear for their safety and therefore will not leave their homes and become more isolated and lonely and for those that do go out, may experience fear and anxiety, possible conflict with public and police and demands to prove our impairment/illness”