Disability abuse may be physical and / or verbal and may be aimed at a disabled person or persons, or it may be that disability terminology or words are used in a derogatory manner towards non-disabled persons (such as a match official).
Examples of abuse are:
- Offensive language which may include name-calling, and insults
- Abusive verbal or written comments which are intended to threaten or intimidate
- Physical assault
- Domestic violence
- Financial exploitation
- Damage to property
- Sexual abuse and assault
- Threats and intimidation
Discriminatory abuse may be related to a single protected characteristic (such as disability) or may be related to more than one protected characteristic (e.g. racial, homophobic, sexist, and/or disability related, etc).
To report abuse you should contact any of the following organisations:
Level Playing Field
Level Playing Field will deal with any case of disability hate crime, abuse and discrimination with the utmost importance and discretion. We work closely with clubs and venues and will take any case of disability abuse to the club/venue in question, anonymously if you would prefer.
Telephone: 01923 545370
Email: info@levelplayingfield.org.uk
Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)
via the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS)
The contact numbers for the new service are:
Phone: 0808 800 0082
Textphone: 0808 800 0084
Website: http://www.equalityadvisoryservice.com/
Post: FREEPOST EASS Helpline FPN6521
The FA
Telephone: 0800 085 0508
Email: footballforall@thefa.com
The FA Hear it, See it, Report it: Reporting discrimination in football.
Reporting Discrimination: Guidance for supporters attending grassroots matches
The FA Rules & Governance – Equality & Inclusion
True Vision
Report a hate crime on-line to your local police force
Disability Hate Crime: Reporting Book (Easy Read)
The Rugby Football League
Telephone: 0330 111 1113
Kick it Out
Telephone: 020 3967 8989
or to report abuse call 0800 169 9414
Email: info@kickitout.org
Kick It Out Reporting App: Download from the Apple Store or Google Play
Disability Rights UK: ‘Let’s Stop Disability Hate Crime’ Guidance
Below are some useful documents from Disability Rights UK on empowering disabled people and their organisations to tackle disability hate crime.
Lets stop Disability Hate Crime: a guide for disabled people (PDF, 260KB)
Lets stop Disability Hate Crime: a guide for disabled people (Easy Read, PDF, 1.4MB)
Lets stop Disability Hate Crime: a guide for non disabled people