This paper examines disabled people's experiences of hate crime during a period of austerity and welfare reform. Narrative interviews were conducted with 12 victims of disability hate crimes in the UK who experienced a spectrum of targeted, disablist violence and harassment, from name-calling and verbal abuse to physical and sexual violence, harassment and damage to property. Participants expressed frustration and disappointment with inadequate, offensive and inappropriate responses from the criminal justice system. This resulted in a lack of confidence in reporting their experiences to police in future. Evidence from participant stories encapsulates the diversity of disability hate crime perpetrators, from neighbour to stranger, resulting in a lack of safe space in which disabled people can live and work. Examination of these findings illustrates the impact of contemporary structural discourses of conditionality and stigma upon disabled people, including acceptance of and resilience to hate crimes.

This research draws upon an international study investigating domestic violence perpetrator support services from five European countries, which was conducted during 2020. Front-line professionals from the partner countries took part in focus groups which focused on the positives and negatives of perpetrator support provision. This article reports specifically on findings that pertained to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. All of the participating countries, the UK, Italy, Romania, Greece and Cyprus, reported increases in domestic violence and abuse, as a result of ‘lockdowns’, home quarantines and restrictions of movement on the general population. Alongside this increasing level of reported gender-based violence, many perpetrator intervention and prevention programmes have had to adapt to online or alternative methods of service provision. In this article we use intersectionality to analyse the impact of remote service delivery. We raise key equality issues in the shift to remote working, which risks having ableist ramifications. We conclude by emphasising the importance of increased and sustained funding that acknowledges the service increases during the pandemic.<br /><br />Key messages<br /><ul><li>The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in changes to remote support delivery in perpetrator services.</li><br /><li>This has resulted in some benefits in relationship building with service users, though there are risks that remote service delivery can reduce efficacy of coordinated response.</li><br /><li>Increased funding is required to compensate for increased demand during the pandemic.</li></ul>

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Purpose This paper aims to consider the relationship between disability hate crime and safeguarding adults. It critically considers whether safeguarding responses to disability hate crime have changed following the implementation of the Care Act 2014. Historically, protectionist responses to disabled people may have masked the scale of hate crime and prevented them from seeking legal recourse through the criminal justice system (CJS). This paper investigates whether agencies are working together effectively to tackle hate crime. Design/methodology/approach The research presented draws on semi-structured interviews with key informants who work with disabled people and organisations as part of a wider study on disability hate crime. Findings Prior to the Care Act, safeguarding practice often failed to prioritise criminal justice interventions when responding to reports of disability hate crimes. Improving engagement within multi-agency safeguarding hubs and boards has the potential to increase hate crime awareness and reporting. Research limitations/implications This research was limited in scope to 15 participants who worked in England within safeguarding teams or with victims of hate crime. Practical implications Raising the profile of disability hate crime within safeguarding teams could lead to achieving more effective outcomes for adults at risk: improving confidence in reporting, identifying perpetrators of hate crimes, enabling the CJS to intervene and reducing the risk of further targeted abuse on the victim or wider community. Originality/value This paper is original in its contribution in this field as there is a dearth of research on the relationship between safeguarding and disability hate crime.

This article chronicles the present situation of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) on individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in Nigeria. A systematic search was conducted on three bibliographic databases: MEDLINE Complete, Web of Science and Scopus, and supplemented with grey literature searches to assess studies on the effect of COVID‐19 on these individuals in Nigeria with data on this group from December 2019 to July 2020. There were no studies found concerning individuals with IDD in Nigeria. This article argues for an urgent call to action by Nigerian policymakers to make data available to help understand the impact of COVID‐19 and to develop and implement appropriate interventions. This article provides steps to support and care for these individuals in Nigeria. Forecasting models are recommended which offer better approaches in yielding accurate predictions and provide valuable decisions in the event of future threats and infectious disease outbreak in Nigeria.