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The Swedish Disability Rights Federation

Organisationens namn är Funktionsratt Sverige.

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Abir Al-Sahlani (Member of the European Parliament)

22 May 2023 · EUs rättigheter för funktionsvarierade

Response to Extension of the list of EU crimes to hate speech and hate crime

20 Apr 2021

The Swedish Disability Rights Federation / Funktionsrätt Sverige is the united voice of the Swedish disability movement. We inform public opinion about disabilities related matters. Further we act as a referral body in relation to the government, the parliament and national authorities. We have 46 member organisations that represent about 400 000 individual members. We are based on human rights for persons with disabilities. The Swedish Disability Rights Federation welcome the initiative to extend the list of EU crimes to hate speech and hate crime. In Sweden the criminal code cover race, colour, national or ethnic origin, religious belief, sexual orientation, or transgender identity or expression. We welcome the extension in recent years to include transgender identity or expression, but despite an extension to asking the government to investigate an extension to cover disability no initiative has been made. Many civil society organisations in Sweden have tried to raise concerns about the lack of legal protection. We consider hate speech and hate crime on the grounds of disability a serious crime because it is not recognized as a crime. There are many ad hoc reports from researchers and public agencies in Sweden showing how persons with disabilities, especially women - from school throughout their lives - are subject to bullying in school, an increase in mental ill health, violence, sexual harassment, discrimination, insults and increased fear of going out in the community. But there are no investigations looking into hate speech and hate crimes. So every time hate speech and hate crimes are discussed persons with disabilities are never mentioned, see official data on hate crimes: https://www.bra.se/bra-in-english/home/crime-and-statistics/hate-crime.html There is research showing that persons with disabilities often are not aware of rights and are very far from access to justice on equal basis. Persons may have difficulties to make their voices heard because of lack of accessibility and support related to disability. They might be depending on others who will not help to bring cases to justice. There is even research showing that the judiciary tends to distrust a story of sexual abuse if a diagnosis is known https://www. researchgate.net/publication /50868951_Sexual_Abuse_Allegations_by_Children_with_Neuropsychiatric_Disorders In other countries such as the UK and Norway where disability is covered by protection a lot is brought to light. In 2011 the UK Equality Commission published Hidden in plain sight. https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/publication-download/hidden-plain-sight-inquiry-disability-related-harassment-executive-summary- When there is a law investigations are made to enforce the legislation like https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/crime-and-disabled-people-report-data and https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/our-work/news/hierarchy-hate-crime-undermining-confidence-law When there is no law. There is nobody to turn to and report a crime, not even to raise awareness about it like https://www.scope.org.uk/advice-and-support/hate-crime/ Hate speech and hate crime on the grounds of sex, sexual orientation, age and disability may have a cross-border dimension. We live in a world with global social media that can pick up quickly. We have heard of examples of cross-border harassment linked to other grounds. The European union has ratified the UN convention on the rights of persons with disabilities. The European commission has made a pledge to create a union of equality. Taking actions to extend the protection from hate speech and hate crime to disability is urgent. It must be covered in the law to protect but also to have an impact on acknowledging each other and ourselves as equal human beings. We must never forget the holocaust where about 200 000 persons with disabilities lost their lives in the so called the Euthanasia Program.
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Response to Union of Equality: European Disability Rights Strategy

12 Nov 2020

The Swedish Disability Rights Federation welcome the series of consultations held with the European Disability Rights movement. We also welcome the European Commission commitment to focus on all rights in the CRPD, with a twin track approach including mainstreaming and specific measures for empowerment and fulfilment of rights in line with human rights bases model and approach. Member states are far away from full understanding of the human rights approach and obligations to fulfill the rights and commitment made by ratifying the CPRD. We need EU to ensure rights to civil and political rights. Rights that cannot be claimed are no rights. Instead of repeating previous input in 2019 and during the consultations, we would like to highlight a few specific points that we fear might get lost in the extensive wish list: Identifying gaps in legislation and policy, including gaps when it comes to lack of enforcement, related to the UNCRPD. Ensure equality legislation in line with CRPD general comment 6 and protection for persons with disabilities from hate speech and hate crimes. Initiatives on legal aid and other measures in line with the principles and guidelines on Access to justice for persons with disabilities developed this year by UN human rights special procedures. Mainstreaming accessibility following universal design (design for all) approach including protection from discrimination and exclusion in new technology and AI investments. In fact all public funding must ensure inclusion of persons with disabilities as part of human diversity. Indicators and data to ensure progress in positive outcomes for persons with disabilities, including metrics for active involvement in decision making processes and monitoring in line with general comment 7, but also ensure that individual persons with disabilities have the power and support to make decisions in the daily life. We look forward to an ambitious European Disability Rights Strategy and being part of the future work to fulfill rights of persons with disabilities. Supporting links https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Disability/SR_Disability/GoodPractices/Access-to-Justice-EN.pdf https://funktionsratt.se/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Position-on-EU-Disability-Strategy-2020_OCT2019.pdf
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