Fact Sheet: Hate Crime

What is the issue we asked members about?

With the enactment of the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act from 1 April 2024, we wanted an updated picture of people’s experiences of hate crime when travelling on public transport.

We carried out a members question in June 2024, to gain members views and experiences. We had 52 responses.

What are the key things we found out?

• 75% of respondents regularly use the bus.
• 51% of respondents regularly use the train.
• 39% of respondents regularly use taxis..
• When asked when people are most worried about being a victim of or a witness to a hate crime: 50% said they were most worried when travelling on public transport; and 44% are more worried while they are waiting.
• 40% of respondents said they have experienced a hate crime while on public transport, 40% said they had not and 20% weren’t sure.
• 44% said they were unsure how to report a hate crime on public transport.
• 32% said they have heard of the hate crime charter, whereas 60% have not.
• 92% think that public transport staff should be trained to recognise hate crime and how to report it.

What did our members tell us?

Members were asked what modes of public transport they regularly used, with the most common being the bus (75%), train (51%) and taxis (39%). 16% said that they used an airplane regularly, 12% said they used the ferry, 14% used community transportation, with 16% said ‘’other’.

We wanted to know all forms of transportation that people regularly used which is why the numbers do not add up to 100%.

When embarking on a journey we wanted to know when our members were most concerned about being a victim of a hate crime, or witnessing a hate crime. 44% said that they were worried about this happening while they were waiting, with 50% saying they were worried when they were travelling on public transport. 6% were worried about this after they got off public transport.

When considering experiences while travelling, 40% of respondents said they had been a victim of – or witnessed – a hate crime. We asked them to tell us what happened:

“Other passengers talking about how long it takes me to move around and on and off a bus as I either use crutches or a walking stick.”

“As a disabled person sitting in the disabled seat of the bus, a lady got on with a pram and despite the fact that the bus was overcrowded, started shouting, swearing at me as I would not move to allow her to put her pram in that area, she was verbally abusing me calling me many derogatory names (spaz, spastic, cripple, mental retard). I felt so threatened by her, that I got off the bus and had to wait in the rain for a bus that was not over crowded for me to get on. I was so shaken by this experience, that I refused to travel anywhere without assistance.”

“An elderly woman refused to move her shopping bags of a seat on a busy bus that I needed to sit down on as the bus was busy. The woman then proceeded to question my visual impairment”

“Because of my autism I couldn’t wear a mask and it was the bus driver who was screaming abuse at me not wanting me on his bus, scared me so I couldn’t think to show my exemption pass till end of journey. I just ‘ looked different’ and was judged.”

These experiences are not unique, with statistics from the Crown Office and Prosecution Service (June 2024) showing that in 2023-2024 the most common offence was threatening and abusive behaviour.

When thinking about reporting a potential hate crime on public transport, we asked members if they knew how to report such an incident:

• 44% said they did not know how to do this.
• 40% said they did.

When people have reported a hate crime from our limited sample this has been a mixed experience for disabled people.

Hate Crime Charter Knowledge

Disability Equality Scotland and Transport Scotland were asked by Scottish Government to design and introduce a National  Hate Crime Charter for public transport. We asked our members if they had heard of the charter:

• 60% said they were not aware;
• 32% said they were aware.

To support the hate crime charter, we have developed a training video and workshop. We have begun to roll these out to transport providers – such as Scotrail – and this has been positively received.

We continue to work with Scottish Government, Police Scotland and the British Transport Police to contribute to and support the Scottish Government’s National Hate Crime Delivery Plan.

Further information

For further information on this, or other fact sheets, please contact Disability Equality Scotland on:  research@disabilityequlity.scot

Who We Are

Disability Equality Scotland (DES) is a member-led, Disabled People’s Organisation (DPO), working towards the inclusion and accessibility of all disabled people across Scotland in all of society.

Our work is based on a human rights approach, and we share the collective voices of disabled people to inform and influence policymaking decisions. We adhere to the social model of disability and are a proud member of the Independent Living Movement. DES also acts as the umbrella body for the Scottish Access Panel Network.

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