Rescare staff were saddened to read the following report in the Wirral Echo today:
“The number of people with autism and Asperger’s syndrome being subjected to mate crime in Merseyside is “staggeringly high” according to a report from Wirral Autistic Society.
The report’s findings – based on a survey undertaken by the organisation earlier this year – has shocked the society.
Robin Bush, its chief executive, said: “Perpetrators of mate crime prey on the most vulnerable people in society and do so in the knowledge these crimes often go unreported. It is morally reprehensible and they are cowards.
“People with autism struggle enough with the complexities of daily life without having to live in fear that people who pretend to be their friends will actually steal from them, assault them or encourage them to commit crimes on their behalf”.
Mate crime is a term to describe a false relationship, where someone befriends a vulnerable person and then uses that friendship to manipulate or bully.
It can take the form of verbal, physical or sexual abuse, theft, manipulation or online bullying.
The survey found a worrying 80% of respondents in Merseyside over the age of 16 felt they had been bullied or taken advantage of by someone they had thought was a friend.
That compares to just 49% obtained when the National Autistic Society asked the same question of over-18s in a nationwide survey a year earlier.
The survey also found:
- Eighty five per cent of over-16s with autism in Merseyside often feel lonely and left out. That compares to 41% of adults with autism surveyed by the National Autistic Society in 2014. Just 11% of the general population report feeling lonely.
- The most vulnerable age group was 16 to 25. One hundred per cent of respondents in that age category reported having difficulty distinguishing genuine friends from those who may bully or abuse the friendship in some way. Eight out of ten said fear of bullying had caused them to turn down social opportunities.
- Of the respondents who reported experiencing mate crime, 71% across all age groups had been subject to name calling and verbal abuse. Fifty four per cent of 12-to-16 year olds had had money or possessions stolen. In the 25-plus age group, 74% reported that they had been manipulated or forced to do the wrong thing.
- Over a third of adults with autism had been subject to bullying or manipulation of a sexual nature.
- Thirteen per cent of children in the five-to-11 age group had experienced online bullying. This jumped to 21% for the 12-to-16 group.
The Wirral Autistic Society report concluded that people with autism are often unaware that they are in an abusive relationship.
Parents and cares recognise the issue but then struggle to find a way to support the individual.
Some parents reported feeling isolated, distraught and at a loss about who to turn to.
One parent of a 14 year-old son said: “My son is absolutely harmless and extremely vulnerable. it is so, so hard explaining that people are making fun of him. It breaks my heart as a parent.”
A young man with autism said: “I was frightened to tell anyone about the bullying and theft and manipulation.”
Another said: “My brother was befriended by neighbours who robbed him and stored drugs in his flat. The police were very nice to him but said he should have known the drugs were wrong.”
Steve Vasey, head of the society’s Rainbow Resource Centre for children and families in Birkenhead, said: “My professional response to this is we probably focus too much on working out strategies to help and support people academically and with employment skills.
“It means we’re failing to recognise the extent to which they need social and emotional support.
“My response as a human being is that this report proves how utterly horrible we can be. We all need to wake up right now and be more understanding of the vulnerable in our society.”
Mr Bush concluded: “I hope all stakeholders will look closely at the findings from our survey and work collaboratively to educate and eliminate hate crime from our communities.”
Rescare knows that this is not unique to Merseyside, this kind of hate crime happens all over the country and shows the depths some people will sink to. Our latest edition of Resnews includes an article on disability hate crime and we will continue to highlight incidents.