Western society places high value on physical beauty and grace of movement, and tends to shun those who do not have these qualities. Disability hate crime highlights the modern form of this violence. This paper uses the high-profile case of Fiona Pilkington to examine how disability hate crime can be dismissed until it results in tragic consequences. Newspapers play a key part in shaping the public's interpretation of disability. An examination of the reports of the coroner's enquiry into the deaths of Fiona and Francesca Pilkington through a qualitative content analysis questions how much progress has been made in reducing the marginalisation of disabled people.
IntroductionThe aim of this paper is to examine the historical evidence of violence towards disabled people and to compare this to current violence in the form of modern disability hate crime, as reported in English newspapers of the first highprofile hate crime in the UK. This paper begins with an outline of some of the historical, societal and cultural beliefs towards disabled people prevalent in Western Europe. Media reporting of the coroner's inquest into the deaths of Fiona and Francesca Pilkington provides an example of how newspapers portray this crime. Fiona Pilkington killed her daughter, Francesca, who had intellectual disabilities, before committing suicide. This happened after protracted abuse by local youths and a lack of action by the local police. A content analysis of media coverage of the case by five of the most read British newspapers provides an analysis of beliefs and cultural models about disability. The news frames that emerged from the analysis are discussed, and parallels are drawn between historical events and the modern offence of disability hate crime.