Sticks & Stones

First Cut presents film-maker Hannah Murphy's sensitive and poignant portrayal of what life can be like for disabled people in Britain.

Adults with disabilities speak out about their experiences of hate crime and question a society that continues to do nothing to protect them.

Public attention was drawn to the issue of disability hate crime after the tragedy of Fiona Pilkington, a mother who killed herself and her disabled daughter in October 2007, after a decade of abuse from local teenagers and no help from the authorities. It was said that the Pilkington case had provided a watershed moment to move disability hate crime up the public agenda, yet more often than not the voices of those who are persecuted because of their disability go unheard.

From low-level bullying through to violent assault and murder, many of the people in this film have been victimised their whole lives. First Cut travels across Britain to make their moving yet disturbing stories known.