What kind of abuse is him spitting in my food?: Reflections on the similarities between disability hate crime, so-called ‘mate’ crime and domestic violence against women with intellectual disabilities

Domestic violence against women with learning disabilities is a wholly under-researched topic. A recent study indicated that there are strong parallels between domestic violence, disability hate crime and ‘mate’ crime. This paper explores these similarities and argues that rather than treating them as discreet phenomena, we need to make the connections and re-affirm the commitment that feminist scholars and activists made long ago, namely to take violence committed in private as seriously as that committed in public.