[Header image description: A cropped image of 5 disabled protestors.  From left to right: the first person is standing in front of a walker with a plaid seat covering. The second person is standing, holding a blue placard with the words “stop killing us” written in bold white letters outlined in black. The third person is standing wearing a black coat. A white poster with the words “Care charges = violence against women” in red and blue writing hangs from their neck. The bottom of the poster reads “Win Visible”. The fourth person is standing wearing a red t-shirt with “free our people” written in bold white letters on it. They have their arms around the people to either side of them. The fifth person is using a wheelchair, wearing a dark coat and dark trousers. There are more protesters in the background.]

Disclaimer: this article is for general information. It’s not intended to be used as legal advice. For information on how to get legal advice, please see our page here.

EVERYONE HAS THE RIGHT TO PROTEST

Your right to protest is protected by the Human Rights Act.  Freedom of expression (which covers ‘freedom of speech’) is protected by Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Freedom of assembly (gathering together with other people) is protected by Article 11. These Articles have been brought into UK law by the Human Rights Act.

This page will cover further information that is useful to know if you are disabled and you want to protest.

YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO PROTEST WITHOUT BEING DISCRIMINATED AGAINST

THE HUMAN RIGHTS ACT

Article 14 of the ECHR bans public authorities, like the police, from discriminating against you when you exercise your rights under the ECHR.

For instance, if you are protesting, you are using your rights to freedom of expression and assembly, so the police must not discriminate against you.

Discrimination under the ECHR means when

• a person is treated differently than another person who is similar to them, and
• there is no good reason for treating them differently.

You can read more about Article 14 here.

THE EQUALITY ACT

The Equality Act also bans public authorities, like the police, from discriminating against you. Unlike the Human Rights Act, the Equality Act applies to service providers too, like shops and restaurants.

Under the Equality Act, discrimination means being treated worse than someone else because you have a protected characteristic. Protected characteristics include things like age, race, and being disabled. You can read more about protected characteristics here.

As well as saying what service providers and public authorities shouldn’t do, the Equality Act also says what they should do.

YOUR RIGHTS UNDER THE EQUALITY ACT

WHAT ARE THE POLICE NOT ALLOWED TO DO?

Since they are a public body, the police are not allowed to unlawfully discriminate against people. This includes at protests.

Under the Equality Act, there are different types of discrimination, such as:

• direct discrimination.
• indirect discrimination.
• discrimination arising from disability
• harassment
• victimisation

You can read more about the Equality Act here.

All of this means that the police shouldn’t discriminate against disabled people at protests.

• Direct discrimination: the police shouldn’t treat you worse than a non-disabled person just because you’re disabled. This is unlawful. Direct discrimination against disabled people is never allowed.
• Indirect discrimination: the police shouldn’t have a way of working that has a worse impact on disabled people even though it applies to everyone equally. Indirect discrimination is unlawful unless there is a good reason, or an ‘objective justification’. You can read more about objective justifications here.
• Discrimination arising from disability: The police shouldn’t treat you worse than a non-disabled person because of something connected to you being disabled. This is unlawful unless there is an objective justification.
• Harassment: the police shouldn’t make you feel bad about being disabled or embarrass you because you’re disabled. This is called harassment and it is unlawful.
• Victimisation: the police shouldn’t treat you badly or put you in a worse position because you’ve done a protected act, or the police think you might to a protected act. A protected act includes things like making a complaint under the Equality Act, or doing anything else in connection with the Equality Act. This is unlawful.

WHAT SHOULD THE POLICE DO?

The Equality Act also states certain things that public bodies, like the police, must do. The two main things are

• the duty to make reasonable adjustments
• the public sector equality duty

THE DUTY TO MAKE REASONABLE ADJUSTMENTS

The Equality Act requires police to take steps to reduce the negative impact their policies and ways of working can have on disabled people. This is called making reasonable adjustments. This duty applies even if the police don’t know you’re disabled.

When do you have the right to reasonable adjustments?

You have the right to reasonable adjustments whenever you, as a disabled person, are put at a substantial disadvantage, compared to non-disabled people.

At what point do the police have to make reasonable adjustments for you?

The police have a duty to make reasonable adjustments:

• when they are making the policy –a public body, like the police, should be thinking ahead and shouldn’t wait for you to ask them to do something
• in the individual case –the police have to consider how to make reasonable adjustments to you, and not only disabled people in general.

This means that the police must have considered making reasonable adjustments when they are policing a protest. For example, if

• the police are using any of their powers to control or manage protests, such as issuing conditions or dispersal orders
• the police decide to use crowd control tactics, like kettling.
• they need to confirm that you understood something.

THE PUBLIC SECTOR EQUALITY DUTY

The public sector equality duty applies when police are carrying out public functions, like enforcing the law and keeping the peace. There are 3 main parts to the Public Sector Equality Duty. In the context of disability, this means the police should have due regard to the following:

1. The need to not discriminate, harass, victimise, or do anything else that is banned under the Equality Act.
2. The need to foster good relations between disabled people and non-disabled people.
3. The need to advance equal opportunities between  disabled people and non-disabled people.

This last requirement means the police should be thinking about the need to:

• Remove or reduce problems that negatively impact disabled people more than non-disabled people, and which are connected to them being disabled.
• Take steps to meet the needs of disabled people. This means that the police should be taking account of the fact that you are disabled and that you might have different needs from non-disabled people. For example, this could mean
  • changing the way the police interact with disabled people, liking give you more time to comply if they ask you to do something.
  • taking reasonable steps to help disabled people understand the conditions, like providing written information in large print.
• Encourage disabled people to participate in public life and other activities where disabled people’s participation is very low compared to other people. For example, this could mean only placing minimal limits on protests involving disabled people, so as many disabled people as possible can protest.

‘Having due regard’ means that the police must think about their need to do these things in a way that’s appropriate in the circumstances.

WHAT IF I’M KETTLED AND I’M DISABLED?

‘Kettling’ is when the police contain protesters in one place for a long time. The police surround the people and don’t let them leave. It’s a tactic to control and manage protests. You can read more about kettling in our article here.

WHAT SHOULDN’T THE POLICE DO IF I’M DISABLED AND IN A KETTLE?

The Equality Act still applies. So, if the police decide to kettle protestors, they:

• shouldn’t directly discriminate against you
• shouldn’t indirectly discriminate against you without an objective justification
• shouldn’t treat you worse than a non-disabled person due to something connected to you being disabled, unless there is an objective justification
• shouldn’t harass you because you are disabled.

WHAT SHOULD THE POLICE DO?

The police also have certain things that they should do. If the police decide to kettle people:

• they should be thinking about how the public sector equality duty would apply.
• they should make reasonable adjustments when they kettle protesters – and should have also made these adjustments when they made their kettle policy.

There are other specific things police should be doing if they kettle protestors.

• Release plan: the police must have a release plan that allows vulnerable or distressed people, or those accidentally caught up in the kettle, to leave.
• Essential utilities: If it is feasible, the police must also make essential utilities available to people who are being kettled. This includes things like toilet facilities and drinking water.
• Time: The police cannot kettle you for any longer than is reasonably necessary to prevent a breach of the peace.
• Necessity: the police should constantly review whether they need to keep kettling people.

CAN THE POLICE LIMIT MY RIGHT TO PROTEST?

Yes. Articles 10 and 11 are qualified rights, which means that the police can limit these rights.

This is often done by imposing conditions. Conditions are certain limits the police put on protests. Police can also completely ban the protest in certain situations.

You can read more about these in our article on how to organise protests.

WHAT RIGHTS DO DISABLED PEOPLE HAVE IF POLICE IMPOSE CONDITIONS?

Before taking any measures to restrict people’s rights to protest, the police must consider the impact on everyone’s right to protest. This is because the right to freely express yourself is one of our fundamental human rights, and shouldn’t be taken lightly.

When imposing conditions, the police must obey anti-discrimination laws, like the Human Rights Act and the Equality Act. This means that any measures the police take at protests

• must not be discriminatory, including not discriminating against disabled people
• must have due regard to the public sector equality duty, including the need to take steps to meet disabled people’s needs
• must respect their duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people.

If you feel that the police have discriminated against you at a protest because you are disabled, you can complain. Skip to the bottom of this page for more information.

CAN THE POLICE TAKE AWAY MY EQUIPMENT AT A PROTEST?

In some situations, the police can seize items that they reasonably believe have been used or are likely to be used to cause harassment, alarm or distress. This is their power under Section 37 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. The police sometimes use this to take away equipment like megaphones and loudspeakers.

WHEN CAN THE POLICE TAKE THINGS UNDER SECTION 37?

If the police want to use Section 37, they must have already issued a dispersal order under Section 35 of that act. A dispersal order is when the police tell people to leave an area for up to 48 hours

However, there are limits on when the police can give dispersal orders. The police can’t give them to you if you are taking part in a protest march and

• the organiser has given written information about this to the police, or
• this is the kind of march where the organiser doesn’t have to give the police written information.

You can read more about having to give the police written information about protests here.

WHEN CAN THE POLICE ISSUE A DISPERSAL ORDER?

The police might be able to issue a dispersal order if

• you are doing a static protest (which stays in one place) with a group of people
• you are protesting by yourself (a one-person protest)

However, if the police are deciding to do this, they must especially look at your rights:

• your right to freedom of expression under article 10 of the ECHR
• your right to freedom of assembly under article 11 of the ECHR.

WHAT RULES MUST THE POLICE FOLLOW IF THEY TAKE MY EQUIPMENT?

When police use their powers under Section 37, they must follow certain rules like:

• communicating this to you in writing (unless they can’t reasonably do so)
• telling you that it’s an offence if you don’t hand over the item
• letting you know in writing when and where you can get your items back (unless they can’t reasonably do so)

The police must return your equipment to you once the period that you’re banned from the area under the dispersal order is up – unless there is another law that allows them to keep it.

If after 28 days you haven’t come to get your equipment, the police may destroy the item.

CAN THE POLICE TAKE AWAY MY INDEPENDENT LIVING EQUIPMENT USING SECTION 37?

The police shouldn’t be using Section 37 to take people’s independent living equipment. To lawfully do so under Section 37:

• the police must reasonably believe that the equipment has been used or is likely to be used to cause harassment, alarm or distress.
• the police must also comply with Section 35 and its requirements.

If the police decide to use Section 37 to seize disabled people’s independent living equipment, they must make sure that they have due regard to their duties to:

• respect the public sector equality duty
• make reasonable adjustments
• not discriminate against disabled people.

WHAT IF THE POLICE USE SECTION 37 IN A WAY THAT DISCRIMINATES AGAINST ME?

There could be indirect discrimination if the police have taken away equipment and this has had a worse impact on you because you are disabled.

There could be discrimination arising from disability if there was a worse impact on you because of something connected to you being disabled.

If you think this has happened to you, you have the right to complain.

HOW CAN I CHALLENGE UNLAWFUL POLICE BEHAVIOUR AT MY PROTEST?

You can make a complaint if you think the police acted unlawfully at your protest. More information on doing that is here.

There are other ways to stand up for your rights. You may be able to challenge the actions or decisions of the police using

• judicial review
• the Human Rights Act

You can see our article here for more information on how to go about this. If you are planning on doing this, it is best to get legal advice first.

GETTING LEGAL HELP

You might want a lawyer or advice

• if you have been arrested at a protest
• if you are considering suing the police.

You can find more information on how to find a lawyer here.

Also, our page on organising a protest has more information on things such as

• legal observers
• other protest support

FURTHER INFORMATION

More information on your protest rights is available on our Advice and Information Hub, including the following pages:

• What if I’m arrested at a protest?
• Protest bust cards (with translations)
• Practical protest tips
• A guide to kettling
• Complaining to the police
• How to organise a protest
• Practical tips on attending a protest
• Your rights if you are arrested at a protest
• How the new Policing Act affects your right to protest