According to statistics from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, instances of disability hate crime in Scotland have been rising since 2010. The reasons for this have yet to be fully explored in research, although there is a strong belief amongst those working with disabled people, that the vast majority of such incidents go unreported. This study explores disability hate crime conceptually, and in practice, through the testimony of disabled people themselves, and social workers who work alongside them. Utilising Social Relational Model of disability, alongside a methodology influenced by Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, the study aims to fill the gap in research by positioning disabled people's voices at the forefront of the data collected and analysed. By conducting interviews with disabled people, social workers, and disabled people's organisations in central Scotland, the study finds that an individual's relationship with a disability identity can play a significant impact in how disabled engage with disability hate crime as a concept, and that while social workers remain enthusiastic and supportive of disabled people who are experiencing disability hate crimes, they themselves suggest that they are being hindered in their ability to offer their best practice, as pressures of time, money, and management, are inhibiting their efforts in the area.