What are the most common types of prejudices you face as a Disabled Person

malvinmulch

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/941803#Comment_941803

Politicians first tactic - divide and conquer, along with giving people a scapegoat to blame for the country's ills.

Recently the biggest issue is the wholesale importation of American libertarian attitudes - taxes are theft - then again the milk snatcher gave a sound bite that keeps getting rolled out "the problem with socialism is you end up running out of other people's money" which has now morphed into "we have to be hyper attentive about how taxpayers money is spent and the public will demand oversight " as if social security was a job perk like mileage and meals allowance plus other merde such as - welfare encourages sloth, equality legislation is discriminatory, free speech should be unlimited, people need to grow a thicker skin and other inane ramblings of the callous

malvinmulch

Also I saw one sports car with - just because I'm disabled doesn't mean I can't have a nice car

Also a saw young guy with a us old school muscle car, slid up to it with his wheelchair, transferred, folded it and chucked it in the passenger seat - rocking!

Banarama123

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/941739#Comment_941739

Hi. I totally understand what you are saying. I have multiple disabilities which are invisible and cause me great pain and suffering. But then pain and discomfort are invisible to other people. Yes people are very ignorant and have no empathy and even try to inexcusably ignore when it’s been explained to them.
so one day I sat down and wrote myself a remit that I don’t owe these ignorant people an explanation. Why should I allow them to question and underestimate my rights as a disabled person.
The worse one is when you drive in a disabled space and put blue badge on. I’ve had people say do you need that. You don’t look disabled. Sadly there will always be ignorant people in this world. So I choose to ignore their snide comments. I’ve even had people say behind my back tgat (she’s not disabled). I challenge them to live in my body for even a day. Hold your head high and always remember you don’t owe these people anything.

DaveDee

When people see me with a walking stick for support they do not seem to realise that you have very limited standing and walking tolerances, yet especially in shops etc., expect you to stand and wait in a queue..

Ironside1990

My college days were not very nice sometimes. I have Cerebral Palsy and I was frequently made to eat my meals on my own.

I was also bullied by cliquey people. I think social media has a lot to answer for. When you're young, you get people who think what looks good on social media matters. It's all about outward appearences and i was frequently referred to as a mong.

Amaya_Ringo

I think most of us have experienced discrimination or ignorance when engaging with the DWP. That seems to be the basic standard of their "treating everyone equally" clause.

I haven't been directly called by a slur, but I have seen and heard slurs used against people with autism, and people joke about it. The worst one, though, was when I saw someone post that racism was (the r word). So wait. Hang on? It's okay now to criticise one form of hate speech by using another? Clearly we still have work to do then.

Slur language around disability is very normalised online. Less so in real life I find. I've said it before but when I was working in the college supporting disabled kids, the kids there saw disability every day and just accepted it as normal. There was so little discrimination because they were aware and understood. Society as a whole tends to push us into a box where we can't be seen. And when your disability is invisible and you have some physically disabled activists calling your validity into question and even suggesting you are 'priveleged'…then it's very tough. UN Data has shown that there is no real difference between the level of discrimination experienced by visible and non visible disabled people, while we know from the UK's employment stats that people with autism are the least likely to be employed because of barriers to work (22% at present compared to 50% of disabled people overall). So not priveleged, then.

It took me two years to get a bus pass - the current eligibility rules around that are a bit silly, because having 12 points for planning a journey (ie, cannot find way out of a paper bag) does not qualify you. In my local area, I've never been challenged for having it. The people on the bus never question me, and never treat me any differently from anyone else. But in London I have seen and heard ableist slurs against autistic folk, and once, got interrogated in Ewell by an old guy about why I had a pass.

Heath4099

@eeL

I'm so sorry you have had to suffer certain peoples ignorance, prejudice and down right nastiness. Your lovely Mam sounded wonderful. When bringing my two now adult children up I always instilled into them never ever see in people, colour, religious beliefs or disability and am proud to say it absolutely worked! One is now a teacher and the other a youth counsellor. I wish you well x

Jimm_Scope

I have two 'invisible' disabilities, Crohn's disease and ADHD, so I don't tend to face much… until it comes to trying to get or use adaptations. I have had a comment once or twice about using a disabled toilet for example. It really stems from ignorance than a specific negative opinion of disabled people. It seems to be becoming rarer in my experience though. I think invisible disabilities are becoming more understood than they were just 5-10 years ago. I think Covid actually helped with that in some way, maybe one positive we can take from that whole experience.

I just want to add, these kinds of discussions are actually really helpful to us as an organisation. Of course we do spend time surveying and asking how disabled people are affected by prejudices and discrimination but discussions like these that are spontaneous and pop up are fantastic too. Thank you @PoppyMorgan 🙂

older01

@PoppyMorgan

I think that the hardest obstacle that disabled people face is the businesses that still make it very difficult for disabled people.

Many businesses overlook the fact that the country has a large community of disabled people. Accessibility is difficult in many forms, be it physically accessible places or the deaf community are almost invisible to the media in England. In most western countries there is someone beside the speaker interpreting the words in sign language. Here in England it’s almost unheard of??

Having disability questioned by government departments that don’t communicate with each other that you are in fact disabled. Having to explain your disability.

It’s still very degrading for most disabled people. The list is endless really.

Amaya_Ringo

Something else that I just thought about, reading through the above, is how the media and the world in general tends to talk about diversity as race, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, gender. You only sometimes see disability included. If you look for disability on, say, the BBC website, it's a subheading hidden away at the bottom of all the possible headings, and stories about disability disappear often. There's no real consistency in diversity issues we face in the media, compared to other groups. I don't want to undermine those other groups or the challenges they face, much less because I know some of those people struggle as disabled folk to get equal support access. But the lack of diversity awareness for disability in comparison to other things shows how far we still have to go.

eeL, that anecdote is disgusting. I suspect I would have gone to war over something like that. I remember we did a training session at one of my previous jobs and they laughed and said they didn't have time to cover invisible disability. I raised it with my line manager, and that was the last time that training company was ever used by my organisation. They went to people like Mind and Scope instead.

wobblyone

I have visible and invisible disabilities. I have less problems with the visible disabilities most of the times. People also treat me differently if I’m using aides or equipment.

In my last job my manager refused reasonable adjustments put in place prior to her starting the job. She claimed she didn’t want to make it harder for my colleagues. When I prepared for a tribunal I had to disclose all health conditions and it was also clear that despite my reasonable adjustment my work schedule was unfair and so I did more unsocial hours than colleagues. I’d internalised a lot of negativity and was determined to pull my weight even though it meant I was worse off.

Although pain, fatigue and a sensory impairment are the most challenging things I deal with people assume it’s my mental health which only becomes a problem because I’m dealing with many challenges. I feel less able to face the world most days because of the many hurdles. I would manage my pain and fatigue with mobility aides, medication and physio if I didn’t have so many hurdles. I also like sports and cycling despite not being able to do as much as most people so it’s depressing that I’m unable to join in with these things.

The media hate makes everything worse as I went from working long hours to being a recluse because I was treated as a problem. The last government and this one treat unemployment in disabled people as our fault but don’t do more to tackle employers. I never got to the tribunal due to becoming very ill over the harassment and imagine this is common and most disabled people don’t go through with tribunals and keep their head down in employment.

MW123

The most significant obstacle disabled individuals face in the workplace is the inability to afford the legal fees required to challenge discrimination or demand reasonable adjustments, despite the protections offered by the Equality Act 2010.

Legal aid is mostly unavailable for employment tribunals, leaving vulnerable employees defenceless against unfair treatment. With employers wielding all the power, the law designed to protect disabled employees becomes useless for those without the financial means to assert their rights.

When employers disregard their legal responsibilities, fully aware that many employees cannot afford to take action, discrimination thrives unchecked. As long as employers face no consequences for their actions or inaction, there is no genuine incentive for change. Without true accountability, discrimination will endure, rendering the Equality Act 2010 meaningless for those who need it most.

In its current form, the Equality Act is little more than lip service for the majority of disabled workers. Meaningful change will only occur when disabled employees have access to the resources needed to effectively challenge discrimination. I am certain that just a few high-profile cases would make employers who believe the Act doesn't apply to them think twice. Until then, discrimination will continue to thrive, unchecked and unchallenged.