Disability politics

1
Disability politics

• Caroline Ellis
• Joint Deputy CEO
• RADAR the disability network

2
What is disability?

• 11 million people in UK have a disability (as
  defined by DDA but disability discrimination does
  not just affect disabled people)
• Huge diversity impairments (some hidden),
  health conditions, identities
• Social model (disabled by attitudes, barriers in
  environment focus on removing barriers
  securing support to participate as equal
  citizens) v medical model (impairments are the
  problem, care, cure, charity)

3
Disabled peoples movement

• Nothing about us, without us
• Fighting for recognition of disablism,
  self-determination real equality
• Has delivered civil rights law direct payments
  
• Disabled women have had to challenge sexism
  within the movement has in past sidelined BME
  disabled people but that is changing.
• Has been a need for impairment-specific
  self-organisation too (eg People First)
• Very often promote things that de facto have
  benefit for all inclusive design, lifetime homes
• Often battle alongside other strands eg when we
  were lobbying for legal recognition for
  disability hate crime we worked alongside
  Stonewall who were pressing for similar on
  homophobic crime.

4
Equality gaps today

• Disabled children are 13 times more likely to be
  excluded from school than their non-disabled
  peers
• Disabled people are twice as likely to live in
  poverty as non-disabled people
• Amongst white families in Britain that include a
  disabled adult, the risk of child poverty is 36.
  Amongst Indian families the risk is 52 per cent,
  among Pakistani families it is 63 per cent and
  among Bangladeshi families the risk is 83.

5
Equality gaps continued

• Disabled men paid 11 less than non-disabled men
  disabled women paid 22 less than non-disabled
  men
• 40 of physically disabled people say their
  housing situation makes them unnecessarily
  dependent on others
• You die younger if you have a learning disability
  or mental health problems
• Hundreds of thousands turned away by social
  services rely on family, friends till they
  reach a crisis
• High levels of harassment, violence and hate
  crime

6
Disability Agenda

• Raising expectations not just jobs, careers
• Mainstreaming delivering on disability equality
  key to achieving key Government objectives
• Current focus
• Battle for independent living
• Ending disability related poverty
• Strong single equality legislation
• More disabled people in leadership positions

7
Single Equality Bill

• Disabled people wont achieve equality until
  there is comprehensive protection against all
  forms of discrimination including multiple
  discrimination
• Current DDA recognises equal treatment does not
  deliver real equality (disability related
  discrimination, reasonable adjustments positive
  action). Some of the specificities are under
  threat applying concepts that work for other
  strands doesnt always work for disability

8
A new politics of equality?

• Strengthen our own movement make it more
  inclusive, empowering AND
• Need to make common cause with other movements to
  achieve social justice e.g
• Independent Living right to control public
  services you receive a womens issue, a carers
  issue, childrens rights issue, race equality
  issue, an older persons issue an EVERYONE issue
• But personalisation is challenging many belief
  systems!
• Need to take human rights approach to policy and
  practice.

9
End goal?

• A society where everyone can participate fully as
  equal citizens