Safety and disability: does more need to be done ?
Those with disabilities deserve the same respect and opportunities as able bodied people. Sounds simple enough, right? And yet in 2024 it is still something that we are struggling to provide, even in the most basic of terms. Below we’ll explore why inclusivity challenges persist, and why disabled individuals continue to face discrimination, barriers to accessibility, and the resulting safety risks this can lead to.
Is intolerance getting worse in the UK?
The UK has made significant strides in the past few decades to promote equality and inclusion for all. Yet, if the headlines and social media posts are to be believed we seem to be going backwards. So is it all reactionary clickbait headlines, or are there statistics to back this up? Unfortunately, yes. Recent years have seen a significant rise in the number of hate crimes and acts of discrimination against disabled people, both in the UK and globally. A report undertaken in 2023 by Disability Rights UK found that disabled people are likely to be victims of a hate crime at some point.
With world leaders making coarser, bullying language more acceptable and openly belittling their opponents, has it become more gauche to be civil? It is often commented that the pandemic has made us less tolerant, or ruder to our fellow humans. Even social media seems to praise nasty behaviour, with many cases of hate crimes taking place with video being recorded.
Take the resurgence of the Timmy catchphrase from South Park. What was once seen as a character that empowered those with disabilities (the other children treat Timmy as a normal human being, while the adults act differently and are ridiculed for it) this nuance has been lost in the pursuit of disposable TikTok content, and the shouting of his catchphrase has been co-opted as a means to bully anyone deemed disabled—all for likes and views that will be forgotten in a month’s time.
But this is not a trend merely for young people and the skewed online world. It is happening in a professional and public capacity too. Barriers for disabled people are still substantial, and far from a solved issue. With the tightening of benefits rules meaning that many people with disabilities have limited finances, stories of lesser-abled people being wrongly assigned work that they cannot do (and thus penalised for turning said work down) or assessed incorrectly based on their unique needs just highlights how much more needs to be done, and that tick box assessments do not work with the nuances of individual circumstances.
Safety implications for disabled people
While it may not be good for the mental health of disabled people, there’s also growing evidence that safety is also substantially affected by the rising prejudice and intolerance towards them.
People with disabilities often face unique safety challenges that are frequently overlooked. These include:
Accessibility Barriers: Physical barriers like inaccessible buildings, transportation systems, and public spaces can limit mobility, and increase the risk of accidents. Stories such as the Olympic athlete who had to drag themselves off a train as there was no help available should simply not be happening in 2024.
Emergency Situations: In emergencies, disabled people may be at a disadvantage due to a lack of accessible information, evacuation procedures, and emergency services trained to assist people with disabilities. There are even some situations where the lack of provisions for disabilities cause the emergencies themselves, such as when a blind man fell onto train tracks due to improper flooring to let him know where the edge of the track was.
Digital Exclusion: Many essential services, such as healthcare and government services, are increasingly reliant on digital technology. Digital exclusion can leave disabled people vulnerable and isolated at best, and without vital treatment in the worst cases. Digital resources are also not always adapted for disabled people, with poor accessibility through tools such as screen readers.
Hate Crime and Discrimination: Individually, disabled people are disproportionately targeted for hate crimes, which can have severe physical and psychological consequences. But they are also treated differently by some professionals, either through lack of understanding or because the rules that workers are made to follow do not have any leeway for exceptions or variables (such as the man who was illegally refused access to a café because he had a guide dog with him).
In situations such as this, the victim is very much in the right. Yet as it is a civil matter, it falls to them to take legal action over, and most do not want the hassle or extra attention that this would bring.
Is the Equality Act enough?
It is not all bad news, however. Disability hate crimes still prevalent but falling, down 18% in latest official figures.
The Equality Act 2010 replaced the previous Disability Discrimination Act, and does provide a robust legal framework to protect disabled people from discrimination. However, challenges remain in its implementation and enforcement. Some argue that the Act does not go far enough to address the specific needs of disabled people, particularly in relation to accessibility and safety. And while it repeatedly comes up in agendas and election campaigns, not much concrete action has been taken.
With Labour’s campaign to get more people back into work, and a sharp focus on making workplaces more accessible to people with disabilities (a change that is long past due—it’s sad that someone perfectly able to work from home was not really allowed to until a global pandemic made it the norm!), the intolerance to visible and hidden disabilities is something that also needs addressing urgently.
If the Equality Act is to do its job properly, more needs to be done to raise awareness of it, and there needs to be improvements to its enforcement mechanisms. Additionally, there are concerns about the adequacy of reasonable adjustments, particularly in the workplace. As with anything that is left open to interpretation, the term reasonable will mean different things to different people, and leaves room for abuse of the act entirely.
What can businesses do to address these?
While there is an argument for a strengthening of widespread laws and regulations, much of the change will begin with each of us as individuals, both personally and professionally. Businesses also have a crucial role to play in creating inclusive and safe environments for disabled people.
Some practical steps include:
- Accessibility Audits: Regularly assess premises and digital services for accessibility.
- Staff Training: Provide staff with training. This includes mental health first aid, disability awareness and inclusive practices. Once trained, there should be a no-tolerance atmosphere for bullying. The old boys club vibe still persists in some industries, particularly construction, with too much bullying or belittling of people disguised as ‘banter’.
- Assistive Technology: Invest in assistive technology to support disabled employees and customers. While all workstations should be legally safe to operate for all employees anyway, it should not fall to the individual to speak up when they need extra tools, such as screen readers, adaptive keyboards or dictation software. A proactive approach should be the norm for a truly inclusive workplace.
- Reasonable Adjustments: Make reasonable adjustments to accommodate the needs of disabled individuals. As mentioned above, there are other ways that the work environment can be made more inclusive.
Flexibility with schedules and locations, ample access to disabled washrooms, kitchens and supplies, and even sufficient daylight and openable windows are all important for opening up employment opportunities, and supporting those who may otherwise believe they cannot work because of their disability.
Think of the amazing team members, problem solvers, unique minds and extraordinary skill sets you could have access to if you can overcome the obstacles preventing them from working. None of the above are particularly demanding or difficult to implement, yet the effort (and cost) required means that many workplaces do not bother, to their employees–current and potential—detriment.
Changes can be good for business
If you are upgrading, changing or creating a workspace for the first time, it can be helpful to consider the ramifications for disabled people. How will this change to the physical workplace affect disabled people? Do I need to consider display screen equipment (DSE) provisions? What is the distance from this person’s desk to the entrance, toilet, kitchen etc? How might this physical change to the workplace affect accessibility?
Aim for a more inclusive design policy. Run a checklist any time major changes are made to the workplace or aspects of work. Also consider website accessibility – a major aspect of modern life that is often overlooked and shut off to disabled people due to poor design. Many of the ways in which websites and internal databases are designed are done behind the top layer that you physically see. If your business is getting an online upgrade, consider hiring a professional to ensure that your new site is disability AA compliant.
What else can be done nationally?
This is the million dollar question, and not one that comes with a fix-all solution.
In an age of an excess of awareness campaigns and be-kind initiatives, many people’s actions are not matching up to the words that are being spoken. Equally, there are laws to protect against discrimination and to punish hate crimes, but, as mentioned above, it often falls to the individual to pursue these.
In terms of safety, it is a far more complicated issue. Safety for all, whether able-bodied or not, should be a minimal consideration, but that is far from the truth in many situations. Until laws come into place to make inadequate provisions for disabled people tantamount to discrimination, it is up to individual businesses, workplaces, public places and local councils to assess what can be done to make their jurisdiction safer for all. Until that happens, we can all help keep an eye out for our fellow man and highlight any issues that arise, rather than waiting for the situations that have been highlighted in this article.
Final thoughts
Without stronger laws, it falls on individuals and businesses to make things easier and improve safety for disabled people. This is one area in which individual action can make a genuine difference—and the cumulative impact of these small improvements can contribute towards a more tolerant and accommodating society when it comes to disabilities.