Being part of Scotland’s story under the Disability Convention
The report of the joint Commissions’ participation event with disabled people in Scotland about the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
The report was written in April 2011
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Contents
Being part of Scotland’s story under the Disability Convention 2
Background to the day 4
What you told us is most important to allow disabled people to enjoy their human rights? 5
A society that understands disability 5
Accessible transport 7
Involvement and consultation 9
Access and provision of local services 11
Better services and support 14
Education 17
Employment 21
Technology 23
Do disabled people have good access to places, information and communication in Scotland? 24
Do you have concerns about disabled people’s access to justice where their rights are abused, where they are victims or witnesses of crime, or their right when they are suspected of a crime? 29
What can be done to make sure disabled people are free from exploitation, violence and abuse? 30
Do you think disabled people’s right to participate in public life, including in decisions which affect their lives is realised in Scotland. If not, what more should be done? 31
Is the right to private and family life real for disabled people in Scotland 33
Do you think that disabled people in Scotland enjoy fully their right to participate in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport? 35
Links to useful information 38
Being part of Scotland’s story under the Disability Convention
The United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability (the Convention) is an international human rights treaty that the UK and Scottish Government have signed up to. The purpose of the Convention is to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights by all disabled people and to promote their inherent dignity.
The Convention includes ‘civil and political’ human rights and Governments that have signed up to the Convention must take action to make sure that disabled people can enjoy these rights on an equal basis with people who are not disabled. It also includes ‘economic, social and cultural’ rights and Governments must be making progress towards achieving a society where disabled people enjoy these rights on an equal basis with others.
Therefore, the UK and Scottish Governments should be taking a range of steps to allow disabled people to enjoy their human rights.
The Scottish Human Rights Commission (SHRC) and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) have a role under the Convention to raise awareness and encourage the involvement of disabled people in implementing the Convention. As part of this work, on Monday 28 March 2011 the Commissions hosted an event for disabled people in rural areas of Scotland.
This report provides an overview of what disabled people participating in the event told us. This information does not necessarily reflect the views of the Commissions, but it is an accurate record of the discussions. It also explains what the Convention says disabled people can expect the UK and Scottish Government to have done and be doing in relation to the points that they raised during the event.
By setting out what action the Convention expects Governments to have taken and to be taking we hope this will help to raise awareness of how the Convention can be used to press for change and make human rights a reality for all disabled people in Scotland.
Background to the day
Participation is at the very heart of the Convention and Article 33 requires the UK and Scottish Governments and the Commissions to involve disabled people in their work to make the rights in the Convention a reality.
On 28 March 2011, the two Commissions held a nationwide event to hear the views of disabled people. The event was part of the Commissions’ efforts to involve and encourage meaningful participation of disabled people throughout the length and breadth of Scotland.
The Commissions decided to use ‘webcasting technology’ to achieve widespread participation. Webcasting is a way of holding a conference with people in different places, linked through the internet. The central location for the event was in Inverness, there were two satellite locations in Inverurie and Oban and participants logged on to the webcast from their home computer or in smaller groups in offices or community centres all over the country.
The event started with a series of presentations from the Commissions, the Scottish Government and the UK Government nominee to the UN Committee. All participants were able to put questions to the speakers and a lively discussion took place, involving all participants, about what the Convention means for disabled
Participants were then asked to consider questions for discussion in the afternoon. Those in Inverness, Inverurie and Oban provided a summary of their discussions that were broadcast live through the webcast.
People joining the event from their home or office computer contributed questions and comments through an online text box. A chat room, or ‘forum’ space, has remained open on the webcast site. Once the forum has closed, this report will be updated to reflect these discussions.
So far around 200 people have taken part in these events, but there is still a chance to take part using webchat. To find out how, visit http://www.scottishhumanrights.com/ourwork/crpd/crpdparticipation
What you told us is most important to allow disabled people to enjoy their human rights?
A society that understands disability
You told us:
There is a lack of understanding in society in general about disability. There needs to be more and better communication to allow society to understand disability.
We need to educate from an early age about acceptance and tolerance of disabled people.
Ignorance amongst non-disabled people of the perspectives and situations of disabled people is a major barrier to achieving a mutual understanding and disability equality.
There is a great need to actively address negative attitudes, assumptions and stereotypes about disabled people.
Both disabled and non-disabled people should be encouraged to share perspectives honestly, not least because fear of causing offence is a major inhibitor preventing non-disabled people from engaging with disabled people.
People need to be educated to make sure they consider other people’s rights and understand that disabled people have the same human rights as them.
It is important that adults are educated as well as children. An example was discussed where a manager of a charity shop had been seen treating learning disabled volunteers unfairly and in a discriminatory way.
There should be a duty on employers to provide training on disability to all their staff. Awareness raising and training initiatives are necessary in the public and commercial sectors to overcome ignorance and ensure fairer and equal access for disabled people. This is particularly important in front-line services.
It is really important that those who are involved in designing spaces, policies and services empathise with the situation of disabled people. An example of when this has worked is that deaf people or people with hearing impairments can arrange for BSL support in advance of train travel. When a train is cancelled this allows people to communicate and make alternative arrangements. This would have been a real struggle if the BSL support had not been prearranged.
There is a tendency to put down and attempt to normalise impairments. We should be celebrating the differences of disabled people.
It is important to provide information and support to those caring for disabled children and people with severe impairments. This should include providing support for parents to increase their understanding of disability and to help them address the ignorance of others who may regard the behaviour of their children as evidence of poor parenting. Major public information campaigns to educate the public about the realities of being a disabled person are also needed.
Disabled people’s organisations need to be supported financially to facilitate skills development and capacity building of disabled people so they have the self confidence, skills and knowledge to be active in addressing issues around discrimination.
What the Convention says about raising awareness
Article 4 of the Convention requires Governments to commit to promoting the training of professionals and staff working with disabled people in the rights that are recognised in the Convention.
Article 8 requires Governments to take immediate, effective and appropriate action to:
· Raise awareness throughout society of disabled people and to foster respect for their rights and dignity.
· Confront stereotypes, prejudice and harmful practices affecting disabled people in all areas of life.
· Promote awareness of the capabilities and contributions of disabled people.
The immediate, effective and appropriate action Governments are expected to take includes:
· Beginning and maintaining effective public awareness raising campaigns about disabled people and their rights. These campaigns should aim to promote positive opinions and greater social awareness of disabled people and their rights and should recognise their skills, abilities and contribution to the workplace.
· Developing at all levels of the education system, including very young children, an attitude of respect for the rights of disabled people.
· Encouraging the media to portray disabled people in a way that promotes their full and equal human rights and dignity.
Accessible transport
You told us:
Transport is a key issue for disabled people, particularly those in rural Scotland. Disabled people are often trapped by limited public transport options and the high cost of transport when it is available. Living in isolated and rural areas is very difficult and expensive.
Transport issues are a priority for disabled people in rural areas because it affects every aspect of your lives. Being unable to travel from place to place hurts your ability to access services, to participate in society and be involved in democracy.
Petrol and diesel in the Western Isles and in Northern rural areas are significantly more expensive than the rest of Scotland. This has a particularly negative impact on disabled people who often cannot access public transport.
To get information about welfare benefits you need to travel but disabled people are increasingly poor and transport is getting increasingly expensive.
You have to rely more in rural areas on friends and family because there is a real lack of local transport. Often, if friends and family are not available the next option is to rely on transport provided by volunteers.
There is a social enterprise project called ‘MyBus’ in Fife. It is a community transport group that provides a range of affordable, reliable, accessible transport to groups and individuals who are unable to access suitable public transport. There could be a lot more support provided to encourage and allow similar kinds of services in rural areas.
You doubt whether there really are the resources available to support the voluntary sector and a strong view that providing transport should be a statutory obligation because voluntary support can fall away at anytime. There needs to be a Government response, such as a statutory obligation on public service providers to provide transport facilities to allow disabled people to access services. Another suggestion was a disability dividend or allowance to recognise the real difficulties faced by disabled people who cannot afford to travel.
There needs to be consistently good quality service across the different transport providers who operate in different parts of the country.
One woman who uses a wheelchair and a small scooter told us that she is not allowed to take her scooter on all trains because of the policies of some train companies. This means she is unable to travel to certain places in England. In Scotland, she can travel on trains but when she gets to England she cannot travel onwards to her final destination because of the policy of one rail company and their rule that her scooter is hand luggage, therefore she or a companion must carry it onto the train. So far they have refused to provide assistance. She usually travels alone and is unable to carry the scooter on.
The failure to provide accessible transport is rarely enforced. Local authorities have service level agreements with private transport companies (including those providing bus, ferry and taxi services). These agreements are not monitored effectively and it is very difficult for disabled people to raise concerns with the local authorities or to encourage them to take action.
In remote rural areas disabled people often have to travel over 100 miles for a health appointment but little or no consideration appears to be given to the logistics or effort required to achieve this.
What the Convention says about providing accessible transport
Article 9 of the Convention says that Government should be taking appropriate action to make sure disabled people have as much access to transportation as non-disabled people. To make this a reality, Government should identify and remove barriers to accessible transport.
Article 9 also requires Governments to take appropriate steps to:
· Develop, communicate and implement minimum standards and guidelines to make facilities and services (including transport) accessible.
· Make sure private companies that provide public facilities and services take into account all aspects of accessibility for all disabled people.
· Provide training about the accessibility issues facing disabled people.
Article 20 requires Governments to take effective action to allow personal mobility and the greatest possible independence for disabled people. This includes making the personal mobility of disabled people possible and doing so in a way and at a time when they choose and at cost that is affordable.
Involvement and consultation
You told us:
You feel excluded from decision-making and advisory groups and organisations. Disabled people in remote areas are cut off, with limited options available, so they cannot participate nationally or at local authority level even when thought is given to offering the opportunity to participate.