June 2014
Press Release: Bad news for disabled people
Statistics out today show that in the last year, more disabled people have been attacked, spat on and abused in the street in Scotland, because they are disabled. There are undoubtedly many reasons for this increase, including of course a rise in reporting, but to simply sit back and congratulate ourselves on supporting people to report these heinous crimes would be complacent and neglectful. Today’s statistics are a sobering and shameful reminder that public attitudes towards disabled people are hardening, and as Scotland prepares for the eyes of the world to be on us, something must be done.
The Scottish Government started collectingthese statistics 3 years ago, a move disabled people welcomed as a way to draw attention to the extent of this problem, which, without their publication, would continue to be a hidden crime. The increase in the figures perhaps shows that disabled people are feeling more confident to report hate crimes, and disabled peoples organisationshave said they are confident that this reflects that the police in Scotland are taking these attacks seriously.
However, despite high hopes thatthe Paralympics would improve public perceptions of disability, research by Scope (1) shows devastating numbers of disabled people still say attitudes towards them are getting worse, and a short trawl of the mass media and Government rhetoric helps us to see why – disabled people are overwhelmingly portrayed as cheats and scroungers, burdens, who are using up all the hard earned cash from the hard working majority (2).
The Independent Living in Scotland (ILiS) project has, in a recent report, highlightedhow the media plays a crucial role in making information available to the general public, has great influence and shapes attitudes. However, the report also notes that:
“the relationship between the media and disabled people has long been turbulent . Disabled people are often defined or portrayed as free-loaders, scroungers, skivers…and Government ideology/policy/rhetoric drives this... Progressing disabled people’s equality and human rights is harder because the focus is on welfare, dependency and on the limited role that disabled people can play in society”.
Heather Fisken, Project Manager of the ILiS project, fears that without a shift, the situation for disabled peoplewill go unchanged:
“Today’s story shows lives are in danger. Hardened, ill-informed opinions about disability cannot continue to go unchecked, but disabled people are struggling to get their version of events across.Unless the obsession with ‘catching cheats and scroungers’ subsides, our TVs, radios and newspapers will never give us space to tell the real story of our time for disabled people – a story that’s littered with cuts, bullying and hate crime – but one that doesn’t have to be that way. It’s time disabled people hadthe space theyneed to tell their story about the realities they face. More effort must be made by the media to work with disabled people’s organisations”.
This morning, Disabled People’s Organisations met with the Minister. Pam Duncan, Policy Officer at the Independent Living in Scotland project, said:
“It’s not only the media who could help end this damning indictment of our time; our Governments have to act too. Let’s stop talking about the cost to society of disabled people, and start talking about the benefit we bring, to our communities, our families and our country. And let’s win hearts and minds from a young age, by teaching our children that disabled people are one of them. A targeted and dynamic programme focussing on disability equality and anti-stigma should be rolled out in our schools and we call on the Government to get to work on this, immediately”.
Ends.
Notes to editors
Contact details: Pam Duncan (Policy Officer) 0141 559 5020 or 07862263081
Website:
Twitter: #thesolutions
The Independent Living in Scotland project is funded by the Scottish Government and hosted by Inclusion Scotland, a national Disabled People’s Organization. It aims to support disabled people to have their voices heard and to help make strategic interventions to progress the equality and human rights of disabled people in Scotland.
A copy of the full report of the event referred to above, “Mock the weak – the representation of disabled people in the media” is available to download from
References:
- Watson et al (2011) “Bad news for disabled people: how the newspapers are reporting disability”. Inclusion London & Strathclyde Centre for Disability Research and Glasgow Media Unit
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