It's disability pride month and given that most of the posts about it are very centered around America I wanted to make a post about some of the problems disabled people in the UK face and what you can do to help !
Upon the office for national statistics realising some statistics for disabled people that outline many areas of life (education, housing, well-being, employment, ect) it becomes clear very quickly where disabled people are more disadvantaged compared to ableds (These are the statistics for 2020, full list found here)
Around half of disabled people aged 16 to 64 years (52.1%) in the UK were in employment compared with around 8 in 10 (81.3%) for non-disabled people (July to September 2020); disabled people with autism were among those disabled people with the lowest employment rate.
Disabled people’s (aged 16 to 64 years) average well-being ratings in the UK were poorer than those for non-disabled people for happiness, worthwhile and life satisfaction measures; average anxiety levels were higher for disabled people at 4.47 out of 10, compared with 2.91 out of 10 for non-disabled people
The proportion of disabled people (13.9%) aged 16 years and over in England, who reported feeling lonely “often or always” was almost four times that of non-disabled people (3.8%)
Around 1 in 7 (14.3%) disabled people aged 16 to 59 years in England and Wales experienced domestic abuse in the last 12 months, compared with about 1 in 20 (5.1%) non-disabled people; disabled women (17.5%) were more than twice as likely to experience domestic abuse in the last year than non-disabled women (6.7%)
In terms of signing petitions in the UK,it can be more complicated that just going onto change.org. For the government to officially recognise a petition in parliament it has to be made on the government website and only after 10,000 signatures will the government respond. (Though to be considered for debate in parliament it must receive 100,000) Here are some petitions yet to meet their goals;
Allow disabled people to keep all benefits if they move in with a partner — Disabled people on income-related benefits risk being left totally dependent on their partner if they move in together. This is because, when joint income is taken into account, their partner's earnings or savings often exceed the limits for eligibility for income-related benefits. This rule applies even if the disabled person in the relationship cannot and won't ever me able to work, meaning that they have no choice other than to hope the income their partner gets is enough for them both to live on.
Make CCTV on school buses carrying disabled children mandatory — There have been reported incidents on school buses transporting children with disabilities. Children have come home with unexplained marks on their body. Without CCTV this becomes an adults' word against a child who may struggle with communication. Parents put their children in the care of school bus companies and their escorts and we expect them to be looked after. Making it a legal requirement to have CCTV will ensure the adults in charge are carrying out their duties correctly which would leave no room for misunderstandings. Should an incident occur the use of CCTV will enable investigations to be carried out fairly and efficiently
More funding for SEN children to access appropriate school provisions — Changes need to be made so more funding is available for schools and local authorities to offer better provisions for SEN children, especially those who do not fit the criteria for special needs EMS/mainstream schools. So no other child falls through the system.
Make working from home a legal right for disabled workers — The Government should give disabled employees the legal right to work from home for office-based job roles and/or where no genuine occupational requirement (GOR) is in place to require an employee to be on site. Reducing barriers to work for disabled people should improve their personal wellbeing and could boost GDP. A 2017 Government white paper stated that finding work for an additional 1% of disabled workers would save the Exchequer £240 million, and provide a boost to the economy of £260 million. By making it a legal right for non-GOR roles to work from home it is hoped that economic inactivity for 3.6 million disabled people can be reduced, in the spirit of the Equality Act.
Of course it takes more than just signing a petition and raising awareness to spark change but ever little helps, though these petition can only be signed by UK residents it would be hugely helpful if non-UK residents reblogged too to help spread the word! As disabled people we all face many hardships but at the end of the day we can all help eachother.
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