The Disability Discrimination Act by Kate Stanforth

November marks the 25th anniversary of the passing of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995.  It made it unlawful to discriminate against people in respect of their disabilities in relation to employment, the provision of goods and services, education and transport.

Non-Disabled vs Disabled Life

I wasn’t born with my disability, so I’ve had some experience of living a non-disabled life.  As a non-disabled person, even at my younger age, I was treated fairer and had fewer barriers to combat.  Now, I’m fully aware of the difficulties you face having a disability, not just for myself, but for my friends, family and carers too.

Discrimination in 2020

As an activist, I have an awful lot of frustrations.  I would hope that we would be much further forwards than we are, 25 years on from the passing of the DDA.  Just taking the latest Coronavirus pandemic as an example, why is it that we haven’t had a BSL interpreter on the live briefings from Parliament in England?  Why did millions of ‘vulnerable’ disabled people get abandoned during a pandemic?  Why is it that accessibility in general seems to now be taking backward steps?

“I Have to Fight Every Day for My Rights”

As a disabled person, I have to fight every day for my rights and I know I’m not alone in this.  Whether it’s to get correct care, education, or access, life seems to be a constant battle of telling people ‘actually, I am entitled to equal and fairer treatment’.  Unfortunately, I don’t think the DDA provides enough support for disabled people’s rights because it’s so incredibly difficult to use the law against anything to make a change.  I have been discriminated against on many occasions, from work to transport but even with my (rather big) voice, nothing is done about it because it’s incredibly hard to take a case on.  If it was easier to take action on discrimination cases, and the consequences were greater, I think we would be much further forward than we are today.

The Positives

The good thing is, I’ve seen the disabled community grow over the years and I’m proud to be friends with some like-minded people who are determined to make the world more accessible.  I love the fact that we now have strength in numbers and there’s an army of people out there trying to make a difference in the world.  I’ve also been very lucky to meet, and work, with disability organisations who also have the same ethos in wanting to make the lives of disabled people easier.  And for that, I’m truly grateful.

Thank you to everyone who has fought, and continues to fight, for disability rights. This one’s for you.