Scope’s new report shows disabled people still face negative attitudes

The way other people act towards us can have a huge impact on how we view ourselves and our role in society. An occasional moment of rudeness or being ignored may be a minor inconvenience or annoyance. But the more it happens, the more the impact adds up.

For many disabled people, this will sound all too familiar. Whether it is outright hostility, or seemingly minor incidents that add up to a hostile atmosphere, prejudice remains a common occurrence. Negative attitudes from others can be one of the biggest barrier to disabled people living life the way they want, and more needs to be done to tackle them.

The research in this report was carried out on behalf of Scope by the National Centre for Social Research as part of the annual British Social Attitudes Survey.

What is the Perception Gap?

According to the new research one in three disabled people still feel that there’s a lot of prejudice against disabled people. But only one in five non-disabled people think the same.

This is what is being called the disability perception gap.

It may seem self-evident that disabled people face prejudice, but many non-disabled people do not understand the scale of the negative attitudes towards disability.

Some difference would  not be surprising – disabled people have to live with this prejudice every day, whereas non-disabled people may only ever know about it second hand.

But this gap is growing. In 2000, there was only a slight difference between the views of disabled and non-disabled people when it came to disability prejudice. Over the last 20 years, however, the gap has trebled.

There is now a real danger that many non-disabled people think that disability prejudice has been tackled long before it has been, which could block further attempts to improve the situation. Instead of this complacency, there is a need to make sure that the experiences of disabled people are listened to and put at the heart of any programme designed to address negative and harmful attitudes.

Activity Alliance addresses this within our work from research to delivery. We ensure disabled people are at the heart of our work and involved in developing ideas. Our blogs every Friday and series Me, Being Active, supports disabled people's authentic voice to be heard in our commuications.

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Being close to disability can help

When it comes to improving understanding, it seems that nothing beats personal contact with a disabled person. Whether it is a colleague, a friend or a family member, having a relationship with a disabled person makes a real difference to non-disabled people’s attitudes.

For example, 10 percent of people who claim not to know any disabled people think of disabled people as ‘getting in the way’ some of the time – an opinion held by only 3 percent of people with a disabled colleague.

However, a third of the population claim not to know a single disabled person. This means that their views on disability are far more likely to be based on stereotypes than any knowledge of what life is like for a disabled person.

Any attempt to improve attitudes will have to increase people’s understanding of what it means to be disabled, and the challenges that disabled people face on a daily basis.

Driving change

To do this requires a concerted effort across society to tackle prejudice and negative attitudes towards disabled people. This should include a variety of spaces; from the classroom to the boardroom, and all points in between.

Activity Alliance is working hard across many sectors to drive awareness, change perceptions and change the reality of disability, inclusion and sport.

Scope is calling for efforts to get more disabled people into work to be amplified. With only 7 percent of people saying they have a disabled colleague, a million more disabled people in work could make a real difference to people’s views of disability and disabled people.

The media could do more to ensure that disabled people and their experiences are properly represented on screen. By supporting disabled talent, they can show what it means to be disabled in 2018.

Activity Alliance released a report in 2016 that showed the public’s desire to see more disability sport in the media. The report flags the importance of coverage beyond the Paralympic Games and on a par with non-disabled people in sport. To support journalists and those who provide news content on disabled people in sport, Activity Alliance released a better practice Guide to accompany the research.

There is a call for a coherent approach to improving attitudes across all areas of life. Earlier this week the Government announced a new working group to look at the issues facing disabled people. Scope is calling on this group, and the rest of Government, to take prejudice seriously and launch a new cross-departmental disability strategy, focussed on improving attitudes and reducing prejudice towards disabled people.

As part of the Scope campaign for everyday equality for disabled people, they would like to hear about your experiences and what you would like to see change. You can support Scope’s campaign by telling them your experiences here