Have the debates – make the changes

Disability is a frequently neglected area of debates about equity and anti-discriminatory practice. This issue of healthmatters, with a special focus on disability, is particularly timely because of the various proposals currently under consideration by ministers to ‘target’, review, rationalise or simply cut benefits and services for disabled people.

Benefits are clearly important, as articles in this issue by Joe Korner of the RNIB and Frances Hasler of the National Centre for Independent Living make clear. Without an income adequate to cover the additional costs of disability, the independence most of us take for granted becomes an impossible dream. The government’s record so far in terms of listening to disabled people and gaining an understanding of these issues is, to say the least, disappointing.

But, of course, achieving equality for disabled people is about much more than simply benefits. The task of creating a society in which all of us have equal opportunities, irrespective of physical ability, is immense and often daunting. The experience of South Africa — a nation seeking to overcome a long history of institutionalised discrimination — is inspiring because it has developed a national strategy based on listening to disabled people. It has taken issues of equity very seriously — for example, by targeting support to disabled people who are poor and living in rural areas.

South Africa also shows us that determined action to overcome oppression and take positive steps towards a just and equal society is not a luxury of policy which can be postponed until all other problems have been solved. It can — it must — begin now.

Addressing disability in national policy is vital. But so too is understanding and tackling the issues locally and personally. Lorraine Gradwell urges us to ‘enter discussion, exchange ideas and widen your understanding. Above all, have the debates and make the changes’. And we hope you will.