Disability Equality Training for Museum of London

Disability Equality Trainingfor Museum of London Tess McManus

Working Together Our space is: • confidential • a safe space to speak • free of mobile phones • comfortable

Today’s Aims • By the end of the training, you will have: • an understanding of the wider diversity of disabled people • an understanding of disability from a removal of barriers perspective • knowledge of a range of things that you can do to make the museum and the activities you run: • More accessible to disabled visitors • More accessible for disabled volunteers • confidence and competence in your communication with disabled people

But… • Who are you ? • What do you do? • What are you expecting ? • Are you bringing any particular issues or questions?

Facts & Figures Quiz Small group exercise: Answer ‘True’ or ‘False’ to each of these statements • Most disabled people are born with their impairments - True of False? • Most people have a disabled family member or friend - True or False? • Disabled people are as likely to be employed as non disabled people - True or False? • Most disabled people are wheelchair users - True or False?

Facts & Figures Quiz - Answers • Most disabled people are born with their impairmentsFalse www.equalityhumanrights.com

Facts & Figures Quiz - Answers 2. Most people have a disabled family member or friendTrue The 2001 census states that there are 11 million disabled people in the UK. That equates to around 1:5 of the adult population. www.statistics.gov.uk/census2001/census2001.asp

Facts & Figures Quiz - Answers 3. Disabled people are as likely to be employed as non disabled peopleFalse In 2006, there were 2.5 million disabled men and women in the UK without work. The number of disabled people claiming benefits has increased threefold since 1970. DWP The employment rates of disabled people – 2006

Facts & Figures Quiz - Answers 4. Most disabled people are wheelchair users False www.equalityhumanrights.com

London’s Disabled Population • More than 1.4 million Londoners are disabled. • National Statistics Online, Census 2001, www.statistics.gov.uk/census • One in every 4 Londoners has a family member or close friend who is disabled. • www.londonfirst.co.uk/improving_london/disability.asp?L2=19 • The likelihood of becoming disabled increases with age: 8 per cent of Londoners between 16 and 24 are disabled, compared with 23 per cent of those between 55 and retirement. • Disabled people and the Labour Market in London: Key Fact, Analysis of the 2005 Annual Population Survey by Lorna Spence(2007) in DMAG Briefing 2007 - -5, Greater London Authority.

Traditional (“Medical”) Model “Confined to a wheelchair” Needs a Doctor Can’t climb stairs Can’t see or hear Is sick Can’t talk Needs help Can’t walk Has a bitter attitude Can’t use hands Needs a cure Needs Institutional care Is housebound

Social Model Badly designed buildings Inaccessible transport Hypocrisy No lifts No parking spaces Isolated families Poverty & low income Prejudiced attitudes Lack of PAs Segregated Education Poor job prospects

Social Model…in an ideal world Good building design Accessible transport Support workers Part of thecommunity Parking spaces Lifts Inclusive attitudes Good income Good job prospects Inclusive Education

Example: Medical & Social Models Social Model Packaging needs re-designing Medical Model Weak hands so cannot open jar

Impairment & Disability • Impairment: an injury, illness or congenital condition that causes or is likely to cause a long-term effect on physiological or psychological functions. • Disability: the loss or limitation of opportunities to take part in society on an equal level with others due to social and environmental barriers.

Types of Discrimination/Barriers • Physical • Informational / Communication • Attitudinal

Impairment & Disability Jane has an impairment. She has ME and gets tired after a couple of hours. She needs to sit with her feet slightly propped up. She has issues with short term memory once she becomes tired and gets headaches if she has to look at small print for any length of time. As part of her PhD research she and would like to volunteer on the information desk at your museum. What could be done to ensure that she is not disabled within that setting?

Impairment Groups • Mobility impairments • Learning difficulties • Mental health issues • Visual impairments • Hearing impairments • Hidden impairments / long term health conditions

Equality Act 2010 • Cross-cutting legislative framework to safeguard the rights of individuals from ‘protected characteristic’ groups. • Updates, simplifies and, in some areas, strengthens previous equalities legislation. • Provides a single framework of discrimination law to protect individuals from unfair treatment.

What / who the Equality Act covers The ‘protected characteristics’ are: • Age • Disability • Gender reassignment • Marriage and civil partnership • Race • Religion or belief • Sex • Sexual orientation

Goods and Services Discrimination is said to occur if: • an individual receives no service or a lesser service for reasons relating to their disability (for example, a visually impaired person received less or no information about an exhibit then a non disabled person) • a service is unreasonably difficult or impossible for a disabled person to use (for example, a short film clip about an exhibition has no subtitles and cannot be understood by a Deaf person)

Reasonable Adjustments • Making a reasonable adjustment means doing things another way • In the previous exercise, we identified a range of barriers which might impact on disabled people from different impairment groups • Now we are going to look at solutions

Where Language Takes Us Exercise: Language impacts on how people understand and interact with disabled people. • Working in teams we would like you to list all the offensive terms you have ever seen and heard to describe disabled people e.g. in the media. • You will not be asked to call them out if you feel uncomfortable doing so – we would just like you to discuss and list them.

Where Language Takes Us Feedback Handicap – the root of this word comes from “cap-i’-hand” and relates to begging. Cripple – originates from the word “creep” and also relates to places where disabled people were allowed to beg, Cripplegate. Invalid – relates to the ‘validity’ of wants and views of an individual. Neb (Yiddish) Amathon (Gaelic) – both mean “fool” or “idiot” and show us that many cultures have a negative response to disability.

Disability Equality Training for Museum of London