If we draw attention to groups of people in society who make a special claim on us, we also risk making them seem different to us. We may then be led to fear them, to treat them as all alike, and even to see them as less than human. That process is reflected in the ways words used to describe persons with disabilities became dismissive. Persons whose movement is affected, who cannot speak and are intellectually limited came at different times to be called, cripples, dumb and idiots.
If we identify a group of people by disabilities, we are also likely to assume we know how they think and even what they need. We may imagine that they suffer from limited sight, hearing or mobility. For some, indeed, it may be a cause of suffering. For others it may be a matter for pride or of fact. If we do not know what people think, how can we know what they need unless we ask them?
For this reason, it is important to name the day as one for ‘persons with disabilities’. Some years ago we may have spoken of the day ‘for the disabled’, or for ‘people who suffer from disabilities’. Both ways of speaking saw people through the lens of their disability. When we think of ‘persons with disabilities’ we make our lens the person for whom their disability is just one feature of their life. It reminds us that each person is of unique value. We are equal and must relate to one another as equals.
Disabilities, however, can create inequalities and an imbalance of power. Persons without legs cannot climb stairs. Persons who cannot see cannot read most books. In order to flourish, like everyone else they will need the support of others to overcome the obstacles that prevent them from living a full life.
A healthy society will address these and other inequalities in society by addressing the effects of inequality. It will protect persons whose intellectual disability makes them vulnerable to violence and exploitation. It will require schools and public buildings to ensure access through lifts as well as stairs. It will provide housing suitable for persons with different needs.
In all our personal and public relationships with persons with disabilities we must ensure that they can exercise agency in their lives. They must be consulted, make decisions, be free to travel, mix with others in the education and housing and find encouragement to build equal relationships.
That is the ideal. In Australia, however, the reality for persons with disabilities is one of inequality and of neglect by others. They often meet prejudice, are seen through the lens of their disability and not their humanity, and are objects of care and not agents. Despite the moving and shocking evidence at the Disability Royal Commission, the government accepted in full only six of its recommendations. Measured by the goals set by government, which include education, home settings, employment, equality before the law and administration, the treatment of persons with disabilities is shameful.
Among all these needs for recognition, protection, facilitation and agency, the Day for Persons with Disabilities this year focuses on leadership. Its theme is ‘Amplifying the leadership of persons with disabilities for an inclusive and sustainable future’. People should not be seen as objects of treatment but should be involved in and lead the decisions made about them, consulted about their needs, and be involved in meeting them.