Monday 7 September 2009

Scope Research

Research by Scope, published in June 2009, has thrown up some disturbing statistics with regard to the perception of disability and with over 2000 people taking part, the views cannot be ignored.

From their research, they have ascertained that:-

* 53% of society view disabled people in a negative way;

and

* 38% believe that disabled people are a drain on resources

Worrying to say the least and it is clear to me that these figures are borne from ignorance and stereo-typing of disabled people.

On a positive, we must take note that their research also found strong support for tackling disability with accessible transport, access to public buildings and tougher action for Blue Badge abuse being cited as areas for improvement.

I believe that the attitudes of society can be changed and we may all be surprised with the speed these changes could happen if only the right resources were available. Unfortunately, disabled issues always seem to be in the background and we all need to start pushing them through to the foreground.

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