Chapter 1

Chapter 1

“Structure: the components and their manner of arrangement in constituting a whole.”31

What is structural disablism, and why is physical inclusivity so important? “An important difference between the experience of disabled people and those from other oppressed groups in society is that the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ is enshrined in law”32 . In modern-day Britain, it would be illegal to expect anyone who identifies with a legislated group of protected characteristics these are, ‘age, sex, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, marriage and civil partnership, religion or belief, race, sexual orientation, disability33’ , to only gain access to public buildings separately, through alternative entrances. However, for 14.1million people or 21% of the population in 2018/1934 who have declared disability this is their reality. Galtung 35 compares restricting access to essentials that would assist individuals in equal opportunity paths as an indirect act of structural violence. Where there is unequal access there shows unequal power, hence unequal opportunities. Uneven distribution of resources; from education, to cultural, to medical services, mean that whilst we may all be born equally, our environment is a significant factor that defines what we experience and therefore what equality will mean to individuals. Lennard Davis36 is a specialist in disability

31 Medical Dictionary for the Health Professions and Nursing, Definition of structure. (2012) <https://medicaldictionary.thefreedictionary.com/structure> [Accessed 26 January 2021] 32 Rhoda Olkin, What psychotherapists should know about disability, (New York: Guilford press 1999), p. 32 33 Equality Act 2010: Part 2 (c.1) [Online]<https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/section/4/enacted> [Accessed 12 November 2020] (pp. 4-4). 34 Department for Work and Pensions, Family Resources Survey 2018/19 <https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/874507/fami ly-resources-survey-2018-19.pdf> [Accessed 12 November 2020] (pp.1-7). 35 Johan Galtung, ‘Violence, Peace, and Peace research’, Journal of Peace Research, 6. 3 (1969), 168-191 (pp. 169) <http://www2.kobeu.ac.jp/~alexroni/IPD%202015%20readings/IPD%202015_7/Galtung_Violence,%20Peace,%20and%20Peace% 20Research.pdf> [Accessed 26 January 2021] 36 Lennard Davis, Lennard Davis- Home, (Copyright: 2009 Lennard J. Davis) <http://lennarddavis.com/home.html> [Accessed 26 January 2021]

studies, he writes “To understand the disabled body, one must return to the concept of the norm, the normal body.”37 He cites Eugenics38 as the origins of our present-day societal obsession with the 'norm' and its violent history of sterilising those humans with 'undesirable' characteristics. Structural disablism is more than just the result of poor geographical planning. It is the consistent creation of architectural barriers whose design excludes and cleanses public arenas from people with disability and mobility impairments. In many western countries, access to the built environment for people with disability is only partially legislated for as guidance rather than law; therefore, there is only partial obligation to provide access. Consequently, disabled people only have partial citizenship.39

For many people living with impairments, the consequence of this lack of access has led to a lack of representation, being excluded from arenas that able-bodied people use to create progressive legislation and forward-thinking change. In 2005 the UK's department for international development, produced a policy paper aimed at reducing poverty by tackling social exclusion; they heavily stress the importance of historical context in rectifying the present. They recognise that to treat social exclusion; there must be a consideration of the historical context of the group’s origins in social exclusion. The department for international development refers to their partnership with Cambodia regarding action for disability where the departments state that they work to ensure disabled people's participation in policy change through advocacy networks. The report goes on to state the psychological effects of

37 Lennard J Davis, The disability studies reader: Constructing normalcy, (1997) (pp. 1-1) Academia.edu PDF ebook. < https://www.academia.edu/1134554/Constructing_normalcy> [Accessed 26 January 2021] 38 Demetrio, Neri, ‘Eugenics’, in Encyclopaedia of Applied Ethics, ed. by Ruth Chadwick 2nd edn (Elsevier Inc: 2012). Science Direct. [Accessed 10 January 2021]

39 Rob Kitchin, ‘Investigating Disability and Inclusive Landscapes’ Teaching Geography, (2001), 81-85 (p. 8182) <https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262008130_Disability_and_inclusive_landscapes> [Accessed 26 January 2021]

exclusion, “The resulting sense of powerlessness can rob people of their self-confidence and aspirations and their ability to challenge exclusion.40”

This historical exclusion creates an atmosphere of low expectations, and a low sense of selfworth that is further exacerbated by a disenfranchised lack of belonging in either political, public or private arenas of representation, this leads to fatal symptoms of social abandonment. 41 Liam O'Dell, a deaf journalist wrote on Twitter, “Accessibility alleviates anxiety. If you fail to provide access after repeated requests to do so, you are causing psychological harm to disabled people.42”

Donna Reeve43 is an established disability theorist; she describes Fred, a wheelchair user's experience of attending a counselling appointment without appropriate accessibility. She details his account of having to access the building by being carried inside. Later the councillor was described as making "a show of moving furniture" to accommodate her disabled client. This attitude to granting access to Fred left him feeling inconvenient, and "in the way". Donna Reeve highlights the essential point that actions like these "reinforced the message that Fred was getting from society – that he was different and that he was not wanted here, he was out of place,” The correct method of avoiding and addressing this encounter would be to move the appointment location to one where Fred would not be

40 Department for international development, Reducing poverty by tackling social exclusion: A DFID policy paper, (2005) <https://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/development/docs/socialexclusion.pdf> [Accessed 10 January 2021] 41 Kathie Snow, ‘Consequences of segregation: revolutionary common sense’ Disability is Natural, [n.d.] <https://nebula.wsimg.com/cfb93f25c4b9fdfd0dfbf4a53afd6bde?AccessKeyId=9D6F6082FE5EE52C3DC6&di sposition=0&alloworigin=1> [Accessed 10 January 2021] 42 Liam O'Dell, ‘Accessibility alleviates anxiety. If you fail to provide access after repeated requests to do so, you are causing psychological harm to disabled people.’ (Tweet, @LiamODellUK, 8 January 2021). <https://twitter.com/LiamODellUK/status/1347596932470992896> [Accessed 11 January 2021] 43 Donna Reeve, Donna Reeve- About me, [n.d.] <https://donnareeve.co.uk/?page_id=4> [accessed 11 January 2021]