Kelly Vincent – Radio Adelaide Interview on International Day of People with Disability
03/12/2015
On the International Day of People with Disability, 3rd December 2015, Dignity for Disability MLC Kelly Vincent was interviewed on Radio Adelaide to discuss many of the barriers that people with disabilities continue to face in our society. Ms Vincent also discussed Dignity for Disability’s work to increase the accessibility of the justice system. Here is the transcript from the interview.
Pascale: Today is the International Day of People with Disability. The event has been celebrated in Australia since 1996 and comes out of the International Year of People with Disabilities which was first celebrated in 1981 and the idea of the day is to recognise how far we’ve come as people with disabilities, the achievements that we have made, the strengths that we have, the opportunities that we have to contribute to society and the economy, but also the challenges that are still before us.
Reporter: Is it celebrated differently around the world?
Kelly Vincent: In a western, relatively wealthy and modern country like Australia there is some frustration that in 2015 we are still having to have a specific day to raise awareness of the issues that people with disabilities still face in everyday society. But I also think we need to take every possible opportunity to raise that awareness and to talk about the issues and to continue to have the discussion about how far we have to go. So there are some differences in how the day is celebrated. Here in Adelaide, Dignity for Disability will be having a Disability Pride Parade where people with disabilities and our allies, families, friends and supporters can come together to show our strength and our pride as people with disabilities. But also we will be holding a rally at the end of the march out the front of Parliament House where all speakers will be people with disabilities, myself included, to talk about some of the issues and the challenges that still exist for people with disabilities in modern day Australia, such as that we can wait up to two to five years for something as basic as a wheelchair or adequate accessible housing. Many people with disabilities still face forced or coerced sterilisation; they have their right to parenthood denied on the grounds of their disability. People with disabilities can still face indefinite detention in prison even when they’ve been found not guilty of any crime. So there is still significant challenges that exist. It does differ throughout the world. Obviously in more developing countries there’s probably a focus on some of the issues where we’ve already achieved change here in Australia, but globally we still have a long way to go.
Reporter: So these are big societal issues that are very ingrained. Do you have some sort of idea as to how we can start making a change?
Kelly Vincent: A key issue that Dignity for Disability has had a lot of success on but one that still needs work and recognition particularly in all states and territories and at a national level is allowing people with disabilities an equal voice in the justice system. Often people with disabilities are seen point blank as unreliable witnesses and therefore are not able to tell our stories in a court when injustice is done against us. This leads to less convictions of crimes when abuse of people with disabilities is perpetrated and therefore allows that abuse to continue because an alleged perpetrator walks free without significant and adequate investigation of what it is alleged that they have done. So Dignity for Disability has led the way in achieving equality before the law for people with disabilities and we know that other states and territories are now looking to lead the way.
There’s also significant improvements to be made in the number of people with disabilities employed in the workforce in Australia. We know that statistically fewer people with disabilities are employed in the public sector than they were 20 years ago and there are many reasons for that. Some of them are the material things that we more readily understand such as a lack of ramps, accessible toilets, software for people who are blind. But the bigger concern I think is the attitudes and assumptions that are made about people with disabilities. So there’s a big need for governments to take a lead and take responsibility for this, particularly in spreading the word about the fact that many of these assumptions are wildly inaccurate. In fact statistically people with disabilities take fewer sick days than our non-disabled counterparts and we are actually more loyal employees, probably I would argue because it takes us so much longer to get a job that we stick at it once we get one. So we have a long way to go in shifting societal assumptions towards one that actually recognises and benefits from the contributions that we can make both socially and economically when we are supported to be included as taxpayers and as members of the community.
Reporter: What specific things can everyday people do to help?
Kelly Vincent: Challenge the assumptions, the misconceptions that they might have about people with disabilities and ask themselves, am I getting that assumption from the media which tends to portray a very stereotypical and inaccurate portrayal, or am I actually getting this from talking to people with disabilities about their lives and the issues that affect them? I think everyday people can ask themselves what they’re doing to learn more about how far we’ve come in recognising the rights of people with disabilities, but also how far we have to go and get a more accurate idea of what our lives are like and how much we are actually already contributing to society both socially and economically and how much more we could do if properly recognised and supported.
Pascale: Kelly Vincent MLC for Dignity for Disability
