Imagine that you have been thinking about dining at your favourite restaurant to savour your favourite dish, only to be informed upon arriving that the dish is no longer being served. You enquire about the possibility of having the dish made, however the reply is that you will either have to choose another dish, or leave and eat elsewhere. The excitement you would have built when planning your meal, would soon turn to feelings of disappointment or even defeat. This is just an example of a simple dinner plan going wrong, however, how do you think you would feel if the plans you had made involved something slightly less trivial. What if you were deprived of enjoying your favourite past-time, or even spending time with your loved ones just because the society you live in does not cater for your specific, individual needs? How do you think you would feel if the society you lived in considered you as ‘different’, an ‘outcast’, someone who would have to change to fit its standards in order to live contentedly?

 

Defining Disabling Barriers:

 

Disabling barriers are circumstances and conditions that prevent disabled people from fully participating in their society. These barriers do so through: marginalising and segregating disabled people in all aspects of social life; denying access to and participation in organisations; and prohibiting equal rights. Disabling barriers thus affect a disabled person’s life, especially when it comes to independent living, housing, education, employment, leisure, technology, communication, and family life (Swain, French, Barnes, & Thomas, 2004).

 

“The central feature of ‘disabling barriers’ is the lack of say that disabled people have in their lives and in society” (Swain, Finkelstein, French, & Oliver, 1993, p. 3). Therefore, ‘disability’ can be thought of as being imposed on disabled people by these disabling barriers which “permeate every aspect of the physical and social environment: attitudes, institutions, language and culture, organisation and delivery of support services, and the power relations and structures of which society is constituted” (Swain et al., 1993, p. 2).

 

Examples of Disabling Barriers:

 

i)                    Stigma and Society’s Mentality towards Disability: this disabling barrier includes the terminology used to describe disabled people. Different words and phrases such as “handicapped”, “mentally/physically challenged”, “impaired”, or “unfortunate” carry a certain amount on negativity that enforces what is known as the ‘medical model of disability’.

 

This model of disability basically views disabled people as the problem, focusing on what they cannot do and stressing that biological impairments are the cause of disability, and expects disabled people to change to suit the situations and circumstances in which they live (National Commission for Persons with Disability, 2007). This perspective of disability is further emphasised through the above mentioned stereotypes that cause people to associate disability with something negative, thus instilling in them the stigma against, and in some cases also fear of, disabled people.

 

ii)                  Barriers in the Physical Environment: these disabling barriers are experienced mainly by physically disabled people through limiting or denying them accessibility to places, transport, leisure activities, and even employment.

 

For example, although many new buildings are equipped with ramps, lifts, and suitable restrooms, many buildings such as places of work, houses, restaurants, discos, and cinemas are still lacking such amenities, and so they are said to be inaccessible for disabled people. Therefore, many disabled people with mobility problems may encounter problems when finding a job, finding a home, eating out, going out with friends and enjoying other leisurely activities.

 

Furthermore, transport is a very concerning issue, as it is either not adapted for a disabled person’s needs, or else it is too expensive for him/her to even contemplate making use of it. There are various services that do provide help, but it is only realistic to say that these services have limitations in the amount of assistance they can offer.

 

iii)                Barriers in Communication and Technology: these barriers somehow hinder disabled persons from experiencing different methods of communication with others, or from using certain forms of technology.

 

For example, many Maltese Roman Catholic churches rarely include a sign language interpreter during mass or instances when the congregation worships together. In this way, people who are deaf or hard of hearing and share these religious views cannot join their community as much they would like.

 

Effects of Disabling Barriers:

 

Unfortunately, in our “modern” society, acts of deprivation and discrimination due to disabling barriers do occur, and in turn, they create situations in which individuals experience social disadvantage, and are rendered socially excluded. In fact, social exclusion can be defined as a multidimensional and progressive process, in which groups and individuals are detached from social relations and institutions, and are prevented from fully participating “in the normal, normatively prescribed activities of the society in which they live” (Silver, 2007, p. 15).

 

Moreover, one of the consequences of a person being social excluded, is that that person may then experience a low quality of life. Quality of life is related to “an individual’s social and economic conditions, living arrangements, and community environment as well as culture, personal values, happiness, life satisfaction and spiritual well-being” (Schirm, 2009, p.140). Thus a low quality of life results when the conditions listed above are not satisfied.

 

Being constantly socially excluded and having a low quality of life imposed on them may affect different disabled people in different ways. Some may do their best to be seen as a person, and not let their disability define who they are. Thus, using their sometimes limited resources, they constantly strive to empower themselves and fight for their rights. On the other hand, others may give in to society’s views of disability and may feel negative emotions such as self-pity and self-loathing. Consequentially, they may not be able to accept themselves, resulting in low self-esteem and low self-confidence.

 

Combating Disabling Barriers:

 

There are many ways in which disabling barriers may be reduced in our modern society. The first is the very basic concept of raising awareness of all the disabling barriers that exist within our society, in order for more people to understand how these disabling barriers effect different people in such negative ways. Such awareness is important when it comes to finding ways in which society may reduce such barriers. This is because if more people know about the problem, then there will be more people who may actually try and do something to combat it.

 

The second step towards fighting disabling barriers is to enforce the ‘social model of disability’ rather than the medical model. This model focuses on the strengths of each individual disabled person, and acknowledges that these strengths are being held back by the disabling barriers in society.  It is based on the belief that the medical conditions or biological impairments of disabled people are not what cause disability. On the contrary, it is “the various barriers (physical, legal, information and communication systems, and those relating to attitude and culture) which for various reasons are brought about by society [which cause disability]” (KNPD, 2007, p. 15). Adapting our society’s way of thinking to the social model of viewing disability, will help our society to acknowledge the ways in which it is hindering disabled people’s lives, and strive to find a way to improve the current situation. 

 

Other ways of battling disabling barriers include: empowering disabled people to fight for their rights; speaking out against injustices one may witness or experience; and encouraging governments, NGOs, disabled people and others to work hand in hand to decrease disabling barriers, improve services provided, and ensure that our society caters for the needs of all its people.

 

References:

 

National Commission for Persons with Disability (KNPD). (2007). Rights not charity. Malta.

Schrim, V. (2009). Quality of life. In Larsen, P. D. & Lubkin, I. M. (Eds.), Chronic illness: Impact and intervention (7th ed.), (pp. 139-160). Canada: Jones & Bartlett Publishing.

Silver, H. (2007). Social exclusion: Comparative analysis of Europe and Middle East youth. Middle East Youth Initiative Working Paper.

Swain, J., Finkelstein, V., French, S., & Oliver, M. (1993). Introduction. In Swain, J., Finkelstein, V., French, S., & Oliver, M. (Eds.), Disabling barriers, enabling environments, (pp. 1-9). London, England: SAGE Publications Ltd.

Swain, J., French, S., Barnes, C., & Thomas, C. (2004). Introduction. In Swain, J., French, S., Barnes, C., & Thomas, C. (Eds.), Disabling barriers, enabling environments (2nd ed.), (pp. 1-5). London, England: SAGE Publications Ltd.

 

Fiona Camilleri, Social Worker, Agenzija Sapport