The Government's Disability Unit has recently launched a communications campaign that has been co-developed with disabled people and organisations, which aims to start conversations about the everyday assumptions disabled people face about their lives and capabilities; along with simple ways for non-disabled people to become better allies and help build a more inclusive society.
The work I have done over the last few years with the Women and Equalities Committee has highlighted the importance of asking disabled people how we can help, perhaps especially when it is about helping people find work, accommodation and support.
The call to action and crux of the campaign is Ask, Don’t Assume. Throughout the campaign team’s extensive engagement and research, disabled people shared that assumptions about their capabilities and needs regularly occur in all manner of forms and can make them feel disempowered, overlooked and frustrated. This campaign aims to address this by encouraging the audience to ‘Ask, Don’t Assume’. This campaign will amplify the voices of disabled people and aims to start a conversation on how we can all be better allies, thus improving the lives of disabled people.
The campaign can be found here: www.facebook.com/ehgovuk