Mum's bid to halt quiet disability discrimination
BBCA mum has launched a campaign to stop the "quiet discrimination" she says she has witnessed looking after her disabled daughter.
Zoe Mason, from Kendal, is asking for disabled people to come forward and share their experiences of what life is like in Cumbria.
She hopes their experiences will inform policy changes at councils, institutions and private businesses to help make the county more accessible for people like her two-year-old daughter Izzy, who has cerebral palsy and after whom Zoe's scheme is named.
Mason said: "The idea with Izzy's Way is as Izzy grows up, Cumbria becomes more welcoming, more accessible and more inclusive for people with disabilities - that's my hope."
Under the equality act, organisations have to make reasonable adjustments to ensure disabled people are not at a disadvantage.
Mason said: "There's times where if you express the need for accessibility or express the duty of accessibility, you're deemed to be a problem, or you're deemed to be being difficult, where actually what you're asking for is basic needs being met."
She called this "quiet discrimination", which means no one is actively trying to exclude a disabled person but measures and processes are not in place to ensure they are included.
She said: "Quiet discrimination is where people would rather not have the conversation than say 'let's problem-solve with you and work it out'."
Oliver Flitcroft, 51 and from Barrow, was born with spina bifida and decided to support the Izzy's Way campaign after seeing it on social media.
He said: "It's about time that disabled people were heard and it's about time people like Izzy had the same opportunity that other youngsters her age have, who are not disabled."
The campaign, he said, was about organisations working together, rather than apportioning blame.
Despite a career in nursing, Mason said she only realised when she had Izzy how much planning has to go into each day to ensure she does not face barriers.
She said it was a chain of events that led her to launch the campaign, such as being asked to take down Izzy's equipment on public transport or at events and being forced to carry her around.
She said reading survey responses received so far had been a double-edged sword.
"It's heart-breaking but inspiring at the same time.
"I've heard some real stories where that quiet discrimination has really come and it's really strong.
"I've also had opportunities to hear about some really good stories where organisations or people have just stepped in and said 'let me help you'."