Society is disabling

We live in a disabling society … Our society is built in a way that assumes we can all move quickly from one side of the road to the other; that we can all see signs, read directions, hear announcements, reach buttons, have the strength to open heavy doors and have stable moods and perceptions.1

The experience of disability occurs when people with impairments are excluded from places and activities most of us take for granted. It happens when our infrastructure and systems do not accommodate the diverse abilities and needs of all citizens. 2

Disability is a common yet diverse experience

One in five New Zealanders experience disability

Disability touches most people’s lives, either personally or through their family and friends. The rate of disability in New Zealand is one person in five, according to the 1996 and 2001 Census and Post-Census Disability Surveys. 3

In 2001, a total of 743,800 New Zealanders reported some level of disability. This included an estimated 626,500 adults (over 15 years old), and 90,000 children living in households, and 27,300 people living in residential facilities.

In 2001, an estimated 432,100 people relied on some form of disability support. Of these:

• about 110,700 people needed daily help with tasks such as preparing meals, shopping, housework, bathing or dressing (including 22,600 people in residential facilities)
• about 321,400 people needed an assistive device or help with heavier or more difficult household tasks (including 4,400 people in residential facilities).

Disability is influenced by the nature of a person’s impairment(s). These can be intellectual, psychiatric, physical, neurological or sensory, and be temporary, intermittent or ongoing. Gender, age, ethnicity and culture can also have a profound and sometimes compounding effect on an individual’s experience of disability.

Likelihood of disability increases with age

"Most disabled people are of working age"

Older people are substantially more likely than younger people to experience disability. In 2001, 11 percent of children aged 0 to 14 years, 13 percent of adults aged 15 to 44 years and 25 percent of adults aged between 45 and 64 years reported an impairment. This compares with 54 percent of people aged 65 years or over (including 87 percent of people aged 85 and over).

However, as illustrated in figure 1.1, in terms of overall numbers most disabled people are part of the working age population.

Figure 1.1 Numbers of disabled New Zealanders according to age and gender

Source: Statistics NZ Disability Survey, 2001

Immobility caused by illness is the most common adult impairment

Loss of mobility and agility are the most common impairments. These most often result from illness, with accidents being the second most common cause. The majority of disabled people (57 percent of disabled adults in 2001) have more than one type of impairment, often with varied causes. The prevalence of multiple impairments increases with age. Figure 1.2 shows the types of impairments and their various causes.

Figure 1.2 Impairment types for disabled adults

Source: Statistics NZ Disability Survey, 2001

Disabled people have the same aspirations as others

Disabled people believe in a fair go for all, just like other New Zealanders

I should be paid for the work I do.
(Focus group participant, National Health Committee, 2003) 4

"The New Zealand Disability Strategy is our framework for a non-disabling society"

Giving everyone a ‘fair go’ is a core value of New Zealand society. It reflects a long-standing ambition for a society that promotes the equal enjoyment of human rights. This was re-confirmed by wide public consultation in 2004, which found that New Zealanders consistently identified human rights with giving everyone a fair go, and unhesitatingly endorsed human rights as important. 5

Disabled people and their families seek a society in which we can all feel we have that ‘fair go’, an inclusive and non-disabling society, which is good for all New Zealanders. The New Zealand Disability Strategy, launched in 2001, was agreed between disabled people, their families, providers and government, as a plan for creating this non-disabling society.

Disabled people want a say in policy that affects them

Nothing about us without us.
(International disability catch cry)

"The Strategy aims to eliminate unfair barriers"

An underpinning value of the New Zealand Disability Strategy is that the voices, experiences and wisdom of disabled people and their families should play a much larger role in informing policy decisions. Proper consideration of disability perspectives and issues in the development of government policy will help ensure barriers to participation are not ignored or created, and that opportunities for positive change are recognised.

Disabled people want ordinary choices, rights and responsibilities

I want to be in my own home with a brown Labrador dog and a cat, and talk on the phone to my friends.
(Focus group participant, National Health Committee, 2003) 6

The aspirations of disabled people are as ambitious or as simple, and certainly as diverse, as those of the general population. However, the barriers to achieving these aspirations are quite different to those facing non-disabled people.

"Unfair barriers lead to lower incomes, poorer health and less housing security"

Many disabled people experience a cycle of deprivation

We design our environments to accommodate the limitations of most people (for example, we put lifts in tall buildings). However, we often ignore the needs of people with less common limitations. These barriers are unfair, and make the lives of disabled people more difficult. This is borne out by statistics.

Figure 1.3 The status of disabled people compared to non-disabled people

Source: Statistics NZ Disability Survey, 2001

Figure 1.3 shows that, on a range of indicators, disabled people experience considerable disadvantage. They are over-represented in lower-paid occupations, and in 2001 almost half of working age disabled adults had incomes less than $15,000 per year. It is not surprising that disabled adults are also less likely to own or partly own their home.

Research shows poorer general health status among disabled people, and poor access to support services and other arrangements that might allow them to move from a marginalised position in society.

Complaints to the Human Rights Commission about discrimination on the grounds of disability have increased in the last few years, to nearly one quarter of the total number of complaints. This may indicate increased awareness and advocacy rather than increased discrimination. The number of complaints of discrimination on the grounds of disability is second only to the number on grounds of race.

Government can make a real difference

Fortunately, most disability issues are not intractable problems, and government has responded to them.

Moving from a needs to a strengths focus

Government has provided for disabled people through services, legislation and regulation for over a century. Historically, activity was confined to the health and welfare sectors and focused on either fixing the impairment or, failing that, paying a benefit and providing housing.

"There are many opportunities for action, but significant challenges too"

The transfer of disability support services from ‘institutional’ to ‘community’ settings has uncovered opportunities for action in many more sectors and a more positive approach to disability – one that focuses on enhancing disabled peoples’ participation within all areas of life. The resulting ‘whole of government’ approach to disability is now accepted internationally as achieving the best outcomes for all concerned.

However, it still remains a challenge for government to respond to current understandings of disability, while working within structures that are the legacy of historic approaches. A number of key areas need a particularly focused response. These areas present government with both a challenge and an opportunity to create a more inclusive society, where people with impairments can participate.

The next section of this briefing considers these areas.