Britian reports that 25% of disabled people suffer discrimination

From The Morning Star in the UK:

Almost a quarter of disabled people are still regularly suffering from discrimination, a charity has warned.

Leonard Cheshire Disability said there were "shockingly high" levels of discrimination despite the presence of the Disability Discrimination Act.

Common complaints included difficulty in using public transport, a lack of user-friendly facilities and not enough information being made available for disabled people, a report by the charity found.

Just under 25 per cent of disabled people said they had been discriminated against while trying to access goods and services in the past year, while 40 per cent said they had experienced access difficulties.

A charity spokesman told the BBC: "We found a remarkable level of discrimination and inaccessibility in shops and services, particularly given the Disability and Discrimination Act first came into force 15 years ago."

Public policy manager Guy Parckar said that the new Equality Act, which will be introduced later this year, was "a golden opportunity to make sure that the law works better for disabled people."

He added: "The impact of goods and services being inaccessible can contribute directly to the chances of a disabled person living in poverty through barriers to employment, education and other opportunities."

The charity is calling for the establishment of a pilot project allowing formal arbitration of cases so that they can be heard and settled before having to go to court, as well as the use of "equality tribunals" to make it easier for disabled people to take a case.

To address the issues outlined in the report, the charity said it was running an Action for Access campaign to improve the accessibility of services, transport, shops and businesses for disabled people across Britain.

A report by public-sector union Unison last year highlighted bullying and harassment of disabled people at work.

Unison general secretary Dave Prentis said at the time: "Serious mental and physical illness is a common result for victims of bullying and this can have a serious effect for disabled workers.

"We need clear, enforceable bullying legislation to change attitudes now."

Last December, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a formal inquiry into action of public authorities to eliminate disability-related harassment and its causes.