84% of those that say attitudes have got worse saying the ‘benefit scrounger’ rhetoric from politicians and the media has had a negative effect on views of disabled people. The poll by Opinium found that nearly one in five (17%) of disabled people report they have either experienced hostile or threatening behaviour or even been attacked.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) say they ‘very consciously do not use the language of ‘scroungers’ and ‘workshy’, but when even the likes of Iain Duncan Smith aren’t above misusing statistics to imply that claimants are fraudulent, it’s hardly reassuring. A further division between those with visible disabilities compared to those without has been highlighted by campaigners — leading to a climate of disbelief and hostility.
Despite the huge public enthusiasm for the Paralympics, its success has proved a bit of a double-edged sword with athletes being held up as aspirational examples for disabled people. But as Paralympic dressage rider Sophie Christiansen says: