The commission scrutinised governmental policies and pandemic responses that evidence systemic racism worsened outcomes for Disabled Black, Asian and minority ethnic people.
This is on top of medical racism, housing and wealth inequalities, all of which lead to poorer qualities of life. This kind of organised abandonment of marginalised groups – especially those at the intersections, such as Disabled people of colour, leads to a premature death as a result of state neglect.
As the report showed, the government said that COVID-19 was only serious for ‘vulnerable’ people including Disabled BAME people. However, ministers did not try to understand why that was or to address this increased risk. Disabled BAME people also experienced increased discrimination and disruption when accessing health and social care services.
The report says that these failures led to disabled people who are Black, Asian and from minority ethnic communities feeling:
-
Isolated from the wider community and their own families, unable to access support.
-
Confused about whether it was safe to go out. This was because they were labelled ‘vulnerable’ and were unclear when social isolation applied and stopped.
-
Discriminated against because of existing stigma linked to disability and race, exacerbated by being labelled as ‘vulnerable’ without the government explaining why.
In response to the report findings, The Commission has made 18 recommendations including:
-
British Sign Language interpretation and subtitles should be included as a minimum for all public health broadcasts.
-
Contracting Black, Asian and minority ethnic disabled people’s organisations (DPOs) to advise on language use in addition to English.
-
Providing funding for Black, Asian and minority ethnic DPOs to purchase computers and tablets for use by members.
-
The government, councils, health agencies and others should use existing channels and multiple formats for all communication - whether printed online, in large print, braille, audio - and a diverse range of languages.
-
The government should undertake an Equality Impact Assessment in all public health emergencies to ensure that the needs of all citizens are considered.
-
The government should create a cross-departmental advisory board of Disabled Black, Asian and minority ethnic people to advise on the impact and implementation of policy. The board should be co-chaired by someone with lived experience.
Kamran Mallick, Chair of the Commission and Chief Executive of Disability Rights UK, said:
“I experienced first-hand how government decisions negatively affected Disabled people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. This exposed just how much race and disability impact a person’s life chances.
“That is why the Commission is calling for a cross-government approach to policy, planning, data collection and engagement that is led jointly by disabled Black, Asian and ethnic minority communities.
“Disabled people matter. Our lives matter. But unless ministers make a concerted effort to learn from the pandemic and engage with everyone in society, whole swathes of the population will continue to be left behind.”