CoProduction Norfolk

End Disability Hate Petition I’ve done it. I’ve launched a petition calling for a **National Disability Hate Strategy for the UK**. And I want to explain why. Because I am sick and tired of disabled people being treated as acceptable targets. Over the last few years, I have watched the language around disability get uglier and uglier. Scrounger. Fraudster. Fake. Workshy. A burden on the taxpayer. We see people being questioned because they can stand up from a wheelchair. Challenged because they use a Blue Badge but don't "look disabled". Judged because they have a Motability car. Accused of faking because their disability fluctuates. And disabled people are increasingly expected to prove themselves to complete strangers. I've experienced disability abuse myself. But through this platform, I've also heard from so many of you who have experienced it. And then there's the way disability is discussed publicly. We've seen headlines portraying disabled people and benefit claimants as a problem to be solved. We've seen endless conversations about who's *really* disabled, who's *disabled enough*, and who deserves support. We've even reached the point where politicians are publicly talking about distinguishing between people with "severe" disabilities and everybody else. Words matter. Because disability hate doesn't suddenly begin when somebody commits a hate crime. It starts with stigma. It starts with suspicion. It starts with misinformation. It starts when society is repeatedly told that disabled people are costing too much, claiming too much or somehow getting something everybody else is paying for. And eventually somebody thinks it's acceptable to challenge that wheelchair user. To abuse that Blue Badge holder. To film somebody getting out of their Motability car. To call somebody a benefit scrounger. Or to send abuse to a disabled person online. So I'm asking the Government to develop and fund a **National Disability Hate Strategy**, co-produced with Disabled People's Organisations. Not another conversation *about* us. Something created **with us**. Something that looks at prevention, education, policing, online abuse and support for people who experience disability hate. Because disabled people should not have to prove their disability to strangers. We shouldn't be frightened of using the support we're entitled to. And we shouldn't have to accept abuse as simply part of being disabled. The petition is now live. petition.parliament.uk/petit… Please sign it. Please share it. And if you've experienced disability hate yourself, tell people why you're signing. Because the more of us who speak up, the harder we are to ignore. **Disabled people are not targets. And disability hate should never be normal.** @paulapeters2 @relish_hendy @1kilroywashere @TheMeldrew @hewitson10 @RachelCDailey_ @TheCanaryUK @mssocietyuk @GMCDP @InclusionLondon