The About Disability Hate podcast series seeks to raise awareness of disabled people’s lived experience of disability hate. Each podcast will feature a discussion about disability hate and its impact on disabled people and society.
Episode 1: Flick
In the first episode, recorded in May 2022, Olivia sits down with Flick, a disability rights activist, to discuss her views and experiences of disability hate. They talk about the importance of social model language, Flick’s experience and activism in York as a disabled person, and the detrimental impact of the council’s Blue Badge ban in the city centre on attitudes towards disabled people.
Michayla’s blog about the podcast
Episode 2: Jennie
In the second episode, Olivia sits down with Jennie, senior local area coordinator, to talk about disability hate. They discuss the limitations of the hate crime definition, the ways the pandemic has made things harder for disabled people, Jennie’s own experience as a woman living with mental ill-health, and much more.
‘Surely dismissing and limiting people in this way is a subtle form of disability hate?’
Read Jennie’s blog about the podcast
Episode 3: Miles
In the third episode of YDRF About Disability Hate podcast, Olivia sits down with Miles to talk about disability hate. They discuss the dangers of labelling, especially of people with hidden disabilities, the potential positive impacts of the pandemic, pressures some disabled people feel to justify their disability, and much more.
“Disabilities have labels attached to them and then people’s assumptions automatically say ‘well, because I now know this about you, I might treat you in a different way…’. Other people judge and label people and once you have that judgement or label, it’s very difficult to get some people to look beyond that.”
Read Michayla’s blog about the podcast
Episode 4: Astrid
The fourth episode of the YDRF podcast centres the experiences of Astrid. Olivia and Astrid discuss the matter of perception in disability hate crime, the complex relationship between disability hate and the pandemic, and the value of disabled people sharing their experiences when they are ready to do so.
“I think that it’s so important that we’re able to talk about it. It really is. And I know it sounds like a bit of a cliche, but it’s a cliche because it’s true. And it’s vital and important. And we take away the stigma, we take away the power, we make it more normal.”
Read Olivia’s blog about the podcast
Episode 5: Ian
Listen to Episode 5 on Spotify
“I know lots of people who have not reported hate crime, because […] they just feel that because they’re visually impaired, there’s not a lot of help they can give the police. But I’d always encourage anybody if they’re a victim of hate crime in whatever capacity, report it straight away because you don’t know what’s been reported before you. You don’t know what the police could have on camera. You don’t know if witnesses have already reported it as well. And the police are just sort of a little bit stuck because they don’t have a victim that they can kind of go and talk to. So, I would encourage everyone always report the hate crimes.”