The disability benefits system is broken. It has not adapted to a world where disability and ill health are more prevalent, and more complex in terms of the variation of impact on people's lives or the support that could help.
Disability often results from medical conditions, and is worsened by challenges accessing health services and social care. It is also exacerbated by the barriers to participation in society and the economy – such as limited access to education, poor quality transport infrastructure, employment discrimination, and inflexible workplaces – that disabled people face.
Over the last 20 years the main policy response, in the face of rising costs, has been to make claiming disability benefits more difficult.
Additional Links/Reading: CWs in spoiler
CWs: ableism, discussions of trauma, medical ableism, neglect and abuse, eugenic and capitalist undertones/viewpoints
Disability Benefits in Different Countries
Half of disabled people ‘humiliated’ during benefits assessments, new research finds
Center For American Progress - How Dehumanizing Administrative Burdens Harm Disabled People
Disability News Service - UN committee asks government: ‘Why are you demonising disabled people?’
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