Blog Against Disabilism Day 2009

[annwfyn]

Something that's been bugging me.

How come so many disabled toilets are not disabled accessible?

"Hang on, Sally," I hear you say. "You're being a bit daft there. I mean, disabled toilets have to be disabled accessible. That's the law, right?"

You'd think.

The disabled toilet in one museum that I know of has a large table with a pot plant placed on the wall opposite the disabled toilet, nicely taking up the extra space provided for the wheelchair. Another disabled toilet that is in another museum of my knowledge has a large and heavy door on it which opens outwards. God alone knows how someone in a wheelchair could open that. A third disabled toilet I know, in a supermarket, is kept locked whilst the non-disabled toilets are left unlocked. I'm not sure why, and the shop assistant I asked was vague about it, but muttered something about couples using that toilet together.

And it seems like a little thing, but really, it isn't. I mean, toilets basically are there to cater for one of the most basic of needs - the need to be able to piss somewhere. Everyone needs to. You can plan around most things, but at the end of the day, you can't avoid needing the loo at some point. People need access to toilets, to facilities, if they are going out and about. And the fewer decent and reasonable toilets there are for disabled the harder it is for the disabled to get out and about at all!

"You're still making a fuss about nothing, Sally. You've cited three disabled toilets. I'm sure most work fine."

Maybe. Perhaps I am. But it still bugs me. It bugs me as well that in all three cases I've gone to someone and raised the issue with their disabled toilets. In all three cases I've mostly been brushed off, as if I was mosly a nuisance for even saying something. Yet if I'd approached a member of staff in any of those places and told them that their toilets were blocked, or overflowing, or the flush didn't work, I'd have probably had someone apologise, and I'd have felt fairly satisfied that someone would sort out the problem soon. If the toilets don't fulfil their basic function for able bodied people, then that is an issue that needs sorted. If the disabled toilets don't fulfil their basic function for disabled people, then that's just something that the disabled people should endure.

Surely something is wrong with this picture?

Comments

[adze.livejournal.com]

It's not just those three - I see them all the time, to be honest. Ones with a step in front of them, which seems to miss the point somewhat.

Now, it's fairly common for them to be locked, AFAIK, just so that people don't get in and trash them, but they're often hard to find the key for, I think. I know I never got asked, in all the time I was working in a supermarket, for one, which implies it's not obvious what to do.

That said, in all that time, I never knew where the key was kept, and I was mainly in charge of the customer service dept...

[gipsy-dreamer.livejournal.com]

I am completely with you on this one; in February last year my Fiance and I travelled by train to London to meet friends and - as often happens to me - my epilepsy made my bladder weak.

By the time we got back to our local railway station I was again desperate for the toilet. The Ladie's loos were locked, and so was the disabled toilet. I asked the security staff to please unlock the disabled toilet for me and they were very evasive, saying that the Ladies was open even though I'd already tried the door and knew it wasn't. Possibly, if I *looked* disabled, they might have obliged, but they dismissed me out of hand and we ended up having to get a taxi that we didn't want to pay for because I couldn't go to the damned toilet for a wee when I needed one and my bladder isn't made of cast iron!

I have a RADAR key now; I've not used it yet but at least I know it's there if I need to. It will let me in to any and all disabled facilities.

[badgersandjam.livejournal.com]

well, any facilities that are keyed with a radar key, anyway. I did wonder when I read the "locked" bit whether they were locked or locked-and-radar-keyed.

How do you get one of them things, anyway? I've been meaning to for ages.

[badgersandjam.livejournal.com]

as for blogging against disabilism--three words: London Bloody Underground.

I wish ~I had the money to make the first lawsuit. The DDA came into effect years ago. My favourite recently was them closing Camden Town and making people walk at least half a mile to the nearest station.

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

My family only ever drive into central London. Stepmother is on crutches, and sometimes in a wheelchair. London Underground spits on her and her stupid non-working legs!

[gipsy-dreamer.livejournal.com]

A friend of mine told me how to get one, but I can't remember the link.

You might be able to Google it, but let me know if you can't and I'll ask her and get back to you :)

[fearmeforiampink]

Some of them use a particular key that's given to disabled people so they can let themselves in while still keeping the place free from vandalism, though of course, that requires said disabled person to have signed up for the program in question.

Though I do agree that a lot of places do seem to be missing the point...

[badgersandjam.livejournal.com]

Yes. It is clearly our fault that our bodies do not work, because real people can walk.

[gipsy-dreamer.livejournal.com]

I didn't need to sign up to anything to get my RADAR key. I think I should have had to sign up to something, since I've heard of people who have bought RADAR keys so that they can change their kid's nappy (while someone with a disability like mine is suffering from a distinctly weak bladder and can't stand up for long enough to join the queue in the Ladies).

Lots of places do miss the point though, I agree; I've lost count of the number of times I've asked where the disabled toilets are and get told they're upstairs. My disability is epilepsy and I can usually walk up there, but not always - and what about people in wheelchairs, with callipers or on crutches? Stupid :(

[ginasketch.livejournal.com]

100% agree. I see loads of them all the time. The latest being in a coffee shop where the disabled toilet was wedged into a tiny corner that would make wheelchair access difficult.

[ginasketch.livejournal.com]

YES! THIS!

I can't believe only select stations have wheelchair access.

[oddnumbereven.livejournal.com]

This is something that's only crossed my mind a few times, but I'll keep an eye out for it now, and not hesitate to complain if I think it'll be effective (eg moving furniture to make more space accessible). Thanks for the this.

[ginasketch.livejournal.com]

Sorry. I just added you but didn't ask permission. You don't have to add me back, but I play Coral in garou.:)