General News
Not so happy hour: ups and downs on the town
They may be young, they may be single, but are they free to go out and have a good time on equal terms? As Cathy Reay discovers, many disabled young adults still have to work harder than most to be where it's all happening
Youโre on the town and your new best mate, having just downed a vodka shot, turns to you with a brilliant idea to go to this club just around the corner that heโs heard about from Liam who knows Gary on the door and itโs so where itโs at and you can totally get in for free. Except it is actually really far away, there is a huge queue to get in, no seats inside, an impossibly high bar, an out of order disabled loo, aggressive lighting, rude staff, you have no idea where you are and by now youโre so fed up you just want to go home.
Spontaneity is such fun when youโre young, it is a complete escape from the family-controlled childhood you just left behind. But for disabled young people it can be a lot harder.
In December 2009 the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign published research that showed that four in five young disabled adults donโt feel they can go to pubs, clubs or bars spontaneously. Alarmingly, it also found that the same number is still experiencing difficulty using leisure facilities purely because they are disabled.
Amy Flushโs condition dramatically deteriorated six years ago and since then she hasnโt felt able to go out clubbing with her friends. "I miss being able to have spontaneous nights on the town. I organised this one really big night out recently but I felt so silly, on the edge of everything and not really involved.
"If I knew there were no steps, that I didnโt have to ask at the bar for a key to the toilet, that I could actually get to the bar myself, that it wouldnโt be overcrowded, then I might feel like going out again. But I think my time clubbing has been and gone now."
"I can never just say yes to a last minute invitation somewhere," says Rosemarie Buttery. "I have to check a few things, like whether it is near a bus stop or if there is seating in the venue.
"One time I called up a bar to check they had seating, they said yes but when we got there it was all in the VIP area. I asked the bouncer if I could perch on the end of a bench and he said no. I asked him to get the manager and they kept me waiting for half an hour. I felt like everyone was staring at me, thinking โwhy is that girl trying to get into VIP?โ I wanted the ground to swallow me up."
The reality is that almost every young disabled adult has probably experienced something similar. A bar can be fantastically accessible in many ways but miss out one vital aspect and if staff wonโt help it can dramatically change a personโs entire evening.
"Peopleโs attitudes can determine whether you have a good time sometimes rather than the actual accessibility of a place," explains Jagdeep Sehmbi. "Bouncers and bartenders always ask my friends questions about me as if Iโm not there, itโs incredibly frustrating. Even if thereโs some sort of access issue in a venue, if good people are willing to help it makes it a lot easier. But if they arenโt, it is really hard."
In December 1996 it was made unlawful for service providers to treat disabled people less favourably for a reason related to disability. But despite almost 14 years having passed, young disabled people still experience ignorant, stigmatising, lazy and rude reactions on a regular basis.
Amy recalls a particularly unkind experience: "I was out on my crutches and the floor was soaking wet. I told the manager about it, I was perfectly nice, but he was nasty. He said, โIโve had two people in wheelchairs here that have had a brilliant nightโ and then he threw me and my friends out!"
Clio Nixson says sheโd like it if staff were trained properly in how to help customers with disabilities: "Iโd like it if they were blindfolded or put in a wheelchair, to see how hard it is for a disabled person entering a new place for the first time. It would really help us but also I think it would take away any fears they have when they meet us."
Meanwhile Sulaiman Khan loves going to gigs, but is fed up of how much of a hassle everything is, from buying tickets to enjoying the show.
He says: "Itโs hard when you buy tickets because you basically have to decide whether to take a carer or a friend. Youโre segregated away from other people in venues in a disabled only space with other wheelchair-users and you can only take one person with you.
"Venues say they are accessible but what they mean is that this one part is. But putting all the disabled people in the same place feels a bit awkward at times."
Penning disabled gig goers together also slims chances of making new friends, though that isnโt always the only thing in the way.
Rosemarie says sheโs shy of showing strangers her disability: "I find it awkward if youโre in a club and someone is chatting you up and they ask you to dance. My left hand is quite deformed so Iโm fearful that if they tried to drag me by the hand, theyโd notice that.
"Youโre always scared theyโll go โoh ok, bye!โ People are either terrified from the get go or they just say โoh thatโs nothingโ and then you have to explain that, actually, it isnโt really nothing."
Liam Perry, who has a visual impairment that isnโt immediately obvious to strangers, says even his closest friends are not aware of how much he canโt see.
"I know itโs ridiculous but I feel like if people really knew how little I could see they wouldnโt want to do things with me.
"When I meet girls I really donโt want to tell them. I can picture them having to tell their friends and it being really uncomfortable and embarrassing.
"I once went back to a girlโs house and suddenly realised, because of the light, I wouldnโt be able to get home in the morning. I had to find my way home, in the middle of the night, in December. I had to walk for miles and miles. I nearly killed myself with how cold it was!"
It is interesting that the people with visible disabilities who talked to Disability Now are often made to feel "inconvenient" or a "hassle" by members of the public or facility staff. However, Liam, Rosemarie and David Gale have less noticeable impairments, and they are often discriminated against for not being disabled enough.
David says: "Iโve had clubs not let me in because they think Iโm drunk, just because of how I walk. Iโve had taxi drivers refuse me because they think Iโm drunk and donโt want me throwing up in the back."
"Sitting in a club a lot of people will come up to you and say โoh why are you so miserable, come on have a danceโ, and I feel like I donโt want to have to explain every time that I need to sit down, Iโm just resting," adds Rosemarie.
"I know it is controversial but I would welcome a disability card. If youโre queuing to get into a club, it would be really helpful to show it to the bouncers even if it is just to sit down inside while you wait for your friends. The card would show people youโre not trying to queue-jump, or get into VIP, for any other reason than really needing to sit down."
Clio says: "It would be nice if it was the done thing in restaurants and pubs to have menus with bigger print or in Braille. People look shocked if I say I canโt read a menu; they think the fact that I wear glasses means I can read anything."
Attitudes obviously get in the way of having a good time and they need to change. The UK has a thriving, culture-hungry university and young adult population and it isnโt fair that so many of them should feel unable to experience everything they want from arguably the most exciting years of their lives.
Sulaiman says: "Itโs just crazy when you think that because of a simple, single step inside a place a venue isnโt accessible to people in powered wheelchairs. But so many places still have that step. And that needs to change."
Additional Information
Country: United Kingdom of Great Britain
Website: http://www.disabilitynow.org.uk/living/features/not-so-happy-hour-ups-and-downs-on-the-town/
Email: N/A
Phone: N/A
Contact Person: N/A
Source: Email from: Frank Mulcahy
When: 30/9/2010
