What is ableism, and why is this definition important?
If I were to walk down the street and ask 10 people if they knew what ableism was, maybe 1 out of 10 of those people would know. It isn’t a word that is widely used or known, but it is something disabled people face every day. Around 28% of students at Salford have declared having a disability, which equates to around 7,200 students. That’s 7,000 students being affected by ableism, without people even realising. I have unfortunately been subject to horrific ableism myself as a disabled person both in university and in the wider public, where a physical assault took place just because I use a crutch.
Ableism can be many things, such as a look, a comment or even just an assumption about a disabled person. It is not always intentional, but the impact is the same. It is all about language and behaviours, using words such as ‘entitled’ or ‘special treatment’. When all disabled students actually want is to have fair and equal access to education without the stigma.
It needs to be treated just as seriously as racism, islamophobia or homophobia would be, which is why putting this definition in place is so important.
The work that has been done so far
The work on the definition began with several workshops with disabled and non-disabled students at Salford. They were asked to look at different scenarios, barriers, and languages around ableism, whilst also sharing their own personal experiences. From the workshops, I analysed the data and identified recurring themes and phrases across all workshops. This formed the foundation for the definition to be devised. Months of research have gone into the development of the definition, alongside numerous meetings with the EDI team and the Student Leadership Team. Salford will be one of the first universities to adopt an incredibly exciting ableism definition.
The next steps are running ableism workshops with academics at the university. I have delivered my first workshop to staff from different departments, which was incredibly successful and received very positive feedback. The discussions that took place at the workshop were incredibly valuable. More workshops will be taking place across the remainder of trimester 1.
Salford SU Working Ableism Definition
The SU will be adopting the following definition at the Board of Trustees meeting on Thursday 26th November;
'Ableism is bullying, harassing, belittling, disregarding, intolerance and hostility, or discriminating against disabled people, based on the belief that they need ‘fixing’ or are less capable or competent than non-disabled people. It is treating disabled people as less valuable, whether intentionally or not.'
The definition is for students and staff at Salford to ensure they feel empowered to call out ableism when it happens and feel protected and safe at university. The definition will be embedded into Salford SU’s policies and procedures, including the disciplinary policy and grievance policy. The final goal is for the SU and university to have one shared definition.
I want to finish this article by saying this: anyone can become disabled at any moment. This is something we all need to remember. No one is invincible. It could be you, your friend, your family member. If deep down you know you have been ableist in your life, whether intentional or not, I would advise you to have a think about what you would say if that was someone saying that to your brother, sister, mum, dad, etc. How would you feel? We are all human, and we all bleed the same blood.
If you see or hear ableism, please be an ally and call it out; use the definition to empower you to do the right thing. Whether you are staff or students, we all need to play our part.
I want to thank Salford SU for all their support with this work, Megan Cornes and all the participants of the workshops.
If you are a staff member or academic and interested in taking part in an ableism workshop, please get in contact: Emma White -
E.white10@edu.salford.ac.uk