Disability equality

Question 1

What disability does Tada suffer from?

Answer 1

She was paralysed from the neck down at the age of 17 following a terrible accident

Question 2

What has Tada done since her injury?

Answer 2

Devoted her life to charity. A talented artist and prolific author, she supports several disability charities and has delivered over 100,000 wheelchairs and bibles to needy disabled people in developing countries

Question 3

What is a theodicy?

Answer 3

The theological term for theories which try to reconcile the existence of suffering and evil with God’s goodness

Question 4

What religious problem does Tada face?

Answer 4

The problem of evil. How can an omnibenevolent, omnipotent God allow innocent people to suffer

Question 5

Why does Tada argue that God allows suffering?

Answer 5

Because it draws us closer to God; only by facing hardship do we have a need for Christ in our lives

Question 6

What does Tada believe disabled people are?

Answer 6

Audio visual aids for the church which sustain those of us who face lesser conflict. They demonstrate to the rest of the congregation how suffering can be overcome by faith. It is therefore vital that disabled people are an essential part of the Church

Question 7

What has happened to our understanding of disability?

Answer 7

It has improved dramatically over time

Question 8

How did many people in medieval England understand disability?

Answer 8

• In astrological terms; disabled people were those born under Saturn’s malign influence
• Others thought that they were closer to God and already in purgatory

Question 9

What did the Christian view of disability eventually settle on?

Answer 9

That disability was not a punishment from God, but simply poor fortune, deserving of pity and charity

Question 10

Why did views towards disability begin to change in the early 20th century?

Answer 10

Due to a combination of changing social attitudes and scientific developments - but opinion was still polarised

Question 11

What did early 20th century eugenicists believe?

Answer 11

Applying natural selection to human society, they argued that defective genes should not be allowed to defect the gene pool

Question 12

Why did eugenics fall out of fashion?

Answer 12

The Nazi programme of racial cleansing demonstrated the heinous logical conclusion of the theory

Question 13

What did early 20th century advances in medicine make possible?

Answer 13

New treatments for a wide range of conditions

Question 14

What did the new treatments for disabilities in the 20th century lead to?

Answer 14

The medical model of disability

Question 15

What is the medical model of disability?

Answer 15

Views disability as being caused by impairments and sees it as something to be treated

Question 16

What does the medical model of disability argue?

Answer 16

That the best way to achieve equality for disabled people is to direct resources to healthcare

Question 17

What do critics say about the medical model of disability?

Answer 17

That it looks at what is wrong with a person, rather than what that person needs

Question 18

How did the social model of disability emerge?

Answer 18

When the civil rights and women’s liberation movements became mainstream in the 1960s, a parallel movement emerged in the disabled community

Question 19

What is the social model of disability?

Answer 19

The view that society, rather than the individual, is responsible for disability

Question 20

What did Scope say about the social model of disability?

Answer 20

That disability is ‘caused by the way society is organised’

Question 21

What is the core idea behind the social model of disability?

Answer 21

That what actually disables a person is society not having the facilities that individual needs

Question 22

Give an example of the social model of disability in action?

Answer 22

If a blind woman wants to read a certain book but can’t, it is not her blindness that has disabled her, but rather the fact that the publisher has not made available a version in braille

Question 23

What is the main arguement of the charity Scope?

Answer 23

That a social model is required if disabled people are to have independence and dignity

Question 24

What does the government define disability as under the 2010 Equality Act?

Answer 24

A physical or mental impairment that has a substantial long term negative impact on a person’s ability to do daily normal activities

Question 25

What does the 2010 Equality Act endorse?

Answer 25

The social model of disability

Question 26

What does the 2010 Equality Act endorsing the social model on disability mean in practise?

Answer 26

• That employers must make reasonable adjustments for employees
• That teachers must not treat disabled students unfavourably