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The latest news from Difference.

Disability History Month

17 November 2021

Disability Rights November 18th sees the start of Disability History Month. The themes this year are Sex and Relationships, and Hidden Disabilities. What a great time to have a think about human rights and disability. Disabled people’s human rights are routinely denied, in directly or indirectly discriminatory ways. For example, through receiving degrading or humiliating… Read more »

What’s the problem with reasonable adjustments?

4 October 2021

Many disabled workers have difficulties getting reasonable adjustments put in place to help them do their job. At the TUC Northern Equality Conference last weekend, we learned that a recent survey found that  only 55% of those who asked their employers for reasonable adjustments during the pandemic, had them made in full.   almost a third (30 %) said they didn’t… Read more »

Disabled people in the North East are being let down

15 September 2021

A report by the Institute of Public Policy Research North shows the multiple inequalities faced by disabled people in the north of England. An Easy Read version can be found here.   Disabled people in the North East are being let down badly and it is nothing short of a scandal! In the North East… Read more »

Environmental Justice and Disability Rights

16 July 2021

We are deeply saddened by the devastating impacts of the floods across Europe this week. 15% of the world’s population are disabled. This means that many of the dozens who are missing, or have died in the floods are disabled. Disabled people have greater vulnerability during floods with complex disability-related challenges of relocation and forced… Read more »

Co-Production for Change!

9 July 2021

This blog post marks the end of National Co-Production Week. But what does co-production mean?   This week has seen so many organisations celebrate #CoProWeek. Co-production can be a slippery term. Many people have different definitions for it.     Nothing about us without us To us, co-production means sharing power and working equally to… Read more »

Denial and Doubt: Women and Chronic Illness

30 June 2021

Denial and Doubt A report by Chronic Illness Inclusion (CII) has found that disabled women with chronic illnesses are frequently gaslit by medical professions. They are left undiagnosed and accused of hysteria. CII received almost 800 responses to a survey about the healthcare experiences of disabled women with energy-limiting chronic illness and chronic pain. The… Read more »

Autistic Pride and Prejudice

18 June 2021

I’ve just finished hosting our virtual picnic for Autistic Pride Day, and wanted to share a few reflections.    Wow, just wow.    Where to start? So many great things to say. First, a big thank you to Kate Fox, who chaired a panel discussion and Q&A superbly, before quickly swapping hats to come back… Read more »

Newsletter June 2021

10 June 2021

Difference North East Newsletter – June 2021  Go to this Sway

Developing Skills, Forming Good Habits

12 May 2021

We’ve just completed our fourth Digital Accessibility workshop and I thought I would use this post to share some thoughts on how they have gone and what impact they will have.  The workshop series was funded by the National Lottery Awards for All fund, and are part of our work as a partner in the… Read more »