Inequalities and challenges experienced by disabled people in Scotland: evidence review

Discrimination and Safety

The 2023 Scottish Household Survey reported that 12% of respondents with a disability said they experienced discrimination in the last 12 months, in comparison to 6% of non-disabled people reporting an experience of discrimination. Similarly, adults with a disability were almost twice as likely to respond that they had experienced harassment (7%) in comparison to adults without a disability (4%)^[154].

The 2024 Scottish Household Survey also gives some insights into perceptions of community safety for people with disabilities in Scotland. The survey notes that there is a significant difference between disabled people and non-disabled people who feel safe walking alone in their neighbourhood after dark, with 62% of disabled people feeling safe in comparison to 83% of non-disabled people^[155].

Research shows that disabled people also tend to face exclusion and barriers to accessing public transport. Disabled people report being less satisfied with public transport than they used to be. In 2019, 69% were satisfied in comparison to 60% in 2023, however the statistics do not explore why^[156]. In 2023, disabled people were also less likely to feel safe on the train during the evening than non-disabled people (66% compared to 83%). This was also the case for buses with 54% of disabled people feeling safe and secure compared to 76% of non-disabled people^[157]. Relevant to the chapter on service provision, a study by Drill UK found that toilets on public transport often do not meet the needs of disabled people even if they are built to regulations. Drill UK highlighted that public toilets are too difficult to find and are often too small to access, advocating that toilets which are designed by and with disabled people will ensure better accessibility^[158].

Stigmatising attitudes towards disabled people receiving benefits is a further type of discrimination faced by disabled people in Scotland. In 2024, Thorp and Larner highlighted in a representative survey in Wales and Scotland that perceptions on the causes of disability can influence public attitudes to deservingness of welfare benefits. This study asked participants about their attitudes towards a fictitious male subject, either David or Khalid, with a brain injury which was acquired either from birth, a motorcycle accident or through illicit drug use. Participants were asked to what extent the male subject deserves some financial assistance from the government and to what extent the male subject was responsible for their injury. This study found that if the claimant was perceived as responsible for their impairment they were seen as less deserving of social welfare provision than those who acquired their disability at birth. Adding in the intersectional perspective of migrant status and minority ethnicity, this study found that these factors had some influence on the perception of deservingness, but that it was inconsistent across the scenarios of disability acquired at birth, a motorcycle accident, or through drug abuse. For example, respondents were least likely to believe that Khalid (an ethnic minority migrant) was deserving of financial support when he had acquired his disability at birth, through no responsibility of his own. The authors conclude this might be connected to perceptions of the possibility of “benefit tourism”. On the other hand, the minority ethnic and migrant status did not significantly affect how deserving respondents believed Khalid was if the disability was acquired through own responsibility through a motorcycle accident or drug abuse. Thorp and Larner conclude: “migrant status alone ha[s] no significant impact on the perceived deservingness of a disabled claimant”. This demonstrates the complexity and nuance around a key intersectional aspect of discrimination towards disabled people from migrants in Scotland^[159].