Bulling & Harassment on Public Transport

BULLYING AND HARASSMENT OF PEOPLE WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES UR Recent years have seen a multitude of high profile incidents involving the bullying or harassment of people with learning disabilities. Such incidents have sometimes escalated to physical violence and in extreme cases, even death. Although progress has been made in tackling the prejudice at the root of such United Re sponse making it happen abuse, there is still a long way to go. The sad truth is, for people with disabili- ties, being mocked or harassed in public is still part of the daily routine. GENERAL ATTITUDES TOWARDS BULLYING 47% 66% 47% OF DISABLED PEOPLE OF DISABLED PEOPLE SAY THEY SAID PEOPLE'S ATTITUDES EXPERIENCE DISCRIMINATION HAVE EXPERIENCED AGGRESSION, TOWARDS THEM HAVE GOT ON A DAILY OR WEEKLY BASIS HOSTILITY OR NAME CALLING WORSE OVER THE PAST YEAR AT SOME POINT PUBLIC TRANSPORT A key problem for people with learning disabilities is public transport. United Response asked 172 people with disabilities about their experiences on public transport. At least 1 in 5 said they had experienced serious harassment. PEOPLE WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES ON PUBLIC TRANSPORT 56% BULLIED BY TEENAGERS 38% BULLIED BY YOUNGER CHILDREN 21% BULLIED BY ADULTS UNITED RESPONSE ON BOARD PROJECT The project was set up to support people with learning disabilities to go into schools and tell pupils face to face what having a disability means and how it feels to encounter daily harassment. Responses to the project suggested that this type of bullying is fuelled largely by a lack of knowledge of disability. Few of the school children knew people with learning disabilities, or understood the impact verbal abuse might have on them. 30% 33%33% STATED THAT IT HAD HELPED SAID THEY HAD NOT BEEN AWARE SAID THAT THEY WOULD TAKE THEM REALISE THAT PEOPLE OF THE EXTENT OF THE BULLYING ACTION AND STAND UP FOR WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES EXPERIENCED BY PEOPLE WITH SOMEONE WITH A LEARNING DIS- WERE "JUST LIKE US" OR LEARNING DISABILITIES BEFORE ABILITY IF THEY SAW THEM BEING "NO DIFFERENT TO ANYBODY ELSE" TAKING PART IN THE TRAINING. BULLIED IN THE FUTURE. UR United Response Vantage House,1 Weir Road, Wimbledon Park, London SW19 8UX Tel: 020 8246 5200 Email: [email protected] United Re sponse making it happen BULLYING AND HARASSMENT OF PEOPLE WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES UR Recent years have seen a multitude of high profile incidents involving the bullying or harassment of people with learning disabilities. Such incidents have sometimes escalated to physical violence and in extreme cases, even death. Although progress has been made in tackling the prejudice at the root of such United Re sponse making it happen abuse, there is still a long way to go. The sad truth is, for people with disabili- ties, being mocked or harassed in public is still part of the daily routine. GENERAL ATTITUDES TOWARDS BULLYING 47% 66% 47% OF DISABLED PEOPLE OF DISABLED PEOPLE SAY THEY SAID PEOPLE'S ATTITUDES EXPERIENCE DISCRIMINATION HAVE EXPERIENCED AGGRESSION, TOWARDS THEM HAVE GOT ON A DAILY OR WEEKLY BASIS HOSTILITY OR NAME CALLING WORSE OVER THE PAST YEAR AT SOME POINT PUBLIC TRANSPORT A key problem for people with learning disabilities is public transport. United Response asked 172 people with disabilities about their experiences on public transport. At least 1 in 5 said they had experienced serious harassment. PEOPLE WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES ON PUBLIC TRANSPORT 56% BULLIED BY TEENAGERS 38% BULLIED BY YOUNGER CHILDREN 21% BULLIED BY ADULTS UNITED RESPONSE ON BOARD PROJECT The project was set up to support people with learning disabilities to go into schools and tell pupils face to face what having a disability means and how it feels to encounter daily harassment. Responses to the project suggested that this type of bullying is fuelled largely by a lack of knowledge of disability. Few of the school children knew people with learning disabilities, or understood the impact verbal abuse might have on them. 30% 33%33% STATED THAT IT HAD HELPED SAID THEY HAD NOT BEEN AWARE SAID THAT THEY WOULD TAKE THEM REALISE THAT PEOPLE OF THE EXTENT OF THE BULLYING ACTION AND STAND UP FOR WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES EXPERIENCED BY PEOPLE WITH SOMEONE WITH A LEARNING DIS- WERE "JUST LIKE US" OR LEARNING DISABILITIES BEFORE ABILITY IF THEY SAW THEM BEING "NO DIFFERENT TO ANYBODY ELSE" TAKING PART IN THE TRAINING. BULLIED IN THE FUTURE. UR United Response Vantage House,1 Weir Road, Wimbledon Park, London SW19 8UX Tel: 020 8246 5200 Email: [email protected] United Re sponse making it happen