Resources
These guidelines and supporting resources aim to help foster media environments that are inclusive and accessible and to support media professionals in more inclusive practices.
What is disability?
The preamble to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities states that:
Persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.
What the CRPD preamble means is that disability is a mismatch between a person and their environment. Disability is created when a barrier is encountered. The Convention promotes the use of media as a tool to dismantle barriers specifically article 8 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities which states that media should portray people with disability in a way that is fair, inclusive and respectful of their rights.
Quick tips:
- The simplest way to ensure true-to-life representations is through co-creating content with people with disability
- Observe and challenge personal perspectives and biases about disability and people with disability frequently
- Show people with disability as members of our society as a whole
- Ensure all work environments (online and physical) are accessible to the people you are working with by providing several options for participation and asking for their preferred ways of working
Avoid:
- Showing people with disability as different or segregated from people without disability unless relevant in the context
- Reducing a person with disability to their impairment eg. by calling them"inspirational" just because of their disability or focusing on an assistive aid in imagery or commentary unless relevant to the context
Portrayal of Disability
To ensure you are making contemporary and respectful content:
- Frame content within the Social or Human Rights model of disability
- Allow people with disability to tell their stories and express their feelings for themselves. Supporting characters may express their own experiences and feelings but should not speak on behalf of people with disability
- Music can convey meaning. Where music is used pay careful attention to what aspect of the story is being shown visually and messaging
- Represent people with disability as active participants in all areas of life
- Represent the attitudinal or physical barriers for people with disability, rather than focusing on impairment or diagnosis eg. treatments and cures
- Avoid imagery in medical environments unless relevant to the context
Language
Language is an important part of shaping understanding of disability. It can promote inclusion or "other" people with disability in subtle ways. Considering overall messaging and context is part of ensuring inclusive content.
*Sometimes people with disability will use words to talk about themselves that they do not like other people outside their identified community to use, for example, “crip” and “gimp”- this is known as “reclaiming” a word that has previously been used negatively, by giving it a positive meaning. Avoid using these words unless you are quoting someone directly.
- The preferred demographic identifier for people with disability is "Disability Status"
- Be aware of "inclusive language". Person-first language is an appropriate default position, as this is the language used in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities e.g. “person with disability” or “people with disabilities”. Some people use the term “disabled person”, a term most commonly used in the UK
- Individual language preferences and identifiers should always be determined by the person/people you are working with
- When wanting to refer to a group within the disability community eg. the Deaf community, it is best to contact relevant local organisations and learn their preferences
- For people who use mobility aids, this also goes for how they refer to their aids and devices. Where it is relevant to refer to a person’s use of a wheelchair, the term “wheelchair user” is appropriate.
- Avoid words that portray impairment in a negative light eg. “suffer”, “stricken”, “afflicted”, “tragic”, “overcoming”, “dependent”, “sick”, or “victim”
- Some words that are used as pejoratives are derived from medical terminology eg. “retarded”, “mongoloid”, “spastic”, “lame”, “dumb”, “crazy”...etc. and are commonly considered insults. (An insightful activity is to think of the words you use as adjectives and pejoratives and google their origins or history.)
- Avoid euphemisms e.g. “differently-abled”.
Diversity
Content should aim to represent the diversity of people with disability, including the range of impairments or communities within the disability community itself (physical, sensory, cognitive, intellectual) as well as considering congenital and acquired, visible and invisible community experiences.
Accessibility
Access is a fundamental part of ensuring media is truly inclusive. From behind the scenes to creation, promotion and broadcast cast, crew and consumers have a right to share in comparable experiences. Aim to:
- Ensure that content can be consumed in different formats depending on a person’s impairment and the technology and other supports they use. For example, large print, braille, audio description, audio transcript, captioned video, sign language, Plain English and Easy Read. As best as possible, make the print or hard copy documents accessible and easy to understand, taking into account font, colour, colour contrast, document structure/reading order and spacing. Ensure that online content (like a PDF or Word file) follows the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines by the World Wide Web Consortium, and can be seen on different types of devices, systems or technologies.
Education Resources
ATOM Study Guides for Teachers - Perspective Shift 1
Submissions
White Paper - Accessible Content for All - Accessibility in Australian Screen Media
Submission to the DSS National Disability Strategy Review
Submission to the Disability Royal Commission