Disability, the leading cause of discrimination in France, is most often not visible

The Paralympic Games are over, but for those with disabilities, life goes on. And in France, disability remains the leading cause of discrimination according to the Defender of Rights.

According to figures relayed by the Ministry of Agriculture, one in two people will find themselves in a situation of disability during their life. A lasting or temporary disability, with a chronic illness, cancer or following an accident, from which one will eventually recover or not. In fact, 85% of disabled people become disabled during their life.

It is important to emphasize: disability does not identify the person in themselves, disability describes the limitation of activity that they experience because of what they have. For example, for a person who moves around in a wheelchair, what puts them in a situation of disability is finding themselves facing a staircase. The disability is the obstacle that they encounter and which prevents them from accessing the life of society, like everyone else.

But while we often associate disability with wheelchairs, in reality, it is not always visible, far from it. Of the approximately 12 million French people with disabilities, more than three quarters have an invisible disability. This could be a mental disorder, multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, epilepsy, etc. And since it is not visible, it causes a lot of misunderstanding, which can result in reactions such as: “you look good though”or else “you could make an effort”. Generally speaking, disability remains the leading cause of discrimination in France. It represents more than one in five complaints addressed to the Defender of Rights, according to its latest barometer.

We hope that the Paralympic Games will advance the cause of those affected. Let us also remember that disability can manifest itself in very different ways: difficulty in moving, in communicating, but also simply fatigue, experienced differently.