Disability advocates have taken the media to task for underreporting their issues and portraying them in an undignified manner.
The National Union for Disabled Persons (NUDIPU) met with journalists at Hotel Africana on Tuesday to discuss the way forward.
NUDIPU’s chairperson, Mr Francis Kinubi, said stories on disability are hidden away in the papers. “We also want to be seen on the front pages,” he asserted.
Ms Esther Kyozira, the Human Rights Programme Manager for NUDIPU, noted that the media is not conversant with covering people with disability, especially marginalised groups like little people, albinos and those who become disabled due to HIV/AIDS and other causes.
However, for the persons with disability, the most outstanding issue was the language used by journalists when covering people with disabilities.
“There are traditional names for people with disability such as ‘mad’, ‘dwarfs’, ‘blind’, etc,” Ms Kyozira noted. The media, she added, needs to adopt proper words to describe them.
“For example, instead of saying ‘mad’, use ‘people with psychosocial disability’. The media calls them dwarfs but they would rather be called ‘little people’, while the blind prefer ‘visually impaired’ because there are various categories of this condition.”
Ms Kyozira believes that if the media is made aware of this, the needs of people with disabilities would be better understood and dealt with by the government: “We need a language that is inclusive and respects the dignity of persons with disability.”
Ms Robina Alimpiya, a programme officer with Mental Health Uganda, said using insensitive terms heightens the community perception that people with disability are seen to have ‘done something wrong’ to become what they are. “The media should help us portray the positive side because there is a lot of ignorance in the community,” she said.
The members of NUDIPU called for a strategic partnership between the media and disability advocates to do away with negative attitudes and stereotyping, saying the derogatory language in the media is demeaning and makes them less of human beings.
Some tips from the Society of Professional Journalists as you cover disability issues
• Improve sourcing. Seek out people with disabilities as sources, not just as subjects.
• Examine your biases. If you feel you don’t understand the disability experience, try covering disability issues more, rather than less.
• Check terms. Language is a hot button for people with disabilities because commonly used terms often do not represent their experiences. Wheelchair users, for example, explain that they are not “bound” or “confined”; in fact, wheelchairs allow people mobility and independence.
• Put the person at centre stage, not the disability
• Show persons with disabilities as active in society and as part of the general public
• Avoid common stereotypes: persons with disability should not be cast as victims
Resources on covering PWDs
Guidelines for Reporting and Writing about People with Disabilities
A practical guide for journalists on how to include persons with disabilities
National Center on Disability and Journalism
BEYOND THE AP STYLEBOOK: Language and Usage Guide for Reporters and Editors (Disability)
