Fake Claiming: The Surprising Reality Faced By Most Disabled People
There is no such thing as looking disabled. Nor should there have to be.
When I first became disabled, I knew my life was about to become immeasurably harder. I worked hard to accept the fact that I would need to take medication for the rest of my life and would never again experience a day where I wasn’t in pain. I knew that I was no longer allowed to drive and couldn’t safely swim or climb or do the things I used to do without someone watching — making sure I don’t lose consciousness. I knew I would need to visit hospitals on a monthly basis and have tests and scans and more tests. I knew what was coming and I prepared myself for it.
What I wasn’t prepared for, and never will be, was an issue I didn’t even know existed, but have faced almost every day since becoming sick: Fake Claiming.
I first experienced Fake Claiming almost immediately after leaving the hospital, newly diagnosed with my Connective Tissue Disorder. I was pretty nervous about going out in public, but after 8 days of hospital food, a lunch out seemed like a welcome idea. I had left the hospital with a urinary catheter — a tube inserted into my urethra which collected my urine in a small bag on my leg. The bag needs emptying whenever it becomes full, a pretty simple job, you just open the bag and pour it into a toilet. The only issue is, it tends to be messy, a first (or fiftieth in my case) time catheter user will almost always get pee on their hands. Secondly, infection is a huge risk. You must wash your hands thoroughly before and after emptying or changing a catheter — UTIs can kill, especially in people who regularly catherterize or have weakened immune systems.
Luckily we live in a society which provides Accessible Toilets — contrary to popular belief these toilets are not only designed for wheelchair users - they are for all disabled people and have a multitude of accessible features including step-free access and handle bars (for people with mobility issues) emergency alarms (for people who may have seizures or loose consciousness) a larger area (for people who require assistance in using the toilet) and in my case a sink. A private sink allows people whose disability makes going to the toilet messy the dignity we deserve when using the toilet, we can wash our hands without showing the other toilet patrons whats on them. Perhaps more importantly, it prevents cross contamination, if we had to leave our toilet cubicle to wash our hands (for example before inserting a catheter) we would have to touch the door handle upon reentering — our hands would no longer be clean.
As I made my way across the restaurant to use the accessible toilet, grateful for the existence of these toilets, I wasn’t even thinking about the other diners or what they might say to me. I used the toilet and emptied my bag with minimal(ish) mess. Cleaned up and left. As I walked out of the toilet I felt the eyes of middle-aged women sitting just across from the toilet, glaring into me. At first I ignored her. But as I got closer to her table she didn’t take her eyes off of me. Just as I got within earshot she looked at me and loudly proclaimed “You make me sick”. For a moment I thought perhaps she could somehow see my catheter and I was putting her off her food. I just stood there confused. She quickly followed up with “Your laziness is disgusting. Some people actually need them toilets”. I was being very loudly, and very publicly shamed for using the accessible toilet — and on my first time doing so.
The entire room now made one of two assumptions 1. I am a terrible person who uses the accessible toilet when I don’t need to. 2. There is something physicially wrong with me and they are all trying to guess what it is. I would love to say I was brave enough to yank up my dress — show her my catheter and educate her on the actual purpose of accessible toilets and explain that harassing someone because of their disability is illegal in the UK. But, of course, I didn’t. Nor should I have to, I was a frightened teenager who had just been humiliated by a stranger who was accusing me of something which wasn’t remotely true. What was I to do in that situation? Do I let her believe I am a bad person, and let her get away with harassing me and probably many other people with invisible disabilities or do I confront her and potentially escalate the situation and have to share private medical details I am still coming to terms with myself?
Unfortunately, that was just the first of many instances of fake claim abuse I have been faced with in the 7 years since I became disabled. The harasment I have faced ranges from rude looks while using my Blue Badge, to someone literally spitting at me when I used the disabled entrance at a museum. I was refused a wheelchair loan at Stansted Airport because “I don’t look sick” despite loosing consciousness up to 10 times per day, I have been asked if I am using my Grandmothers walking stick, and told to “fuck off out of the disabled seat” when using the bus.
My experience isn’t a one off issue. There is a widespread view that if someone doesn’t look disabled they are faking it. and if they are faking it, they deserve to be abused. The problem with this? There is no such thing as ‘looking disabled’. I’ll say it again for the people in the back:
There. Is. No. Such. Thing. As. Looking. Disabled.
A national survey by Fish Insurance found that 39% of people said that someone who displayed a valid Blue Badge but did not appear to have difficulty walking should not be entitled to park in an accessible parking bay. That’s over a third of people who believe that only people with visible disabilities should be entitled to help — even if they have been certified as disabled by a doctor. And it isn’t just people with invisible disabilities who are subjected to fake claim abuse — a close friend of mine, a full-time wheelchair user, who has been told many times that she isn’t really disabled because she drives a car, once had the words ‘Benefits Scrounger’ written on her windshield in sharpie in a Sainsbury’s carpark, the irony being that she is works in HR for Sainsbury’s itself and doesn’t even claim benefits (not that those who do deserve to be have their property defaced).
Fake claiming is a part of life for many disabled people — but it shouldn’t be. Existing as a disabled person isn’t easy but the sad truth is that a huge part of that difficulty stems from other peoples ignorance. This ignorance puts disabled people in a position where we are routinely harassed just for attempting to go about our normal lives. Prevented from using the very services designed to allow us to function as members of society. Fake claim harassment forces us to decide between not accessing services we need or facing harassment and potential violence for doing so. Fake claiming makes disabled people fearful of going out in public because we never know when we will be harassed. It leads to Anxiety, PTSD and mental health issues and makes is difficult if not impossible to be active members of the community.
The good news is that things are changing, and we can all be part of that change. Transport for London recently added a sticker saying “not all disabilities are visible” to their priority seats, and Gatwick airport now provides lanyards to those with invisible disabilities to help prevent the type of harassment I faced when using Access Services at the airport (I’m looking at you Stansted). But we are nowhere near where we need to be, in terms of creating a world where disabled people can use access services freely without fear of harassment and abuse for doing so. That’s why we are campaigning to End Fake Claiming. The campaign seeks to make July 30th an international day against Disability Harassment, as well as influence the political sphere to make changes to protect disabled people from this type of harassment.
Please visit www.EndFakeClaiming.com to learn more about the harassment of people with invisible disabilities and what you can do to help.
