{"id":14233,"date":"2022-12-05T06:26:18","date_gmt":"2022-12-04T22:26:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/oasis-news\/why-where-ableism\/"},"modified":"2022-12-07T11:47:30","modified_gmt":"2022-12-07T03:47:30","slug":"why-where-ableism","status":"publish","type":"oasis-news","link":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/oasis-news\/why-where-ableism\/","title":{"rendered":"Why and where does ableism occur?\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Unlike sexism or racism, the word ableism is often misunderstood. You may have come across it in a blog, social media post or article but been unsure of its meaning.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So, what is ableism, exactly?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ableism is discriminating against people with disabilities based on the belief that typical abilities are superior and that disabled people are both inferior and need \u2018fixing\u2019. Like racism, homophobia and sexism,\u202fableism classifies groups of people as \u2018less than\u2019 or \u2018other\u2019 and includes harmful stereotypes, misconceptions, and generalisations.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0<\/span>history of ableism<\/span><\/a> includes the inhumane treatment of disabled people in the Middle Ages and the Eugenics movement of the early 1900s and, while 21st-century<\/span>\u00a0ableism is often less overt, it is no less pervasive.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Curtin staff member, Sunyal Maroo, IT Risk & Assurance Analyst, Office of the CIO, and Co-Chair of the\u00a0Abilities Collective @ Curtin<\/a>, talks about ableism in this\u00a0insightful short video<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Why and where does ableism occur?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, it\u2019s complicated. There are many reasons why people discriminate against someone with a disability and not all of them are obvious. Reasons can include:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n