Disabled Legacy Fail?

Commonwealth Games are a pinnacle of inclusion for disabled people, but legacy will fail without more work, says Vitalise.



Disability charity's survey finds lasting change for people with disabilities may be illusory without concerted effort to sustain legacy

As the Glasgow Commonwealth Games achieve new levels of inclusion for disabled athletes, with disabled and non-disabled events running completely parallel for the first time, national disability charity Vitalise is warning that concerted effort by all of society will be required to sustain the Games' legacy in the long term.

At the mid-point of the Commonwealth Games, nearly two years on from the 2012 Paralympics and with the Invictus Games just round the corner, Vitalise is reiterating its call for more effort by wider society to be more inclusive to people with disabilities.

The charity is citing its survey, conducted on the first anniversary of the 2012 Paralympics, as proof of how fast a legacy can fade. 

Contrary to hopes that the 2012 Paralympics would change attitudes and lead to greater inclusion of disabled people in society, the survey found that one year on, 7 out of 10 people with disabilities and carers (69%) thought that society did not have a better understanding of their day to day lives as result of the Paralympics, up from half (54%) immediately afterwards.

Over half (52%) of respondents believed there had been no perceptible change to their lives as a consequence of the Paralympics, up from 40% directly after the Games.

However, the survey also revealed an almost unanimous will to keep the Paralympic flame burning. Of all those surveyed – disabled and non-disabled people alike – an overwhelming 97% thought that more needed to be done to sustain the Paralympic legacy, while 9 out of 10 (86%) said it was very important for society to sustain and build on the legacy.
In the light of the findings, and as the Commonwealth Games brings the issue of inclusion to the fore once again, Vitalise is renewing its call for society as a whole to do more to reinvigorate and sustain the legacy of the Games by engaging with the day to day lives of people with disabilities and helping them play a much more significant role in society.

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