Changing Attitudes Towards Disability In The Media 5 CHANGING ATTITUDES TOWARDS DISABILITY IN THE MEDIA

Changing Attitudes Towards Disability In The Media 1
CHANGING ATTITUDES TOWARDS DISABILITY IN THE MEDIA
Name:
Course:
Professor:
University:
State/City:
Date:

Changing Attitudes Towards Disability In The Media 2
Background to the Issues
The Problems/Issues the Campaign Aims to Address
Attitude Foundation focuses on addressing various problems faced by individuals with
disabilities. One of the issues or problems which the campaign aims to address is the issue of
inclusion of people with disabilities in the media. Yes, individuals with disabilities have always
been featuring in media but the main the concern which the campaign aims to check is the nature
of the representation. In most cases, disability has often been portrayed in media in a manner
which indirectly promotes stereotyping. It is in this regard that Attitude Foundation seeks to
promote a realistic picture which will help to normalize disability. Still on the issue of
inclusivity, this activism campaign seeks also to address the issue of adequate inclusion of
individuals with disabilities in various television programs right from news anchoring to being
part or featuring as characters in multiple local television programs.
The second issue which Attitude Foundation aims to address is the problem of
discrimination of people with disabilities when it comes to employment especially in the media.
Although this has been highlighted indirectly in the campaign, it is evident that this group of
individuals is not given equal opportunities as their counterparts when it comes to employment.
Individuals with disability are often not considered as able participants when it comes to
employment. They mostly experience different barriers to employment such as stigma, prejudice
and discrimination. (Ruhindwa, Randall and Cartmel, 2016). According to Darcy and Taylor
(2017), only 53% of the Australians with disability are employed compared to 83% of all the
working-age people. Several cases of discrimination on this group of people when it comes to
employment have been reported.