Disability and the continuum of violence: Andrea Hollomotz

Throughout history, philosophers, scientists and medical professionals advocated for the differential treatment of disabled people. For instance, the practice of infanticide dates back to antiquity. In classical Greece people with learning difficulties were kept as slaves and fools by the aristocracy (Stainton 1994, cited in Parmenter, 2001: 269). Closer to our times, in the early decades of the twentieth century, the eugenics movement became concerned with a perceived ‘drastic increase’ of impairments amongst the population (Braddock & Parish, 2001). Eugenicists advocated the view that people with learning difficulties might reproduce ‘excessively’, threatening the national heritage of intelligence. Many countries, such as the USA, Canada, Sweden and France, introducedsterilisation laws to reduce alleged ‘gene depletion’ and wider social risk (Parmenter, 2001). In the UK, population control was exercised by means of segregation in residential institutions, which was legally enacted by the 1913 Mental Deficiency Act (Weeks, 1989). Such ‘total institutions’ are characterised by barriers to social intercourse with the outside world, such as locked doors, high walls and barbed wire (Goffman, 1961). There is an immense imbalance of power between inmates and staff, who tend to express their superiority by harsh treatment of the inmates, whom they perceive to be less than human (Ryan & Thomas, 1987). Furthermore, the Nazi project included a strong eugenicist ideology to rid the ‘Aryan race’ of genetic ‘deficiencies’ (Burleigh, 1991). In the last quarter of the twentieth century the way in which services wereprovided to disabled people in England and other advanced industrial societies changed from institutionally based to predominantly community-based provisions (Parmenter, 2001). Changes in provisions for people with learning difficulties were influenced by the ‘normalisation’ principle, which aims to make ‘conditions of everyday life which are as close as possible to the norms and patterns of the mainstream of society’ available to people with learning difficulties (Nirje, 1994 [1969], p. 19). Wolfensberger (2004 [1983]: 43) argued that ‘the most explicit and highest goal of normalisation must be the creation, support, and defence of valued social roles for people who are at risk of social devaluation’. In order to achieve this aim the social image and competenciesWithin the last decade, UK government thinking has shifted from thebroad aim of assimilation to a new vision. The White Paper Valuing People (Department of Health, 2001) and the Valuing People Now delivery plans (e.g. Department of Health, 2010a) are underpinned by the principles that the rights, choices and independence of people with learning difficulties must be promoted. Moreover, the Coalition Agreement (HM Government, 2010: 30) states that ‘the government believes that people needing care deserve to be treated with dignity and respect’. In publishing its Vision for Health and Social Care (Department of Health, 2010b) the Government further outlines its plans for personalisation. Thus, they are adamant that individuals, not institutions, should take control of the support they need. Meanwhile, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (2011) continues to enforce and promote equality across nine ‘protected’ grounds, which include disability. Yet, despite such apparent progress, this chapter demonstrates that patternsof ill-treatment, including oppression, disablism, violations of human rights, threats, intimidation and power imbalances, remain ingrained in the everyday lives of many disabled people. The discussion so far indicates that such contemporary experiences have their roots in disablist attitudes that arise from a legacy of oppression (Barnes, 1997). This chapter will outline how categorical treatment of disabled people continues beneath the thin veneer of rights discourses. The notion of a continuum of violence will be introduced to contextualise how intrusive processes that are not commonly viewed as harmful are linked to more severe acts of violence. The discussion draws on case studies of adults with learning difficulties, but broader observations can be made about the experiences of disabled people in general.

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