Independent Lives is proud to join the Niamh’s Law campaign which is calling for all public facing staff to receive mandatory disability awareness training.
The campaign is named after Niamh Jarvis-Smith, who died unexpectedly in 2020.
At the time of her death, Niamh was in the final year of studying to become a children’s nurse and was also working as a carer for disabled children.
On several occasions while on days out with the children she was supporting, staff members discriminated against the children Niamh was looking after. Discrimination occurred across a wide range of venues, including restaurants, cinemas, and swimming pools.
Her fiancé, Drew Taylor believes the law could be a “game-changer”.
Drew has set up a petition on the website, which needs 100,000 signatures to reach Parliament.
At the time of writing, it’s on 52,000.
Our chief executive Rebecca Smicle, had this to say about the campaign:
“Combatting prejudice and discrimination against disabled people is vital. The most recent Home Office figures show that last year there was a 9% rise in disability hate crime compared to 2020.
One of the best ways to reduce discrimination is through education, and ensuring that people who work in public facing roles receive appropriate disability awareness training, would be a huge step in the right direction”
You can sign the petition by visiting the change.org website: https://www.change.org/p/introduce-niamh-s-law-disability-awareness-training-for-public-facing-staff