4 out of 10 children with disabilities have experienced discrimination in class

Four out of ten children with disabilities have felt discriminated against in the school environment, and two out of ten in the case of students over 16 years of age, according to the disability survey published this Tuesday by the National Institute of Statistics ( INE) referring to the year 2020 and that addresses problems of mobility, hearing, vision, communication, learning, or difficulties in performing domestic tasks or self-care covered by the word disability.

Almost 25% of children with disabilities between 6 and 15 years old stated that they had felt discriminated against at school «sometimes», 10% «many times» and 4.5% «constantly». The data in the classrooms contrasts with that of the workplace, where nine out of ten people declared that they did not feel discriminated against.

Of course, practically all (99.5%) of children between the ages of 6 and 15 with disabilities were in school: more than half (58.7%) were in an ordinary center receiving personalized support, on 20 .8% were in an ordinary center without any type of personalized support and 19.3% in a special education center.

The INE survey reveals that in Spain 4.3 million people claimed to have some type of disability or limitation (95 people per thousand inhabitants), which represents an increase of 14% compared to the previous survey, carried out in 2008. In One in five Spanish households had at least one person with a disability in 2020.

By sex, 1.77 million men (17.1% more than in the previous survey) and 2.55 million women (11.9% more) reported having a disability. By age, 75% were 55 or older. Three out of five of these people were women. The only age group in which the rate of disability has increased significantly compared to 2008 was the group between 6 and 24 years old.

type of disability

Mobility problems were the most frequent type of disability among people aged six and over (55.7% of people with disabilities presented these difficulties); 46.5% had problems related to home life and 31.6% to personal care. These percentages rose to 65.1%, 64.5% and 48.5%, respectively, among people with disabilities aged 80 and over.

All types of disability affected women more than men. The greatest differences were found in mobility problems and difficulties in carrying out domestic tasks, where the prevalence rates in women almost doubled those of men.

According to the INE report, a total of 1.58 million people with disabilities were of working age in 2020 (between 16 and 64 years old). Of this figure, 765,000 were men and 818,000 women, and almost one in four of these people indicated that they were working (23.7% of men and 23.5% of women).

Accessibility

The survey also analyzes the perception of architectural barriers (in buildings and roads) or in means of transport, which can limit access to places where you can develop a social life, whether it be working, studying, practicing recreational activities, sports or meeting. .

In this sense, 34% of people with disabilities (1.4 million) stated that they had difficulty getting around normally in their home or in the entrances or interior of their building. Women indicated having more difficulty (38%) than men (28.4%). This difficulty increases with age. Thus, while in the age group from six to 44 years old, 18% of men and 22% of women with disabilities reported having problems getting around in the home or in their building, in the group aged 80 and over the percentages were 39.6% in men and 48% in women.

The main problem resided in the entrance of the building, stairs and garage, affecting 24.6% of people with disabilities (33.4% in the age group of 80 years and over).

Public transport and private vehicles were the means in which most people with disabilities found it difficult to function (40.3% and 21.4% of the total, respectively). This difficulty was less in special transport vehicles, such as ambulances (11.4%).