Tributes follow Jade's early death

Friends and colleagues have paid tribute to Rowen Jade, chair of the Government’s Equality 2025 disability advisory group who died last week aged 40.

Baroness [Jane] Campbell of Surbiton told Disability Now: “It's her warmth as a person that I know everyone will miss the most. Her genuine devotion to disabled people, combined with her smile that would brighten up any room, was priceless.

“Rowen touched people's lives in a way that changed their perceptions of the art of the possible and in doing so, safeguarded our humanity. I feel so very lucky and privileged to have been a close friend, and desperately sorry that she has died so young.”

Rowen Jade had been associated with many campaigns and aspects of disability rights, chiefly Not Dead Yet UK, which campaigns against euthanasia and assisted suicide. Having been a member of Equality 2025 since its inception, she was appointed its chair in 2008.

Fellow member and Disability Now regular columnist Andy Rickell said: “It was at Equality 2025 that I first met her. She had been involved in the advisory group that helped the Office for Disability Issues (ODI) set up Equality 2025 in the first place, and so she was the one person who has been involved throughout the full development of Equality 2025, and it showed.

“Rowen had shown herself to be the embodiment of independent living, in the way the movement sees it - achieving choice and control over her life enough to play a role in positively influencing the quality of life of millions of disabled people.  Her personal presence charmed ministers and her personal commitment and ability as an advocate for disabled people's rights encouraged them to see it our way.

"It was great to have such a capable personal ally, equally committed to achieving disabled people's equality by taking advantage of the opportunity to enter the corridors of power from which disabled people have been historically excluded.”

Tracey Proudlock was a member of Not Dead Yet UK alongside Rowen Jade.  She said: "Earlier this year there was a BBC Radio 2 feature on assisted suicide. Jeremy Vine said that Rowen was waiting on the line and my whole day picked up in an instant.  I was bursting with pride that I knew this woman, and delighted as I knew she would persuasively and persistently get our point across. 

"It was clearly a great effort for her to speak on the phone and get her voice amplified over the radio but no one was in any doubt about her message.  There was never any anger, just a very confident message that disabled people were threatened by calls to legalise assisted suicide and changing the law would be dangerous.

"The many campaigns that Rowen supported cannot be allowed to weaken because she’s not with us anymore.  I’m sure I am not alone when I say that I feel stronger and more confident because of Rowen - she has touched and taught us so very well."