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Comment and analysis from the most recent issues of Disability Now
In the firing line
Deaf people are becoming increasingly concerned that they could become victims of the increased use of armed police officers. Paul Carter reports
Commission's birthday blues
It is a year since the Equality and Human Rights Commission took over the fight for rights from the Disability Rights Commission. But all is not well at the new equality watchdog. John Pring investigates
Mikey: I'm a national hero
Big Brother contestant Mikey Hughes tells Kelly Mullan that he’s unashamed about using his blindness to promote the interests of blind people in general – and his own career in particular
Behind closed doors
Disabled women are twice as likely as non-disabled women to experience domestic violence, are less likely to report it and are more likely to experience it for longer before attempting to escape, ground-breaking new research finds. Katharine Quarmby asks what can be done to change this bleak picture
Question time
When politicians such as David Blunkett have proved themselves at the highest levels of political life, why are there still so few disabled people in the Houses of Parliament? Sunil Peck investigates
Opening the inclusion Flood gates
Tara Flood is both a Paralympic champion and an award-winning, 24-7 campaigner. She tells Sunil Peck that her ambition is to lead the fight for a truly inclusive education system
Games without frontiers
With more disabled athletes than ever before competing in this summer’s Olympic Games, Paul Carter investigates the potential impact on the Paralympic movement
Hounded
Disability Now has assembled evidence that Britain’s best-known animal charity, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), often prosecutes disabled people for alleged animal welfare offences. Katharine Quarmby reports
A little bit of Stephen Fry
The much-loved writer, actor and TV presenter Stephen Fry helped many other people with bipolar disorder ‘come out’ with a documentary about his condition. He tells Sunil Peck why he believes people with mental health problems should develop a sense of pride
Fighting for a life
Disabled people are finding it harder and harder to secure the support they need to live independent lives. Most campaigners believe the system is in crisis. John Pring investigates
Playing apart
In the 1980s and 90s, actor, playwright and filmmaker Nabil Shaban was in demand in film, TV and theatre. Ten years on, the offers and commissions have dried up. In an outspoken interview with Kelly Mullan, he claims that creeping Nazi attitudes to disability are squeezing disabled people out of mainstream entertainment
Are you sitting comfortably...
Sunil Peck investigates the chequered history of the accessible toilet
Licensed to abuse: a question of dishonour
Disabled Asian young people are increasingly being forced to marry against their will. Katharine Quarmby investigates
Force of nature
Lawyer, author and campaigner Harriet McBryde Johnson has taken on the notorious bio-ethicist Peter Singer. She tells Sunil Peck why she believes equality is an unrealistic goal
London calling
This month, London Mayoral election has sparked huge public and media interest. John Pring interviewed all three leading candidates to ask them what they would do for disabled people
Still loud, still proud
The actor and writer Mat Fraser talks to Paul Carter about freak shows, performing in the nude and the 50th anniversary of the drug Thalidomide that caused his impairment
Doing it the Hardway
Three years after landing a role in a high-profile TV drama, Sasha Hardway’s career is finally taking off, she tells Sunil Peck
Unequal before the law
Disability hate crimes mostly attract lighter sentences than others. Katharine Quarmby asks why
MORE choice, MORE control, MORE life
With Lord Ashley reintroducing his independent living bill, and the government’s independent living review due to report early this year, John Pring visited one young, disabled woman to investigate the impact on her life of a lack of support from her local authority
Families torn apart
For disabled parents, having their children taken into care is all too often the first resort for social services, who are failing to offer the right support to keep families together. Elizabeth Choppin investigates
Kuljit’s cultural mix
He’s credited with launching bhangra in Britain. For most musicians, pioneering a musical phenomenon would be enough. Ian Macrae discovers there’s much more to Kuljit Bhamra than bhangra beats
Blue badge blues
With the government consulting on changes to the blue badge scheme, Paul Carter took advantage of a rare opportunity to join police officers on an operation tackling blue badge fraud and misuse
Welfare reform - are you scared yet?
The government and Conservative Party are slugging it out on welfare reform – and disabled people are the target. Katharine Quarmby investigates
Religion: the final frontier
Do the major religions support disabled people on the path to independence or do they create barriers of their own? Sunil Peck investigates
No drink, no drugs, just laughs
Francesca Martinez has been called a drunk and a fake. As she kicks off a tour of her latest stand-up show, she tells Ian Macrae that her comedy’s the real deal
Homer versus Baby Annabell in the battle of the toys
Just how accessible are this Christmas’s bestselling toys? Elizabeth Choppin investigates
Best of the rest
Best of the rest. As the new look Disability Now hits the streets, Sunil Peck checks out some of the other pan-disability magazines across the globe.