Recent conversations and interviews have underlined an important truth: Access is not an individual privilege – it is a collective responsibility. As educators, artists and citizens, the choices we make about inclusion are deeply political and personal. Whether in learning environments or cultural spaces, we must stop framing accessibility as a favour or accommodation. Instead, it is a prerequisite for equality and equity
In our group tutorial, we reflected on how inclusion starts with ourselves – how we engage, listen and build relationships. We discussed the challenge of intersectionality and the importance of recognising that people fall into multiple, intersecting systems of oppression. Our teaching spaces need to respond to this – not by ticking boxes, but by being radically open to structural rethinking.
This was made clear in the interview with Chay Brown (@TransActual), who highlighted the real-life barriers faced by disabled LGBTQ+ people – lack of accessible toilets, venues without step-free access, events that exclude neurodivergent people through noise, chaos and an alcohol-centric culture. Chay reminded us that accessibility isn’t just about ramps and elevators – it’s about asking people what they need, budgeting for accessibility and being prepared to be told, “You could have done better.”
What resonated deeply was Chay’s statement that it’s not enough to just listen – we need to take notes and implement change. This is access as collective responsibility. However, if we look at the wider societal context, we can see how far we are from this ethos.
The UK in 2025 is a difficult place for disabled and marginalised people. Recent Supreme Court rulings have curtailed workers’ rights, protections under the Equality Act are under threat, and benefit cuts have left thousands of people with disabilities in financial and housing precarity. The erosion of public health and social care funding means that many are being pushed out of their homes, education or jobs.
This is not happening in isolation. The rise of fascist rhetoric, increasingly hostile immigration policies and the suppression of protest and activism through legislation such as the Public Order Act amendments in 2023, are part of the same systemic architecture. These mechanisms exacerbate instability for those already at the intersections of oppression – disabled people, migrants, trans people, racialised communities. Institutional structures not only ignore these problems, but actively contribute to causing harm.
This political landscape stands in stark contrast to Christine Sun Kim’s reflections on Berlin — a city she describes as providing support, language and resources that give her and her family stability. In the UK, this support feels increasingly out of reach. And yet, as Kim says, “If you don’t see us, we have no place to be.” Her experience highlights the urgent need for visibility – not just in representation, but also in design, language and policy.
In my teaching practice, I experience that some workshops remain inaccessible, and adaptations are often reactive. There is an urgent need to shift the notion of disability from individual need to systemic design failure. Our conversations about intersectionality reminded me that we cannot separate disability from ethnicity, class, gender or immigration status – these are interwoven, lived realities.
What kind of society do we want to build, and what kind of educators do we want to be? If access is everyone’s responsibility, then silence and inaction is complicity.
Inclusion must be embedded, practiced and fought for — not just in our classrooms, but in every corner of the institutions to which we belong.
References:
Adepitan, A. and Webborn, N. (2020). Nick Webborn interviews Ade Adepitan. ParalympicsGB Legends [Online]. Youtube. 27 August.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnRjdol_j0c
Brown, C. (2023) Interview with ParaPride. Intersectionality in Focus: Empowering Voices during UK Disability History Month [Online]. Youtube. 13 December.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yID8_s5tjc
Sun, C. (2024). Christine Sun Kim in ‘Friends & Strangers’ – Season 11 | Art21. [online] YouTube.
Additional Reading:
Walker, P. (2025) ‘Ill and disabled people will be made “invisible” by UK benefit cuts’, The Guardian, 8 April.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/apr/08/ill-disabled-people-uk-benefit-cuts-policy-in-practice [Accessed 26 April 2025].
Walker, P. and Butler, P. (2025) ‘Equality Act under threat from new UK Supreme Court interpretation’, The Guardian, 15 April.
https://www.theguardian.com/law/2025/apr/15/equality-act-under-threat-uk-supreme-court-ruling[Accessed 26 April 2025].
Syal, R. (2025) ‘Sadiq Khan warns democracy at risk from rise in fascism’, The Guardian, 18 January.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/jan/18/sadiq-khan-warns-western-democracy-at-risk-from-resurgent-fascism-ahead-of-trump-inauguration [Accessed 27 April 2025].