Lucy Wing: “I will not give up until all Disabled children, my siblings, are free from torture”

Lucy Wing is a Young Disabled campaigner and a participant in ALLFIE’s Our Voice project. She was a key speaker for the first time in Parliament and reports back.

I never thought I would be speaking in Parliament, especially not at 21! It felt really big and scary, but the amazing community of Disabled activists made me feel safe, heard, and empowered. We’re all here to look out for each other, and I hope other Young Disabled people look at me and see they can be activists too. All of our voices matter.

There are many parts to my identity. The part of me that is a 21-year-old member of ALLFIE’s Our Voice Youth project is disappointed that despite decades of Disabled people sharing their experiences of segregation in education and organisations campaigning for change, special schools and residential institutions are still the norm for Disabled children and Young people.

The part of me that is a criminology and psychology student and an activist for ending violence against women and girls is appalled that the rates of assault and abuse amongst Disabled people are twice that of non-disabled people. Statistics show that our abuse goes on for over 40% longer than non-disabled peoples’ and that Disabled survivors are twice as likely to plan or attempt suicide due to their abuse or assault than non-disabled survivors.

The part of me that is a Disabled person is upset that people just like me, my Disabled brothers and sisters, were promised an education by the state but were instead abused by those who pledged to help them learn.

The part of me that wants to have faith in the powers that are supposed to protect us is infuriated that despite nearly 150 reports to authorities and regulatory bodies in 3 years, nothing happened. For example, Fullerton House and Wilsic Hall, two of the so-called care homes run by the Hesley Group, were rated “good” in inspections in 2018. Let me list a few of the things that Disabled children and Young people experienced at these “good” homes: it’s been reported that they were locked outside in freezing temperatures, dragged across the floor, had vinegar poured in their wounds, their medication was withheld, they were punched and kicked. Those are all prime examples of physical harm. A child was fed chilli flakes and then denied water. Children were left in soiled clothes. Black girls forcibly had their heads shaved. This is the staff trying to dehumanise these kids. Others were sexually abused. Staff sat outside the doors of rooms so children were trapped inside. This is deliberate, rampant abuse and neglect. This is intersectional discrimination. This is torture. What really stuck with me was the report of a child rubbing washing up liquid on his arms so “the night staff won’t grab me”. He’d seen or experienced this enough to make a plan to avoid being hurt. That is genuinely heartbreaking.

Every part of me recognises this is wrong, and you don’t need to identify as, or be involved in any of the things I am to feel the same. We need everyone to speak up about this, because Disabled people don’t need to be moved away from their families and friends to access education. On average, the children in Fullerton House, Wilsic Hall and Wheatley House were 95 miles away from their communities, communities which are capable of providing these kids with education in mainstream schools.

Remember this grim reality. This is what we know of. Historically, the so-called care homes and special schools have been rife with abuse, assaults and negligence. And what is different now? No way near enough has changed.

We need accountability. We need an admittance of guilt. We need an explanation to why the countless reports weren’t followed up on. We need the reason why these schools were considered “good” despite evidence of abuse. We need national recognition that this is the reality, but it doesn’t have to be. You think policy changes protect children but that’s not the case unless you make sure others practice what they preach. This isn’t unrealistic. This can be stopped from happening again and I will not give up until all Disabled children, my siblings, are free from torture.

What’s next?

Iyiola Olafiniham, ALLFIE’s Justice and Campaigns Officer, says:

“Since there is likely going to be general election in the UK this year, ALLFIE is mobilizing the inclusive education community to make fresh demands on the main political parties. We are therefore refreshing our manifesto and calling our members and allies to action. We have started the process… ALLFIE’s manifesto will be changing, and will involve contributions from our members, our communities, our allies, our supporters and everyone who wants to see the injustice of segregation in education stopped in this country. Sign up for ALLFIE updates – we will notify you about the methods we will use to engage and solicit your input.” (ALLFIE marks International Day of Education 2024 blog)

Event quotes from the collective:

• Alliance for Inclusive Education (ALLFIE)

“It is a travesty that after more than 25 years in the education sector, I find myself increasingly supporting Disabled Young people who have been locked away in residential settings. It is embarrassing to see other countries far exceeding the UK in meeting their responsibilities under the UNCRPD, including article 15, which covers freedom from torture.” (Navin Kikabhai, ALLFIE Chairperson)

“Being dependent on help does not take away human feeling. The Young people are often isolated from those who love them with the denial of the right to make connections in the community around them.  Friends who could enjoy who they are. A world where vulnerability can be seen as an asset giving the wisdom of a different viewpoint. Children and Young people continue to experience being dehumanised by so-called trusted people. When will we all be accepted as people with sensitivities like your own? We are calling for segregated provision, such as these institutions, to be phased out and for all Disabled children and Young people to be included in their communities, as a right, with the support they need.” (Maresa MacKeith, ALLFIE’s Youth Parliamentary Officer)

• Ellen Clifford, Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC)

“Behind these scandals is a culture that violates people’s rights and allows degrading treatment. These examples of torture and abuse are not anomalies but are part of a wider system, where physical restraint and seclusion rooms are used as common practice. Disabled children and Young people are placed in settings many miles from home, where they are traumatised, and then punished when they respond to that trauma. Thus, their distress escalates, their trauma is entrenched, and they’re told that services within the community cannot cope with them, so they become trapped within abusive institutions.”

• Mark Harrison, Reclaiming Our Futures Alliance (ROFA)

“I blame successive governments for failing to implement key parts of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), including articles 19 (on independent living) and 24 (on inclusive education). The last Labour government decided to listen to the lobbying voices of the segregationists and the professionals. The damage caused by that decision has been enhanced and multiplied many times by successive Conservative governments. This has made segregated education a cornerstone of their educational policies with the resulting disastrous situation we find ourselves in today, with the re-institutionalisation of Disabled children and Young people in residential institutions.”

• Simone Aspis, Inclusion London’s Free Our People Now project

“Ending Torture of Young Disabled people must begin with ending the torture of Disabled people’s brains and minds that work differently from non-disabled people. It is torture for Disabled people who identify as neuro-divergent or having learning difficulties, being forced into psychiatric hospital and subjected to medication, behaviour modification programmes, restraint and isolation, with the aim of making them ‘normal’.  We need to challenge and question neuro-typical values that inform what is considered an acceptable way of living oneself. We call for legislation and policy changes that move away from locking Disabled people up within psychiatric system to live good and healthy lives in the community.”

• Claire Glasman, WinVisible/Disabled Mothers’ Rights Campaign

“Today, more children are in care than ever.  Councils are taking children from low-income single mothers, Disabled mothers, care leavers, mothers who report domestic violence. Children of colour and/or Disabled children are targeted, and poverty is labelled as neglect. The Support Not Separation coalition we’re part of, highlights that the massive amounts which councils pay to companies for ‘care’ placements should go to supporting mothers, keeping families together.  Taking children away is torture of children and mothers – lifelong trauma.  We invite everyone to support our Charter demands.”