1.4 Disability
A slightly higher proportion of respondents perceive discrimination on the basis of disability as being rare (49%; 15% very rare, 34% fairly rare) in their country than think that it is widespread (45%; 10% very widespread, 35% fairly widespread).
In this area there has been a notable shift from the results recorded in 2006, when 52% gave a ‘widespread’ answer (7 percentage points higher than this year) and 42% a ‘rare’ answer (7 points lower).
Country-by country results exhibit a strong degree of variation. Over half of French (61%), Italian (56%) and Portuguese (55%) respondents say discrimination based on disability is widespread in their country; at the other end of the ranking, 21% of Maltese and 25% of Irish respondents think the same.
Those with disabled friends and the disabled themselves are the most likely to see discrimination on these grounds as widespread. On the 10-point ‘comfort-scale’, the average European has a comfort level of 9.1 with the idea of having a disabled neighbour. This is the highest rate of the 6 scenarios tested for this exercise. Over 6 in 10 respondents answered 10 out of 10 – i.e. that they would be totally comfortable (61%). For the question on having a disabled person in the highest political office, there is a slightly lower average level of comfort, although this is still high at 8.0.