Dr Amy Kavanagh started the Just Ask Don’t Grab campaign using the hashtag #JustAskDontGrab. The campaign is to stop disabled people grabbed, pushed, pulled without consent. It clearly shows both the frequency and danger of these actions.
Disabled people are using this hashtag to share their stories. Here are some of the tweets I found most interesting.
I will start with the tweet from Dr Amy Kavanagh . The thread shows how dangerous and terrifying these incidents are.
Walking along the platform, my cane connects with a foot / bag. Suddenly a hand clamps down on my left arm. Tried to twist away. They pull harder & I start losing my balance & yell “STOP GRABBING STOP GRABBING ME”. Another hand pulls me a different direction 1/#JustAskDontGrab
— Dr Amy Kavanagh (@BlondeHistorian) January 23, 2019
As most disabled people will know this is not an isolated incident.
I was about to get off a train when someone asked if I needed help. I said no, but when I was mid step they grabbed one arm, and someone the other, both yanking me forward. What part of no do people fail to understand? #JustAskDontGrab and bloody listen thanks.
— Holly Scott-Gardner (@CatchTheseWords) February 1, 2019
Effects many disabled people
Visually impaired people are not the only ones being grabbed and pushed or pulled. Many disabled people experience this behavior on a daily basis. It’s a common occurance for people with mobility problems.
#JustAskDontGrab PLEASE don’t grab my arm when you see me limping, leaning awkwardly to the left. My left side may be crappy, but GRABBING me will make me fall down!!
— Oly Garden Nerd (@PNWgardenbuddy) January 22, 2019
KEEP YOUR HANDS TO YOURSELF and ask. 🤦🏽♀️
I have experienced being pushed without consent many times. For example I was wheeling up a ramp from the beach. I overtook a family at the bottom of the ramp and slowed towards the top. I did this to navigate a rough exit and bollards. Near the top of the slope one of them started to push me without asking. It was terrifying and almost pushed me into a pot-hole and bollard. I responded by shouting “No” and tried stopping my wheelchair. For that I got the typical defense “I was only trying to help!” followed by verbal abuse. Pushing me almost caused me serious injury and could have broken my wheelchair.
Worldwide problem
The problem occurs everywhere and is not limited to Britain. Writer & Disability Activist Bronwyn Berg had a particularly harrowing experience in Canada.
If you see a person in a wheelchair (especially a woman) being pushed by someone and she’s screaming Stop! No! Help! For the love of humanity help her!
— Bronwyn Berg (@BergBronwyn) January 13, 2019
A guy grabbed my wheelchair today and just started pushing me, not a single passerby helped even though I was screaming for help
This tweet got a huge response form the online community. She later appeared in article called “A wheelchair user’s guide to consent” for CBC in Canada. The article describes the incident further and the scale of the problems. She’s also mentioned in the BBC article listed below.
Personal space
As Cass Rising explains mobility aids are part of the person. Wheelchairs are often just treated as furniture.
My bodily autonomy extends to my wheelchair.
— Cass Rising 🦇🏳️🌈 (@Cass_Rising) January 27, 2019
Don’t use me as a leaning post. Don’t push me without asking. Don’t reposition me like a piece of furniture.
Don’t touch me without consent, and be a good ally by calling out people who do.#JustAskDontGrabhttps://t.co/zBfS3mbjUm
Any assistive aid is an extension of a person not just wheelchairs. These aids help disabled people navigate the world or communicate.
Assistance /guide dogs are also part of a disabled person. So you don’t distract or stroke them without permission.
Double standards
Disability blogger Diary of a Disabled Person gives a clear example of behavior that disable people experience and non-disabled people wouldn’t accept.
Would you grab a stranger on the street to tell them you like their outfit? No? Then why the fuck would you try to control the movement of someone driving a #wheelchair? Do we not count as people? #JustAskDontGrab #Ableism https://t.co/qGw3oTHCJq
— Diary of a Disabled Person. (@WheelsofSteer) January 21, 2019
Put simply disabled people in a way you wouldn’t accept. It should be obvious that disabled people are people.
How to behave
The hashtag really sums up how people should behave “ask and do not grab”.
This is how to offer help:
- Ask what help is require if any
- Listen to the answer
- Help in the way requested
- Don’t grab, push or pull without consent
The final tweet in this article is from Dr Kavanagh. The tweet describes how to help someone who has fallen. It is a response to a thread that describes a common scenario where someone has been injured by those “helping”.
If someone falls please ask them how they would like to be helped.
— Dr Amy Kavanagh (@BlondeHistorian) January 23, 2019
If you pull someone up it could seriously injure them. #JustAskDontGrab https://t.co/aF5JBN661d
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