Taking steps to ensure the language you use is inclusive

How journalists write a story and the words they use matter. Of course they do. Language is nuanced and forever changing. While progress has been made, ableist language still exists. Inclusion London’s report, Disability, Crime and Hate Crime in the News, examined news coverage of 300 crimes against disabled people over the last 18 years and found that news stories about crimes against disabled people (using the language in Disability News Service here) contained disablist portrayals, frequently using descriptions such helpless, weak, and vulnerable.

While reporters, editors, subeditors and so on have a job to do, PRs and those working in comms also have a role to play to help ensure the language used is inclusive.

I’m bringing this up today as my lovely friend Sara Thornhurst, who provides disability focused inclusion training for PR professionals, has recently worked with the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) to launch a new guide designed to help PR and comms professionals improve their understanding of the language to use when it comes to disability. It is one of five guides, and is available to download here.

For those who are keen to learn more, Sara offers online training sessions for PR agencies and teams. More information here.