Speaking up is key to changing attitudes to disability

When Patricia Marsh reported she couldn't access a shop to buy a gift for her friend, she was asked why she didn't get someone to do it for her

Patricia Marsh spoke out against ignorance and lack of access during the Women with Disability forum. Picture: Jann Houley

"IGNORANCE is not a disability and we face ignorance all the time."

When Patricia Marsh reported she couldn't access a shop to buy a gift for her friend, she was asked why she didn't get someone to do it for her.

"That's discrimination and it makes you feel worthless," she said.

"Women are picked on in general and women with a disability are picked on even more.

"It makes you feel like dirt," she said.

Ms Marsh spoke out about discrimination and access during the Women with Disability forum in Rockhampton on Friday.

She said her "biggest passion" was ensuring people with a disability could access the same services as everyone else.

"They say to shop locally but you can't if you can't access the building or navigate the shop," she said.

"Once someone makes a complaint about the problem, sometimes the companies get it fixed, so it's really important to speak out."

Ms Marsh, who lives alone and independently, keeps in touch with disability issues, including the NDIS, over the internet.

She didn't grow up with computers but says she now loves them as they make her life easier, so much so that she is completing a Cert III in Business through CQUniversity and looking for administration work.

She has started saving toward her ultimate goal for the future, a cruise around New Zealand.

"Cruise liners are ideal for people with mobility issues because once you've unpacked, everything's easy to get around and enjoy," she said.

Originally published as Speaking up is key to changing attitudes to disability