5 places in your everyday life that exclude people with disabilities

The federal government's commissioner for people with disabilities complains that the health system is not barrier-free. But it's not just doctor's offices that are difficult for you to get around in a wheelchair.

In many state building regulations, places only have to be barrier-free if they are used “predominantly or exclusively by people with disabilities”. This means that barrier-free schools, workshops for the disabled or toilets for the disabled are often only inclusive. Meanwhile, entire inner cities remain an obstacle for people who are blind or in wheelchairs, for example (see video above).

5 places in Germany that are not barrier-free

People with disabilities want to go to exactly the same places as people without disabilities: some are necessary in everyday life, others are just fun. Architects and building planners do not think about people with disabilities (they are also forgotten in the climate crisis). As a result, they are excluded from important areas of life.

This affects people with visual impairments or hearing impairments, as well as with cognitive limitations or learning difficulties. The following is mainly about the limitations of people in wheelchairs.

Wheelchair users have problems in these five places:

1. Health system

“A maximum of a quarter of medical practices in Germany are barrier-free,” says Jürgen Dusel, the federal government’s commissioner for people with disabilities. “It is my perception that we have fewer than ten gynecological practices throughout Germany that are accessible to women in wheelchairs.” That cannot be the expectation of a modern health system. If people with disabilities pay into statutory health insurance, then they should have exactly the same rights to free choice of doctor and care as all other people.

2. Local public transport and long-distance transport

Non-barrier-free trains are standard at Deutsche Bahn. A wheelchair user tells us BuzzFeed News GermanyThat's why she has problems traveling. Instead of simply getting on the train like everyone else, she relies on the help of a service employee. He or she has to unfold a special ramp on which the wheelchair user can roll up or down. This is inconvenient and only works at certain times, which is why she cannot travel flexibly.

3. Schools

Students with disabilities cannot move freely in many German schools. In Germany, only 16 percent of schools are barrier-free (as of 2020). That shows one Opinion poll of the Association for Education and Upbringing (VBE).

Sure, one could now say that students with disabilities simply have to switch to special inclusion schools. Raul Krauthausen, who uses a wheelchair himself, doesn't see it that way. The activist says: “Children with disabilities have greater educational opportunities at mainstream schools.”

4. Playgrounds

The influencer Svenja shows a playground on Instagram: With her wheelchair she rides on the carousel, which rotates in circles. She also has free access to the swing. Although she can't fly through the air there herself, she could push her daughter. Because Svenja is a mother. The way the playground is set up in Svenja's video (see below) is similar to hardly any other playgrounds in Germany. Because there is usually nothing barrier-free there. Or have you ever seen an inclusive playground?

5. Restaurants, bars and clubs

How often do you go to a restaurant and have to walk down a flight of stairs? How often do you have to walk over a step to get into a bar or club? Museums and concert halls are often barrier-free for wheelchair users. However, they are not taken into account in many everyday leisure activities. They therefore have disadvantages; for example, they have to rely on someone to help them across the step. Or they have to stay at home in the evening.

Category list image: © IMAGO / Panthermedia