Tag Archives: equality

Race and the media

I’ve been thinking since the Harry and Meghan interview and the subsequent debate sparked by the nonsensical claim from the Society of Editors that UK media isn’t bigoted.

An (older, male) editor once asked why I wanted to be an ‘Asian journalist’ when I started out in newspapers (to be clear – the question didn’t need the word ‘Asian’ in it). Later, I was asked to write about arranged marriages as the editor thought this was a topic I ‘must surely know about’. It wasn’t, nor was in my reporting brief, so I declined.

How can any professional body say there’s no bigotry in the sector it represents? There have been so many examples of questionable headlines and reporting, and obviously journalists of colour have had – and continue to have – far worse experiences than the two personal ones I’ve just shared (today, these might be called ‘unconscious bias’?).

The Society of Editors’ board has issued a new statement to clarify the original from Monday. The original ‘did not reflect what we all know: that there is a lot of work to be done in the media to improve diversity and inclusion’.

And that should be diversity of all kinds.

The press awards, in which I was shortlisted for my work on disability issues, have rightly been postponed. Several excellent journalists and news organisations had pulled out, as well as the awards host.

Along with many other journalists of colour, I added my name to two open letters calling for more action on the issue.


Reporting diversity

‘You don’t get kisses, Mummy, you don’t get hugs.’ Jack Cavanagh, on a beach in his younger days, has autism, a learning disability and epilepsy, and lives in secure care in south Wales (photo: Cavanagh family)

I’m delighted to have been shortlisted for the Society of Editors’ Press Awards in the ‘reporting diversity’ category.

I’m in fine, strong company in the category and delighted that the Society of Editors is considering the issue of diversity in all its forms.

The articles I’ve been shortlisted for have all been published by The Guardian, and they focus on the brutal impact of Covid on disabled people and their families. The pieces show how the pandemic intensifying the huge inequality already faced by part of our population.

The shortlisted pieces are:

My sister has a learning disability and I can’t visit her because of Coronavirus

Coronavirus restrictions have robbed disabled people of their independence

‘My fear is he’ll never come home’: the learning disabled people locked away in lockdown

I’m privileged to work with people and families and report on these vital issues. I’m also grateful for a supportive, thoughtful and sensitive commissioning editor, Alison Benjamin, who commissioned me to write these articles for The Guardian’s Society pages.

Read more about the awards here.

All learning disabled people should get the covid vaccine

Photo: Ben Birchall/PA Wire/PA Images

Imagine the anxiety of knowing you are at a greater risk of dying from the Coronavirus but are at the back of the queue for a life-saving vaccination and, if hospitalised, doctors might decide not to save your life.

This is what learning disabled people are facing in this pandemic. They are the hardest hit, yet the impact on their mental health is being overlooked.

I wrote this article for Byline Times on how the government is ignoring the impact of Covid on learning disabled people like my sister Raana.

Covid recovery ignores disabled people

Covid-19 exacerbates existing barriers to inclusion for disabled people. Image: RSA

Debates about Covid-19 recovery and economic renewal ignore disabled people. This is shameful given that even before the virus, the UK’s 7.7 million working-age disabled people already faced significant inequalities.

I wrote this opinion piece for the RSA Journal.

LIFE IN lockdown limbo

Raana (left) with me at her 30th birthday last year. She lives in supported living in Hampshire.

Most of us are now emerging from lockdown and acclimatising to the “new normal” we find ourselves living in. From this week, we can go to a beauty salon or gym, and care homes visits are on the horizon.

But my learning disabled sister, Raana, is untouched by the easing of restrictions. Raana lives in supported living, in a shared house in Hampshire with help from care staff during the day. Thanks to a lack of any government guidance on coronavirus for supported living, she’s living in a parallel universe.

Without clear rules on what she should or should not be doing, her carers are – understandably – keeping tight restrictions on her movements. Raana is in lockdown limbo.

Read the rest of my piece in the Independent

Learning disability in the mainstream media

Raana Salman baking. Photo: Nicola Bensley

In a piece for the Byline Times, I call for a more accurate reflection the lives of those with learning disabilities in society and the media, and explains how my new book of essays, written by learning disabled people, aims to change the narrative.

Say the words “learning disability” to most people and they will probably think of headlines about care scandals or welfare cuts. That’s if they think of anything at all.

The latest figures from NHS England show that 451 people who have died from the Coronavirus since 24 March were recorded as having a learning disability or autism. According to the Care Quality Commission, there has been a 175% increase in unexpected deaths among this group of people compared to last year.

Mainstream media coverage of the Coronavirus reflects a nonchalance. Give or take the odd exception, the reporting has failed to acknowledge the impact of the pandemic on the UK’s 1.5 million learning disabled people like my youngest sister Raana.

Outside of COVID-19, if learning disability issues hit the headlines, they usually reinforce stereotypes about “vulnerable people” unable to fend for themselves. And when a story makes the media, it rarely includes direct words from someone with a learning disability.

This is the reason for the book Made Possible: Stories of Success by People with Learning Disabilities. The anthology, which I edited, challenges stereotypes through the stories of people whose achievements are awe-inspiring – regardless of their disability. They describe, in their own words, what needs to happen for learning disabled people to reach their potential. The powerful first-person experiences are from a human rights campaigner, a critically acclaimed actor, a civil rights activist, a singer-songwriter, an elite swimmer, a fine artist, an award-wining filmmaker and an elected mayor.

Read the rest of the article, first published in June, here

Made Possible: Lizzie’s story

Singer-songwriter Lizzie Emeh in a film for the book, Made Possible.

Londoner Lizzie Emeh says that she comes alive when she’s on stage – “like someone’s plugged me into the mains”.

You can get a glimpse of her performance in the short film we shot together to mark the publication of my book, Made Possible: stories of success by people with learning disabilities – in their own words.

Lizzie wasn’t expected to live beyond her third birthday, according to doctors. Today she’s a successful singer-songwriter, making history as the first solo artist with a learning disability to release an album of original songs to the public.

Lizzie’s talent was spotted at an open mic night run by arts charity Heart n Soul, where she’s now a key artist.

‘Made Possible’ is edited by Saba Salman and published by Unbound. Available from the usual booksellers like https://amzn.to/3fMJMXh

Changing the perception of learning disability

Raana Salman baking. Photo: Nicola Bensley

Say the words “learning disability” to most people and they will probably think of headlines about care scandals or welfare cuts. That’s if they think of anything at all.

As I write in a new piece for Byline Times, the latest figures from NHS England show that more than 450 people who have died from the Coronavirus since 24 March were recorded as having a learning disability or autism. According to the Care Quality Commission, there has been a 175% increase in unexpected deaths among this group of people compared to last year.

Mainstream media coverage of the Coronavirus reflects a nonchalance. Give or take the odd exception, the reporting has failed to acknowledge the impact of the pandemic on the UK’s 1.5 million learning disabled people like my youngest sister Raana.

Outside of COVID-19, if learning disability issues hit the headlines, they usually reinforce stereotypes about “vulnerable people” unable to fend for themselves. And when a story makes the media, it rarely includes direct words from someone with a learning disability.

This is the reason for the book Made Possible: Stories of Success by People with Learning Disabilities. The anthology, which I edited and which is inspired by my sister, Raana, challenges stereotypes. The collection of essays does this through the stories of people whose achievements are awe-inspiring – regardless of their disability. 

To read the rest of my piece, go to Byline Times

Made Possible: Sarah’s story

I loved making this film with Sussex-based actor and campaigner Sarah Gordy, who describes her life in my upcoming book ‘Made Possible, stories of success by people with learning disabilities.’

The critically-acclaimed actor, who I interviewed pre-lockdown, explains how she prepares for her stage and screen roles and shares her tips on acting.

Made Possible shows how and why people’s potential should be supported, and that we all benefit when this happens. It couldn’t be a more apt book for our current times.

Pre-order Made Possible from the usual booksellers like https://amzn.to/3fMJMXh or see if your local bookstore can order it for you. For updates, follow #MadePossible and @Saba_Salman on Twitter and Instagram and the Facebook.

coronavirus impact on deaf employees

Everyone struggles with working from home – from managing conference calls to difficulties with Zoom – but imagine what it must be like if you are deaf or have difficulty hearing.

New research by the charity Action on Hearing Loss found that three-quarters of people who live with deafness fear they will be less productive working from home.

My Guardian report explores the barriers and solutions for deaf employees and highlights the work at the Centre for Deaf Education at City Lit college.

City Lit student and deaf mental health worker Ilyaas Cader explains the impact of not being able to communicate in his first language (sign), and calls for greater use of sign language.

Read the piece here.