28/11/2025
In Greece, as in many other countries, people with disabilities face a series of stereotypes that affect their daily lives and often lead to social exclusion. These stereotypes are rooted in outdated models of disability perception and are reinforced by various social mechanisms.
🧠 The Two Main Models of Disability
To understand stereotypes, it is useful to know the two main models that shape our perception of disability:
The Medical Model: This model focuses exclusively on the physical, mental or sensory impairment of the individual. It positions disability as a "problem" or "defect" of the individual himself, which needs "treatment" or "care". This approach leads to the logic that the individual must adapt to society, and not the other way around, and feeds stereotypes that present people with disabilities as passive, pitiful objects.
The Social Model: According to this model, "disability" is not created by the impairment itself, but by the physical and social barriers that prevent participation. For example, a blind person's disability is not due to the loss of vision itself, but to the absence of audible traffic lights or special sidewalks. This model shifts responsibility from the individual to society, emphasizing the need to create barriers rather than "cure" individuals.
⚠️ How Stereotypes Manifest and Their Consequences
Stereotypes that arise mainly from the medical model can take several forms:
Heroization or Idealization: Very often, the media and society present a person with a disability who achieves something as a "hero", who "overcame all obstacles". This seems harmless, but in reality it reinforces the subjective perception that the disabled person is inherently unhappy and incapable, and that any success they achieve is the exception rather than the rule.
Devaluation and Labeling: Disabled people are stereotypically characterized as unattractive, pitiful, aggressive, or even "unsociable." Their main characteristic becomes their disability, nullifying all their other personal characteristics, talents, and roles (as parents, professionals, friends, etc.). As stated, "a society dominated by stereotypes... places disability as the defining characteristic of a person, with the automatic suppression of all other characteristics."
Marginalization and Isolation: Stereotypes lead to prejudice and discrimination. Ignorance and fear of "being different" push society to distance itself from or not know how to interact with people with disabilities, resulting in their social exclusion. This often leads to low self-esteem, poor education and high unemployment levels for people with disabilities.
💡 What Can Be Done? Suggestions for Change
Combating stereotypes requires action on multiple levels:
Education and Awareness: Education is a powerful tool to change negative attitudes and develop a society that recognizes and values diversity. This applies to both the school environment and the wider society.
Change in Attitude: It is necessary to abandon the "old and unacceptable emphasis on the medicalization of disability" and adopt a new focus on individual capabilities, dignity and human rights.
Accessibility and Inclusion: Improving accessibility (e.g., with audible signals, subtitles, ramps) is vital. Also, ensuring that people with disabilities can fully exercise their rights, for example through the use of sign language interpreters or other assistive technologies, helps to empower them.
Responsible Journalism: The media has a huge responsibility. Instead of focusing on the "beggar-hero" dichotomy, they should portray people with disabilities as whole people, with normality and without sentimentality that tends towards pity or excessive admiration.
Overall, Greece has recognized the need for a more inclusive approach, as shown by the adoption of the National Action Plan on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which is aligned with the Social Approach and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Moving away from stereotypes begins with the realization that disability is part of human diversity. True inclusion means looking beyond the disability label and creating a barrier-free society that respects the dignity of all.
