Flags celebrate Disability Pride month

The Disability Pride Flag was prominently displayed at several key locations across Gibraltar last week, including the Frontier, the Mayor's Parlour, and St Bernard's Hospital, as the territory concluded its observance of Disability Pride Month.

Celebrated globally throughout July, Disability Pride Month honours the history, achievements and lived experiences of people with disabilities while providing an opportunity for the disability community to celebrate their identities and confront harmful stereotypes.

The July timing holds special significance as it commemorates the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, groundbreaking 1990 legislation that dismantled barriers to social inclusion.

The distinctive Disability Flag symbolises the diverse experiences within the disabled community through its coloured stripes. Red represents physical impairments and conditions, gold signifies neurodiversity, while white denotes non-visible and undiagnosed conditions. Blue stands for emotional and psychiatric conditions, and green encompasses hearing, vision and other sensory impairments. The charcoal background acknowledges community members who have faced ableism.

Ableism - discrimination against people with disabilities based on assumptions that typical abilities are superior - remains a challenge that society must address to recognise the positive contributions and talents of people with disabilities, stated the press release.

Gibraltar's Supported Needs and Disability Office within the Ministry of Equality provides ongoing support to people with disabilities and their families. Those seeking assistance can contact the office via email at sndo@gibraltar.gov.gi, WhatsApp at 56003195, call: 200 42196, or through their Facebook page: SNDO.