Web (en)Abled: web accessibility in the European Year of People with Disabilities

— Published January 10th, 2003  |  by Paul Fitzsimons

The European Commission has designated 2003 as the European Year of People with Disabilities. As Commissioner Anna Diamantopoulou has said, '2003 must be a time for Europe to become more aware of disability issues and to challenge the barriers that prevent people with disabilities from fully participating in many aspects of every day life'.

For providers of web services, 2003 is an opportunity to ensure that the Web becomes fully accessible to everyone, regardless of ability.

There are about 38 million European citizens with disabilities. Despite recent progress, numerous barriers still prevent these people from playing a full part in society and in the workplace.

Throughout the EU, people with disabilities have problems finding accessible transportation, getting into buildings, and gaining access to school and work. They also face barriers in using the internet and other technologies that would help them to become fully involved both at work and in society.

The Eurobarometer Survey 54 shows that a majority of Europeans claim to understand that community access and participation remain very difficult for people with disabilities. The survey reveals that 97% of European citizens support measures that would help remove barriers faced by people with disabilities. 93% of those surveyed feel more money should be spent on this issue.

Despite this level of awareness and support, the primary obstacles facing people with disabilities are the negative and disabling attitudes projected by society. Assumptions about what it means to have a disability are entrenched in educational, social and cultural practices. As a result, opportunities for education, social involvement and skill development are restricted for people with disabilities.

Although having a disability may effect what can be done and at what speed, a disabled person can nevertheless participate fully in the workplace and in society at large. When talking about accessibility, a former colleague, Eamon Maguidhir (senior analyst in SkillSoft), once commented that "there is no such thing as an accessibility issue, only inaccessibility issues. A product or service inaccessible to any potential user is broken and needs fixing. The product itself is what is disabled not those who are unable to use it because of failed design".

Too often, people with disabilities are not consulted about their needs. If they are consulted, their needs are not properly understood or are treated as an afterthought. If buildings were designed with people with disabilities in mind, they would have a large front door level with the pavement, rather than a ramp at the back added later to allow access for people using wheelchairs. If web sites were designed with people with disabilities in mind, they would be fully available to all users without need for adaptation or specialised alternatives.

The European Year of People with Disabilities is a time to change the attitudes that stereotype people with disabilities and to tackle the social, architectural and design practices that unnecessarily restrict access for people with disabilities to social and economic opportunities.

This is especially true for web design. Physical ability should be irrelevant for an activity carried out in the virtual realm. Problems only occur when designers fail to take account of the disabled user's abilities and the technologies they use. 2003 presents an opportunity to overcome the barriers caused by poor web design and to ensure that access to the Web is guaranteed to everyone, regardless of ability.