How disability is conceptualized in individual discrimination complaints

Abstract

This article studies how disabilities are conceptualized and used by citizens when they report perceived discrimination associated with disability in Sweden. A review of all 485 disability-related complaints filed with the Equality Ombudsman in 2012 shows how disabilities are conceptualized on three different themes. The first involves environmental obstacles that include references to deficiencies regarding human rights as well as material deficiencies. The second involves diagnoses and incapacity by using medical language citing medical certificates. The third involves those complaints that cite multiple discriminatory grounds, of which disability is one. These individual interpretations of disability show how citizens justify their belonging to the category of disabled people. The variations of the concept of disability can be viewed as a pragmatic way of relating to disability, suggesting the possibility of assuming different positions in different situations, where the context determines what is most suitable.