Rights Now, sometimes written with an exclamation mark, was a British umbrella group of disabled people's organisations and charities which campaigned for a change in the law to prevent discrimination against disabled people and for a full civil rights law, even though the result was the flawed Disability Discrimination Act 1995. The biggest protest in numbers of people was in July 1994 at Trafalgar Square and Whitehall, London. It was a very broad-based campaign, including trade unions for example. Campaigning to improve the laws for full civil rights continued, but Rights Now as a group ended in 1995.
A Rights Now t-shirt (source: Lorraine Gradwell Collection, Disabled People's Archive, Manchester)
A Rights Now flag (source: Rachel Hurst Collection, Disabled People's Archive, Manchester)
Disability Discrimination Act 1995
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which has now been repealed and replaced by the Equality Act 2010, except in Northern Ireland where the Act still applies. Formerly, it made it unlawful to discriminate against people in respect of their disabilities in relation to employment, the provision of goods and services, education and transport.
The poles and grab handles on this Class 165 train are of a contrasting colour to assist visually impaired passengers. This is a reasonable adjustment in respect of the DDA.
At St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh, the ramp to the right of the stairs was added to comply with the DDA.