No one should stand alone

Since the launch of the initiative Disability Justice, and even before that, World Pulse sisters has shared stories of their lives and the challenges you face when you live with a disability. Others have written equally compelling histories about other forms of discrimination and who also feel alone.

Some of the story tellers tell of a network who have supported them, others have had a more challenging journey. But besides the need for concrete support, to solve a problem or just have someone speaking a kind word, we also need to engage in allyship.

To speak up, when we witness discrimination, injustice. When we recognize barriers, that could and should be removed. The women’s movement has always stood strongest when men also supported the cause. When they have voted for change or have ensured women the chance to speak for themselves. We need to do the same when it comes to disability – or any other issue where a group is marginalized by society. We need to support the needed change, even if we are not ourselves part of that group and we need to hold space and allow those marginalized the chance to raise their voice.

It is not going to be easy at first, we need to inspire each other on how we can help the individual or engage in more general allyship. And when engaging in allyship, we can do it on so many levels. Considering how we can make a change on our school, our place of work, our organization, our community. How do we invite those in who are now excluded? How can we remove barriers? How can we support? In a more political arena, it could be about raising the agenda, arranging debates, ensuring diversity when we discuss general issues such as climate crisis, violence against women or how to end hunger. Moving from the principle of “no woman, no panel” to “no diversity, no panel”, insisting that we need a diverse panel, whenever we discuss an issue.

No one should stand alone. I need your help to create a change. I hope to engage at least 50 from the World pulse community to pledge to let no one stand alone, and then act, helping an individual or engaging in more general allyship. I hope that those pledging, will help inspire by sharing their actions here on World Pulse.

And the same goes for those of you, who might have a disability or belong to another marginalized minority. You can also make a difference, speak up for others, for example people with others with a disability or other groups who are marginalized. Also share ideas of what types of allyship, you would like to see.

To measure the progress, I hope you who are willing to write it in the comments if you take the pledge and that you will share examples of initiatives you take in relations to this, for example by posting stories on World Pulse and sharing the link as comments to this initiative and what impact these initiatives are having.

If you are not ready to get involved, but have ideas for action, you could also post stories about that and share the link as comments in order to inspire others.

Pledge:

No one should stand alone. I pledge to make a change, helping individuals in need by supporting them by concrete action or moral support or by engaging in more general allyship.