An award-winning Paralympic athlete, Anne Wafula Strike, has spoken out about being “completely robbed of her dignity” after a CrossCountry train did not provide an accessible toilet on a three-hour journey.
The athlete and disabilities campaigner was left to urinate on herself because the accessible toilet was out of order. A staff member suggested she could get off the train at a station to use the disabled toilet there and then wait for the next train. This would have delayed her journey but, she was unable to get off the train in any case as there were no staff at the station to help her.
Despite feeling humiliated, Wafula Strike said she felt she had to speak out to expose some of the injustice faced by people living with disabilities.
“I’ll probably be remembered as that woman who wet herself on the train. I could have kept quiet but I hope that by speaking out other wheelchair users who use public transport won’t be subjected to the same experience I had.”
We want to hear from people with disabilities about access to toilets, transport and other facilities in public. Have you ever found that services aimed at disabled people are inadequate? What about parking when you’re out shopping? Have you found accessibility an issue elsewhere? Did you complain and if so, how were your concerns responded to? In general, how accessible is public transport in your area?
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