‘Stop sick people from languishing on benefits.’

‘Are [young adults] the sick-note generation?’

‘Is it wrong for taxpayers to fund [people too sick to work] indefinitely?’

These are just some of the stories and tweets that have crossed my Twitter timeline recently, alongside one publication’s online calculator, which lets their readers find out ‘how much of your salary now goes towards the welfare state’.

As a disabled person in the UK today, it’s difficult to watch the increasingly hostile language used about people like me, when I know that the reality of claiming benefits is far from easy.

In 2016, at the age of 25, I became mostly housebound after a series of viruses and an unfortunate whiplash injury aggravated a number of existing conditions.

At the time, I was working 70-hour weeks at a publishing company and my local pub, saving to go travelling, and dreaming of being an environmental and travel journalist. The irony isn’t lost on me.

Instead of travelling the world, I found myself confined to my house with my partner, who went freelance to work from home and become my carer.

By 2019, with a number of diagnoses under my belt and little hope of improvement, I applied for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) for the first time.

While I expected it to be difficult, the experience still shocked me.

Even though I had evidence from two neurologists, an immunologist, a cardiologist, and two GPs to show that I simply wasn’t capable of going out to work every day, the DWP claimed I was fit for employment, using their scoring system, which assigns ‘points’ based on your perceived needs.

Eighteen months later, after taking them to tribunal, an independent doctor and a judge took the DWP’s score from two points – having decided that I needed an accessibility aid to manage only one area of personal care – to 24 points, which accurately assessed that I needed a carer’s support for many areas of daily life, including cooking, bathing, and mobility.

This tribunal decision then took me from being deemed to be in need of no support, to the enhanced rate of support on both Daily Living and Mobility — which was around £600 a month at the time.

Afterwards, I realised that the DWP’s flawed assessment couldn’t simply have been caused by human error. If an independent doctor could see the same medical evidence I’d already submitted and recognise how unwell I was, then why couldn’t the assessor?

I believe that the answer, of course, is that they didn’t want to.

Like many disabled people, I’ve become used to receiving messages online about being a ‘scrounger’ or a ‘drain on society’, and it’s always hurtful

During the era of austerity, and now of Covid-19, sick and disabled people have borne the brunt of a growing cruelty towards them.

If your only exposure to sickness and disability is through the recent online attacks, you’d be forgiven for thinking that we’re all living in the lap of luxury, receiving benefits without proper oversight, and sticking two fingers up at the ‘hard-working taxpayers’ who fund our lavish lifestyles.

But the reality is that disabled people are facing a hostile system designed, in my opinion, to deny us even the small amount of help we’re entitled to — and it’s been happening for a long time.

A 2016 report by the UN found ‘grave and systematic violations’ of disabled people’s human rights by the UK Government. And the situation has only worsened since then.

Government figures from last year show that, while the DWP rejects roughly every four out of five disability appeals like mine during a process called Mandatory Reconsiderations, over 80% of claimants go on to win in the end.

While Government figures released in 2019 showed that over 17,000 claimants died after registering but prior to the DWP making a decision on their claim since April 2013.

The PIP assessments, in particular, have seen more than 80,000 disabled claimants refused the benefits they’re entitled to at initial review, according to data obtained by the Independent via freedom of information (FOI) laws.

In this climate, where disabled people are having to fight for the very basics of support, you’d hope our plight would be sympathised with. Instead, we’re having to hear ‘scrounger’ rhetoric used against us, while the Government quietly saves a staggering £19billion a year on unclaimed benefits, according to Policy in Practice.

That’s before you consider that disability hate crimes increased by an astounding 43% in the year ending March 2022.

For me, the reality is that even though my conditions are chronic and degenerative, during my PIP reassessment this year, my award was cut to under £270 a month without warning.

More from Platform

Platform is the home of Metro.co.uk’s first-person and opinion pieces, devoted to giving a platform to underheard and underrepresented voices in the media.

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An anonymous writer describes her experience of cutting her alcoholic mum out of her life – and why she still sends her presents despite the pain.

Emma Flint recently discovered the term ‘abrosexual’ and realised, after not having the right word to describe their sexuality for 30 years, that this one suited her perfectly.

Comedian Liam Withnail had just completed his second marathon when he fainted and pooed his pants. Assuming he was healthy, he was shocked to be diagnosed with ulcerative colitis.

And marketing manager Sabreena Dean shares her spot on response to the question, ‘But where are you really from?’.

I’m now going through the appeal process again, but I have no doubt that I’ll have to wait for the tribunal to receive a fair judgement, which could be another 18 months, based on my previous wait.

Despite this, I know that I’m one of the lucky ones. I live with my partner, and so I don’t have to worry about becoming homeless in the meantime. Other disabled people don’t have that luxury, and as the hateful language against us is ramped up, the worse it will get.

Like many disabled people, I’ve become used to receiving messages online about being a ‘scrounger’ or a ‘drain on society’, and it’s always hurtful. I never planned to become too sick to work in my twenties, and while I do manage some freelance work from home when my symptoms are manageable, I would like to do more.

The sad fact is that I’m doing as much I can, and while that may not be enough for some people, the constant need to justify my existence is demoralising and draining.

If I could ask one thing of the public today, it would be that they don’t fall for these tactics of ‘divide and conquer’.

Disabled people in receipt of benefits aren’t your enemy. None of us would go through the exhausting and degrading assessment process if we had any other choice.

It’s a scary time to be disabled, and in our society’s monstrous march towards profit at any cost, more and more people are being left behind to suffer.

Today, you’re safe because it’s me. But will you feel safe tomorrow when it’s you?

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