Page 1929 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 16 June 1993
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
Epilepsy is often not understood and, as a result, is feared by many people in our community. This fear can make life more difficult for those with the condition. It should be recognised that, with the treatments now available, the vast majority of people with epilepsy are able to take part fully in every aspect of family life, work and leisure. The community's attitude towards epilepsy is changing, but there is still a great need for wider community understanding and acceptance of the fact that people with epilepsy are essentially no different from anyone else. I present a copy of this statement, and I move:
That the Assembly takes note of the paper.
MRS CARNELL (Leader of the Opposition) (3.46): It is with great pleasure that I rise, too, to speak in National Epilepsy Week. Mr Berry rightly spoke about what epilepsy is and the number of people that it affects. With 3,000 epileptics in Canberra, it really is a great problem and something that we, as a community, have to address.
What I would like to speak about particularly is the discrimination that epileptics suffer, often every day of their lives. Really, irrespective of what is said or written about the condition, the sufferer of epilepsy, an epileptic, still bears a stigma. Insurance companies, employers and even government authorities have been known to actively discriminate against epileptics. In a recent survey, only 37 per cent of those over the age of 16 are employed and, interestingly, of those that are not employed, 25 per cent stated that their condition was a real factor in their unemployment. Those people suggested that they would not declare their epilepsy to a prospective employer. In the same survey, 26.8 per cent stated that there were some people they would not tell about their condition. Another 52 per cent said that they would not tell their acquaintances, 21.5 per cent said that they would not even tell their close friends, and 13.9 per cent said that they would not tell anybody at all.
Discrimination is, obviously, a very real problem for epileptics. I know personally of a case where, after diagnosis was made, the patient was told by the doctor not to tell anybody because if they did they would be discriminated against and their life would become very difficult. In fact, earlier this year the case of a young person came to light through representations to my office. This young person had applied for and was successful in obtaining a position with ACT Health. She was taking medication and her condition was under control. She had not suffered a seizure for two years. However, because this young person was honest she had advised both the interview panel and the CMO of her condition; but, when it came to light that she was an epileptic, her position was put in jeopardy. In the end, the problem was overcome; but for a period she had been told that she would not get the job because she was an epileptic. That is here in the ACT and I really wonder whether, if she had not been a fairly definite young woman and come forward, she would now be in the ranks of the unemployed.
Discrimination with epileptics takes a lot of forms. We have spoken already about employment. There is also the area of driving. It is impossible for an epileptic to drive until they have not had a seizure for two years and, of course, in a city like Canberra that can be a very real problem. They cannot use machinery in many jobs, which again limits the areas of employment they can engage in.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .