Grey London Kisses Away the Awkward Around Disability & Dating

This Valentine’s Day, the disability charity Scope is urging the British public to ‘kiss awkward goodbye’ – with a collection of tongue-in-cheek Valentine’s Day cards, produced by creative agency Grey London and illustrated by Dave Anderson at Blood Sausage, that will hopefully break down the barriers and bring people together.

With slogans like “I love you (and it’s not just for the free parking)” and “Get your cane, you’ve pulled” the set of 4 illustrated postcards will be given away with every purchase made at Scope’s Camden store. And to get them out to the masses they will be available for people to share online too.

The cards follow new research by Scope that reveals that only 5% of people who aren’t disabled have ever asked out, or been on a date with, a disabled person.

Scope’s research shows that the majority (67%) of Brits feel awkward around disabled people, and as a result they panic or worse - avoid contact altogether. 

· A staggering eight out of ten people in Britain (76%) have never invited a disabled person to a social occasion.

· Half of the British public (48%) has never started a conversation with someone disabled. 

· And less than one in five (16%) people have invited a disabled person round to their house.

In addition to the card, Scope has released a frank film that shows disabled people dishing the dirt on dating, relationships, sex, and the stigma that comes with it.  TV presenter Sophie Morgan and musician and actor Mat Fraser are just a few of those revealing their most awkward moments on camera. 

Scope has launched the findings as part of a national campaign End The Awkward, to raise awareness of disability and end the awkwardness that many people feel around disabled people.

Richard Hawkes, Scope’s CEO, says: “Not enough people know a disabled person, or know enough about disability. This can mean people worry about saying or doing the wrong thing and feel awkward. We wanted to raise this issue in a light-hearted way. Scope’s End The Awkward campaign gets us all thinking about what we can do to include disabled people in our lives - whether it’s just as friends or something more…”