DRC: Judge upholds a woman's right to have a tattoo

A 24-year-old woman has just won £2,500 in compensation together with costs from a Blackpool tattoo parlour, which refused to give her a tattoo because she is disabled.

Rachael Monk, who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, was on holiday with her family in the seaside resort. On the last day of their holiday they visited Body Creation where Rachael, who speaks through a Delta Talker, wanted to have a tattoo of a fairy on her arm.

Owner Jordan Dean turned to the family and said: "We don't do people like that." When they tried to reason with him, he telephoned his father, claiming he was his boss. The father came to the shop and according to the judge, adopted an 'old-fashioned and highly discriminatory attitude' and offered 'gratuitous insults', which continued onto the street after the family left the shop.

Preston County Court heard on Monday (21st May 2007) that the incident spoilt the family's holiday and they later contacted the Disability Rights Commission (DRC), for advice about what action to take. The DRC tried to resolve the dispute through their free conciliation service, but Jordan Dean did not respond to the offer and the case was taken to court (1). The defendant Jordan Dean offered no evidence for his treatment of Rachael.

District Judge Ashton (2) said : " It was abundantly clear, once one took the trouble to communicate with Rachael, that she knew her own mind, was proud of the small heart (tattoo) already displayed on her right arm and wanted that tattoo she had chosen for her left upper arm."

Judge Aston said that Jordan Dean: "did not attempt to make any assessment of Rachael's vulnerability or capacity. He simply ignored her and made assumptions based upon her physical abilities.

"There are lessons to be learnt from this unfortunate episode and I hope that after witnessing Rachael's performance in court Mr Dean has recognised how badly he misjudged her when she sought his services. It is regrettable that he did not seek to apologise for this.

Rachael: "It was all really awful for me and my family, but I am feeling great today and am happy it is all over. I got my say in court that was the main thing, and I was able to let the lad know my feelings about the way I was treated. Hopefully this judgement will stop other shops doing the same thing."

Rachael, who lives near Lockerbie, later had a new tattoo done at a shop in Silloth, Cumbria

DRC Chairman, Sir Bert Massie said: "This is the right judgement and shows that such blatant discrimination can't be tolerated. Rachael has the right to do the same thing as other young people .It is deeply disappointing that this case ever went to court and that Mr Dean didn't take up the offer of free conciliation. That has cost him financially.

"This judgement should send out a warning to all businesses that outdated assumptions and ignorance about disabled people will not be tolerated."

Notes to Editors

1. The DRC supported the case of Rachael Monk v Body Creation under Part 3 of the Disability Discrimination Act, which came into force in 1995.

2. The DRC operates a Disability Conciliation Service which aims to resolve disputes between service providers and disabled people without cases going to court. In his ruling Judge Ashton noted that there had been offers made by the DRC to resolve the case through conciliation, which had not been taken up.

3. The DRC is an independent statutory body responsible for tackling disability discrimination. We aim to bring about equality of opportunity and increased participation for the 10 million people in Britain who have rights under the Disability Discrimination Act