Enable Scotland members with learning disabilities are to educate their communities on the shocking levels of bullying they have experienced

People with learning disabilities are fighting back against bullies with a new campaign to raise awareness of the huge level of abuse they receive.

Enable Scotland members will be telling people in their communities that nine out of 10 Scots with learning disabilites have experienced bullying.

The #BetheChange campaign will help people like 18-year-old Lucy McKee, who was once told by schoolmates she shouldn't have been born, to share their stories and raise awareness of the problem.

Lucy will be one of a band of Change Champtions with learning disabilities supported to deliver workshops across Scotland throughout 2018. They will highlight the extent of the problem and its impact to communities across the country.

In addition, Enable Scotland, in collaboration with the University of Strathclyde and the University of Glasgow, will roll out a series of lesson plans for S1 and S2 pupils to educate school children about the experiences of people who have learning disabilities.

Lucy, 18, said: "People at school have told me in the past that I shouldn’t have been born, and of course that hurts,” she said.

“But, you can let it get to you and make you feel bad, or you can choose to stand up to it. It’s not easy, but it’s worth it.”

Chief executive Theresa Shearer said: “Through our Change Champions we want to engage with communities and individuals and give them the know-how and confidence to be the change themselves – to challenge unacceptable behaviour towards people who have learning disabilities when it occurs – but more than that, to be a friend.

“It’s time to break down barriers and ensure that people who have learning disabilities are respected and valued, and that any obstacles to an equal society for all are challenged and removed.”