FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
7 April 2026
Tenant Voice launches ‘No Sweetie’ campaign to call out infantilising language towards people with disability
New national campaign targets the everyday language that reinforces power imbalances and ableism
Tenant Voice has this week launched its No Sweetie campaign, a bold new push to call out the infantilising language too often directed at people with disabilities.
From “sweetie” and “darling” to “champ” and “buddy”, the campaign shines a spotlight on terms that are often dismissed as harmless or well-intentioned, but can reinforce disrespect, inequality and harmful power dynamics, and unequal power dynamics breed the conditions where abuse and neglect thrive.
Tenant Voice says these words are not a sign of warmth. They are often a sign that people with disabilities are not being treated as equal adults.
“Too many people with disability are still spoken to as if they are children, pets or people without agency,” said Lee Archer, Manager of Tenant Voice
“Words like ‘sweetie’, ‘darling’ and ‘buddy’ might sound small, but they carry a message. They can diminish, patronise and create a power imbalance, especially when they come from workers, providers or people in positions of authority.”
“The No Sweetie campaign is about drawing a line. Respect starts with language, and people with disabilities should be addressed with the same dignity as anyone else.”
The campaign invites people with disabilities, supporters, allies and providers to join the movement and help make the disability sector a Sweetie Free Zone.
Supporters can get involved by:
- buying and wearing No Sweetie merchandise, including t-shirts and caps
- taking part in Sweetie Bingo
- displaying a Sweetie Free Zone sign at home
- sharing their own experiences on social media
- helping spread the message that infantilising language is not respectful Tenant Voice says the campaign is not about policing every interaction for the sake of it. It is about naming a behaviour that has been normalised for too long.
“This is everyday ableism hiding in plain sight,” said Ms Archer.
“If a provider, worker or professional would not call their boss, doctor or CEO ‘sweetie’, they need to stop calling people with disabilities that too. This is not about intention. It is about impact.”
The No Sweetie campaign is now live at nosweetie.org.
ENDS
Media enquiries:
Lee Archer
Project Manager, Tenant Voice
Young People in Nursing Homes Alliance
0432 469 959
leea@ypinh.org.au
