The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that between 10 to 15 percent of the world’s population, or approximately1 billion people, live with disabilities, making people with disabilities the world’s largest minority (WHO 2011, WRC 2008, UN 2012). Among the millions of refugees living in camps are a large number of people with disabilities. It is estimated that between 4.5 and 6.8 million of the world’s 45.2 million forcibly displaced persons also live with disabilities. Among displaced persons who have fled civil conflict, war or natural disasters, the number with disabilities may be even higher (WRC 2008, UN 2012). Yet persons with disabilities remain among the most hidden, neglected and socially excluded of all displaced people today. Displaced by conflict and seeking refuge, those living with disabilities experience a triple disadvantage; they are outside of their country of origin, divest of the protections of citizenship, living in fear of persecution and hampered by physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments that hinder their full and effective participation in society (Schulze, 2010 and Crook et al 2013). Emerging from a global disability rights movement, The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) was entered into force in 2008 and has lead to unparalleled support for the rights of individuals living with a disability around the world who have experienced neglect, abuse and discrimination in all forms (Crook et al 2013, Schulze, 2010). The formulation of the CRPD has been hailed as a landmark in the struggle to reframe the needs and concerns of persons with disability in terms of human rights (Kayess & French 2008). Yet it is not without criticism. Debate and conjecture ...
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...Mirza, Mansha. (2011). Disability and Humanitarianism in Refugee Camps: the case for a travelling supranational disability praxis, Third World Quarterly, Vol. 32, No. 8, 2011, pp 1527–1536.
Schulze, Marianne. (2010). Understanding the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: A Handbook on the Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Handicap International 2010, 3rd edn);
UNHCR 2012 Global Trends: Refugees, Asylum-Seekers, Returnees, Internally Displaced and Stateless Persons. Geneva, UNHCR
UNHCR Mid-Year Trends 2013. Geneva, UNHCR
United Nations Enable- Facsheet on Persons with Disabilities. 2012. Retrieved online from www.un.org/disabilities
World Health Organization (WHO) and World Bank, World Report on Disability. 2011 WHO Press
Women’s Refugee Commission. 2008. Disabilities Among Refugees and Conflict Affected Populations. Geneva, UNHCR
...discussion and as Baynton argues, the concept of disability plays a key role in justifying inequality in treatment. This has been shown throughout American history as reflected in the discriminatory practices that has denied women of suffrage, deprived African Americans of freedom and civil rights and prohibited immigrants from entry to the Land of Milk and Honey. Disabilities emanating from race and gender that had since been proven to be untrue or socially construed constitute a case of discrimination. Meanwhile, disabilities in lieu of diversity justify issues of exclusion or differences in treatment in order to accommodate the specific special needs of people with true disabilities.
High quality health care is a basic human right, yet it was found that one third of individuals with a disability assessed their health status as fair to poor, compared to the three-fourths of individuals without disabilities assessing their health as excellent or very good (Berslin et al., 2009). Adding to the already tremendous obstacles to health care services, it was found that most health care providers did not have appropriate training and awareness, causing incorrect assumptions and stereotypes about people with disabilities, which can affect the quality of care resulting in inadequate and inappropriate care (Berslin et al., 2009). Examples of this could be as simple as the health care provider not providing reproductive care and counselling because they see individuals with disabilities as sexually inactive, to something as serious as not providing anesthesia due to assuming people with developmental disabilities do not feel pain (Berslin et al., 2009). This can cause extreme awkwardness, frustration and discomfort for individuals who experience this, damaging trust and making them less likely to seek out appropriate health care next time (Berslin et al., 2009). Limited transportation and accessibility can also prove to be a barrier to health care services. With facilities and a world in general not built for those with disabilities, it can be
Shakespeare, T. (1993) Disabled people's self-organisation: a new social movement?, Disability, Handicap & Society, 8, pp. 249-264 .
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_270487.pdf [Accessed 28/01/14]. Scotch, R (1989) From Good Will to Civil Rights: Transforming federal disability policy. Temple University Press: Philadelphia, PA. Shakespeare, T (2006) Disability: Rights and Wrongs.
Many countries across the world, consider Canada as one of the best in terms of the policies and programs it provides for its citizens. Over the past thirty years, Canada’s federal government has made a significant movement forward by recognizing disability issues as a priority. Yet despite all these efforts, disability policy scholars argue that there is still a lot of work to be done to ensure full inclusion of people with disabilities in Canada (McColl et al. 2010). There are many challenges that they face on a daily basis that often go unnoticed. In this piece of writing, I will discuss why I agree with Prince’s assertion that the Canadian disability policy is still a hit and miss affair and how government, activists, and disabled people
The contradiction in cultural mindsets of persons with disabilities challenges us to introspectively examine our personal response to divergence. In the emerging paradigm of an inclusive society, we are confronted with 'ugliness' that pierces our own perfection bubbles created by the media. We are threatened to engage our own sense of imperfection, shattering our protective shield. We become aware that we are all an accident or illness away from a restricted dance through life. We are blinded by the norms that restrict us. What would it take to see?
There is a lot of disabled people in America. The way people treat disabled people has also changed. Did you know 74 million people in America are disabled? Helen is one of those 74 million people.
Learning from people with disabilities through Kiwanis camp gave me an extensive knowledge of various disabilities and a growth of my understanding. During the two weeks of camp I learned to be open and be able to express my own feelings regarding disability. I am very surprised and happy how there is a small portion of the population who recognize disability and do not have a stigma. I believe that people’s opinion does matter and have an impact on health of people with disabilities. For example, I had depression and seeked counselling in the United States, which is so normal here. But, in India if you were to tell someone that you are depressed than they would use the ‘r’ word and would still continue to consider you not normal even if you recover from depression. One reason that I was able to recover from depression within a short span of time was because of the ample support and resources that this country provides.
After a couple of hours investigating issues that affect individuals with disabilities, I learned some very interesting and saddening things. One of the most concerning things is that anyone can acquire a disability, and yet, the media and general public does not seem to respond the same way it does to similar issues.
The Medical Model is one of the approaches used to understand people with disabilities, and is ‘concerned with the origin, degree, type of loss and the onset’ of a certain disability (Munoz-Baell &Ruiz, 2000; 54:40-44). This approach views a disability as something no human being wants and should be avoided at all costs if possible (Models-Deafness, 2005). The Medical Model aims to treat people with disabilities, but before treatment can take place they need to study the disabilities and conduct experiments. In some cases the tests and investigations conducted violate the subject’s (disabled person/people being studied) fundamental human rights (Chenoweth, 1995; 36). As stated in the Integrated National Disability Strategy (INDS) : Models of Disability (1997) the Medical Model is made up of establishments that cater to people with disabilities in terms of ‘providing treatment or alternatives’ to their impairment. Although they have good intentions (to assist the disabled) this models interventions result in disabled people being dependent on these institutions and the government.
In the essay “Disability,” Nancy Mairs discusses the lack of media attention for the disabled, writing: “To depict disabled people in the ordinary activities of life is to admit that there is something ordinary about disability itself, that it may enter anyone’s life.” An ordinary person has very little exposure to the disabled, and therefore can only draw conclusions from what is seen in the media. As soon as people can picture the disabled as regular people with a debilitating condition, they can begin to respect them and see to their needs without it seeming like an afterthought or a burden. As Mairs wrote: “The fact is that ours is the only minority you can join involuntarily, without warning, at any time.” Looking at the issue from this angle, it is easy to see that many disabled people were ordinary people prior to some sort of accident. Mairs develops this po...
It is not uncommon to spot disabled citizens struggling to get in a doorway, or struggling to get around a building. There needs to be a greater amount of accommodations made for the disabled, as this will help them get around easier. This lack of accommodations is a problem faced everyday in multiple towns and cities around the world, but there are multiple solutions to this issue. There can be an increased amount of automatic doors into buildings so people with wheelchairs can access them, new sidewalks can be added so disabled people can get to buildings easier, and there can be improvements in buildings to accommodate blind people.
People with intellectual disabilities have faced discrimination, alienation and stigma for a very long time. History around the world is full of horrid episodes where the intellectual disabled have faced the worst treatments. Though some positive strides have been made in respect to their the rights, even today they face a myriad of challenges and are yet to fully access and exploit opportunities in the society. It is important to note that people with intellectual disability are also human, thus they are entitled to all human rights without any discrimination. They are the most marginalized people in the society and are excluded from social, cultural, educational and economic opportunities. (Nora, E., 2004). This paper looks into the issues of human rights for the intellectually disabled persons, the challenges that they face and how their human rights can be enhanced.
People with disabilities often face societal barriers and disability evokes negative perceptions and discrimination in society. As a result of the stigma associated with disability, persons with disabilities are generally excluded from education, employment, and community life, which deprives them of opportunities essential to their social development, health and well-being (Stefan). It is such barriers and discrimination that actually set people apart from society, in many cases making them a burden to the community. The ideas and concepts of equality and full participation for persons with disabilities have been developed very far on paper, but not in reality (Wallace). The government can make numerous laws against discrimination, but this does not change the way that people with disabilities are judged in society.
In early times, mankind was divided by races but as the Nations drew their boundaries, formal societies emerged comprising either of a common culture or cosmopolitan in nature. It is at this stage that differences amongst sections of the society emerged and came to be discussed about. As early as on 10 December 1948, the UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights declaring “All human beings are borne free and equal in dignity and rights.” This document was a key in cementing the position of human rights in international law in the aftermath of World War II. It claimed that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedom set forth in this declaration without distinction of any kind. Everyone is struggling for better quality of life yet the huge numbers of people across the majority...