So why is there a special day for disabled people, and when did it start?
The short answer to that question is that we want to acknowledge and celebrate disabled people as well as our disabilities, our history and our achievements.
In my opinion, it is appropriate that we celebrate the International Day for Persons with Disabilities during Disability History Month, which this year runs from 14th November to 20th December. If you check out the list of blogs on the All4Inclusion website you will find two articles/blogs about Disability History Month.
In 1976, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 1981 as the International Year of Disabled Persons (IYDP), which was the very first International Day for Persons with Disabilities. The first IYDP called for a plan of action at the national, regional and international levels, with an emphasis on equalization of opportunities, rehabilitation and prevention of disabilities.
We had to wait until 1992 for the next International Day for Persons with Disabilities but this is when it became an annual event on 3rd December every year to raise awareness of people with disabilities, as well as advocating for their dignity and rights while increasing understanding of disability issues.
You can see that the narrative around the International Year of Disabled Persons was actually quite ableist.
We should remember that
Out of an estimated world population of 8 billion people, 1.3 billion people experience significant disability. This represents 16% of the world’s population, or 1 in 6 of us.
Some persons with disabilities die up to 20 years earlier than those without disabilities.
Persons with disabilities have twice the risk of developing conditions such as depression, asthma, diabetes, stroke, obesity or poor oral health.
Health inequities arise from unfair conditions faced by persons with disabilities, including stigma, discrimination, poverty, exclusion from education and employment, and barriers faced in the health system itself.
More than 100 million disabled persons are children
50% of disabled persons cannot afford health care
Persons with disabilities, “the world’s largest minority”, have generally poorer health, lower education achievements, fewer economic opportunities and higher rates of poverty than people without disabilities. This is largely due to the lack of services available to them (like information and communications technology (ICT), justice or transportation) and the many obstacles they face in their everyday lives. These obstacles can take a variety of forms, including those relating to the physical environment, or those resulting from legislation or policy, or from societal attitudes or discrimination.
Did you know that people with disabilities are at much higher risk of violence?
Children with disabilities are almost four times more likely to experience violence than non-disabled children.
Adults with some form or disability are 1.5 times more likely to be a victim of violence than those without a disability.
Adults with mental health conditions are at nearly four times the risk of experiencing violence.
Factors which place people with disabilities at higher risk of violence include stigma, discrimination, and ignorance about disability, as well as a lack of social support for those who care for them.
Accessibility and Inclusion
Evidence and experience shows that when barriers to the inclusion of disabled people are removed and persons with disabilities are empowered to participate fully in societal life, their entire community benefits. Barriers faced by persons with disabilities are, therefore, harm society as a whole, and accessibility is necessary to achieve progress and development for all.
In 2006 the UN’s work in the field of disability was progressed through the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which has advanced the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities. The CRPD is an international human rights treaty of the United Nations intended to protect the rights and dignity of people with disabilities
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) recognizes that the existence of barriers constitutes a central component of disability. Under the Convention, disability is an evolving concept that “results from the interaction between persons with impairments and attitudinal and environmental barriers that hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.”
The CRPD incorporates the social model of disability which shows that the most disabling factor is not the person’s impairment, but the barriers they face in the environment in which we all live. The model says that people are disabled by barriers in society, not by their impairment or difference. Barriers can be physical, like buildings not having accessible toilets. Or they can be caused by people's attitudes to difference, like assuming disabled people can't do certain things.
The social model helps us recognise barriers that make life harder for disabled people. Removing these barriers creates equality and offers disabled people more independence, choice and control.
The UK signed the CRPD in 2009 but successive Governments have failed to incorporate the CRPD into UK law. The Disability Movement had hoped that the election of the new Labour Government in July would lead to the incorporation of the CRPD into UK law but, unfortunately, they have back tracked on the commitment they made whilst in opposition, to do this.
Accessibility and inclusion of persons with disabilities are fundamental rights recognized by the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and are not only objectives, but also pre-requisites for the enjoyment of other rights. The Convention (Article 9, accessibility) seeks to enable persons with disabilities to live independently and participate fully in all aspects of life and development. It calls upon Governments to take action to ensure that persons with disabilities have access to all aspects of society, on an equal basis with others, as well as to identify and eliminate obstacles and barriers to accessibility.
TODAY let us celebrate disabled people as well as our disabilities, our history and our achievements. Call on your employer to make you workplace more accessible and inclusive. If you are a member of a trade union get your colleagues to support you in making your workplace more accessible and inclusive.
Today, and over the next few days, there will be many events and webinars Celebrating the International Day for Persons with Disabilities – if you search on the internet then I’m sure that you will find something of interest to you. Trade unions, such as, Unite the Union are holding events TODAY that their members can attend – if you are a member of Unite and you put your e-mail address in the comments box below I can send you details of a Unite the Union event today.
コメント