Disability & Social Justice

Collective Action

Fair-Sharing of Burdens

+ All human beings are equal

+ However, a lot of people with disabilities

cannot for physical or mental reasons carry

the burden of providing better health care.

+ Social justice cannot be achieved unless people with disabilities are fully

included in all aspects of life.

+ Society should make jobs and educations more available for the people

with disabilities

+ For those who cannot bear the burden themselves, society should bear

the burden as a community and spread it among all who are able to bear

the burden

• Collective action are currently being taken at the global level

• United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)

- Affirms that all existing human rights guaranteed to those with disabilities

- Introduces mechanisms to monitor and evaluate progress

- As of October 2016, the Convention had been ratified by 160 countries

• UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA)

- Reviews integration of disability issues into

the Millennium Development Goals

• UNICEF

- Focused on children with disabilities

• United Nations and the World Bank

- Published studies on disabilities around

the world, bringing attention to the issue

Overview

• The dimensions we will address will focus on a global view of disability and what can be done to resolve the injustice
• Emily: The social justice issue & Data
• Heather: Hazards to health & Barriers
• Cera: Collective action & Fair-sharing of burdens

Barriers to Controlling Hazards & Strategies

Health Hazards & Adverse Outcomes

(Long-Term)

• Discrimination and stigma related to negative cultural beliefs
• Strategy: education about disability in countries where these beliefs are common
• Access for disabled persons is not prioritized in many countries
• Strategy: education that some access aids can be inexpensive & not a burden on scarce resources
• Availability of assistive devices and rehabilitative care are a low priority for policy makers and health professionals
• Strategy: develop cheaper services and devices & make them more accessible to rural areas
• Lack of education for disabled persons
• Strategy: Make the information simple and available in multiple formats

• Many schools for special needs children are operated as boarding schools
• Lack of education leads to inability to support self and be a part of mainstream society
• Poverty is associated with inadequate nutrition and poor quality medical care
• Disabled females are less likely to receive education and have less marriage prospects
• Disabled females have less access to long term care that requires long travel or living away from home in societies where they have to be escorted by a male relative

Data

• More than 1 billion people (15% of the world population) live with a physical, sensory, intellectual, or mental health impairment
• 80% of these live in developing countries.
• 90% of children with disability not in school
• Only 17-39% of those who need assistive devices or rehabilitation services receive them.
• Men are more likely than women to receive them.
• Literacy rates for adults with disabilities may be less than 5% globally
• Unemployment rates are 80+%.
• Denied right to decide when, where, and with whom they will live or how to support themselves

The Social Justice Issue

• Defining disability
• People with disabilities often lack social support, access to better food, safe water, safe living environment and occupational environment, access to healthcare and access to education due to discrimination by the society
• The society's view that people with disabilities are "unfortunate"
• What we need is a right-based model
• People with disabilities should have same rights as everyone else

Health Hazards & Adverse Outcomes (Short-Term)

• Healthcare facilities or information may be inaccessible
• Physicians often deny disabled individuals basic care & information
• Disabled women may have medication delayed
• Often abandoned during natural disasters & are less able to access relief supplies
• Often abandoned if the family has to flee from war or famine
• In natural disasters, the deaf may not hear warning sirens and the mobility impaired may be unable to flee to safety
• Political or social unrest can lead to closure of facilities that provided care for the disabled

The Social Justice Issue (continued)

• Unfair distribution of advantages, burdens, access to resources, & rights for disabled persons
• Not given same job opprotunities
• Fewer education skills & excluded from education programs
• Percieved as inferior to rest of society
• Many people with disabilities often denied basic health services
• Not enough accomodations avaialable

Disability & Social Justice

By: Emily Green, Heather Mason, & Cera Oh