The right to participation in public, political and cultural life
8 November 2019
The right to participation in public, political and cultural life
UNESCO estimates that 98% of children with disabilities in developing countries do not attend school and 99% of girls with disabilities are illiterate.
Participation in society tends to be seen by disabled youth as key to their overall objective, which is to achieve full inclusion, with recognition of their particular needs and rights. Many young people with disabilities would like to be involved in mainstream organisations if this was possible. In mainstream organisations young people are able to meet each other because of a common interest. Young people with disabilities do not always have that option, because of both physical and psychological barriers23.
Barriers to greater participation include the absence of structures either at local or national levels for representation of disabled people and their concerns. Lack of information is another barrier. Information about whether buildings are physically accessible or whether there are facilities for the hard of hearing or the blind is often unavailable or inaccessible. This lack of information about accessibility – or sometimes the fear of inaccessibility – often prevents people with disabilities from participating in events.
One persisting obstacle to participation is self-identification: whether people perceive themselves as being “disabled” or as members of a “minority”. Some disabled people do not want to see themselves as a minority, since this has negative connotations for them; others do not consider themselves to be disabled but as members of particular linguistic and cultural minorities. In terms of political participation, the right to vote is denied to many people with disabilities deprived of legal capacity, or when voting procedures are inaccessible.
It was ability that mattered, not disability, which is a word I’m not crazy about using.
Marlee Matlin, deaf actress and Oscar winner
When it comes to the participation and inclusion of people with disabilities, the media’s role in raising awareness about disability rights and changing attitudes is crucial. The mass media often depicts disabled people as lying at one or other extreme: either being poor and to be pitied, or celebrated as heroes who dare to live. Such portrayal only contributes to stereotyping disabled people and not to understanding that they form a group as interesting and diverse as any other group in society.
No Barriers, No Borders
The SALTO booklet “No Barriers, No Borders”24 is about how to run international mixed-ability projects for young people with and without a disability. It provides specific tips and guidelines to youth workers and project organisers concerning, for instance, how to interact with people with different disabilities, how to fund youth projects or how to organise training courses for them.
www.salto-youth.net/rc/inclusion