Disability in Hungary

“What happened to us?” A history of disability policies in Hungary since 1998, from a disability movement perspective:

“Since the 2010s, the disability movement has avoided open criticism of the government, though more confrontational movement actions have sometimes been able to achieve results. By the end of the 2010s, progressive disability policy-making essentially stopped.” (2024, Socio.hu)

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Six-Fingered Queen Elizabeth of Poland, Queen of Hungary, Through the Lens of Disability:

“Ultimately, sculpture depicting the [fourteenth century] Queen shows that rather than emphasizing her wounded right hand, her advanced age seems to be more of a defining and unique feature.” (2024, Including Disability)

Marking the legacy of Gábor Gombos “To mark the second anniversary of Gábor’s passing, we are pleased to present a previously unseen interview with him about the right to legal capacity.” (2024, Validity)

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Overview

We need good support to live independently - Report about a self-advocacy conference in Hungary. (2023, Inclusion Europe)

I am the director of my own 'institution': the seasonal appeal by Validity shows their own work and “depicts István’s transition to living independently with the support of people he trusts” (2022, Validity)

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Conditions in Institutions

Judgement from the European Court of Human Rights:

“In a ground-breaking judgment today, the European Court of Human Rights (“the Court”) condemned Hungary for failing to protect the lives of institutionalised persons with disabilities. States must effectively investigate the context and conditions in which people in institutions die, the Court also said. The judgment sends a strong message against institutionalisation and guardianship regimes that continue to affect tens of thousands of people with disabilities in Hungary and beyond.” (2024, Validity)

Court rules Hungarian state authorities responsible “for multiple, grave violations of the rights of 220 adults and children with disabilities detained in the notorious Topház Social Care Home.” (2024, Validity Foundation)

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Landmark Victory Before the European Court of Human Rights for Hungarian Woman Detained in Psychiatric Hospital:

“The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has found that Hungary violated the rights of Ms Benitóné Martinez Fernandez, an 83-year-old woman with dementia who was involuntarily detained and treated in a psychiatric hospital for six days in 2020. The judgment is a significant confirmation of procedural safeguards for people with psychosocial disabilities.” (Jun, University of Galway)

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Effective Participation in the International Monitoring of the UNCRPD? The Experience of the Disability Movement in Denmark, Hungary and France. Showing how Organisations of Persons with Disabilities “significantly influenced each country’s reporting process at the UN level”. (Jan, Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research)

Can Disability Rights Flourish in Backsliding Democracies? The Case of Hungary:

“Results show that the space for disability rights advocacy has been shrinking for the Hungarian disability movement. Opportunities to influence and monitor public policy-making have been diminishing. Disability advocacy organisations have been less included in consultations and decisions about policies affecting disabled people. Due to fear of repercussions, disability movement actors often employ self-censorship when talking publicly. The meaning of human rights and civil society have changed in the public discourse. Legal obligations to consult with the disability movement, existing human rights laws, and statutory human rights bodies seem less and less effective amid eroding democratic structures. The disability movement has become fractured.” (2024, Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research)

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'Forced contraception is the rule': Hungary fails to end abuses against women with disabilities. (2023, Euronews)

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Meet Hungary's Paralympic champion Ekler, the university teacher boosting Para sports (2023, International Paralympic Committee)

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Ending violence, ensuring inclusion: strengthening protections against gender-and disability-based violence. Research in Bulgaria, Hungary, Lithuania, Portugal, and Slovakia:

“Violence is common in institutional settings, although they are often normalised, concealed and unreported, due to inadequate staff training, staff shortages, lack of appropriate complaint procedures and overcrowding.” (Feb, Validity Foundation )

Dis-connected: reported on disability-based connected facilities and programmes for prevention of violence against women and children in Hungary. (2024, Validity)

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Evacuating or Leaving Ukraine

Regional social protection overview For Ukrainian refugees who have temporary protection in six host countries: Czechia, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. (2023, Acaps)

Ukraine children with disabilities struggle for therapy abroad “More than a year after fleeing from Ukraine to Hungary with her autistic son Roman, Iryna Bryk has still not found suitable therapy for her nine-year-old.” (2023, France 24)

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