Disability news, July 2025, by subject
Library > July 2025
This page is organized by subject, you can also see links organized by country.
This update has 130 curated links from 37 countries and regions, organized across 42 subjects.
For discussion and reaction, see They burned my heart.
Contents
- Accessibility and Design
- Assistive Technology
- Black Lives Matter and Racial justice
- COVID-19
- Civil Society and Community
- Climate Crisis and Environment
- Conflict and Peace
- Culture, Entertainment and Media
- Data and Research
- Digital Accessibility and Technology
- Disaster Risk Reduction and Crisis Response
- Economics and Social Protection
- Education and Childhood
- Employment, Business and Work
- Gender Equality and Women with Disabilities
- Health
- History and Memorial
- Humanitarian, Migrants and Refugees
- Independent Living and Deinstitutionalization
- International Cooperation
- Justice Systems and Legal Capacity
- Lived Experience and Opinion
- Mental Health
- Mobility, Travel, Transport and Tourism
- Policy and Rights
- Politics and Elections
- Relationships, Sex and Reproductive Rights
- Sport and Paralympics
- War in Ukraine
Accessibility and Design
Belgium
Accessibility issues in Brussels. (Jul, Politico)
Indonesia
Inclusive by Design: Accessible Infrastructure through Empowered Participation of People with Disabilities in Indonesia. (Jun, ADB)
United Kingdom
Introducing Sunflower Extra “Sunflower Extra is a new discreet, personalised way to instantly communicate extra information about the support someone with a non-visible disability may need.” (Jul, Hidden Disabilities)
United States
On the Architectural Hostility of Doorknobs:
“For me, a doorknob is never just a doorknob. It’s the first handshake with a room. It’s the opening sentence of a building’s story. It is a dense, information-rich object, a metal or porcelain palm that tells me everything I need to know about the space I am about to enter and the people who inhabit it. It’s a tactile bellwether for empathy, consideration, and sometimes, for danger. It is the gatekeeper, the greeter, and the warning sign, all in one.” (Jun, Sightless Scribbles)
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Assistive Technology
International News
Assistive Products Market Report 2025:
“It details the significant market gaps, particularly in LMICs, where 65% to 95% of those needing products, such as wheelchairs, spectacles, hearing aids and prostheses, remain without access.” (Jun, ATscale)
Building blocks to scale: the journey of foundational support for AT access. (Apr, ATscale)
Africa
Guidance for Market Entry in the AT Sector. Focus on select African Countries: Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa. (2024, ATscale)
New Zealand
Review: Hearview’s subtitle glasses means less confusion at the hairdresser:
“It felt so unusual for me to be able to have a one-on-one, not needing an extra person or device to just have a chat was pretty emotional for me.” (Jun, The D*List)
Russia
Wartime amputations rising fast in Russia according to UK intelligence: “a 53% increase in artificial limbs issued in Russia in 2024 compared to the previous year”. (Jun, Euromaidan Press)
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Black Lives Matter and Racial justice
Brazil
“Without us, you won't move forward” Luciana Viegas on opening the disability movement to black people with disabilities and other marginalized communities. (Jul, Disability Debrief)
United States
Review of Black Disability Politics by Sami Schalk. (Canadian Journal of Disability Studies)
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COVID-19
Response
New Zealand
'Issues were amplified': What we learnt from the Covid-19 public inquiry. (Jul, The D*List)
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Civil Society and Community
Honduras
At least fifty centres crying out for funding to serve people with disabilities. (In Spanish, Jun, El Heraldo)
Indonesia
Greater accessibility targeted through 1,000 Inclusive Mosques program. (Jun, Antara News)
Israel
From ramps to good lighting, the need for accessible synagogues is clear. (Jul, The Times of Israel)
United States
Unmasking Mask Hate: The Racial-Criminal Pathologization of Dissent. (Jul, Disability Visibility Project)
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Climate Crisis and Environment
Ghana
Alliance calls for disability-inclusive climate action. (Jun, GNA)
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Conflict and Peace
Israel-Palestine Conflict
Israel
The Silent Toll Why Wartime Mental Health for People with Disabilities Must Be a National Priority (Jul, Times of Israel)
Palestine
Disabilities under siege: “Palestinians with disabilities face a double crisis in Gaza as Israel's genocide and displacement push their limits of survival”. (Jul, The New Arab)
Situation of Persons with Disabilities in Gaza and the West Bank a submission to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities:
“Human Rights Watch’s research has documented that people with disabilities in Gaza face heightened risks of death and injury resulting from Israeli government’s military attacks and unlawful blockade since October 7, 2023. Both children and adults with disabilities face compounded barriers to accessing safety, medical care, assistive devices, food, water, and other essentials. They are also at increased risk of death or injury during attacks due to the additional difficulties they face in evacuating and fleeing to safety.” (Jul, Human Rights Watch)
1,200 new cases of total or partial blindness recorded in Al-Nasr neighbourhood and Gaza City, in the past two weeks alone. (in Arabic, Jul, PNN)
Protection Analysis Update, July 2025. Risks and barriers faced by persons with disabilities and older persons in Gaza:
“There is no safe space in Gaza. 20 months of intense hostilities have destroyed the protection environment for persons with disabilities and older persons. 134,105 people including over 40,500 children have new war-related injuries. 25 per cent are estimated to have new disabilities requiring acute and ongoing rehabilitation. Over 35,000 people are believed to have significant hearing damage due to explosions. Ten children per day lose one or both of their legs.” (Jul, Global Protection Cluster)
Israeli demolition threat looms over vital Jenin disability rehab centre in the West Bank. (Jul, Aljazeera)
“The letters on my screen blur. Words I once wielded with ease now evade me, slipping out of reach as if they, too, are trying to escape this place. I rise to pray, but the moment I stand, dizziness seizes me, sharp and sudden, wrapping its fingers around my throat. My legs tremble beneath me, and I wonder if I have become too hollow to stand before God.” (Jul, Arablit)
Persons with Disabilities in the Gaza Strip Between Systematic Starvation, Lack of Assistive Devices, and Absence of Healthcare. (Jul, PNGO)
“They burned my heart.” Palestinian father Magdy Jadallah, who lives with a disability, shares how he lost his wife and three sons in an Israeli air strike in Khan Younis, Gaza, on July 10. (Instagram Video, Jan, TRT World)
United States
Empathy to fight colonial abhorrence and amnesia: global solidarity with and disability justice in Palestine, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo as moral imperative. (Jul, Disability Visibility Project)
Disability Divest Calls Tell Disability:IN: No Partnerships with War Profiteers! (Jul, Disability Divest)
Disability Divest Calls for AAPD to End Relationships with War Profiteers. (2024, Disability Divest)
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Culture, Entertainment and Media
Overview
Spain
Lamine Yamal criticised, facing investigation for presence of dwarves at 18th birthday party. (Jul, NYT)
Spanish government official calls for investigation into Barça star’s birthday party ‘objectifying’ people with dwarfism. (Jul, CNN)
United Kingdom
Painter Lucy Jones puts her life with cerebral palsy on canvas. (Jul, CNN)
United States
Access is an Art Form in Rob Macaisa Colgate's "Hardly Creatures". (May, Chicago Review of Books)
TV and Film
Ukraine
How 'The Bachelor' Ukraine Changed TV, Attitudes Towards War Veterans. “The war has reshaped not just the media landscape — it has changed people.” (Jun, The Hollywood Reporter)
United States
Star Trek has my perfect disability story “How Anson Mount's portrayal of Star Trek Captain Pike and grappling with PTSD and mental illness helped me.” (Jun, Popverse)
Media
International News
How Disabled Journalists Can Resist being Pigeonholed. “I will exploit myself if I need to pay the rent a little,” says Sarah Kurchak. (Jun, Disabled Journalists Association)
New Zealand
Two years of replenishment - and joyful rage - at The D*List: “Good relationships are the most important thing in authentic storytelling”. (Jun, The D*List)
Nigeria
As a blind journalist, tech needs to be more accessible. John Adoyi shares his journey through multiple generations of technology. (May, TechCabal)
Switzerland
Why talking about disability is dangerous. On the need to use anonymous sources in reporting. (In French, Jul, Couper l'Herbe Sous Les Roues)
United Kingdom
“I wish in most cases that they wouldn't be an afterthought”: Disabled people on media, mindsets, and the weight of being seen. (May, Euan's Guide)
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Data and Research
Overview
Bangladesh
Socioeconomic inequalities in disability prevalence and health service use in Bangladesh. (Jul, Scientific Reports)
United States
In Measuring Disability, Do Not Abandon Established US Standards. A further update in the debate over methodology. (Jun, HealthAffairs)
Research
Uganda
Claiming ‘disability’ and being ‘a weak person’: legal and relational approaches to bodilymental difference in western Uganda:
“Obulema/disability-related arguments are largely out of reach of people living with certain types of impairment, particularly those considered to affect the mind or cognition, because the concentration of disability-related resources in entrepreneurship-based programmes meant that such people were liable to be ‘dropped’ from OPDs through progressive exclusion from the organizations’ activities. This meant both that they were less likely to have the kind of practical links to councillors that Dorcas mobilized in her land case, and also that the gradual identification that has emerged in Ugandan society since the 1990s between people living with physical or sensory impairments and the state and development infrastructure did not include them. The omuceke/weak person discourse is often more accessible for this group and can bring benefits for them. However, it does not offer connections to state and NGO resources and is particularly limited in relation to financialized and bureaucratic processes, as its power is rooted in specific relationships, not in the abstract rights and identities that govern the bureaucratic realm of law. While citizenship-based and relational discourses can be used at different times by the same person, doing so requires difficult creative relational work, and the resources for creating this articulation are not equally available to all people living with marked forms of bodilymental difference.” (May, Africa)
Zambia
Community inclusion, participation and support for people with disabilities in Zambia: a qualitative study. (May, Disability and Health Journal)
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Digital Accessibility and Technology
Overview
United Kingdom
Disability technology. “How data and digital assistive technologies can support independent, fulfilled lives.” (Jun, Royal Society)
United States
The Blind Leading the Gamers “Ross Minor lost his eyesight at 8 years old. Today, he’s a hardcore gamer who runs YouTube and Twitch channels and consults for big studios.” (Jun, Wired)
View of Accessing Community: Speaking With and Through Mobile Technology. (Canadian Journal of Disability Studies)
Artificial Intelligence
United Kingdom
“Too Much Technology, Not Enough Empathy” Government’s unchecked use of tech and AI systems leading to exclusion of people with disabilities and other marginalized groups. (Jul, Amnesty)
United States
Students with disabilities see AI as a game-changing tool but schools are slow learning how to harness it. (May, Milwaukee Independent)
Online Accessibility
International News
Selfish reasons for building accessible UIs. “No finger-wagging here: just good old hardheaded self-interest!” (Jun, Read the Tea Leaves)
What I Wish Someone Told Me When I Was Getting Into ARIA:
“ARIA is what you turn to if there is not a native HTML element or attribute that is better suited for the job of communicating interactivity, purpose, and state.” (Jun, Smashing Magazine)
Technology
International News
Do Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses work as an accessibility device? “Unfortunately, while it is a novel device, relying on the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses to help you navigate the world would be foolhardy at best.” (Jun, Mashable)
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Disaster Risk Reduction and Crisis Response
Brazil
We’re the ones that save ourselves Solidarity after the floods in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil:
‘Looking back, Marina reflects on what her campaign showed about solidarity. “Everybody has something to give. I gave my time and ideas about strategy”. She sees her most important contribution not in fundraising but in bringing people together: “bridges against ableism are more important than donations”.’ (Jul, Disability Debrief)
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Economics and Social Protection
Overview
International News
Financing acceleration of disability inclusion in low- and middle-income countries:
“This paper highlights a central challenge: despite important policy reforms in many LMICs, disability inclusion remains significantly underfunded, fragmented, and concentrated in just a few sectors. Most LMICs invest less than 0.1% of GDP, with only a few reaching 0.4–0.5%, compared to OECD countries, which spend an average of 1.5% of GDP on disability-related social protection alone.” (Mar, Global Disability Summit)
Switzerland
Money has no pain. Interview exploring personal feelings on receiving compensation after an accident-induced disability. (Jun, Couper L'herbe sous les roues)
Social Protection
Australia
The impact of NDIS eligibility reassessments:
“Right now, families across Australia are being left in the dark by NDIS eligibility reassessments. Children with permanent disability, especially those who are Autistic, aged under 9, or from diverse backgrounds, are being cut from the Scheme without clear explanation or alternative supports.” (Jul, CYDA)
Canada
‘They don’t make it easy’: Canada Disability Benefit poses many barriers. (Jul, CTV News)
Canada Disability Benefit news, updates and how to apply. A benefit of a maximum of $200/month. (Jun, MoneySense)
Malawi
Securing Disability Rights through Inclusive Social Protection in Malawi:
“Key findings highlight the [Social Cash Transfer Program's] critical role in reducing poverty and improving access to basic needs for marginalized groups, including persons with disabilities. However, the program is heavily donor-dependent, with the government contributing only 5% of its budget. This dependency creates risks of funding instability, reduced government ownership and control, and limited inclusivity for persons with disabilities.” (May, Center for Inclusive Policy)
United Kingdom
UN panel raises concerns with UK government over welfare bill. (Jul, the Guardian)
Government's Universal Credit Bill Passes:
“The passing of this bill is of deep concern to Disability Rights UK, as it will further push Disabled people on the health-element of Universal Credit into poverty, removing £3,000 a year from their pockets.” (Jul, Disability Rights UK)
“Too Much Technology, Not Enough Empathy” Government’s unchecked use of tech and AI systems leading to exclusion of people with disabilities and other marginalized groups. (Jul, Amnesty)
What has been driving the rise in disability benefit claims?
“69% of new 25-year-old claimants were primarily living with mental and behavioural disorders, while this was the case for only 22% of new 55-year-old claimants.” (Jun, BBC)
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Education and Childhood
Overview
International News
Access to education for children with intellectual disabilities: Voices from Inclusion International Network:
“In pre-primary education, access is limited by inadequate infrastructure and a lack of support services. In secondary education, rigid academic systems and formal exclusion policies further marginalize students with intellectual disabilities.” (May, Inclusion International)
Finding and enrolling children with disabilities in schools. Lessons in identification and outreach from Inclusive Futures’ education projects. (Mar, Inclusive Futures)
Djibouti
The World Bank has approved a $2.97 million grant “to help Djibouti improve care and educational opportunities for children with disabilities.” (Jul, Disability Insider)
Uganda
The woman raising 98 children with disabilities “At her 'Home of Hope', Edith Lukabwe cares for children abandoned by their families.” (Jun, Aljazeera)
United States
Students with disabilities see AI as a game-changing tool but schools are slow learning how to harness it. (May, Milwaukee Independent)
Higher Education
Africa
Taking the Colonial Bull by the Horns: The Everyday Aspirations and Resistance of Disabled and Black Students in Nigerian and South African Universities:
“Student leaders of these associations were confronted with how to change the university for people coming behind them and create more enabling spaces to participate. Students not only ‘aspire’ but also get to do what we describe as ‘fixing’ work, which involves students textually and viscerally negotiating with the “powers that be” in the university.” (May, Global Policy Journal)
United Kingdom
Class-based Disablism in the Academy:
“Normative assumptions of the ideal ‘unencumbered academic’ are woven throughout university practice, and are inextricably bound to cultural capital, serving to exclude disabled people from all sides.” (Jul, Dr Alison Wilde & Dr Rebecca Fish)
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Employment, Business and Work
Europe
Job First Examples and ideas for employment and inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities. (Jun, Inclusion Europe)
Japan
Japan’s labour shortage creates jobs but not fair workplaces for disabled workers:
“While legal reforms and public support services have improved access to jobs, many disabled workers remain in precarious roles with poor conditions and limited support. Sheltered workshops offer stability but low pay. Without stronger enforcement of anti-discrimination laws and efforts to ensure job retention, the rise in employment risks being a short-term fix rather than a path to genuine workplace inclusion.” (Jun, East Asia Forum)
New Zealand
Pay equity and disabled people: “a disability rights lens on the persistent wage gap between disabled and non-disabled people.” (Jun, The D*List)
United States
Trump Just Made It OK to Continue Paying Disabled Workers Peanuts:
“The US Department of Labor formally withdrew its plan for a rule—introduced during the Biden administration—that would federally end the practice of subminimum wage for disabled people. Over the past decade, 16 states have ended subminimum wage for disabled people, with a few more phasing out this practice.” (Jul, Mother Jones)
Disabled Amazon workers in corporate jobs allege ‘systemic discrimination’. A group of disabled workers wrote a letter to top executives:
“The letter cited policies related to return-to-office mandates, which the letter said were being pushed on disabled workers who previously were allowed to work from home based on medical recommendations, accommodation procedures and accessibility. Among other issues, it raised concerns that employee decisions around accommodation were being driven by AI processes that – one source claimed – do not necessarily follow ADA rules.” (Jun, the Guardian)
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Gender Equality and Women with Disabilities
New Zealand
The Future Needs Us: Honouring the voices of trans and non-binary disabled people in Aotearoa. (Jun, The D*List)
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Health
Bangladesh
Socioeconomic inequalities in disability prevalence and health service use in Bangladesh. (Jul, Scientific Reports)
New Zealand
Navigating New Zealand's ableist health system with a disability. (Jun, RNZ News)
Nigeria
Imagining “Deviance” as Disability in a Precolonial Igbo Village in Southern Nigeria: The Mgbowo Example:
‘The Mgbowo imagined disability not through conceptualizations of physical prowess but through behaviors that were considered deviant and antithetical to social stability. This departure from the physical shows the complexity of defining “disability” across time and space.’ (Jul, All of Us)
United States
Medicaid Issue Brief. “Government estimates that the cuts would push at least 10 million people out of healthcare coverage.” (Jul, Unbreaking)
Disabled Americans Fear What Medicaid Cuts Could Do to Them. (Jul, New York Times)
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History and Memorial
Germany
Review of 'Disability, Nazi Euthanasia, and the Legacy of the Nuremberg Medical Trial'. “How, in particular, have scholars, media, and activists referred to the approximately 215,000 people with disabilities killed by doctors and nurses during the Third Reich?” (Jun, H-Net)
United Kingdom
Pride and prejudice: how Nottingham's disabled community got their voices heard. History of protests in 1996. (Jul, Left Lion)
Again and again, we are shocked by the treatment of learning-disabled people. Yet we never learn from the past. (Jul, the Guardian)
Jonathan Bryan obituary. “Jonathan Bryan, who has died aged 19, following a short illness, was a poet, author and campaigner for the education of profoundly disabled children.” (Jun, the Guardian)
United States
The First Disability Pride Parade: As the nation's first disability pride event turns 35, a founder, attendee, and speaker look back. In the words of Charlie Carr:
“And I think there was this moment, and it’s tough to say when, but we felt like it was okay to have a disability. In fact, that was really cool to have a disability. And we wanted to be identified as people with disabilities. And we wanted to feel good about it. In fact, we were prideful and we didn’t feel like we were these stigmatized group of people that should be shut away out of sight and out of mind. In fact we felt like we had power. We had dignity. We had value. We had words. And we were charged with that feeling.” (Jul, (Un)Hidden)
John Cunningham and the Struggle Against ‘Separate-But-Equal’ Colored-Blindness in Depression-Era New York City:
‘“It amounts to downright segregation,” Cunningham declaimed, “and we don’t intend to have racial discrimination added to our already miserable lot [of blindness]. We are going to fight it – and wipe it out. We won’t be Jim Crowed any longer!”’ (Jun, All of Us)
EveryBody. Online exhibition of an Artifact History of Disability in America. (Jan, National Museum of American History)
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Humanitarian, Migrants and Refugees
Overview
Nigeria
The Road to Inclusion: Advancing Disability-Inclusive Protection Programming and Coordination in North-East Nigeria:
“Persons with disabilities who are already confronted with attitudinal, environmental, and institutional barriers face heightened risks at home, in camps, and in host communities. Often, they are excluded from basic services due to poor physical access and a lack of specialized support.” (Jul, Relief Web)
Migration
United Kingdom
Iraqi Kurd asylum seeker can stay in UK. “An Iraqi asylum seeker who said he faced years of discrimination over his speech impediment has won the right to stay in the UK after successfully arguing that his political views would put him at risk if returned home.” (Jul, Express)
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Independent Living and Deinstitutionalization
Overview
Argentina
“Take me by the hand”: support as a fabric of life, autonomy and dignity. (In Spanish, Jul, Yo También)
Europe
Independent Living Survey 2024: Disabled People's Perceptions of Independent Living in Europe. (May, ENIL)
Spain
Personal Assistance in Spain: Inequality and Segregation. (Jul, ENIL)
Switzerland
Autonome sweet home reporting and personal experience of how disabled people administer their own care at home. (In French, May, Couper L'herbe sous les roues)
United States
‘I Was Attacked by a Cat’ and Other Caregiver Excuses. (Jun, New Mobility)
Conditions in Institutions
Ireland
Key findings from €13m Farrelly Commission report: “The €13 million investigation into the 'Grace' foster home abuse case has said it cannot establish that marks and bruises on her were the result of serious physical or sexual abuse.” (Apr, RTE)
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International Cooperation
Overview
International News
Disability Rights Moves Forward. The Ford Foundation announced a $15 million commitment to advance global disability rights. (Jul, Ford Foundation)
Advancing disability inclusion: How the ILO is promoting equal opportunities and participation for persons with disabilities through development cooperation projects (2019–2024):
“Critically, these stories show that when inclusion is planned, it happens.” (Jun, ILO)
Global Disability Fund Annual Report 2024. (Jun, Global Disability Fund)
Tackling disability stigma. Lessons and guidance on reducing stigma in international development projects. (Jun, Inclusive Futures)
Armenia
Armenia, Italy sign memorandum of cooperation in protection of people with disabilities. (Jan, Arm Info)
Australia
Disability Equity in Investment Design Good Practice Note. (Jul, DFAT)
Kenya
OPD Capacity Building for a Disability Inclusive Future, with a focus on assistive technology. (Mar, AT2030)
Global Disability Summit
International News
Declaration of Indigenous, Afro-descendant, and Minority Organizations with Disabilities. (Jul, Minority Rights Group)
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Justice Systems and Legal Capacity
United States
Expecting Difference: Reorienting Disability Strategy for Jail Decarceration:
“Among disabled people in jails, certain groups require disability access that cannot be readily addressed by generalist understandings of “ADA compliance” or by disability as a medical condition. Consequently, failure to fully consider disability dynamics within jails and reentry can lead to negative health impacts, decreased jail safety, and recidivism. It is time to see disability not as a checklist of disability rights compliance tasks, but as a breakthrough lens that can advance the work of making all communities safer, and thus to support all people to achieve their true potential.” (Jun, Safey + Justice Challenge)
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Lived Experience and Opinion
Nigeria
As a blind journalist, tech needs to be more accessible. John Adoyi shares his journey through multiple generations of technology. (May, TechCabal)
Switzerland
Money has no pain. Interview exploring personal feelings on receiving compensation after an accident-induced disability. (Jun, Couper L'herbe sous les roues)
United Kingdom
A Cost-Effective Proposal: For Preventing the Sick and Disabled from Being a Burden on Their Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Publick (satire):
“I think it is agreed by all parties, that this prodigious number of Cripples in front of us, behind us, or (May God Forbid) beside us, in the present deplorable state of the kingdom where the rich political class are doing their utmost to afford second and third homes, is a very great grievance to Real People.” (Jul, Disability Arts Online)
Breathing in My changing body, new assistive technology and internalised ableism. (Jul, Disability Debrief)
United States
On/Off. Getting deeper into plain text, a spawling essay about progressive disability and open technology:
“Another dynamic that changes the more my screen-reader stays on: I'm becoming more of what I really want to call an access bitch: i.e., comfortable agitating and cajoling and generally being unpleasant in order to get the access I want, either for myself or others.” (Jun, Vile Jelly)
On the Architectural Hostility of Doorknobs:
“For me, a doorknob is never just a doorknob. It’s the first handshake with a room. It’s the opening sentence of a building’s story. It is a dense, information-rich object, a metal or porcelain palm that tells me everything I need to know about the space I am about to enter and the people who inhabit it. It’s a tactile bellwether for empathy, consideration, and sometimes, for danger. It is the gatekeeper, the greeter, and the warning sign, all in one.” (Jun, Sightless Scribbles)
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Mental Health
Ireland
Mental health debate in Ireland is reinforcing old clichés to allow forced treatment. (Jul, Mad in Ireland)
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Mobility, Travel, Transport and Tourism
Overview
United Kingdom
‘There’s nothing wrong with you’: The making of disability through encounters in accessible parking spaces:
“Rather, encounters and their impact should be a key consideration in urban planning processes, with a need to understand accessibility as shaped by both physical and attitudinal barriers, both of which can exclude disabled people from public spaces.” (Jun, Urban Studies)
United States
Federal report looks at Amtrak and passengers with disabilities:
“A new federal report says Amtrak is losing out on a market of disabled people — who make up at least one out of seven Americans — because it's done a poor job of listening to their complaints. The report cites problems from difficulty boarding if the passenger uses a wheelchair, to being blocked from bathrooms and cafe cars, to unclear signage in stations and on trains.” (Jul, NPR)
Venezuela
Closure of entrances in Caracas Metro shuts accessible entrances, due to staff shortages. (In Spanish, Jul, Crónica Uno)
Air Travel
Indonesia
Inclusive by Design: Accessible Infrastructure through Empowered Participation of People with Disabilities in Indonesia. (Jun, ADB)
United Kingdom
Flying to become more accessible as Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson sets out key recommendations for aviation industry. (Jul, Department for Transport)
United States
The Trump Administration Is Refusing to Enforce an Air Travel Disability Regulation. “The rule, which was published during the Biden Administration, updated airline wheelchair standards.” (Jul, The Progressive Magazine)
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Policy and Rights
Overview
International News
Disabled dead bodies: Marking the intersections of international humanitarian law and international human rights law:
“Bringing disabled bodies back into focus is necessary for ensuring that transitional justice is served for persons with disabilities who have perished at the hands of State or non-State actors, and for their families. These are bodies that should not be buried in transitional justice mechanisms.” (Jul, International Review of the Red Cross.)
Study on Inequality in Life and Death: The Duty to Investigate and Remedy the Systemic Causes of the Deaths of Persons with Disabilities under International Law. (Jun, Harvard Human Rights Journal)
Africa
An Opportune Moment: Realizing the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Africa. Analysis of nine countries. (May, ICJ)
Asia-Pacific
Disability Inclusion: A macroforce for navigating megatrends in Asia and the Pacific. (Jun, UN ESCAP)
El Salvador
The Special Law on the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities remains without regulation. (In Spanish, Jun, El Mundo)
Europe
"We make policies and laws more representative and inclusive" Soufiane El Amrani's speech about why it is important for people with intellectual disabilities to have jobs in policy-making. (Jun, Inclusion Europe)
Spain
Plena Inclusíon applauds the reform of two of the most important laws for people with disabilities. (In Spanish, Jul, Plena Inclusión)
Tunisia
The Tunisian parliament considers new benefits for people with disabilities. (In Arabic, Jun, alAraby)
United States
“This Is A Devastating Day for Disabled Americans” American Association of People with Disabilities Responds to Passage of Budget Reconciliation Bill. (Jul, AAPD)
Assisted Dying and Euthanasia
France
France’s National Assembly votes in favour of legalising assisted dying. (May, the Guardian)
Malta
Concerns over euthanasia, embryo screening involving people with disabilities. (Jun, Times of Malta)
Switzerland
“If I were you, I would kill myself” discussion of assisted suicide in Switzerland and France. (In French, Jun, Couper l'Herbe Sous Les Roues)
United States
Disability advocates sue Colorado “alleging that its assisted suicide law is discriminatory against the disabled.” (Jul, Aleteia)
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Politics and Elections
United States
What Kind of Embrace? Disability Pride and the Problem of Bad Political Allies. (Jul, (Un)Hidden)
‘Little Lobbyists’ Urge Senators to Oppose Trump’s Bill Cutting Medicaid. “Children with disabilities and their parents who rely on the health insurance program took to Capitol Hill this week to warn that the proposed reductions could be ‘devastating.’” (Jun, New York Times)
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Relationships, Sex and Reproductive Rights
United Kingdom
Disability Pride Month: Why It's Still Pride For Me:
“Hosting a Pride prom served as a reminder that someone can be included, understood and loved for who they are without having to leave parts of their identities at the door.” (Jul, ThePersistent)
United States
Pregnancy Is a Minefield When You’re Disabled. “Few OB-GYNs get disability training—and their disabled patients are far likelier to die.” (Jul, Mother Jones)
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Sport and Paralympics
United Kingdom
'I'm completely blind but I'll play at Wimbledon'. "You get some people that are totally awestruck by it, other people don't believe a word you're saying. All I can tell them is go look it up on YouTube." (Jul, BBC)
United States
How Boccia Gave Me a Shot at Being an Athlete. A charming personal view on the sport. (Jun, Audacity Magazine)
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War in Ukraine
Russia
Wartime amputations rising fast in Russia according to UK intelligence: “a 53% increase in artificial limbs issued in Russia in 2024 compared to the previous year”. (Jun, Euromaidan Press)
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