Unlimited Disability news, by topic

This page has all the news in the Debrief Library organized by subject. You can also see subjects on separate pages.

Contents:

We have 3189 links from 146 countries and regions, organized by these topics:

Accessibility and Design

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Overview

International

Chasing Rainbows: Designing for colorblindness. “Apparently, the very idea of colorblindness is hard to visualize. Take a shot at looking through my eyes.” (Apr, The Verge)

Meghan Hussey on 4 ways to design a disability-friendly future (Oct, TED Talk)

Co-creating Inclusive Public Spaces: Learnings from Four Global Case Studies on inclusive Cities. “Many public spaces are not regulated by conventional building standards, especially when constructed or formed within informal settlements or within privately-owned spaces. This requires broader advocacy and education to ensure clients and built environment practitioners uphold inclusive design standards in their work.” (Jun, Journal of Public Space)

UNICEF Accessibility Toolkit. Focus on accessibility of physical spaces and built environment. The checklists look particularly helpful. (May, UNICEF)

The World Bank Technical Note on Accessibility a big resource providing strategic directions, guidance for the project cycle, thematic briefs and technical references. Thematic areas include WASH, ICT, Transportation, Urban Sector and Operations. Further, if you need accessibility standards for built environments, the technical references part of the guide looks like a good reference. (Apr, World Bank) The primary audience for this is World Bank teams. Given the range and significance of the projects they fund, this is a useful resource that is trying to leverage the Bank's role to help countries take more substantial accessibility actions within those projects.

An interactive feature on Inaccessible Cities featuring disabled people, their lives, and the urban infrastructure that gets in their way, in New York, Lagos and Mumbai. (Mar, Aljazeera)

Global guide: Access for all Creating inclusive global built environments. (Mar) See a summary of the contents on Fair Play Talks.

The Against List. Reflections for designers to engage with disability, and questions to ask to avoid this dynamic:

'We have realized that advocating for “more disabled people in design” without advocating structural changes to what design is, how it operates, and what problems it seeks to solve is just advocating for a select few people to gain more power within an unjust system, while allowing the marginalization of others by that system to become more entrenched.' (Feb, Alex Haagaard)

The Zero Project 2022 Conference on Accessibility was held in Vienna and online. As well as the talks, including one by yours truly, see the 2022 report which describes the innovative practices and much more. (Feb)

Africa

Assistive Technology Innovate Now launch of its 5th Cohort on Digital AT and Entrepreneurship (April, AT Innovate Now)

Albania

Short video on accessibility to infrastructure, public services and information for persons with disabilities. (Mar, Down Syndrome Albania)

Australia

How accessible is Melbourne for people with a disability? (Feb, The Age)

Canada

Vancouver wants to be the most accessible city in the world. The city staff told them it would be very expensive. (Apr, Vancouver is Awesome)

New project tackles accessibility of heritage buildings
 (Dec, Remi Network)

Colombia

Meet The Blind Birder Reimagining Accessibility In The Outdoors (Jan, Science Friday)

Egypt

Cairo sidewalks to be enhanced to enable access to persons with disabilities (Nov, Egypt Today)

Europe

AccessibleEU centre: a first step towards an EU agency on accessibility. (Jul, EDF)

23 Member States are running late with the European Accessibility Act. (Jul, EDF)

The European Accessibility Act: came into effect in 2019 and “Member states must pass the necessary implementation laws by June 28, 2022” (May, Forbes)

Iceland

Access all areas: Meet the man building a thousand wheelchair ramps. (Feb, Euronews)

India

India Has Made Progress in Improving Accessibility, But Needs To Up the Ante. (May, The Wire)

The daily struggles of Kashmir's Disabled Community in a World of Inaccessible Structures (May, News Click)

Disabled-friendly buildings rendered inaccessible: “Even as the government creates infrastructure for the differently-abled, the same is not being maintained or kept accessible to them” (Dec, Herald Goa)

Disability rights activist and doctor highlights unusable infrastructure in public places – “ramps made at many public properties are poorly made or inaccessible for disabled people.” (Jan, Indian Express)

Uncertainty over Accessible India Campaign deadline seven years of work to increase accessibility of government buildings, public transport and websites. (Jun, The Hindu)

Mumbai: Living with a disability in the megacity (Mar, Aljazeera)

Lessons from Chennai on accessibility for the disabled (Jan, New Indian Express)

Kenya

Inclusive Infrastructure Case Study of Nairobi. (Nov, AT2030)

The nightmare of living with a disability in Nairobi, discusses accessibility and transport. (Sep, The Standard)

Latin America and the Caribbean

The Zero Project Latin America conference on Accessibility and ICT was held on 25th/26th May and sessions can be watched online. (May, Zero Project)

Malaysia

Poor disabled-friendly facilities a bane for handicapped persons in Kedah. “I am unable to visit wet markets, grocery stores, hospitals, clinics, shops, restaurants, cafés, books stores and ATMs, when I'm in my wheelchair.” (Mar, New Straits Times)

Netherlands

The Netherlands is still lagging behind in accessibility for wheelchairs. (Mar, NL Times)

New Zealand

The endless hunt, and fight for accessible home appliances. (May, Blind Citizens NZ)

Government won't enforce accessibility, despite promising legislation to 'make NZ more accessible'. (Jul, Stuff)

Nigeria

Nigeria ramps up efforts to improve accessibility of sustainable spaces. (Mar, EnviroNews Nigeria)

Lagos: Life with a disability in the African megacity (Mar, Aljazeera)

Philippines

The Accessibility Law: 40 years of disappointment (Nov, The Manilla Times)

Singapore

Better accessibility for persons with disabilities set out in Enabling Masterplan for 2030. (Aug, Channel News Asia)

South Africa

Forging a path to inclusive heritage and work by the District Six Museum. (May, Daily Maverick)

Brief audio on How accessible is South Africa? (May, EWN)

South East Asia

ASEAN countries continue to struggle with accessibility (Mar, FairPlanet)

Spain

Meet the designers with learning disabilities: “La Casa de Carlota is a successful design agency in Barcelona. Their striking visual style comes from their designers, who have learning disabilities, autism and schizophrenia.” (Oct, BBC)

Turkey

Guide dogs change lives of Türkiye’s visually impaired citizens. (Dec, Daily Sabah)

United States

10 Ways Designers and Researchers Can Meaningfully Engage With Disabled People in 2023. Includes designing against ableism: “When I say Design Against, I mean: whatever social issue or group you want to design for, identify the structural factors that are really, materially shaping those problems and design against those instead.” (Dec, Alex Haagaard)

Why Do People With Disabilities Have to Sue To Get Accessible Sidewalks? (Nov, Streetsblog USA)

More than 30 years after ADA, cities fail to be accessible (Jun, ABC 15)

New York: What is the megacity like for people with disabilities? “New York City, one of the world’s largest and most diverse cities, is considered by some to be one of the least accessible in the United States when it comes to public transportation.” (Mar, Aljazeera)

‘Where the bats hung out’: How a basement hideaway at UC Berkeley nurtured a generation of blind innovators (Mar, Stat)

Accessible NYC A summary of what the city authorities are doing for accessibility and inclusion. (links to pdf, NYC)

Housing

International

Lawsuit Uncovers Chicago’s Failure to Provide Disability Protections in Housing. “Advocates say people with disabilities are suffering the worst consequences of the U.S.’s affordable housing crisis.” (Feb, Truthout)

Australia

Uneven path to a decent home: Australians with a disability face battle for accessible housing. (Oct, the Guardian)

One-size-fits-all model of accessible housing ‘a disaster’ for Australians with disability. “There should be an option for us to stay together as a family and not be forced to relinquish care just because we don’t have the funds to build an accessible house.” (May, the Guardian)

Canada

Woman with disabilities nears medically assisted death after a fruitless bid to secure an affordable apartment that doesn't worsen her chronic illnesses. (May, CTV News)

This Ontario family has spent years looking for wheelchair accessible housing. “These parents carry their eight-year-old son up and down stairs everyday with no end in sight.” (May, Toronto Star)

Court Case on whether appopriate housing is a human right for people with disabilities Nova Scotia government argues that it isn't and they have the right to define the quality of social serices people receive, not the court. (Jan, Halifax City News)

India

Accessible homes for disabled Indians is not a favour, it’s an obligation (Sep, The Print)

New Zealand

Another month, another report on disabled people's housing “but is the government listening?” (Jun, RNZ News)

United Kingdom

‘We just want our homes not to hurt us’: “There are 104,000 people on the waiting list for an accessible or adaptable home. But not enough are being built, so many disabled people and families with disabled children are left in temporary accommodation for years” (Apr, Big Issue)

Outrage as ministers reject post-Grenfell safety plans for disabled people “Personal fire evacuation plans were in public inquiry’s proposals, which ministers had said they would ‘accept in full’” (May, the Guardian) See further detail on inside housing.

United States

Disability Justice Isn’t Possible without Housing Justice (Mar, Urban Institute)

Designing for Disabilities: How to Pair Luxury With Access (Dec, House Beautiful)

Biden Administration Releases Millions For Disability Housing. (Aug, Disability Scoop)

Ageing

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International

A guide to national programmes for age-friendly cities and communities. (Apr, WHO)

Still Kicking a “workshop is designed to inform the emerging conversation around the intersection of ageism and ableism”. (Dec, Old School)

A guide on Bringing generations together for change: Learning from intergenerational approaches to address issues facing older and younger people. (HelpAge)

Older people left out as UN speeches repeatedly invoke young. “Older persons are pretty much missing, everybody thinks that the future is just something for younger persons.” (Sep, AP News)

A report from UN Independent Expert on Older persons deprived of liberty: “older persons are more likely to be de facto deprived of liberty
in care facilities than in prisons” (Sep, UN) See commentary from Human Rights Watch.

Book-review of the The Aging–Disability Nexus (Jul, Disability Studies Community)

The Special Rapporteur on Disability on Making International Protection Of Adults Consistent With The CRPD “A similar revolution of ideas is now permeating the field concerning the rights of older persons. Any future treaty on the rights of older persons is also likely to be grounded on dignity and autonomy. ” (Jul, Gerard Quinn)

Five priorities to tackle abuse of older people (1) combat ageism; (2) generate more and better data on prevalence and on risk and protective factors; (3) develop and scale up cost–effective solutions; (4) make an investment case for addressing the issue; and (5) raise funds to tackle the issue. (Jun, Decade of Healthy Ageing)

An easy-read version on how older people are treated very badly and what countries should do to make sure that older people get their human rights. (link to pdf, Jun, Independent Expert for UNHRC)

Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing Country Progress reports (UNECE)

A policy brief on Better protecting the human rights in older age and the work of the UN group exploring this issue. (BAGSO)

Low Income Puts Older People’s Rights at Risk. Brief recap on ageing issues, and international discussions to start a drafting a treaty protecting older people's rights. (May, Human Rights Watch)

A meeting of the working group dedicated to strengthening the protection of the human rights of older persons. (Apr, UNDESA)

UN Advocacy Brief on Older Women: Inequality at the Intersection of Age and Gender (Mar, Decade of Healthy Ageing)

A background paper Measuring the Autonomy, Participation, and Contribution of Older People (link to pdf, March, Center for Inclusive Policy)

As part of the Age with Rights campaign a Global Rally calling for the stronger protection and promotion of older people's human rights. (Mar, Global Alliance for the Rights of Older People) See also from Human Rights Watch.

Baseline Report for the Decade of Healthy Ageing. It's striking to see how this summary avoids mentioning disability when its first page is basically an illustration of an adapted social model of disability. (Jan, WHO)

Statement on Ageing with Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus

'Related – perhaps inseparable – from the physical health challenges faced by SBH adults and increased reports of mental health challenges. The lived experiences of many SBH adults involves increased isolation – in large part due to the changes in physical health described above, that can make it more difficult to enjoy a full social life. It is not surprising then that many people report an increase in anxiety and depression. This can result in a negative cycle, as people are less likely to make the effort to see others, which further increases the sense of isolation. ' (Dec, IF Global)

Brazil

‘Our country is getting old’: the man changing how Brazil sees dementia. “Developing countries are getting old in a shorter period of time without resources and with poverty.” (Jun, the Guardian)

Canada

Discussion guide on ageism in Canada. (Aug, Government of Canada)

Eastern Europe and Central Asia

Loneliness and Social Isolation Among Older People (Jan, UNFPA)

Europe

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day: ways forward. (Jun, Age Platform)

Policy brief revisiting Mainstreaming Ageing: "A more effective integration of ageing into all policies at all levels will enhance societal preparedness for population ageing and benefit all age groups." (Feb, UNECE)

India

Delhi Police to visit homes of senior citizens every evening (Jul, Devdiscourse)

Israel

“The Internal Police Officer Has Not Retired but Has Slowed Down”: Israeli Women Reframe Their Ageing Experiences in the Second Half of Life (Jan, Journal of Applied Gerontology)

Middle East and North Africa

Can review of the Madrid Plan on Ageing (MIPPA) Benefit the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region? (Feb, Population Ageing)

United Kingdom

Disability and ageing – time to think outside our silos? (Nov, Centre for Better Ageing)

United States

Ageist? Ableist? Who, Me? “Think what older people could learn from them about asking for help, adapting to impairment, and age pride! Think what younger people with disabilities could learn from olders about moving through life. Think how we’d all benefit if hearing and mobility aids were stripped of stigma. Let’s get interdependent!” (Jan, Generations)

How America’s ageism hurts, shortens lives of elderly. (Aug, Harvard Gazette)

Are We Inadvertently Contributing to Discrimination Against Older Adults? “To avoid despair or paralysis, informing the public about pressing needs must be paired with concrete examples of what society can do differently.” (Jul, Institute for Healthcare Improvement)

America Was in an Early-Death Crisis Long Before COVID (Jul, The Atlantic)

Assistive Technology

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International

WHO releases new Wheelchair provision guidelines (Jun, WHO)

Walking naturally after spinal cord injury using a brain–spine interface: “a digital bridge between the brain and spinal cord that enabled an individual with chronic tetraplegia to stand and walk naturally in community settings” (May, Nature)

GDI Hub, Google and AT Scale launch pioneering project to test ‘Mobile at Assistive Tech’ in Kenya, Brazil and India. (Jun, Global Disability Innovation Hub)

‘Care bots’: a dream for carers or a dangerous fantasy? (May, the Guardian)

Sony launches point-and-shoot camera for people with vision disabilities. (Mar, Disability Insider)

HearX hearing care by community health workers using digital technologies. (Feb, AT2030)

AT Venture Fund Playbook “This playbook was designed to help current and future fund operators and ventures learn from the work of the Assistive Technology Impact Fund (ATIF). It aims to share lessons from launching a fund in a nascent sector and working with a small portfolio of assistive technology ventures.” (Jan, AT Impact Fund)

COVID-19, access and assistive technology: The need for preparedness (Dec, Global Social Policy)

Digital Planet audio feature on is disability tech delivering? (no transcript, Aug, BBC)

Marketing Matters on how AT startups need to invest in marketing (Jul, AT2030)

The Global Report on Assistive Technology: a new era in assistive technology (Jun, Assistive Technology)

Making the direct to consumer model work for Assistive Technology warns about “unintended charitable consequences”:

“AT distribution that depends on charitable and philanthropic funding are highly vulnerable to financial cuts and changes in priorities. What’s more, AT distribution cannot be a one-off event like a vaccination camp. Distributed AT must be maintained, adapted and changed as the needs of the user change. Few charitable models are able to accommodate such a model- over time, people can be left with AT that is no longer fit for purpose, and disillusioned as to its value.” (Jul, AT2030)

A scoping review of Technologies Measuring Manual Wheelchair Propulsion Metrics (May, Assistive Technology)

From WHO and UNICEF, a Global Report on Assistive Technology. From the press release:

“A new report published today by WHO and UNICEF reveals that more than 2.5 billion people need one or more assistive products, such as wheelchairs, hearing aids, or apps that support communication and cognition. Yet nearly one billion of them are denied access, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, where access can be as low as 3% of the need for these life-changing products.” (May, WHO and UNICEF)

See also comment from WHO and CBM Global.

Interesting discussion on Center for Inclusive Policy on Why is access to assistive technology not a global priority? (May, CIP)

What do you call technology that's meant to be assistive but isn't? This essay explores the term Disability Dongle coined by Liz Jackson to refer to well intended but useless “solutions“. The essay explores experience of what happens when the authors call out these technologies and how their idea has spread. (Apr, Platypus)

Evidence brief on promoting access to assistive technology for individuals with disabilities in Low- and Middle-Income Settings. "Limited access to assistive technology is exacerbated by the lack of awareness about assistive technology and what the technology can offer to people with disabilities". (Dec, Disability Evidence Portal)

A systematic review of global population-based research Estimating need and coverage for five priority assistive products. “The finding of high unmet need (>60%) for each of the five APs emphasises the need to secure political prioritisation and funding to expand access to AT globally.” (Jan, BMJ Global Health)

A new book Disability Interactions: Creating Inclusive Innovations "focuses on the interactions people have with their technologies and the interactions which result because of technology use" (Dec, Morgan Claypool)

For every dollar invested in assistive technology, there is a return of $9 (Jan, IDA)

TIDAL N+ "Transformative Innovation in the delivery of Assisted Living Products and Services" - "building a transdisciplinary network" (Jan, GDI)

Introduction to the companion papers to the global report on assistive technology (Dec, Assistive Technology Journal)

UNICEF to introduce 24 new assistive products into the global Supply Catalogue. "Through global tenders, UNICEF and WHO have been able to negotiate low-cost prices which will ensure these highly technical and specialized pieces of equipment can be quickly and easily ordered by field teams, partners, and governments." (Dec, UNICEF)

Measuring assistive technology supply and demand a scoping review (Dec, Assistive Technology Journal)

Africa

Emerging African Ecosystems for assistive technology: “companies must not only be an expert in AT (not an easy feat), but also need to master financing, hiring, logistics and distribution, warehousing, both physical and digital advertising, customer services”. (Aug, AT2030)

Asia-Pacific

Meeting rising demand for disability devices. “Limited access to assistive technologies such as eyeglasses, hearing aids, mobility and communication devices, and a lack of trained workers remain significant challenges in meeting the needs of people with disabilities and the elderly in the Asia Pacific region.” (Sep, Eco-Business)

Australia

Impacts of new and emerging assistive technologies for ageing and disabled housing. Exploring smart home assistive technologies.. (Dec)

Azerbaijan

How WHO is supporting Azerbaijan in improving rehabilitation and assistive technology services (Oct, WHO)

Europe

A scoping review of assistive technology needs, access and coverage and related barriers and facilitators. “The three key elements significantly affecting the capacity of AT systems to deliver appropriate services to potential users were the relative accessibility of the systems themselves, their financial affordability for users and the acceptability of different APs.” (Jul, Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology)

Georgia

Nina’s story: How assistive technology is improving her quality of life (Jun, WHO)

India

Who Pays the Price When Cochlear Implants Go Obsolete? “Some cochlear implant users can’t afford to keep up with compulsory technology upgrades. After becoming dependent on the devices, they’re losing their hearing and feel abandoned by manufacturers.” (Mar, Sapiens)

Sensory Futures: Deafness and Cochlear Implant Infrastructures in India:

“In this book, I attend to becoming normal, specifically in relation to sensory normality. I argue that normalization leads to, and is a form of, narrowing. Becoming normal—a key promise of cochlear implant technology—constrains people’s sensory, modal, and relational engagements. Normative sensory configurations and communicative practices based on listening and spoken language are the desired outcomes after cochlear implantation. These desired outcomes are tethered to ideas and ideals about a “right way” to sense, communicate, and relate to others. The Indian state, families of deaf children, medical professionals, and educators, among other stakeholders, increasingly expect that these normative outcomes will occur. They work to foreclose other outcomes for deaf individuals, such as becoming sign language users or orienting to others through vision and touch. As cochlear implants become more ubiquitous in India, sensory, modal, and relational possibilities for deaf children and those with whom they engage diminish. Sensory normality, as a desired goal and outcome, results in a contraction rather than an expansion of ways of engaging with the world.” (Jun, Manifold)

From Hoping to Expecting: Cochlear Implantation and Habilitation in India (Feb, Cultural Anthropology)

Food Delivery Service With A Difference: This Motorised Wheelchair “Gives Wings To People With Disabilities” (Jun, NDTV)

Indonesia

Assistive Technologies for Children with Disabilities in Inclusive and Special Schools in Indonesia (May, World Bank)

Kenya

Self-taught Kenyan cousins invent bio-robotic prosthetic limbs. (Jan, Mail&Guardian)

Malawi

Relevance of assistive technology and the sustainable development goals to stakeholder organizations. “The cross-cutting nature of the relevance of AT underscores the importance of cross-ministerial cooperation and shared leadership in provision AT.” (Nov, Global Health Action)

Age related increase in impairment across the life course: the use of Zomba curves to estimate assistive technology needs.

Nigeria

The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development recently developed a four-year national roadmap on local production of standard assistive technologies for persons with disabilities. (Aug, Inclusive News)

Pakistan

‘Without a wheelchair my life would be useless’: Zahida Quereshi, whose organization provides thousands of custom wheelchairs. (Oct, the Guardian)

Rwanda

UNICEF supplies hundreds of children with life-changing hearing aids “UNICEF was able to significantly reduce the prices for these quality devices, providing them to the Government of Rwanda for $118. At this point in time, the same hearing aid can cost as much as $2,000 if buying it commercially within Rwanda.” (Jun, UNICEF)

South Africa

The effects of cognitive effort on academic performance of learners with cochlear implants. “The study highlights that cognitive effort of learners with cochlear implants influenced their capabilities to multitask and retain information”. (Oct, African Journal on Disability)

Turkey

New tech glasses made in Türkiye aim to benefit persons with disability. (Jan, Daily Sabah)

United States

Hearing Aids Are Changing. “As more young people risk hearing loss, over-the-counter hearing aids are providing new options, but also confusing choices.” (May, New York Times)

A Bride’s Prosthesis Made Not to Blend In, but to Shine. (Jan, New York Times)

This researcher builds ‘cool stuff for blind people.’ He’s also trying to help transform society. (Oct, PBS)

3D printing allows blind chemists to visualise scientific data. (Aug, Chemistry World)

Elderly and Disabled Assistive Devices Market Size report by Acumen (Jul, Global Newswire)

Disability At Home practical solutions and photographs that “document the ingenuity and creativity that caregivers and disabled people, including those with chronic illnesses, use every day to make home accessible.” (Laura Mauldin)

This is old, but I liked seeing this wheelchair kitted-out to plow snow with tracks and an attached blade. (2016, WOWT 6 News)

Vatican City

Pope Francis uses wheelchair in public for the first time (May, the Guardian)

Yemen

War leads to demand for prosthetics. (Aug, Reuters)

Black Lives Matter and Racial justice

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International

DisCrit Expanded a collection of essays where “a diverse group of authors engage in inward, outward, and margin-to-margin analyses that raise deep and enduring questions about how we as scholars and teachers account for and counteract the collusive nature of oppressions faced by minoritized individuals with disabilities, particularly in educational contexts. ” (Feb, TC Press)

Brazil

The Situation of Black People with Disabilities in Brazil “The historical context of the black population with disabilities in Brazil is underpinned by the history of enslavement and the impacts of colonization that last until today.” (Mar, Minority Rights International)

A report on the situation for black and other marginalized persons with disabilities. (Oct, Minority Rights Group)

United States

Black Disability Justice Syllabus. “An opportunity to honor the legacies of Black disabled artists, thinkers, activists, and leaders and a tool for future work.” (Feb, Sins Invalid)

Ableism, racism, and the quality of life of Black, Indigenous, people of colour with intellectual and developmental disabilities. “When BIPOC with intellectual and developmental disabilities lived in regions of the United States which were more ableist and racist, they had a lower quality of life, regardless of their demographics.” (Feb, Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities)

12 Black Disabled Activists and Advocates You Need to be Following (Feb, World Institute on Disability)

Black Disability Politics a book from Sami Schalk “explores how issues of disability have been and continue to be central to Black activism from the 1970s to the present [...] his work has not been recognized as part of the legacy of disability justice and liberation because Black disability politics differ in language and approach from the mainstream white-dominant disability rights movement.” (Duke University Press) See an interview with the author on Essence.

Racial Justice and Disability Justice: The Complex Journey (Aug, Non Profit Quarterly)

People of color and the disability rights movement: a short history. Interview with Jennifer Erkulwater:

“Not only did activists in the 1970s fear that assertions of racial identity would divide people with disabilities from one another, but throughout the 1980s activists posed disability rights as the antithesis of welfare, at a time when the term “welfare” became deeply racialized. [...] White activists with disabilities sometimes argued that Blacks had to sit at the back of the bus, but the disabled couldn’t even get on the bus.” (Jul, URevolution)

Racial disparities persist for disabled youth in spending on services for California children and teens with developmental disabilities. (May, Los Angeles Times)

How Disability Exacerbates Anti-Blackness: Anti-Blackness and Ableism Led to Ryan Coogler's Arrest (Mar, ARD)

Discussion of the book Mark of Slavery and its exploration of the intersection of slavery and disability. (Feb, Disability Insider)

Asian Americans with disabilities are often overlooked. A new youth-led group aims to change that. (Jan, NBC News)

COVID-19

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Impact

International

Why are people with intellectual disabilities clinically vulnerable to COVID-19? (Apr, Lancet Public Health)

Spaces of Exclusion and Neglect: The Impact of COVID-19 on People With Disabilities in Bangladesh, Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, and Uganda. (Mar, Space and Culture)

An issue of Social Inclusion journal dedicated to Disability and Lessons from the Pandemic. (Jan, Social Inclusion)

“Vulnerable” or Systematically Excluded? The Impact of Covid-19 on Disabled People in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. “We highlight the multiple exclusions faced by disabled people across the sectors of health, education, economy, community, and pandemic management.” (Aug, Social Inclusion)

International Perspectives: Disabilities, Social Connectedness, and COVID-19 the experiences of three Special Olympics International (SOI) connected families and how they navigated the pandemic. (Jul, Samuel Centre for Social Connectedness)

Millions of older people have died without being counted. WHO estimates 83% of excess mortality was among older people. (May, HelpAge)

Five ways older women are affected by the pandemic. “With only 35% of older women confirming daily mobility out of their house by themselves, 2 in 3 older women faced restricted mobility.” (Mar, UN Women)

Bangladesh

The pandemic has exacerbated the challenges faced by persons with disabilities

'16-year-old Eemon, who has a visual disability, said, "We are very ill-fated that our education has come to a halt for the past two years." Eemon had to join a courier service as a worker to support his family, as other members faced income loss as a result of the pandemic. It is highly unlikely that he will go back to his much-loved school, even though schools have reopened.' (Dec, The Daily Star)

Canada

Outcomes in patients with and without disability admitted to hospital. "Patients with a disability who were admitted to hospital with COVID-19 had longer stays and elevated readmission risk than those without disabilities." (Jan, CMAJ)

China

What did disabled youths experience at the peak of infection?
 (In Chinese, Jan, We are a minority)

6 disabled people share their covid experiences (In Chinese, Dec)

Ethiopia

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health care and people with mental health conditions. “Scarce mental health service settings were diverted to become COVID-19 treatment centres. Mental health care became narrowly biomedical with poorer quality of care due to infrequent follow-up. Households of people with pre-existing mental health conditions in the community reported worsening poverty and decreased access to care due to restricted movement, decreased availability and fear.” (Sep, International Journal of Mental Health Systems)

Europe

An important collection of synthesis reports on COVID-19 and people with disabilities assessing the impact of the crisis and informing disabiliyt-inclusive next steps. (Jul)

Iceland

Risky Obliviousness Within Fragmented Services: Experiences of Families With Disabled Children During the Covid-19 Pandemic:

“During the pandemic, the gaps in the already fragmented services widened, and the families were left to navigate this new reality on their own. Preventive measures enforced by municipalities and healthcare services centred on non-disabled people’s experiences and needs. Unprepared service systems distanced themselves from the families while maintaining governance and supervision over defining their need for support.” (Jan, Social Inclusion)

India

COVID-19, Persons with Disabilities and an (Un)Inclusive Healthcare System a study on access to healthcare services and vaccinations. (Oct, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy)

Gasping to live again: A disabled person's account of barely surviving Covid:

“When you live on the margins, you perennially face the threat of deletion. You never know who is redrawing the map: the government, the society or a global pandemic. The last two years have been a heady concoction of panic and anxiety for disabled and chronically ill people like me.”

“My oxygen is dipping. I have blacked out. When I wake up, the nurse is telling me I should lose weight. Am I going to survive? I must be. No one tells a dying person to lose weight, do they?” (Aug, Unbias the News)

Ireland

Professional and Family Carers’ Perspectives on the COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Impact on Supported Decision-Making with Adults with Intellectual Disabilities: A Qualitative Online Survey. (Apr, Disabilities)

Nepal

Adolescents with Disabilities and Caregivers Experience of COVID-19 in Rural Nepal (Jun, IDS)

New Zealand

The essential numbers showing how disabled people experienced the pandemic:

“By 2022 disabled people’s high rates of vaccination, combined with self-isolation, meant this high-risk group were slightly less likely to get Covid-19 than non-disabled people. However, despite overall lower infection, they were still seven times more likely to die (11 deaths) and 3.5 times more likely to go to hospital.” (May, The Spinoff)

Disabled were 13 times as likely to die from Covid-19. “People who received disability support services in 2022 were 13 times as likely to die from Covid-19 than the general population, new data shows.” (Mar, Stuff)

How will disabled people cope with Omicron in the community? (Jan, RNZ)

Russia

“But We Are Always at Home”: Disability Activism, Solidarity, and Staying at Home. (Dec, NYU Jordan Center)

South Africa

How did South Africans with disabilities experience COVID-19? Results of an online survey: “people with disabilities in South Africa experienced many negative impacts of the pandemic. Strategies to control the virus largely ignored attending to human rights and socioeconomic well-being of this marginalised group.” (Feb, African Journal of Disability)

How the pandemic lockdown affected mental health (Aug, the Conversation)

United Kingdom

‘Government Just Made it Worse’: COVID’s Disproportionate Impact on Disabled People of Colour Revealed. (Feb, Byline Times)

Documenting the Pandemic for Disabled people: Covid Disability Archive

Covid-19 and the Crisis in Social Care: Exploring the Experiences of Disabled People in the Pandemic: “the social care crisis has challenged the goal of independent living.”. (Apr, CUP)

Health and healthcare for people with disabilities in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic: “As the UK opens up, it is important that health care services and social policy address the poor mental health and social isolation of people with disability so that the inequalities occurring early in the pandemic do not become further entrenched.” (Jan, Disability and Health Journal)

COVID-19 pandemic impact on psychotropic prescribing for adults with intellectual disability: an observational study in English specialist community services: "The pandemic caused an increase in psychotropic prescribing associated with lockdown severity and urban settings." (Jan, BJPsych)

United States

How Masking Changed My Experience of Being Deaf: “The pandemic forced me to communicate differently.” (Sep, The Atlantic)

A study on the COVID-19 “mortality burden” for people with and without intellectual and developmental disability. “The COVID-19 mortality burden was greater for people with than without IDD during the first year of the pandemic. The continued practice of postmortem diagnostic overshadowing prevents analyzing whether this difference continues through today.” (October, Disability and Health Journal)

COVID continues to hit nursing homes harder, “Cases are surging everywhere, and nursing home residents remain more likely to face severe illness and death.” (Jul, 19th News)

Covid is making more people disabled and exposing America's tattered safety net (Mar, MSNBC)

Employment Consequences of COVID-19 for People with Disabilities and Employers. "The pandemic adversely affected employment of PWD as reported by workers and employers. Findings parallel the experience of the non-disabled workforce, but reveal vulnerabilities that reflect disability consequences and the need for job accommodations." (Jan, Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation)

"COVID-19 Likely Resulted in 1.2 Million More Disabled People by the End of 2021" More information would be needed to substantiate the claim about 1.2 million disabled people, as it’s not clear whether higher numbers are due to changes in individual circumstances or changes in the environment. (Thanks to Jennifer Madans for background on this., Feb, American Progress)

Response

International

The inclusion of disability and ageing in COVID-19 hygiene behavior change interventions across low-and middle-income countries: A review using the COVID-19 Inclusive WASH Checklist. “Most organizations identified people with disabilities, older adults and caregivers as target groups, but targeted activities to include them were scarce. Where efforts were made, immediate needs rather than rights were addressed.” (Nov, Frontiers Public Health)

Rising to the challenge: disability organisations in the COVID-19 pandemic (Aug, Disability and Society)

For Canadians with disabilities, multiple types of support were important during COVID-19. (Sep, the Conversation)

After 2 Years of Covid, We’re Still Failing Older People. Part of a series marking the two year anniversary of the Covid-19 pandemic:

"Two years after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, governments around the world are still failing to protect the rights of older people. From ageist comments by public figures to persistent staffing shortages and use of chemical restraints in care homes, the protection of older people’s rights has been put under the spotlight like never before -- and comes up lacking." (Mar, Human Rights Watch)

Key Concepts: Human Rights and the Economy a series on human rights on the economic recovery from the COVID crisis. (Not about disability - but maybe useful context, Feb, CESR)

The Global Platform Reader on COVID-19 and older people in low and middle-income countries (link to pdf, Jan, Corona Older)

An evidence brief on How can health and social care services promote the safety and well-being of people with intellectual disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic in LMICs? (Nov, Disability Evidence)

Africa

Challenges and Opportunities for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in the COVID-19 Response “A limited number of recommended MHPSS activities during the COVID-19 pandemic were planned in countries across Africa, with an even smaller proportion being actually implemented. The implementation level of MHPSS activities was below 50% in most countries. [...] It is critical to build on this to integrate mental health into emergency preparedness and response and strengthen mental health systems in the long term in the post-pandemic world.” (Jul, Environmental Research and Public Health)

Australia

As COVID-19 cases rise, disability advocates say CDC isn't doing enough

Living with COVID-19 in the time of OMICRON: Escalating risks for people with disability in Australia and recommendations how to address them. (Jan, Centre of Research Excellence in Disability and Health)

People with disability 'completely overlooked' as Omicron surges (Dec)

Bangladesh

Jobseekers with disabilities left out of Covid recovery plans (Dec, Dhaka Tribune)

Canada

Quebecers with disabilities struggle with rapid tests, say advocates after the province ran out of PCR tests for the general public. (Jan, CBC)

Accessibility of Canadian COVID-19 Testing Locations for People with Disabilities During the Third Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic: "more than a year into the pandemic, there existed a clear lack of accessibility information for Canadian testing locations for people with disabilities." (Dec, MedRxiv)

China

Shanghai Covid lockdown: The struggle of blind massage therapists (Jul, BBC)

310,000 seniors living alone in Shanghai and young people who help them (in Chinese, Apr, QQ)

Ethiopia

COVID-19 and social policy in contexts of existing inequality: experiences of youth with disabilities. “The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the marginalisation of adolescents and young people with disabilities [...] as health, education and social protection systems have been slow to mobilise targeted support and address social exclusion.” (Jun, Disability and Society)

Germany

German Court Orders Protection of People with Disabilities in Triage Decisions

'The court found the legislature had failed “to take measures to ensure that no one is at risk of being disadvantaged on the basis of disability in the allocation of life-sustaining treatment if shortages in intensive care resources arise.” The court ordered lawmakers to introduce stronger measures based on the constitutional right to nondiscrimination. They should consider disability rights training for medical staff and the creation of stronger procedures to identify disabilities.'

See also the statement from the court or coverage on the guardian (Jan, Human Rights Watch)

Jordan

COVID-19 and social policy in contexts of existing inequality: experiences of youth with disabilities. “The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the marginalisation of adolescents and young people with disabilities [...] as health, education and social protection systems have been slow to mobilise targeted support and address social exclusion.” (Jun, Disability and Society)

Middle East and North Africa

Disability inclusion in health responses to COVID-19 in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: results of a rapid assessment (Dec, WHO EMRO)

New Zealand

The daily, grinding tragedy of Covid-19 “By unilaterally disarming in the fight against the coronavirus, the Government is exposing New Zealanders to the very serious ongoing health burden of Covid-19.” (Sep, Newsroom)

Mixed response from disability advocates over Covid welfare support funding. (Jun, Stuff)

Reporting on an inquiry into how government response to the Omicron wave impacted disabled people: they "do not appear to have been given prominence in government policy and decision making," (May, RNZ)

Commissioner Announces Inquiry into Support of Disabled People During Omicron (Mar, HRC)

Ministry of Health 'so far removed from the day-to-day lives of disabled people' (Mar, RNZ)

'Oh well, we'll all get it' attitude to Omicron ignores increased risk to people with disabilities (Mar, Stuff)

Nigeria

Creating a more inclusive and more accessible society for a sustainable disability community in a post-COVID-19 world (Jan, Pulse NG)

Philippines

Supporting OPDs Covid-19 response: reflections from the Philippines (Dec, CBM Australia)

South Africa

Disabled people moved because of Covid are living in filthy conditions (Oct, Ground Up)

Experiences of Organisations of (or That Serve) Persons with Disabilities during the COVID-19 Pandemic and National Lockdown. “The findings demonstrate that the South African government failed to ensure targeted support to organisations of persons with disabilities. A remarkable feature of the organisations we interviewed for this small study was their agility in responding creatively to the challenges they faced, despite the difficulties.” (Oct, Environmental Research and Public Health)

Spain

Plena Inclusión demands a plan to protect persons with intellectual disabilities in the face of the Omicron wave. (Dec, Discapnet)

Sweden

Evaluation of science advice during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden “Many elderly people were administered morphine instead of oxygen despite available supplies, effectively ending their lives.” (Mar, Humanities and Social Sciences Communications)

Uganda

The response to Covid-19 in Northern Uganda should be disability-inclusive. A report on a research project between June 21 to August 22. (Dec, University of Bristol)

United Kingdom

‘They gave her a bed to die in’: family of woman with Down’s Syndrome denied intensive care seek answers from Covid-19 inquiry. (Jul, the Guardian)

Disabled people are being left out of COVID recovery. “Here are five ways to change that” (Apr, the Conversation)

‘Completely Inhumane’: Government’s Relaxed Approach to COVID Represents a Regression for Disabled People’s Rights (Mar, Byline Times)

United States

What to Do if You Have COVID A guide for preparing for illness, preventing spread to others, managing symptoms, and recovery (Jan, People's CDC)

Biden declaring the pandemic over disregards the danger disabled Americans face and “has shown how easily it is willing to view people with disabilities as pesky asterisks.” (Sep, MSNBC)

The Pandemic’s Legacy Is Already Clear: All of this will happen again. “America has little chance of effectively countering the inevitable pandemics of the future; it cannot even focus on the one that’s ongoing.”

“The new coronavirus exploited the country’s many failing systems: its overstuffed prisons and understaffed nursing homes; its chronically underfunded public-health system; its reliance on convoluted supply chains and a just-in-time economy; its for-profit health-care system, whose workers were already burned out; its decades-long project of unweaving social safety nets; and its legacy of racism and segregation that had already left Black and Indigenous communities and other communities of color disproportionately burdened with health problems.” (Sep, The Atlantic)

People with Disabilities and COVID-19 Economic Impact Payments “Persons with disabilities were significantly more likely to spend their checks on basic needs, like food and rent, and less likely to spend on second-order items like charity or savings. These results suggest that future stimulus efforts should consider an increased amount for persons with disabilities.” (May, Journal of Poverty)

Disabled Americans Push to Improve on COVID-Era Policies (Apr, Time)

The White House releases a plan to help people who are especially vulnerable to Covid-19. (Feb, NYT)

Blind people need more accessible at-home coronavirus tests (Feb, GBH)

Disabled Deaths Are Not Your “Encouraging News” '“Comorbidities” is a weaselly, cruel, violent word.' (Jan, Disability Visibility Project)

A letter to the health authorities responding to CDC comments that had referred to the deaths of those 'unwell to begin with': "The public health response to COVID-19 has treated people with disabilities as disposable." See more on Huffpost (link to pdf, Jan, coalition of disability organizations)

High-Risk Pandemic Stories: A Syllabus. "We are not alone" (Jan, Disability Visibility Project)

Biden and CDC's Covid-19 variant guidelines "have disabled people feeling left for dead" (Jan, MSNBC)

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commissions details when COVID-19 can be a disability including if you get fired because of having symptoms of COVID-19 (Dec, The Hill)

Vaccination

Australia

Predictors of vaccine hesitancy among disability support workers in Australia. A survey showed that 50% of disability support workers were vaccine hesitant. (Sep, Disability and Health)

Australian vaccine contractor prioritises aged care "NDIS participant vaccine rates remain lower than general population" (Jan, the Guardian)

Bangladesh

Directives to hold special Covid-19 vaccination drive for people with disability (Jan, The Business Standard)

United Kingdom

Booster jabs are vital – why is it so difficult for clinically vulnerable people to access them? (Dec, the Guardian)

Living with COVID

International

Creating a better post-pandemic future for adolescents with disabilities. (Mar, BMJ)

What Makes Brain Fog So Unforgiving “Brain fog isn’t like a hangover or depression. It’s a disorder of executive function that makes basic cognitive tasks absurdly hard.” (Sep)

Long covid sufferers share stories of chronic fatigue, other symptoms. Five profiles from around the world. (Aug, Washington Post)

If You’re Suffering After Being Sick With Covid It’s Not Just in Your Head. After the 1918-19 influenza pandemic:

‘Many who survived became enervated and depressed. They developed tremors and nervous complications. Similar waves of illness had followed the 1889 pandemic, with one report noting thousands “in debt and unable to work” and another describing people left “pale, listless and full of fears.”’ (Aug, NYT)

Long covid could change the way we think about disability (Jun, Washington Post)

Many Long COVID Patients Identify as Disabled and Feelings Are Complicated (May, Verywell Mind)

Pandemics disable people — the history lesson that policymakers ignore Why the complacency over possible long-term effects of COVID-19? (Feb, Nature)

Australia

Sick and Tired: casting a long shadow. Inquiry into long COVID and repeated COVID infections. (Apr, Parliament of Australia)

Covid-related staff shortages in Australian disability sector leave some without vital services (Jan, the Guardian)

Canada

COVID concerns of disabled people multiply as health protocols lifted (Mar, Policy Options Politiques)

High-risk Canadians feel forgotten as rules lift: “Can't we have lives too?” (Mar, CTV News)

Chronic exhaustion, derailed lives and no way out. This is long COVID. (Jan, Maclean's)

India

Covid scare keeps blind students away from school (Jul, Deccan Herald)

New Zealand

For those of us with disabilities, lockdown won’t end as long as Covid strategies leave us behind (Dec, the Guardian)

Norway

When you talk about "those who are going to die from something anyway" then you are talking about me. "Aren't I, a human being, worth more than the local pub?" (in Norwegian, google translate makes sense, Jan)

United Kingdom

Two-thirds of UK workers with long Covid have faced unfair treatment, says report (based on survey of 3,000). (Mar, the Guardian)

Living with long Covid series exploring the “millions of lives impacted by long Covid” (Oct, the Guardian)

Doctors with long Covid say they have been denied disability benefits. (Jun, the Guardian)

Alarm after EHRC says long Covid should not be treated as disability (May, the Guardian)

United States

NYC Has Left People With Long COVID Behind Living with long COVID in NYC means living an increasingly lonely existence. (Jun, Hell Gate)

Long COVID Is Being Erased—Again What was once outright denial has morphed into a subtler dismissal. (Apr, The Atlantic)

Long Covid disabled them. Then they met a 'broken' Social Security disability process. (Mar, CNN Business)

The Long COVID Survival Guide How to Take Care of Yourself and What Comes Next, a “patient-to-patient guide for people wliving with long COVID”. (Nov, Experiment Publishing)

Long COVID Has Forced the U.S. to Take Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Seriously. “At best, most medical professionals know nothing about ME/CFS [myalgic encephalomyelitis, or chronic fatigue syndrome]; at worst, they tell patients that their symptoms are psychosomatic, anxiety-induced, or simply signs of laziness. [...] Every ME/CFS patient I’ve talked with predicted long COVID’s arrival well before most doctors or even epidemiologists started catching up.” (Sep, The Atlantic) See also Ed Yong's reflections on reporting on long COVID and other chronic illnesses in a sensitive way.

Long Covid is keeping millions out of work “Fixing the labor shortage means treating, accommodating and mitigating long Covid. It also requires building a society in which disabled people can participate.” (Sep, the Guardian)

Long Covid keeps millions of Americans out of workforce. Recent research estimates that 2 to 4 million people are out of work due to Covid symptoms after the infection period. (Aug, CNBC)

Black Covid long-haulers say doctors dismissed their symptoms, so now they’re relying on one another for support. (Aug, NBC News)

Biden's long Covid plan is a good start. But it needs to go further. (Aug, Stat)

Rest May Be the Best Treatment for Long COVID. Our Disability Policies Should Reflect That. “The continuing crisis around long COVID should inspire policymakers to embrace a more flexible frame of reference around what it means to be disabled, and to design more generous short-term disability policies, including a federal short-term disability benefit. Allowing long haulers to rest in the short term might help them avoid years or decades of significant, often disabling long-term health consequences.” (Jul, TCF)

Many try to return to normal from COVID, but disabled people face a different reality “All we're really asking for is for a masking policy that will allow us to be able to go to the store, to go to the doctor, go get the mail, without risking [our health],” (Jul, NPR)

Long Covid Is Showing Up in the Employment Data (Jun, Washington Post)

Patients with long covid symptoms face tough disability benefit fights: "Patients and doctors say safety net is unprepared for novel claims stemming from the pandemic". (Mar, Washington Post)

The Millions of People Stuck in Pandemic Limbo 'Each individual infection is its own high-stakes gamble. [...] Over the past year, as many Americans reveled in their restored freedoms, many immunocompromised people felt theirs shrinking.':

'As the coronavirus moves from a furious boil to a gentle simmer, many immunocompromised people (like everyone else) hope to slowly expand their life again. But right now, “it’s like asking someone who cannot swim to jump into the ocean instead of trying a pool,” [...]'

'Beyond equitable access to treatments, the people I spoke with mostly want structural changes—better ventilation standards, widespread availability of tests, paid sick leave, and measures to improve vaccination rates. Above all else, they want flexibility, in both private and public spaces. That means remote-work and remote-school options, but also mask mandates for essential spaces such as grocery stores and pharmacies [...] But in terms of what individual people can do for them, the most common request I heard was: Just have a heart. Regardless of your own choices, don’t jeer at us for being mindful of our higher risks, and definitely don’t tell us that our lives are worth less.' (Feb, The Atlantic)

At-Home Coronavirus Tests Are Inaccessible to Blind People: “It’s your personal health information, you should be the first to know." (Jan, NYT)

What Does ‘Living With Covid-19’ Mean For Disabled And Chronically Ill People? A useful balanced view of pessimistic and hopeful outcomes. (Dec, Forbes)

Civil Society and Community

Back to contents.

International

Leave no one behind: a promise in peril. A campaign to keep the Sustainable Development Goals on track. (Jun, Sightsavers)

How representative are organisations of persons with disabilities? Data from nine surveys suggest that “about a third of people with disabilities were aware of OPDs and fewer than 15% were members”. Personally I have doubts that the outcome measures justify this finding, as they seem to be about disability organizations more generally. (Jun, Disability & Society)

Beyond Identity Funding: Rethinking Social Justice Philanthropy. A thoughtful and personal exploration of what funders can do differently. (May, NPQ)

Foundation Giving for Disability: Priorities and Trends reports. About 2% of 2019 grantmaking went to disability-related grants. And, on top of that, it mostly focusses on services and supports rather than rights and justice. (Jan, Disability and Philanthropy)

Our Resistance stories of disability rights activists. (Dec, We are Purposeful)

Ridiculous Excuses not to be inclusive short, entertaining video of excuses people have used, including: “I'm sorry, but we already have one of those kids”. (Mar, CoorDown)

Centering the Voices of Disabled Youth Activists (Jan, Women Enabled)

Understanding Minority Youth with Disabilities Through Data and Personal Experience: resources for Centers for Independent Living. (Dec, Mathematica)

Let's End Disability Stigma short video from people with disabilities around the world. (Dec, CBM UK)

Resourcing Disability Justice: Our Feminist Journey Toward Centring Disability Justice. (Link to PDF, Nov, Purposeful)

Book review of Deaf Empowerment: Resistance and Decolonization “an important book that provides new perspectives on Deaf empowerment.” (Oct, H-Disability)

Not just ticking the box: Findings of IDA's Global Survey on participation of organizations of persons with disabilities. In the face of “threats to civic participation and heightening barriers” to participation, there is increasing engagement with international organizations but decreasing engagement with governments. (Jun, IDA)

The 2022 D-30 Disability Impact List “honors the unique accomplishments of our most impactful community members globally” (Jul, Diversability)

The United Nations and others celebrated World Down Syndrome Day (Mar, UN)

Australia

Our understanding of limb difference is changing, and these young Australians are leading the way (Jul, ABC News)

Bangladesh

Police intercept disabled people’s demo heading for Prime Minister's Office to demand for a big increase in the disability allowance. (Jun, New Age) See also further reaction to the recent budget. (Daily Sun)

Organizations of Persons with Disabilities and Sightsavers launch Equal Bangladesh campaign (May, The Daily Star)

Brazil

Ableist offensives and the fear of a crippled planet: challenges for disability activism. (In Portuguese, Jun, Athenea Digital)

Cameroon

How churches are a breeding ground for the exclusion of Persons with Disabilities: “Many church leaders subscribe to the charity model of disability” (Jan, Minority Africa)

China

Today, I don't want to advocate "disability prevention", what about you? (Aug, translated by google) Minority Talk

Cyprus

Disabled protesters unhappy with handling of their issues:

‘The protesters and their supporters expressed dissatisfaction with how the government has handled various issues of concern, with slogans such as: “No to exclusion, yes to recognition and respect”, “Segregation is not for the good of children”, “No to the dismantling of the welfare state” and “The right of disabled children to inclusive education is non-negotiable.”’ (Dec, Cyprus Mail) See also a video of the protestors.

Ethiopia

Restricted participation: Drivers, experiences and implications of disability stigma. (Jan, African Journal of Disability)

Europe

Hundreds Of Disabled Activists Demand Rights in Brussels in a “Freedom Drive”. (Sep, ENIL)

France

A disabled woman in Paris goes on hunger strike to demand accessible housing. (In French, Jun, France Info)

Disability activists protest in France ahead of Paris Olympics. Highlighting inaccessible metro services and drawing pledges from Macron. (Apr, Associated Press)

Germany

Let's let the lifts glow: disabled people call to test accessibility of stations. (In German, Apr, Kobinet Nachrichten)

India

People with disabilities hold protest for release of disability pension “They raised slogans against Social Welfare Department and burnt an effigy of its director.” (Jun, Jammu Kashmir Latest News)

Lakshadweep: Disability Rights Activists Hold Another Protest as Accessibility Issues Continue Protests banned during the G20 meetings in order to stop them. (May, The Wire)

Disabled Persons Association Protest Merger of Disability Pension Fund with Arunodoi Scheme in Guwahati, Assam (May, G Plus)

Revival Disability India turns 3. “We are proud to be taking up digital space little by little, every day, and to be disrupting the able-bodied and heteronormative lines of the world. [...] We have created our very own imagined reality through our phone screens - an accessible reality where we are free to dissent, share intimate moments and experience a sense of belongingness and affirmation.” (Apr, Revival Disability India)

In Bihar, People with disabilities launch ‘satyagraha’ “Thousands of people with disabilities from all the 38 districts of the state have launched an indefinite protest at Gandhi Maidan in support of their 46-point demands for their rights and welfare.”

The Protest Toolkit: “with our existence itself being a form of rebellion, our emotions and our community become our tools of protest.” (Aug, Women Enabled International) See also reflections on celebrating disability pride in India.

Iran

‘We exist but we are ignored’: The Iranian disability rights activist on a mission to change things. (Mar, Independent)

Ireland

New grassroots organisation aims to change perceptions of disability with 'radical' events (Jun, Irish Examiner)

Kenya

A new book: Disability and Social Justice in Kenya Scholars, Policymakers, and Activists in Conversation. “Kenya has been on the forefront of disability activism and disability rights since the middle of the twentieth century.” (Michigan Publishing)

Profile of John Wambua of the United Disabled Persons of Kenya. (Mar, Inclusive Futures)

Malaysia

Sen. Ras Adiba Radzi disability-rights advocate honored in Washington. (Mar, BenarNews)

Mexico

A directory of organizations for and of persons with disabilities in Mexico. See notes on its launch. (May, Yo También)

Mexico City wheelchair users rally for more accessibility (Aug, Yahoo! News)

Middle East and North Africa

Arab Civil Society Organizations and the Issue of Disability, Inclusion and Sustainable Development (link to pdf, UNDEF)

Netherlands

Reducing prejudices about people with disabilities interesting to see that it doesn't approve of the simulation exercises (in Dutch, google translate makes some sense, Jan, Movisie)

New Zealand

From the Debrief's own Áine Kelly-Costello: Saying the quiet part out loud: “For a blindness service provider, creating a work environment which is untenable for people who come from the community the organisation supposedly serves is shameful.” (Apr, Blind Citizens NZ)

Philippines

On the Debrief: “I'm not rebellious” an interview with Abner Manlapaz, lifelong activist. (May)

Poland

People with Disabilities Push for Access to Personal Assistance “Last Saturday, dozens of people dressed in black carried a coffin through the streets of Warsaw to the presidential palace.” (May, Human Rights Watch)

Disabled in Poland: “Organisations representing disabled people in Poland have renewed their protests to demand more financial help and better care from the state.” (Apr, Reporting Democracy)

Protest of Polish disabled people in the Parliament Demands to increase social pension. (Mar, Poland Daily Live)

Views Of Life Interview with Dorota Krać. Polish Association of the Blind (PZN). (Mar, EBU)

Disabled people begin protest in Polish parliament seeking rise in benefits to level of minimum wage. (Mar, Notes from Poland)

Sierra Leone

Integrating Disability Justice into Girl-Centered programming. (We are Purposeful)

Somalia

Somalia Disability Network Annual Report 2022. (Link to PDF, Jan, SDN)

South Africa

Disability and Islam: PhD examines unconscious exclusion, burden of responsibility. (Mar, UCT News.)

South Korea

Disabled activists stage surprise subway protest in downtown Seoul on nat'l disability day. (Apr, Yonhap News Agency)

Resolution remains elusive for Seoul's disabled accessibility issues (Jan, Korea Times)

Seoul’s callous response to disability rights protests. “While trying to stop the disabled activists from boarding the subway, Seoul Metro workers and the police forcibly pulled activists away by their wheelchairs.” (Jan, Hankyoreh)

Disability rights activists are referred to prosecution over protests in the subway during rush-hour. (Jan, Korea Times) Comment on this “zero tolerance” approach, which includes Seoul Metro suing the protestors. Protests paused during further dialogue.

Disabled advocacy group to resume rush-hour subway protests. “Demanding measures to improve mobility rights and budget for disability rights, SADD has been leading subway protests since late last year and often caused delays in metro services during rush hour as some of its members used their wheelchairs to prevent trains from departing.” (Apr, Yonhap News) See a detailed feature on the protests and how the movement goes back to 2001 in the Nation.

Spain

Views Of Life Interview with Cristina Barreto Cristina Barreto - Organización Nacional de Ciegos Españoles (ONCE). (Mar, EBU)

Greens call Spain prohibit ableist show of persons with dwarfism (Jan, Katrin Langensiepen, MdEP)

United Kingdom

Disabled Virgin Mary in Peterborough Cathedral art exhibition. (May, BBC)

Call for solidarity: Defend the rights of disabled campaigners, ‘calling on the Metropolitan Police to prevent a repeat of the systemic discrimination towards disabled protesters that we documented in our report “Restricting the Rebellion” in 2019.’ (Apr, Freedom)

Dementia and Hope a vision for “dismantling the barriers which disable a million people in the UK” (Jan, One Dementia Voice)

Disabled people have been at the heart of ‘direct action’ protest for years – what do we do now? Claiming the right to protest. (Jan, The Independent)

First orthodox siddur for people with disabilities launched in UK (Jun, Jerusalem Post)

Disabled youth participation within activism and social movement bases: “[Young disabled people] feel pressure to agree with those who have identified the cause, advised by established figures on ways in which they should demonstrate resistance, and are requested to provide recommendations that will improve the situation for young people: a limited involvement.” (Jun, Current Sociology)

Radio play Pride and Protest offers a window into the current struggle for disability rights. (May, Disability Arts Online)

Tickboxes and Tokenism? Service User Involvement Report 2022 (Feb, Shaping our Lives)

United States

Focus on disability rights growing, but intersectional support lags. Exploring foundation funding of disability rights. (Apr, Candid)

Borealis Philanthropy and Ford Foundation Launch $1 Million Disability x Tech Fund to Advance Leadership of People With Disabilities in Tech Innovation. (Feb, Ford Foundation)

Autism research at the crossroads “The power struggle between researchers, autistic self-advocates and parents is threatening progress across the field.” (Jan, Spectrum)

What I learned from the Generation of Disabled Activists Who Came After Me (Dec, Time) An essay by Ben Mattlin, accompanying the release of Disability Pride: Dispatches from a post-ADA world.

32 Years After the ADA, People with Disabilities Still Are Left Behind in Faith Institutions as religious organizations have exemptions from the law. (Jul, Respect Ability)

5 Reasons Why Disability Activism Is Still Hard One is that “Like the rest of society, disabled people are divided and polarized” (May, Forbes)

Foundations Pledge More Than $3 Million to Launch Disability-Focused Philanthropy-Serving Organization. See also on the disability inclusion pledge which has been signed by over sixty philanthropic organizations. (Mar, Disability & Philanthropy Forum)

Uzbekistan

Dreaming beyond the impossible: A story of disability rights activism in Uzbekistan. (Feb, UNSDG)

Zimbabwe

Youth with Disabilities and their Participation in the Zimbabwean Society. (Feb, This Ability Hub)

Climate Crisis and Environment

Back to contents.

Overview

International

Discussion paper on climate change and disability rights. A study in Bangladesh, Kenya and Nepal. “Lack of transparency of government budgets both centrally and decentralised across different ministries makes it difficult to understand where money is being spent and potentially being re-allocated during times of climate crisis.” See also videos from Malawi and Zimbabwe. (Jun, CBM UK)

Debrief Feature: A just transition for disabled people. A disability lens on greening economies and society (May, Disability Debrief)

Enabling Commons Thoughtful conversations hosted by the Debrief's own Áine Kelly-Costello: “This podcast is a space for dialogue among persons with disabilities to explore strategies that will transform our environments, our commons, to be meaningfully enabling for all.” (May, DICARP)

On the Debrief: Where disability and climate meet. Disabled wisdom and an invitation to community. (Apr, Disability Debrief)

Nothing about us without us: The urgent need for disability-inclusive climate research. (Mar, Plos Climate)

The role of the scientific community in strengthening disability-inclusive climate resilience. “We discuss how the scientific community could advance and hasten the development of disability-inclusive climate resilience, and which areas should be prioritized.” (Jan, Nature Climate Change) See also a blog summarising the comment (HPOD).

An issue on Mental Health & Climate Justice including research on women with psychosocial disabilities in intersecting disasters and climate change. (Dec, Mariwala Health Initiative Journal)

Illegalized Bodies: Addressing Disabled Vulnerabilities and Adaptation to Climate Change based on case studies from the US and Philippines. (Dec, Towson University Journal of International Affairs)

The CRPD and Climate Action. Links between the UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Climate Change. (Nov, Gerard Quinn)

A status report updating the review of Disability Rights in National Climate Policies. (Link to PDF, Nov, IDA)

Global Impact of Climate Change on Persons with Albinism: A Human Rights Issue. (Jan, Journal of Climate Change and Health)

Some good news for persons with disabilities from COP27. (Nov, IDA)

Missing in Climate Action Stories of persons with disabilities from the Global South combined with exploration of ableism and environmental justice.

Leave No One Behind a report on people with disabilities and older people in climate-related disasters. An overview of recent evidence and experiences directly from disabled people themselves. (Nov, Human Rights Watch)

Can COP27 contribute to disability-inclusive climate justice? (Nov, Disability Debrief)

Disability Debrief compilation of resources on climate change and disability lovingly put together by Áine. (Nov)

How climate change affects mental health highlighting dimensions of concern. (Nov, Wellcome)

A policy brief on realizing disability rights through a just transition towards environmentally sustainable economies and societies (Nov, ILO)

Cripping Climate Activism piece with beautiful illustrations on advocating at the intersections of disability, gender and climate. (Oct, Women Enabled International)

Climate policy and activism need to make space for disabled people. (Oct, BMJ)

The Barriers and Enablers of persons with disabilities as climate change agents. Based on research in Bangladesh and Madagascar:

“Persons with disabilities have knowledge and ideas which stem from their every-day life experiences dealing with risk and social and structural barriers creating problem-solving skills invaluable in the fight against climate change. Furthermore, persons with disabilities are clearly highly impacted by climate change and have experiences and perspectives which may contribute valuable insight in mainstream climate discourses.” (Sep, LUP Student Papers)

Interview with Pauline Castres on importance of climate policy, justice and activism for people with disabilities. (Sep, WID)

Global Disability Justice In Climate Disasters: Mobilizing People With Disabilities As Change Agents (Oct, Health Affairs)

Climate change disasters are a disability rights issue. (Sep, Yahoo)

Disability Debrief feature: Disability in the Heat Why authorities need to prioritise people at highest risk as temperatures rise
(Jul, Disability Debrief)

Heatwaves worsen mental health conditions (Jul, the Conversation)

Environmental Justice inclusive of disability animated videos telling the story through a character called Sofía. (in Spanish, ONG Inclusiva) Also available with English subtitles.

Report on Disability Inclusion in National Climate Commitments and Policies The 2015 Paris Agreement calls on countries to outline the measures they will take to reduce emissions and adapt to climate change. Fewer than one in four countries make references to persons with disabilities in these plans, and where they do, it is often cursory. (Jun, IDA and McGill) See also coverage on the Guardian.

A briefing note for the Bonn Climate Conference 2022 on integrating human rights to climate action. (Jun, Human Rights and Climate Change Working Group)

A discussion exploring Climate Change, Environmental Activism, and Disability (SSIR)

Resource Page on Connections Between Climate Change and Disability (Disability & Philanthropy Forum)

See previously on the Debrief, Responses to climate change leaving disabled people behind on the IPCC report and recent floods in Australia. (Apr, Disability Debrief)

What I wish non-disabled people understood about disability and plastic. An illustrated coming showing “disabled people often suffer most from plastic pollution, but many also rely on plastic products for health, independence and dignity.” (Mar, Greenpeace)

Climate and sport: Paralympic champion Tatyana McFadden explains the link. (Apr, UN)

A policy paper on Locating disability inclusion in action on climate change with advice targeted to the UK government to make their climate action disability-inclusive. (Mar, CBM UK)

A feature exploring the link between disability and sustainability particularly from the view of the private sector. (Mar, Valuable 500)

On the IPCC report: Scant mention of disabled community, despite higher risk of climate change impact. (Mar, Stuff)

The missing conversation about disabled leadership in climate justice. "Disabled people are expert adapters – we spend our lives figuring out how to live and thrive in a world which was not designed for us." (Mar, Stuff)

The IPCC Sixth Assessment Report Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. "Across sectors and regions the most vulnerable people and systems are observed to be disproportionately affected. " Recommends that inclusive governance address vulnerabilities and inequalities related to disability. (March, IPCC)

The Sangyan's posts on climate change include reflections on Climate Change, Disability, and the Capability Approach and the displacement of people with disabilities as climate refugees. (Mar, Sangyan)

Disability and Climate Justice an overview of the current situation and recommendations to take forward (link to pdf, Dec, Open Society Foundations)

Cop26: Take stock, regroup and keep disability inclusion on the table for climate action "let's do better together". (Jan, Bond)

Policy Brief on the decade of healthy ageing in a climate-changing world (Jan, Decade of Healthy Ageing)

Environmental Justice and Disability with Pauline Castres - YouTube a nice conversation covering key issues and reflecting on COP. (Dec, Judy Heumann)

What is Climate resilient inclusive design and why do we need it? Global Disability Innovation Hub at COP26 (Nov, GDI)

Australia

Eco-ableism? Banning Straws’ Impact on Disabled People. “This month, Victoria became the latest Australian state to ban single-use plastics, including straws. While this is a win for the environment and marine life, it will come at a price for social inclusion.” (Feb, Mirage)

Bangladesh

Protect People Most At Risk During Monsoon Season International Funding Needed to Ensure Climate Action is Inclusive of People with Disabilities, Older People. “Everyone interviewed said the flooding significantly affected their mental health, with many describing extreme fear, anxiety, and distress, but none had access to psychosocial services.” (Jun, Human Rights Watch)

Lessons from the Historic 2022 Flooding In Bangladesh. (Sep, HPOD)

Data & evidence missing on the impact of climate change on persons with disabilities. “No data on how persons with disabilities have been affected by the flooding, persons with disabilities are scattered in this area and even getting cash support to these persons takes a bit of time. There are not so many OPDs to support them either.” (Jul, CBM Global)

Burundi

Driving change for a resilient future: national dialogue paves way for disability-inclusive climate action. (Jun, World Council of Churches)

Canada

Disability rights don’t have to clash with environmental responsibility (Jul, the Conversation)

One Year Since Deadly Heatwave Protections Still Needed: 600 people died due to extreme heat in the summer of 2021, 91% of whom were 60 or older. (May, Human Rights Watch)

Dominica

The inclusion of persons with disabilities in the climate change discourse. Highlighting cases of persons with disabilities affected by climate change in this small island developing state. (Nov, Dominica News Online)

Ethiopia

The invisible children in climate crisis. “As drought worsens in the Horn of Africa, children with a disability bear the heaviest burden” (Mar, UNICEF)

Europe

Heatwaves Disastrous for Older People, People with Disabilities. (Aug, Human Rights Watch)

Joint Statement on the Social Climate Fund the fund “must be a transformative instrument tackling structural injustices” (Mar, EDF)

India

Climate Change Is A Double Blow For People With Disabilities (Aug, Health Policy Watch)

Interview with Alice Abraham, a young woman from Kerala “regarding the impact of climate change on her life and her disability.” (Jul, The Sangyan)

An ICT4 Inclusion Challenge on mitigating the impact of climate change on people with disabilities (May, ICT 4 Inclusion Challenge)

Ireland

Climate action must be inclusive, say disability campaigners. (Apr, RTE)

Climate actions must not undermine rights of people with disabilities, committee warned. (Mar, The Irish Times)

Kenya

Include persons with disability in climate action plans (Jan, The Standard)

Madagascar

Climate Change and its Humanitarian Consequences: the impact on persons with disabilities in Southern Madagascar. (Aug, CBM Global)

Nepal

A case study on Nepal’s changing climate and its impact on communities including persons with disabilities “I have never seen anything
like that in my whole life. The whole earth was shaking. Other people went
uphill as the flood started to rise. Later, I went up with the support of my
son-in-law too. I came here looking for better access to the market and
other facilities. But I lost everything. I am an old man with a physical
disability, it is very difficult for me now” (Jul, CBM Global)

New Zealand

When the rain doesn’t stop. The Debrief's Áine Kelly-Costello on experiences in the Auckland flooding. (Apr, Blind Citizens NZ)

Pacific

Podcast with Sainimili Tawake who works as inclusive development advisor for the Pacific Disability Forum. (No transcript, Dec, UNDP)

Disability and Climate change Findings discussions with disabled people in Kiribati, Solomon Islands, and Tuvalu.

“Many of the impacts highlighted in this report relate to exclusionary practices that already exist. This ranges from discrimination within the household to exclusion from policy formation and policy implementation. For example, persons with disabilities may not be prioritised when a household is experiencing a shortage of food or water. Similarly, persons with disabilities are often not considered in disaster risk management, such as the design of evacuation procedures and evacuation shelters. Without concerted action, the impact of exclusion on persons with disabilities will become worse under climate change.”

“Climate change is also introducing new risks; for example, by forcing a change in agricultural and fishing practices. On the one hand, persons with disabilities already experience barriers to engage in farming and fishing, with many reliant on marginal or subsistence agriculture. Most agricultural produce is consumed within the household, with limited surplus sold at market. Falling yields from farming and home gardens further impact on food security and incomes. Persons with disabilities who have been able to overcome barriers and farm or work on small plantations are facing new barriers. As reported, farmers with disabilities may not be in a position to relocate their plantations and/or travel to more remote locations to farm. Similarly, new offshore fishing practices are creating new barriers to entry for persons with disabilities.” (link to pdf, Aug, Pacific Disability Forum)

Rwanda

‘I Am Left With Nothing’ Rwandans with Disabilities are Disproportionately Impacted by Flooding From Climate Change. (May)

Solomon Islands

How People with Disabilities Face Climate Change in Solomon Islands: "Every high tide is right at my doorstep every time I wake up. That keeps me wondering if soon, we are going to sink in the sea with no option,” (May, Solomon Times)

South Africa

Load shedding life-threatening to people with disabilities. (Jul, Rolling Inspiration)

How load shedding impacts people living with disabilities (Jun)

Spain

Inadequate Response to Heatwaves Support People with Disabilities at Risk to Climate Change – study of 2022 heatwaves in Andalusia. (Jun, Human Rights Watch)

United Kingdom

Briefing for charities and funders on how the climate and nature crises impact older and disabled people (Jun, NPC)

Disabled people are being left out of the climate conversation (May, Big Issue)

Disabled People Must Not Pay The Price For Clean Air (Aug, Bristol Disability Equality Forum)

The people making a difference: profile of a climate activist: “a heavy wheelchair is handy for wrongfooting the police”. (Sep, the Guardian)

Protest for All a guide for climate change groups on making their protests accessible for disabled people. (link to pdf, Sep, Bristol Disability Equality Forum)

‘There’s no support for us at all’: The realities of caring for a disabled child during a heatwave. (Jul, Big Issue)

Disability and the heatwave: Cooling solutions and disability as weather alert goes red (Jul, BBC)

City’s co-produced climate action plan ‘is a world first’
 featuring Bristol's climate plan, which we also covered on the debrief (Jul, Disability News Service)

Glasgow disabled facing hostility for car use “Disabled people are facing "climate-change themed" hostility and aggression for using cars, according to a charity.” (May, The Herald)

A new Community Climate Action Plan in Bristol (Mar, Bristol DEF)

Up to the Challenge report examining the National Disability Strategy and how it addresses climate change. "Disabled people across the country are excluded from the important work to tackle climate change." (Feb, Oxford)

For disabled environmentalists discrimination and exclusion are a daily reality (Jan, Greenpeace)

United States

Energy Storage Can Help People with Disabilities Through Extreme Weather Events. (Apr, The Equation)

Climate change efforts won’t work if they exclude people with disabilities. “Ultimately, disability-inclusive approaches to climate action increase the safety, flexibility and accessibility of climate solutions for society as a whole.” (Jan, Spokesman-Review)

Poet and Activist Naomi Ortiz Talks About Ecojustice and Self Care: “Ecojustice to me is how we can live and balance the best we can and honor the fact that we have different needs.” (Aug, WNYC Studios)

It’s not just heat stroke. Extreme temperatures pose special risk to people with chronic illness (Jul, Statnews)

Where Food Sustainability and Disability Clash “Services like grocery and meal delivery are generally not environmentally or worker-friendly, using lots of single-use plastic and relying on underpaid gig workers. But they’re often the safest and most accessible avenues for disabled and chronically ill people.” (Jun, FoodPrint)

Ageing and the Climate Crisis aging (Jun, ASA Generations)

In best of times, New Orleans is hard on people with disabilities. In hurricanes, it's deadly. (Jun, Nola)

Severe weather can mean life or death for people with disabilities. (May, Fox9)

Climate change is forcing care workers to act as first responders. “A new pilot program in California aims to provide the training and resources they need to take care of their clients and themselves. But advocates say increased responsibility should equal more pay.” (May, 19th News)

Ensuring the Safety of People With Disabilities During Climate Change (Apr, Santa Clara University)

How heeding disabled people can help us survive the climate crisis. (Jan, Slate)

COP 27

International

Why is disability still waiting for real progress on inclusive climate action? 5 takeaways from COP27. (Jan, Bond)

What has been done and what can still be done. Increasing participation albeit significant access challenges remain. (Dec, EDF)

No climate solution without disability inclusion (Nov, LFTW)

How people with disabilities fought for formal recognition at COP27: “We’re still just trying to get on the agenda”. (Nov, Grist)

People With Disabilities Raise Voices at Climate Talks (Nov, AP News)

Communication and Language

Back to contents.

Overview

International

Complex to Clear: Tips for Easy-to-Understand Communication (Jun, Inclusion International)

Journal of Critical Study of Communication and Disability First edition in 2023. (May, JCSCD)

People need to understand information to live their lives independently: about easy-to-read. (Mar, Inclusion Europe)

Ethiopia

Working for inclusivity, accessibility: launch of a new Talking Books initiative to make educational texts available in audio format. (Dec, The Reporter Ethiopia)

Europe

Speech Impairment and Yiddish Literature, or: On the Obligation to Communicate and the Responsibility to Listen (May, Journal of Critical Study of Communication and Disability)

India

An online library for blind and print disabled with a collection of nearly 700,000 books in DAISY format combining audio and text. (Nov, Kashmir Images)

Indonesia

Information gap affecting the disabled (May, D+C)

Nigeria

Book Famine: How policies in Nigeria limit visually impaired persons’ access to books. (Jan, Premium Times)

Palestine

Communication, inclusion and psychological wellbeing among deaf and hard of hearing children: A qualitative study in the Gaza Strip. “Key themes identified in the analysis included lack of accessible communication, community exclusion, negative attitudes towards hearing impairment and deafness and the impact on deaf and hard of hearing children's sense of self, and limited family knowledge on hearing impairment and deafness.” (Jun, PLOS Global Public Health)

South Africa

Ending the book famine: Copyright guide launched for blind and visually impaired. (Jan, Gadget)

United States

How tactile graphics can help end image poverty. “Tactile graphic design is an art of transformation: what appeals to the eye may be cluttered and chaotic to the fingertips.” (Jun, MIT Technology Review)

Jordyn Zimmerman is redefining communication as a nonspeaking advocate for disability rights, describing “augmentative and alternative communication”:

‘It’s essentially all the ways someone may communicate besides speaking. It refers to any tool or method or support to help someone be heard or understood. The “augmentative” is usually meant to add to someone’s speech, and the “alternative” is usually meant to be instead of someone’s speech. For me, iPad paired with a text-based application serves as the tool that allows me to reliably and effectively be heard and understood.’ (Apr, the 19th)

DeafBlind Communities May Be Creating a New Language of Touch. “Protactile began as a movement for autonomy and a system of tactile communication. Now, some linguists argue, it is becoming a language of its own” (May, New Yorker)

Sign Languages

International

Position Paper on Access to National Sign Languages as a Health Need. (Jan, WFD)

Evidence for superior encoding of detailed visual memories in deaf signers. “Our findings add to evidence showing that deaf signers are at an advantage [... in the] retention of detailed visual memories over the longer term.” (May, Scientific Reports)

World Federation of the Deaf celebration of international mother language day: "by specifically recognizing the right of deaf people to have access in all areas of their lives to their Mother Language, sign language." (Feb)

The Global Digital Library has books available in three sign-languages, namely Cambodian, Kenyan and Rwandan.

Australia

The art of interpreting standup comedy in sign language. (Jun, the Guardian)

Canada

How Indigenous sign language is helping this woman connect with her culture (Jul, CBC)

Chile

In drafting of the new constitution sign-language has been recognised as an official language (Mar, UN Special Envoy on Twitter)

Egypt

Numerals in Egyptian Sign Language from a Typological Perspective. (Oct, North African Linguistics)

Fingerspelling Systems in Egyptian Sign Language (Jun, North African Linguistics)

Israel

The Vulnerability of Emerging Sign Languages. An article on how Kufr Qassem Sign Language is merging with Israeli Sign Language as its users show a preference towards ISL. (link to pdf, Feb, MDPI)

Kenya

Deaf Persons Open A Centre To Promote Use Of Kenya Sign Language. (Mar, Kenya News Agency)

Govt Offices to Start Using Sign Language in New Law (Jan, Kenyans)

Nepal

Supporting deaf learners in Nepal via Sustainable Development Goal 4: Inclusive and equitable quality education in sign languages. (Nov, Int. Journal of Speech-Language Pathology)

Nepal’s first PhD candidate from the deaf community campaigns to promote Sign language (May, Nepali Times)

The eye and the other: Language and ethics in deaf Nepal (Mar, American Anthropologist)

Pakistan

Broadcast media to have sign language interpreters (Dec, The News)

Solomon Islands

Trainings for deaf and hearing people in Australian Sign Language to go out “into remote communities” to teach sign language. (Jul, RNZ)

South Africa

Sign language is set to become South Africa’s 12th official language after a long fight for recognition. (May, The Conversation)

South African Sign Language set to become official language (May, Disability Insider)

Uganda

Reasonable accommodation for Deaf persons on why provision of a sign language interpreter needs to be accompanied by further measures. (Mar, IDA)

United Arab Emirates

How to sing in sign language: meet the interpreter joining Mohammed Abdu on stage (Jun, The National News)

United Kingdom

Review of Signs for Change a beautiful documentary by Rose Ayling-Ellis. See also an interview with Rose: “Nobody deaf in this country has the profile I have. I just want to get it right.” (Jun, the Guardian)

Work to be done on census figures for BSL: discusses methodology and estimates 150,000 BSL signers in the country. (Nov, BDA)

Sign language used in court as deaf jurors with own interpreters used for first time in England. (Sep, Daily Mail)

Sign Language is My Language a series of “new perspectives on the experience of being deaf in 21st-century Britain.” (Sep, BBC)

Why I co-created a Twitter bot for BSL interpreter requests (Jul, The Limping Chicken)

Sign language 999 BSL service launched for deaf people (Jun, BBC)

A Sociolinguistic History of British Sign Language in Northern Ireland. "The study shows how the Protestant schools played an important role in the transmission of BSL in the island of Ireland." (Mar, Sign Language Studies)

British Sign Language to become recognised language in the UK (Jan, the Guardian)

Why everyone should learn some sign language (Jan, New Scientist)

United States

How recognizing American Sign Language will serve Hawaiʻi's local deaf community. (Apr, Hawaiʻi public radio)

Crip Linguistics Goes to School:

“Because the school environment provides another way for deaf children to acquire language, professional signed language fluency is critical. Yet, in other second language acquisition contexts, fluency is not necessary for effective teaching and often highly racialized. If perceived fluency is often dependent on proximity to whiteness, and language fluency is not necessary for effective teaching, then why is it necessary to require professionals to be fluent in signed languages before teaching and working with deaf children?” (Feb, Languages)

Native American sign language arrives at the Super Bowl. (Feb, Washington Post)

How ASL performer Justina Miles stole the show at Super Bowl LVII. (Feb, CNN)

Why Sign Language Was Banned in America part of a video series exploring sign language. (Oct, Storied, PBS)

How These Sign Language Experts Are Bringing More Diversity to Theater “As productions increasingly include characters and perspectives from a variety of backgrounds, deaf and hearing people who translate the shows for deaf audiences are trying to keep up.” (Jan, New York Times)

How Deaf and Hearing Friends Co-Navigate the World: “friendterpreting” and the everyday ways people communicate. (Aug, Sapiens)

The Need For Black Sign Language Interpreters In Hip-Hop (Jul, Okayplayer)

How Sign Language Evolves as Our World Does. (Jul, NYT)

Vanuatu

Left out of society: Vanuatu’s deaf community push for national sign language. (Dec, the Guardian)

Braille

International

World Blind Union calls for increased access to braille on World Braille Day. “Despite obligations arising from international and national law, we know many blind people lack access to braille itself, to appropriate training in braille, and to technologies that facilitate the use of braille”. (Jan, World Blind Union)

Governments urged to increase access to braille (Jan, 1News)

The UN international World Braille Day (4 Jan, UN)

Brazil

Braille: accessibility improves in Brazil, but still needs to advance. Almost one in four blind Brazilians are illiterate. (Jan, Agência Brasil)

China

New doors open for the visually impaired a feature on use of Braille in China. (Aug, China Daily)

Europe

A new video on the importance of Braille. (Jan, European Blind Union)

India

Thirukkural and other Tamil literary works to be available in Braille script. (Oct)

Kenya

Feature on the Kenya Institute of Special Education's work on Braille. (Jan, Star)

South Africa

Concourt rules that Copyright Act is unconstitutional. “Blind and visually impaired people, prevented from converting written material to braille or other accessible formats without the permission of copyright holders, can now do so following a ruling by the Constitutional Court.” (Sep, GroundUp)

South Asia

Seeing with fingertips: essay on the history and variations in Braille, including how they are used to render different scripts and languages. (Mar, Himal Southasian)

Tunisia

Seeking Knowledge While Blind (Nov, Meshkal)

Turkey

January 4 World Braille Day photoessay on braille in Turkey and around the world. (In Turkish, Jan, TRT Haber)

United Kingdom

The Politics of Braille

"These days the argument for and against Braille continues in several arenas. Blind people are divided in regards to its usefulness, schools debate whether it is worth recruiting qualified teachers, and governments fail to set aside funding to either train those teachers or fund their employment in local authorities. ‘Has technology replaced Braille?’ is a question I hear thrown around by the media more often than I should, usually accompanied by an article about a technology that will revolutionise how blind people read, rendering Braille unnecessary. It has not failed to escape me that whilst I’ve seen countless such articles, Braille is still firmly in place as the writing system used by blind people globally." (Jan, Catch These Words)

Community Based Rehabilitation

Back to contents.

Afghanistan

Access to Services from Persons with Disabilities: Is Community Based Rehabilitation Making a Difference? “Our study indicates that a CBR program may be an effective way to provide services for persons with disabilities even in a conflict context such as Afghanistan.” (May, Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health)

Conflict and Peace

Back to contents.

International

Mr. Giles Duley appointed as the first United Nations Global Advocate for persons with disabilities in conflict and peacebuilding situations. (Dec, UNDP)

Protection measures needed to support children with disabilities in armed conflict. (Dec, OHCHR)

An edition of the International Review that focusses on Persons with disabilities in armed conflict. “thirty thought-provoking contributions, including many authored by persons with disabilities, jointly take stock of the legal protections (and lack thereof) for persons with disabilities in armed conflicts, and reflect critically how to move the legal and policy debates forward in the next few years.” (Nov, International Review of the Red Cross)

Including civilians with disabilities in the aftermath of war. (Nov, ICRC)

Addressing the accountability void: War crimes against persons with disabilities. How obligations in international humanitarian law can help monitor, protect and address disability-based violations of the law. (Nov, International Review of the Red Cross)

Report on the the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities in the context of military operations. Raising and exploring the following question: “In widening the lens of international
humanitarian law to become more consciously self-aware of the realities faced by persons with disabilities in conflicts, what realities become salient in the future and what irreducible realities must be considered in planning or pursuing military
operations?” (Sep, UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities) See a summary of the report on Gerard Quinn's website.

The Role of Accessibility and Funding in Disability-Inclusive Peacebuilding. “Persons with disabilities can be — and have been — the source of solutions in peacebuilding initiatives. Participants in the roundtable emphasized that persons with disabilities are some of the strongest advocates in building peace, especially after experiencing violence themselves.” (Jul, United States Institute of Peace)

Peace, Disability, and the Violence of the Built Environment Reflections on how disability relates to studies of peace. (May, Peace Review)

Lifting the cloak of invisibility: civilians with disabilities in armed conflict. Discussion of how humanitarian law would relate to disability issues and bringing together conversations between people with disabilities and military representatives. “Steps must be taken to ensure that people living with disabilities and their representative organizations can and do shape the interpretation and implementation of International Humanitarian Law norms relevant to them.” (Apr, ICRC)

Africa

Ensuring the Rights of Women and Girls with Disabilities in Communities Experiencing Armed Conflict (Sep, Women Enabled International)

Ethiopia

Tigray establishes war veterans council “in a bid to help disabled fighters and families of martyrs of the two years war with the federal government and its allies.” (Apr, Addis Standard)

Incoming Tigray interim leader pledges to address grievances of disabled Tigrayan soldiers following protest rally in Mekelle. (Mar, Addis Standard)

Israel

Shalva Center opens bomb shelter for people with disabilities. (Aug, Jerusalem Post)

Nagorno-Karabakh territory

Last to flee: Older people’s experience of war crimes and displacement:

“The renewed fighting in 2020 underscored the unique risks of a particular group: older people. More than half of the ethnic Armenian civilians who were killed were over 60 years old. The oldest was 89. Many faced torture or other ill-treatment in detention. Others are still missing.” (May, Amnesty)

Sudan

Debrief Feature: “We are not alone”. Disabled people in Sudan's conflict. A call for solidarity: “desperate circumstances, the institutions that let them down, and the systems of love that hold things together.” Also available in Arabic. (May, Disability Debrief)

Dozens of babies die in orphanage as Sudan war takes grim toll on Khartoum. (May, Reuters)

Disabled and Displaced The additional challenges faced by disabled people in the Sudan crisis. “even to escape to another state other than the one in which the clashes are taking place, and it is difficult for us to reach food and health needs.” (May, ADD)

Culture, Entertainment and Media

Back to contents.

Overview

International

How Can Art Reach Out and Touch Us? A primer on haptic tech innovation and new possibilities for access in dance. (Jan, Laurel Lawson)

The disabled villain: why sensitivity reading can’t kill off this ugly trope. “For centuries, fictional narratives have used outer difference to telegraph inner monstrosity. As someone who uses a wheelchair, I’ve learned you can’t just edit out a few slurs or bad words to fix this – it’s often baked deep into the story” (Mar, the Guardian)

On (Not) Discovering Disability in the World of Jane Austen. “Disabled characters are present in Austen’s novels, but largely invisible in her cinematic remakes” (Jan)

Nurse! My pen! Hanif Kureishi’s hospital musings and the art of sickbed writing. (Jan, the Guardian)

Am I ugly? a super-cute video of small figures getting around accessibility, assistive tech and stigma. (No visual description, Jan, Sylvanian Drama, TikTok)

The Group Fighting for Disability Justice in British Museums and Galleries (Nov, Timeout)

Being Seen a new book by Elsa Sjunneson. “A Deafblind writer and professor explores how the misrepresentation of disability in books, movies, and TV harms both the disabled community and everyone else.” (Nov, Simon and Schuster)

Curating Access a new book, edited by Amanda Cachia on disability art activism and creative accommodation. (Sep, Routledge)

Cripple Punk: The Disabled Young People Smashing Ableism: “Spiked wheelchairs, studs and cigarettes – cpunk is about rejecting society's ‘inspiration porn’ narrative of physical disability.”:

“We need to see more disabled people behaving badly. And no, I don’t mean blind people littering or wheelchair users shoplifting. I mean we need to see more disabled people behaving like everyone else. We need to see more disabled people smoking, drinking and sticking up a middle finger. More disabled people who are angry, bitter and abjectly un-inspirational – because frankly, there are a lot of us. So where have we all been hiding?” (Jul)

Disabled musicians turning up the volume radio show featuring artists with disabilities. (no transcript, Jun, BBC)

Changing the narrative on disability: is representation in books getting better? Article sees increasing representation in children's literature but not “the same commitment to representation in the adult literature sector, where they say disability is still seen as a niche topic.” (May, the Guardian)

‘Deaf Utopia’ review – Nyle DiMarco’s memoir is enlightening, depending on how (and if) you read it (Apr, Limping Chicken)

Adaptive fashion: the $400bn opportunity to embrace Disability inclusion (Feb, MBS Group)

Geelong, an Australian ensemble of disabled actors, wins one of the world’s richest theatre prizes (Mar, the Guardian)

A collection of poems by Disabled and d/Deaf Poets Curated by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha. I enjoyed Sick4Sick by torrin a. greathouse, which opens:

“I think my lover’s cane is sexy. The way they walk

like a rainstorm stumbles slow across the landscape.” (Poets.org)

23 New And Upcoming Novels With Disabled Main Characters (Mar, Buzzfeed)

Latest issue of Ability Magazine features the actor Greg Grunberg and articles from around the world. (Feb)

Review of Disability Studies special issue on disability, film and media. A wide ranging set of articles from self-presentation on instagram, radio in Kenya and disability metaphors in Korean news. (Feb)

A Different Narrative: Text within Disability Art. "Help the Normals". (Feb, Disability Arts)

Argentina

The Drummer Who Reminds People That ‘You Can Play Music as You Like’ “Miguel Tomasín, one of the few professional musicians with Down syndrome, has brought attention to the artistic visions of people with developmental disabilities, with his band releasing over 100 albums.” (Dec, New York Times)

Australia

‘I don’t care, I know I look good’: Australian dancer Dan Daw on kink, disability and ‘powerful crip joy’. (May, the Guardian)

Lara Ricote is comedy’s next big thing. She's also deaf. (Apr, SBS News)

Artists unmask disabilities in push to break barriers and challenge attitudes around music in Australia. (Mar, ABC News)

Revamped national cultural policy includes a national arts and disability plan. (Jan, NME)

From homeless and busking to the main stage: Rodney Bell’s wheelchair dance tours Australia | Dance | The Guardian (Aug, the Guardian)

Adaptive fashion for people with disability showcased (May, SBS News)

Azerbaijan

The catwalk with a difference: adaptive fashion comes to Azerbaijan. “An enterprising student and a designer want to make attractive clothes that disabled people can wear – and model too” (Sep, the Guardian)

Brazil

Guidance for accessibility in museums (In Portuguese, Jun, SISEM-SP )

Canada

Crip Rave Is the Revolutionary Collective Prioritising Accessibility. “There was the disorientation of the music, but also the vibrations, which left me sensing my pain in a different way ... I left that night with a new relationship to my body.” (May, RA)

Acting the part: A thematic analysis of the experiences of actors with disabilities. “Many actors experience inadequate accommodations, inaccessible work sites, stigma, and being limited to disability specific roles. As a result, actors with disabilities have implemented strategies to improve their success when faced with social and physical barriers in the industry.” (Mar, Canadian Journal of Disability Studies)

Alt-Text & Ambiguity A Poetic Approach to Image Description by Alex Haagaard and Liz Jackson (Apr, Akimbo)

#CripRitual exhibition of art exploring disability culture and ritual (#CripRitual)

Europe

The European Court of Human Rights declined to condemn France for censuring a video featuring adults and children with Down Syndrome. (Sep, ADF International)

Implementing the Right of People with Disabilities to Participate in Cultural Life across Five European Countries: Narratives and Counternarratives. Research in Austria, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Sweden:

“[This article] contrasts official narratives, which highlight good practices and steps taken to improve access to culture, with counternarratives that reveal a fragmentary approach to cultural participation of persons with disabilities, persisting barriers, limited recognition of artists with disabilities, and the perpetuation of stigma and stereotypes.” (Jun, Journal of Human Rights Practice)

A Narrative Literature Review of Barriers and Facilitators to Cultural Participation by People with Disabilities. Covers legislation and policies, funding and services, attitudes, accessibility and gaps in consultation.

"While adopting binding accessibility standards is important, to the extent that this results in a checklist approach to addressing barriers, it is unlikely to be sufficient. This is especially so given that existing guidelines can restrict themselves to addressing particular disability types and that many barriers occur in the realm of attitudes and lack of knowledge of a range of actors and in approaches to education. Moreover, standards alone are unlikely to address the need for support and interaction that seems necessary to facilitate access and participation, particularly for some groups such as people with [intellectual disabilities]." (Feb, Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research)

India

Profile of queer disabled artist Ritika Gupta: on the significance of the digital medium for neurodivergent artists and why community networks for disabled artists must thrive (Jun, BehanBox)

Kenya

Short video feature on Julia Ayen a Refugee artist “proving to the world that disability is not inability” (Jun, Citizen TV Kenya)

Kuwait

A Talk with Reema Humood: Multiple Sclerosis and its Literary Representation.

"The love of caretakers who don’t mean to suffocate you, but they do with their worries and fears, and the injustice and discrimination against people like me, rejecting us, excluding us, denying us the right to be…I discovered there was ‘us’ against ‘them’, the sick ones and the healthy ones, each group gazing at each other, afraid. Any attempt at meshing together, at understanding each other, stops and sinks in muddy waters" (Mar, Arab Lit)

Mexico

People with disabilities behind plushie concert craze: “the toys are made by a group of some 400 people with disabilities in a factory in Puebla.” (Sep, La Prensa Latina)

New Zealand

Spreading kōrero of disability and music technology (Mar, Arts Access Aotearoa)

Blind Scrabble master takes on the country's best (Apr, Stuff)

Stay home club “Making remote portraits of New Zealanders in isolation—using only their phone cameras.” (May, New Zealand Geographic)

Pakistan

Profile of Alishba, an activist and artist. (Oct, World Down Syndrome Day)

South Africa

Athenkosi Kwinana breaks the stigma about Persons Living with Albinism (PLWA) through art (Feb, Biz Community)

Spain

Exploring world monuments through Spain’s Museum for the Blind. Short video. (Dec, Haben Girma)

Sri Lanka

Atrocities of the Civil War Through the Eyes of Artists profile of artists with disabilities. (Ground Views)

Taiwan

Thematic Exhibition of Artistic Creations by People with Disabilities art-work and promotion of easy-read materials. (Family of Joy Social Welfare Foundation)

United Kingdom

Representing disability in museums. (May, The Hunterian Blog)

Barbara Hulme shares a showcase of watercolour portrait paintings titled 'Men's Health' – highlighting their disability/ health stories. (Feb, Disability Arts Online)

Unfinish’d sympathy: can literature get over reading disability morally? (Sep, the Guardian)

Equity Guide for Casting Deaf, Disabled & Neurodiverse Dancers (Equity)

‘Don’t tone it down’ – inside the invasion of British museums by disabled artists. (Jun, the Guardian)

Being Hybrid A guide to hybrid events for the literature sector. (Jun, Spread the Word)

United States

Art is at the Heart of Disability Justice “I think the way I decide to live now, which is very different than how I decided to live previously, is to welcome all of myself into my body, and not try to shut down the undesirable parts of myself.” (Jun, Narrative Initiative)

“Our Hands”: Reading with DeafBlind Poet John Lee Clark. (May, Public Books)

Georgia O’Keeffe Made These Works After Going Blind. (May, ARTnews.com)

Mattel launches first Barbie with Down syndrome to ‘counter social stigma’. (Apr, Los Angeles Times)

Performance by Gaelynn Lea a musical welcome to Microsoft's Ability Summit. (Mar, MSFT Enable)

A review of the book 'Turn on the Words!: Deaf Audiences, Captions, and the Long Struggle for Access' (Jan, H-Net)

All Sorts of Secret Treasure Feature on DeafBlind poet John Lee Clark and his debut poetry collection How to Communicate. (Nov, Poetry Foundation)

An Art in America edition dedicated to Disability Culture. (Oct, Art in America)

‘Access as an Ethic’: the dancers at Kinetic Light think about “access as an ethic, as an aesthetic, as a practice, as a promise, as a relationship with the audience [...] The disability arts community is really in a moment of vast experimentation.” (Aug, NYT)

Why Beyoncé and Lizzo Changed Same Lyric on Their New Albums. (Aug, Time) See also a linguistic discussion of the word and how it is used differently across communities of English-language speakers, and frustrations with holding Black artists to higher standards.

Mean Baby by Selma Blair review “Written with warmth and candour, the actor’s new memoir chronicles her alcoholism and MS diagnosis – alongside tales of dressing up with Carrie Fisher” (Jul, the Guardian)

As Lizzo was called out for ableism, many Black disabled people felt overlooked. (Jun, NPR) See also on BBC

Barbie unveils its first-ever doll with hearing aids (May, CNN)

Why Music Videos Present A Unique Opportunity For Disability Inclusion (Apr, Forbes)

Disability in Theatre: Strategies for Combating Ableism by Meeting Actors’ Access Needs. (Apr, On Stage Blog)

How The Grammys Got Accessibility Right, And What They Could Have Done Better - An Interview With Lachi (Apr, Forbes)

Contemplating Beauty in a Disabled Body “My looks don’t fit into classical ideals of order, proportion, symmetry. So what was I looking for in that gallery in Rome?” (Mar, New York Times Magazine) An essay by Chloé Cooper Jones, whose book Easy Beauty has just come out. I enjoyed her discussion of the book on longform, sadly no transcript.

Review of ‘True Biz,’ by Sara Novic (Mar, NYT) See also a discussion on Power, Privilege, and Love in a Residential School for Deaf Students (Electric Literature).

Sofía Jirau Makes History as the First Victoria’s Secret Model With Down Syndrome (Feb, Glamour)

Disability Justice from A to Z A Coloring Book For Our Communities (Jan, Sins Invalid)

A New Coalition Amplifies Disability Culture in the Music Industry (Jan, NYT)

Beauty & Disability The Entrenched History of Ableism in the Beauty Industry (Dec, World Institute on Disability)

TV and Film

International

Meet James Martin, the First Actor With Down Syndrome to Win an Oscar (Mar, Bright Side)

Unilever calls for production crews to be more inclusive of disability community “For shoots costing more than €100,000 the brand wants to see at least one person who has a disability as a member of the crew.” (May, Campaign)

Netflix Sets a High Bar for Inclusion – and Ensures Disability is Part of the Conversation. “The mere fact that this study has published this data shows Netflix’s desire to be fully inclusive. While the report shows that Netflix has increasingly improved its diversity in many areas in front of and behind the camera, representation of people with disabilities has slid back from 2019” (Apr, Respect Ability)

11 Movies or TV Shows with Authentic Disability Representation. (Apr, Tilting The Lens)

A Position Paper on the Inclusion of the facial difference community. “For almost one hundred years movies have cast scarred characters in different versions of the same roles: villains, vigilantes, victims, outcasts.” (Mar, Face Equality International)

‘Hardly seen as human at all’: will fantasy ever beat its dwarfism problem? (Dec, the Guardian)

Marvel's New Spider-Verse Hero Shows the Struggle of a Real Disease. Marvel's newest Spider-Man variant uses a wheelchair and has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. (Sep, Screen Rant)

Ralph and Katie: Disability Content's Coming of Age. (Oct, Disability Arts Online)

Subtitles can be terrible: profile on Netflix's head of accessibility. “About 40% of Netflix's global users use them all the time, while 80% use them at least once a month, according to the company's internal data.” (Sep, Business Insider)

Bantering Through Disability and Dislocation In “Tuesco,” Daniel Poler documents a Venezuelan family’s use of dark humor to remain buoyant in exile. (Sep, The New Yorker)

'Cha Cha Real Smooth' Star Vanessa Burghardt on Autism Representation. (Jun, Variety)

Netflix is beefing up its its audio description and subtitling accessibility features and has a collection of its shows celebrating disability. (May, The Verge)

What Season 6 of 'This Is Us' Gets Right About Disability Representation (Apr, The Mighty)

A detailed look at Inevitable Foundation's Cost of Accommodations Report “features line budget research outlining the actual (not presumed) financial impact accommodations can have on TV and film budgets of various sizes as well as a survey of disabled talent on their experiences requesting accommodations”. For example, “30% of disabled talent have had to pay out-of-pocket for their accommodations.” (Apr, Hollywood Reporter)
See analysis and critique of the report from Crip News:

‘“Accommodation” as a framework assumes that we ought not to threaten a status quo. It assumes the benefits of inclusion, where disabled people have access to a process but don’t shape or lead its values. The report is a great example of what we might call inclusionism, accommodationism, incrementalism, or reformism.’

'The Simpsons' Makes History With First Deaf Voice Actor and ASL (Apr, Variety)

CODA won an Oscar: a flawed triumph for the Deaf community. “The movie and the awards ceremony show the power—and limits—of on-screen representation.” (Mar, Slate) See also the tension at the heart of CODA on the Atlantic.

Team Zenko Go An All-New Disability Inclusive Series From DreamWorks Animation And Mainframe Studios. “Team Zenko Go has managed to avoid all too familiar disability tropes such as, for instance, villains, victims or inspirations.” (Mar, Forbes)

Argentina

Four Feet High Just caught up on this charming series from 2020. A portrait of young people figuring out identity issues on a rollercoaster of relationships, identity, inclusion and exclusion. 'Revolutionises the way the body is represented on the screen' (in Spanish, with subtitles in English and other languages, Dec, Arte TV)

Bangladesh

Country's first wheelchair-bound news presenter makes debut "an initiative to bring people with disabilities into the mainstream to commemorate the golden jubilee of independence." (Dec, The Business Standard)

Chile

Cromosoma 21: the Chilean series that is making impact on Netflix (In Spanish, Feb, Yo También)

Europe

The European Blind Union is disappointed at first MEDIA calls for proposals 2022 European Commission calls for proposals to support the audiovisual industry did not live up to good practices on promoting accessibility. (Feb, EBU)

Germany

Meet Elin, The German Sesame Street's First Muppet with a Disability. (Jun, ABILITY Magazine)

India

Streaming apps woo differently-abled (Feb, Mint)

Making Cinema Accessible To Everyone “The Delhi High Court on January 16, directed the producers of the upcoming movie ‘Pathaan’ (Yash Raj Films), to make the movie accessible for hearing and visually-impaired persons.” (Jan, Live Law)

Disability and Poverty in Dosti 1964 the story of a friendship between two disabled boys. (Feb, Neurodivergent India, instagram)

Will ‘Jalsa’ Improve Disability Representation in Indian Popular Culture? (Mar, BBC) See more on Surya Kasibhatla, the actor with cerebral palsy that stars in the thriller.

Japan

Deaf Japanese actor is a sign of the times feature on the movie “Love Love”. (Oct, NHK)

Mexico

Disability has a minimum presence on Mexican television: to marginalize is to discriminate. (In Spanish, Jan, Yo También.)

Middle East and North Africa

Why Ameera is a Muppet with a wheelchair that doesn't fit. “Should the wheelchair reflect Ameera’s reality or accurately represent her needs? Is it more powerful to show the world as it is, or how it should be?” (Nov, CNN)

Meet Ameera, Sesame Workshop’s Newest Muppet Friend a young girl that uses a bright purple wheelchair and forearm crutches. (Mar, Sesame Street International Social Impact)

Netherlands

Never Seen “is a documentary produced by Naima Abdullahi that offers us a glimpse into the life of Nimco Hersi and shows how she navigates Dutch society as a Black deaf woman” (Jan, Casco Art)

South Korea

Extraordinary Attorney Woo’s episodes have good and bad autistic representation. “In highlighting the realities of discrimination through the microcosmic lens of Hanbada, Extraordinary Attorney Woo excels. [But, as well as reinforcing some misconceptions about autism, the] ultimately supportive nature of Young-woo’s colleagues has led some to criticize the show for being too fantastical.” (Aug, Polygon)

Uganda

The Ugandan woman behind TV for the deaf (Aug, Disability Insider)

United Kingdom

Disabled artists talk about their experiences working in TV: 'There’s still a lot of work to do'. (Apr, BBC)

“An Irish Goodbye:” A New Standard for Disability-Focused Stories. (Jan, Respect Ability)

Doctor Who casting Ruth Madeley is game-changing for disabled fans. (Jan, Radio Times)

The 5 As: our standards for disability inclusion in the television sector. (Dec, BBC)

Rose Ayling-Ellis, winner of last year's Strictly Come Dancing, important reflections on representation: ‘I’m done with being token deaf character on TV’: “I had to break through countless barriers to get to where I am. It’s been a lonely, upsetting journey, and whilst winning Strictly was an amazing experience, it shouldn’t be allowed to conceal the hardships I have been through to get here.” (Aug, the Guardian) It's worth watching the whole speech.

Channel4 Disability Code of Portrayal commits to more nuanced approaches in portrayal of disabled people, involving disabled people themselves. (Jul, Channel 4)

Britain's Got Talent 2022 Eva Abley's performances, a 14 year-old comedian. (May, Adnan Entertainment)

Starring Rosie Jones Disability Benefits is a comedy take on getting disability benefits from the government, and if that doesn't work, getting the disability benefit in a life of crime. (May, Channel 4)

Broadcasters unite to create ‘passports’ “that will remove barriers and support better inclusion of disabled people and other colleagues at work.” (Mar, Channel 4)

Let’s storm Parliament! Then Barbara Met Alan is a film from BBC on the ”punks who risked their lives to fix ableist Britain”. See also on “these stories change how people think”. (Mar, the Guardian) One line I enjoyed from the film: “It was 1990, nothing in law, just a pat on the head and a fuck off if you moan too much”. See also a comment on what the film misses out.

‘It’s time for us to live our lives to the full’. Line of Duty’s Tommy Jessop on changing the world for people with Down’s syndrome. (Feb, the Guardian)

I'm thrilled that Rose Ayling-Ellis won Strictly Come Dancing: see her interview in the Guardian talking about her life, career and the show. (Dec, the Guardian)

United States

Human Resources a character based on Alice Wong features in the second season. (Jun, HITC)

Why the 1932 Movie ‘Freaks’ Is a Touchstone for Disability Representation. “Though it has detractors, scholars and advocates have largely embraced this film for the way it shows people just living their lives while disabled.” (Jun, New York Times)

For disabled writers, the WGA strike stakes couldn’t be higher. “This is true even on the picket lines themselves, where disabled writers have had to advocate for the accommodations they need to participate.” (May)

‘It's Little People, You Got That?’: Danny Woodburn on Playing Mickey Abbott, the Most Explosive Character on ‘Seinfeld’. (Apr, Cracked.com)

Creators Ask Hollywood to Hire Disabled Writers: “Disabled writers, directors, and actors are rarely hired to work on projects that feature disabled characters because studios and production companies have prioritized hiring disability consultants.” (Mar, Variety)

A year after ‘CODA’ made Oscars history, Deaf people are waiting for more inclusive stories. (Mar, GBH News)

‘Sometimes you felt excluded’: How debut director Marlee Matlin righted past wrongs (Jan, Los Angeles Times)

Short Film “Take Me Home” Captures Empathy During Mourning. The short follows a cognitively disabled adult named Anna who lives with her aging mother in Midland, Florida. (Jan, Respect Ability)

'I Didn't See You There' Is a Disability Film Unlike Any Other - The Atlantic (Jan, The Atlantic) Also on the Guardian.

Oscar's Final Frontier: Movies Featuring Disabilities. “This year's race includes a handful of films on the topic; it's not enough but there is progress.” (Dec, Variety)

Captioned Video Accessibility. “Stranger Things” Captions, a Fascinating Case Study: “Captions are not the place to exercise creativity”. (Jul, Meryl Evans)

‘Best Foot Forward’ Is a Story About, and by, People With Disabilities (Jul, New York Times)

Accurate Disability Representation In Mass Media: 8 Powerful Film and Television Performances By Actors With Disabilities. (May, Kids Included Together)

DisLabeled, a short pilot episode, The Original Hackers. “Join comedian Brian McCarthy and other disabled designers, creators, and advocates who help him navigate his sudden vision loss with humor, innovation, and authenticity.” (Mar, Bric TV)

‘CODA’ Script: Read Siân Heder’s Screenplay That Spotlights Deaf Culture (Jan, Deadline)

‘As We See It’ Is Not a Typical Portrayal of Autism starring three leads who are on the autism spectrum (Jan, NYT)

Ahead of the Golden Globes Shining a Spotlight on Disability-Inclusive Nominations (Jan, Respect Ability)

Media

International

Evidence Brief on how to improve portrayals of people with disabilities in the media. (Jun, Disability Evidence Portal)

‘A View From Somewhere’ DJP Staff, Partners, and Fellows Reflect on Two Years of “Taking Back the Narrative” on Disability (Mar, Disability Justice Project)

Disability Debrief: A disability lens on world news. A vision that grounds the news in our lived experiences. (Feb, Disability Debrief)

Profiles of those awarded Create Fund grants change how people with disabilities are portrayed in media. (Dec, Shuttershock)

Rings of power and privilege: Popular media promotes negative biases towards people with facial differences. (Nov, Psychology Today)

Tips to make your visual journalism more accessible. (Aug, International Journalists' Network)

It's time for the disabled community to take center stage. (Aug, Fortune)

Shutterstock is partnering with disability organizations in a Create Fund for artists from diverse backgrounds that help fill content gaps in stock images, videos and other media. See more on the importance of meaningful visual representation. (Shutterstock)

Australia

Vanessa Vlajkovic is a subeditor at ABC News. She's also Deafblind, here's how she does her job. (Jun, ABC News)

Representations as Violence: When the News Reports on Homicides of Disabled People. “When such murders are reported in the news, disabled people as full subjects fade away, portrayed as objects of care and suffering; their murders are routinely presented as an understandable if tragic response by ‘overwhelmed’ carers.” (Apr, International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy)

advertisers striving for inclusiveness through disability representation (Mar, ABC News)

Australian advertisers striving for inclusiveness through disability representation. (Mar, ABC News)

India

How one Indian radio station is giving ‘a lifeline to people with disabilities’ around the world. “Set up in 2015, the volunteer-run station now has some 50,000 people with disabilities tuning in to its trilingual broadcasts every month”. (Dec, This Week in Asia)

A 9-step plan for 'curb-cutting' disability access in India’s news and newsrooms. A paper on the experiences of journalists with disabilities and what more can be done. (Sep, Reuters Institute)

Indonesia

Meet Two Disability Justice Project Fellows Modeling Inclusive Storytelling. (Oct, Disability Rights Fund)

Kenya

Interview with Alan Herbert “a Kenyan journalist, social inclusion advocate, and behavior change communications professional.” (Feb, Disability Rights Flordia)

New Zealand

D*List editorial values launching a new disability magazine. (Jul, D*List) The new home of disability culture in Aotearoa. (The Spinoff)

Nigeria

TheCable unveils Nigeria's first disability inclusive news application with assistive features to help access the news. (May, TheCable)

United Kingdom

Disability in Advertising: Is Representation Finally Improving? (Feb, Just Copy)

The media are failing disabled people. “Lucy Webster explains why – and how they can do better” (Nov, Tortoise)

BBC Unveils Latest Statistics on Disability, Ethnicity Representation. “53% of teams monitored achieving their targets for disability representation, an increase of 35 percentage points over the last year and a half.” (Apr, Variety)

Channel 4 creative brief Disability Disruption commission "ripping up the playbook and showing disabled people as they have never been seen before on British TV." (Feb, Channel 4) See also coverage on Broadcast.

United States

Guide to Investigating Disability Issues (Mar, Global Investigative Journalism Network)

People with disabilities aren't often seen in stock photos. The Consumer Product Safety Commission is changing that. (May, NPR)

Ableism, inaccessibility prevail in field of journalism (May, The Badger Herald)

Day Al-Mohamed on why media created by disabled artists is so important. (May, Disability & Philanthropy Forum)

How public radio stations can serve deaf audiences. “Two public radio stations looking to improve the accessibility of their broadcasts for the deaf and hard of hearing have found new ways to provide live captioning of their programming.” (Dec, Current)

Representation in media: Closing the inclusion gap for people with disabilities (Jul, Nielsen)

Language, Please: a style guide for journalists that includes a section on Disabilities, Neurodiversity, and Chronic Illness (May, Language, Please)

Disability Matters: A toolkit for newsrooms to better serve the disability community (Apr, Reynolds Journalism Institute)

How to Report With Care on Disability.

"Although I was happy to learn that Starbucks was trying to be more inclusive, to me, hiring people with disabilities isn’t a big news story — and neither is a corporation making one store accessible to deaf and hard-of-hearing customers. I felt that the real story was how some of those workers had master’s degrees, yet they had trouble finding jobs elsewhere because of their disability." (Feb, NYT)

Short video campaign Spotlights Black Disabled Creatives (Feb, Respect Ability)

Three disability questions every editor should ask (Dec, RJI)

Clothing and Fashion

International

These fashion designers are putting braille right on their clothing. (Mar, Fastcompany)

Gucci disrupts disability inclusion. (Jul, Vogue)

United Kingdom

Reframing Fashion: British Vogue Celebrates Disabled Talent in Historic New Edition. (Apr, Tilting the Lens)

United States

Ramping Up Fashion’s Accessible Future “The fashion industry is designing adaptable clothing for disabled people, but is that enough to undo the industry’s ableism?” (Nov, Yes!)

I Never Loved Fashion— Until I Went Blind. “On styling myself for a whole new life and the hope that came with it.” (Oct, Cosmopolitan)

A Double Take on Adaptive Fashion at NYFW, From Open Style Lab. (Sep, Vogue)

Clothing Hacks for Wheelchair Users - New Mobility (Jun)

Data and Research

Back to contents.

Overview

International

Disability Data Report 2023 reviews available disability data internationally and explores indicators for 15 countries. (Jun, Disability Data Initiative.)

A learning brief on using the Washington Group questions on disability in development programs. (Jun, CBM Global)

The importance of citizen-generated disability data. (Mar, CBM Global)

Global prevalence of developmental disabilities in children and adolescents: a systematic umbrella review. (Feb, Frontiers in Public Health)

Counting children with disabilities starts with changing minds. (Dec, UNICEF)

Data Dashboard on health and disability, “includes data on overall mortality and COVID-19 mortality for people with disabilities, as well as key health indicators” (Missing Billion)

Module on Child Functioning: Guidance note for translation and customization (Oct, UNICEF)

Harmonizing Disability Data to improve disability research and policy. (Oct, Health Affairs)

Global and regional prevalence of disabilities among children and adolescents: Analysis of findings from global health databases. Comparing data from UNICEF and Global Burden of Disease Study. (Sep, Frontiers Public Health)

Household Survey Data on Disability and Education in countries where the Global Partnership for Education works. “There remain 28 countries (out of 76) for which there appears to be no nationally representative, reliable and comparable survey or census data on disability that could be used for disaggregating education statistics for the period 2010–2020” (Aug, GPE)

An analysis of global prevalence of cerebral palsy. “From the limited but increasing data available from regions in low- and middle-income countries, birth prevalence for pre-/perinatal CP was as high as 3.4 per 1000 live births.” (Aug, Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology)

Why is it Important to Identify the Population with Disabilities? an explainer video. (Jun, Washington Group on Disability Statistics)

The association between household wealth and the prevalence of child disability. Analysis of surveys in 40 low- and middle-income countries give “robust evidence that in LMICs the prevalence of child disability is disproportionately concentrated in poorer households.” (July, Disability and Health Journal)

Exploring the Use of Washington Group Questions to Identify People with Clinical Impairments Who Need Services including Assistive Products: Results from Five Population-Based Surveys (Apr, Environmental Research and Public Health)

Why do we need data on women and girls with disabilities? “One way to address this data gap has been the collection and use of qualitative data, including citizen-generated data from organizations of persons with disabilities and NGO allies to complement official statistics to measure gaps and progress. This use of qualitative data is especially important in emergency situations, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic” (Jul, CBM Global)

Explainer video on how the Washington Group question approach to measuring disability relate to the Social Model? (Jun, Center for Inclusive Policy)

Should you use the Washington Group questions in your humanitarian programming? A tool to help you decide. (Jun, Washington Group on Disability Statistics)

World Bank and Microsoft commit to narrow the data gap. With a “disability data hub” they plan to “expand both access to and the use of demographics and statistics data to ensure representation of disability, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.” (Jun, Microsoft)

Short video to understand the prevalence of disability (May, Center for Inclusive Policy)

Short video on Why is it important to identify the population with disabilities? (Apr, Center for Inclusive Policy)

Summary of an article on conducting online interviews with disabled young people during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Mar, International Journal of Social Research Methodology)

Report on how organizations within the UN are using Disability Statistics (link to pdf, Mar, UN)

How will data help us break the cycle of discrimination and intersectional disadvantages for girls and women with disabilities? (Mar, Inclusive Education Initiative)

A video introducing the Center of Excellence on Data for Children with Disabilities (Mar, UNICEF)

The World Bank Open Learning Campus elearning module on Collecting Data on Disability Inclusion. (World Bank)

Much remains to be done to improve inclusive data collection (Feb, Devex)

Why Disability Data Matters Review of Leonard Cheshire’s latest disability data and the Disability Data Portal. "Where disability data does exist, it
can often remain unused. " (link to pdf, Feb, Leonard Cheshire)

All children count: Fostering inclusion through data. (Feb, Data 4 SDGs)

Addressing the dearth of disability-inclusive data in COVID-19 (Jan, Data Values Digest)

Workshop on Innovative methods for researching disability & COVID19 in the Global South for academics and practitioners, on 3rd March. (Disability Under Siege)

FIRAH applied disability research General call for projects - 2022 Project leaders can be from any country in the world but if they're not French then it has to be in partnership with a French organization. (Jan, FIRAH)

Data-driven advocacy for inclusive employment and social protection The experiences of organizations of persons with disabilities in Bangladesh and Kenya (Dec, Leonard Cheshire)

Disability Data Advocacy Toolkit updated version (link to pdf, Dec, CBM Global)

Africa

ILO data highlights need for disability disaggregated labour force surveys and investment in data systems. “Across Africa, 31 countries have at least one year of disability-disaggregated data available on ILOSTAT in the 20-year period from 2002-2022.” (Apr, ILO)

Asia-Pacific

Are persons with disabilities included in the effort to leave no-one behind? An overview that shows the gaps in countries' ability to monitor the situation of persons with disabilities. See accompanying resource, Where are we?, questions to aid understanding of disability data and inform advocacy, and a blog post on lessons learned. (Feb, UNFPA)

Australia

New Disability Dashboards released “These dashboards offer a new way to access and understand data and insights about the main disability types represented in the NDIS.” (Dec, NDIS)

Bangladesh

Preliminary Report on the National Survey on Persons with Disabilities 2021. A cross-sectional survey of 36,000 households finds that in government definitions of disability 2.8% are disabled and in terms of functional difficulty (a preferred measure), 7.1% have a functional difficulty. (link to pdf, Jun, BBS)

Improving disability data in Bangladesh Access Bangladesh Foundation’s leading advocacy. (Feb, DRF)

Cambodia

Exploring demographic and health survey data (Jun, Disability Data Initiative)

China

Atlas of Classified Disability: Spatial Statistics and Pattern (May, CCDC Weekly)

Report on disability data with a focus on employment. (In Chinese, Feb, JSTV)

Correlation between functional disability and quality of life among rural elderly in Anhui province,: a cross-sectional study. (Feb, BMC Public Health)

Colombia

Colombia’s journey to produce disability statistics (Feb, Data 4 SDGs)

Guatemala

Exploring census data. (Jun, Disability Data Initiative)

Haiti

Exploring demographic and health survey data (Jun, Disability Data Initiative)

India

Lack of data is denial of rights for persons with disabilities. Disability questions dropped from upcoming National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6). (Jun, H-Leads)

Data Gaps: Undercounting Disability In India Explores issues with surveys, disability certification and the unique disability id scheme. (Jul, IndiaSpend)

Factsheet: Disability In Jharkhand results from the National Family Health Survey showing less than 1% of the population having a disability. (Jun, The Sangyan)

Indonesia

How do Positive Deviants Overcome Health-Related Stigma? An Exploration of Development of Positive Deviance Among People With Stigmatized Health Conditions in Indonesia (Dec, Qualitative Health Research)

Jordan

Government update on use of the Washington Group questions in the census and other surveys. (link to pdf, Feb, United Nations Statistical Commission)

Kenya

Exploring demographic and health survey data (Jun, Disability Data Initiative)

Lebanon

Disability Inclusion Survey Results (Jun, Relief Web)

Maldives

Exploring demographic and health survey data (Jun, Disability Data Initiative)

Mali

Exploring demographic and health survey data (Jun, Disability Data Initiative)

Mauritania

Exploring demographic and health survey data (Jun, Disability Data Initiative)

Nigeria

Exploring demographic and health survey data (Jun, Disability Data Initiative)

Pacific

Introduction to Disability Data Advocacy Workshop for Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (Mar, UNFPA)

Pakistan

Exploring demographic and health survey data (Jun, Disability Data Initiative)

Philippines

Functional Difficulty in the Philippines: results from the 2020 census of population and housing. “Nearly nine in every 100 persons (8.7%) had at least one domain of functional difficulty. Females accounted for 55.6 percent.” (Oct, PSA)

Rwanda

Exploring demographic and health survey data (Jun, Disability Data Initiative)

Rwanda to conduct first digital census for people with disability. A pilot digital census, using the Washington Group questions, and a precursor to a Disability Management Information System. (Aug, The New Times)

Senegal

Exploring demographic and health survey data (Jun, Disability Data Initiative)

Senegal launches action plan to to collect high-quality inclusive data. (Dec, Sightsavers)

South Africa

Exploring demographic and health survey data (Jun, Disability Data Initiative)

Monitoring disability inclusion: Setting a baseline for South Africa (May, African Journal of Disability)

Spain

New edition of the Spanish Journal on Disability (REDIS) (in Spanish, Dec, Discapnet)

Timor Leste

Exploring demographic and health survey data (Jun, Disability Data Initiative)

Tonga

Exploring census data (Jun, Disability Data Initiative)

Tunisia

Quality of life and its predicting factors for Tunisian children with cerebral palsy. (Dec, African Journal on Disability)

Uganda

Exploring demographic and health survey data (Jun, Disability Data Initiative)

We are able: interactive radio campaign. Respondents without disabilities more likely to say disabled people experience food insecurity because of low self-esteem and negative attitude than because they face exclusion. (Apr, Trac FM)

United Kingdom

Fall in disabled older people in census data ‘could be due to pandemic’, or the change in wording of the census question. (Feb, The Independent) More young people declared disability in the census after inclusion of mental health in the question about disability.

Childhood disability, social class and social mobility: A neglected relationship. “We specifically focus on the importance of social class for disabled young people's outcomes, emphasizing the need for intersectional analyses of disability inequalities.” (Sep, The British Journal of Sociology)

Outcomes for disabled people in the UK: 2021 detailed statistics from a range of datasets. (Feb, ONS)

United States

Prevalence of disabilities among older Americans is much lower than a decade earlier (Feb, News Medical Life Sciences)

Comparing Measures Of Functional Difficulty With Self-Identified Disability: Implications For Health Policy. Shows how six-question sets “performed especially poorly in capturing respondents with psychiatric disabilities or chronic health conditions.” (Oct, Health Affairs)

A Need For Disability Data Justice “Public health data systems and infrastructure must be built to collect disability data and use this information to combat ableism and support equity and social justice.” (Aug, HealthAffairs)

Disability Data Snapshot: Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. (Jul, U.S. Department of Labor Blog)

An Online Resource For Understanding Disability ‘By The Numbers’ (Apr, Forbes)

More inclusive research practices needed to expand data on people with disabilities (Feb, Healio)

Research

International

Interview with Arseli Dokumaci on his book "Activist Affordances: How Disabled People Improvise More Habitable Worlds". (With transcript, Jun, Newbooks Network)

Research Handbook on Disability Policy “Examining how policy affects the human rights of people with disabilities, this topical Handbook presents diverse empirical experiences of disability policy and identifies the changes that are necessary to achieve social justice.” List price $425. (Jun, Elgar)

Midgetism: a book on the Exploitation and Discrimination of People with Dwarfism. (Apr, Routledge)

Intellectual disability a perspective on how anthropology can study intellectual disability: “anthropological research reveals dimensions of the social and cultural life of intellectual disability that biomedical and professional research rarely enquires into, let alone comprehends.” (Feb, Open Enyclopedia of Anthropology)

Crip Genealogies “The contributors to Crip Genealogies reorient the field of disability studies by centering the work of transnational feminism, queer of color critique, and trans scholarship and activism. They challenge the white, Western, and Northern rights-based genealogy of disability studies, showing how a single coherent narrative of the field is a mode of exclusion that relies on logics of whiteness and imperialism.” (Mar, Duke University Press)

Finding Blindness an edited volume bringing together essays on “international constructions and deconstructions” of blindness. (Dec, Routledge)

Sixteen Years since the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: What Have We Learned since Then? A summary of research articles on disability since the Convention. (Sep, Environmental Research and Public Health)

Disability as Rupture a collection on how disability creates “to reconceptualize ethnographic practices and anthropological projects”:

“Because the infrastructures of everyday life are often predicated on “normal” bodies and their capacities, when disabled bodies interact with those infrastructures, the friction that results exposes the underlying norms that guide social life.” (Sep, Cultural Anthropology)

Adapting Disability Research Methods and Practices During the Covid-19 Pandemic: Experiences from the Field (Jul, IDS)

Divergent Ethnography: Conducting Fieldwork as an Autistic Anthropologist “Doing fieldwork as an autistic person means to see, hear, and process information in different ways, and this difference has an impact on our theoretical approach. In this sense, neurodivergence can be an epistemological position that shapes and informs our way of looking at reality.”

Africa

A call to give a voice to people with intellectual disabilities in Africa through inclusive research (Apr, African Journal of Disability)

Developmental disabilities in Africa: A scientometric review “revealed a trend of broadening research towards systems of care, away from a medical model of disease.” (Feb, Research in Developmental Disabilities)

Australia

A step closer to inclusive disability research The National Disability Research Partnership Learnings and Recommendations report. (Nov, NDRP)

Doing research inclusively: co-production in action “provides practical strategies for every step of the co-design process in research.” (May)

Brazil

An edition of Anthropological Horizons focussed on disability. (In Portuguese, Oct, Scielo)

Chile

Florencia Herrera, director of Núcleo Disca promoting research with disabled people. (Apr, Universidad Diego Portales)

China

Book review of Disability in Contemporary China. Tracing representations of disability from Mao to now. (Apr, Disability Studies Community Blog)

Russia

Intercorporeal Togetherness: On Russian Blind Activists’ Technology of Disability Inclusion. (Aug, Cultural Anthropology)

United States

A symposium on Capitalism & Disability. (Oct, LPE Project)

Open access to research can close gaps for people with disabilities (Sep, Stat News)

Uzbekistan

Layers and Ranges of Disabling Borders A chapter exploring enduring legacies of segregation and ableism in the socio-politics of disability in Uzbekistan. (Invisible Borders in a Bordered World)

Digital Accessibility and Technology

Back to contents.

Overview

International

Google Meet grows more inclusive with new closed captioning languages. (Jun, Android Police)

How friendship between NVDA founders Mick Curran and Jamie Teh is changing lives for thousands of blind people. (Jun, ABC News)

Apple previews Live Speech, Personal Voice and more new accessibility features. “New software features for cognitive, speech, and vision accessibility are coming later this year” (May, Apple)

Japanese Game Studios Are Taking Accessibility to the Next Level. “Developers like Koei Techmo and Tango Gameworks are working to make accessible design a global standard.” (May, Wired)

Games Are More Visually Accessible Than Ever. “Indie and big-name studios alike are innovating new ways to include blind and low-vision players, from text-to-speech to sound cues.” (Apr, Wired)

Practicing digital accessibility in the workplace. Access conclusions taken from reading Reddit. (Mar, Adobe Blog)

Create inclusive content with the new Accessibility Assistant in Microsoft 365. (Mar, Microsoft 365 Blog)

Washington Posts sharing its accessibility checklist, testing strategies and considerations. (Jan, Washington Post)

This feature has been disabled: Critical intersections of disability and information studies (Feb, First Monday)

Influencing the Trends of Digital Inclusion: An Interview with Jonathan Hassell (Jan, Accessibility.com)

Blind news audiences are being left behind in the data visualisation revolution: here's how we fix that. (Jan, Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism)

Do No Harm Guide: Centering Accessibility in Data Visualization. (Dec, Urban Institute)

How Indie Studios Are Pioneering Accessible Game Design. (Dec, Wired)

The Greatest beautiful music video showing people using assistive technology. (Nov, Apple)

Global report highlights failings in accessibility processes and procurement. “Despite widespread senior endorsement of accessibility and inclusion, most organisations still need to adapt their project processes to embed accessibility.” (Nov, AbilityNet)

‘Hey, GitHub!’ will let programmers code with just their voice, together with AI-assisted code suggestions. (Nov, The Verge)

Discussion of Human-Computer Interaction Accessibility Practice with chronically ill people. (Oct, HCI & Design at UW)

How inclusion drives innovation in Windows 11: “he culture of inclusion within the Windows engineering team has helped to foster the development of more inclusive and delightful Windows experiences for everyone.” (Sep, Windows)

How to Design for Accessibility with Your iOS App (Jul, Intuit Engineering)

Accessibility and QR codes: considerations and guidance for creating accessible experiences with QR codes. (Aug, Tetralogical)

What’s new in Microsoft 365 accessibility for Summer 2022 (Aug, Microsoft)

Tech journalism’s accessibility problem:

“Tech newsrooms (The Verge’s very much included) need informed accessibility coverage. They need articles drawing from firsthand experience. They need to do that without heaping the burden on a small group of disabled writers.” (Jul, The Verge)

A new report, A Digital Cage is Still a Cage “At their most extreme, the use of new and emerging technologies could replicate the worst features of institutional care rather than facilitate independent living and inclusion within the community.” (Jun, University of Essex)

How to make the most of the Mac’s accessibility features (Jul, The Verge)

Celebrate Disability Pride, Uplift Gaming and Disability Communities and Creators with Team Xbox (Jul, Xbox)

By the Blind, For the Blind reflecting in particular on open source software where tools can be full integrated with the operating system. (Jun, Devin Prater)

The Performative A11yship of Global Accessibility Awareness Day (May, Adrian Roselli)

May 19th was Global Accessibility Awareness Day focusing on digital accessibility. (May, GAAD)

The Mobile Disability Gap Report 2021. A report on 7 low- and middle-income countries finds that persons with disabilities are significantly less likely to own a smartphone or use mobile internet. “The disability gap typically widens at each stage of the mobile internet journey” (Dec, GSMA)

Let's Discuss: Mobile World Congress and the mobile disability gap reflections on mobile and digital inclusion (Feb, Valuable 500)

How esports and gaming can create more accessibility for gamers who are disabled (Jan, Nerd Street)

Bangladesh

The Accessible Revolution: Vashkar Bhattacharjee and the Birth of an Inclusive Digital Bangladesh (Dec, The Datekeepers)

Europe

The Digital Services Act will create second-class internet users. (Jun, EDF)

The European Accessibility Act's June 2022 Deadline "the member states of the European Union must create their own digital accessibility law per the European Accessibility Act" (Feb, BOIA)

India

WhatsApp leads the way in digital accessibility in India. (Feb, Deccan Chronicle)

State of digital accessibility in India (Dec, Financial Express)

Kenya

Report Highlights Increased Usage of Mobiles (May, Global Accessibility News)

Luxembourg

“Technology is a door opener” Interview with Tanja Kleut on digital accessibility, technology and legislation. (Apr, Portail de l'accessibilité numérique)

Norway

Inaccessible Possibilities: experiences of using ICT to engage with services among young persons with disabilities: even though they're seen as digitally native doesn't mean they can use health and social services online. (Dec, Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology)

Ukraine

New standard to make government websites and applications more user-friendly for everyone. (Oct, Yahoo! News)

United Kingdom

It's not all doom and gloom: What the pandemic has taught us about digitally inclusive practices that support people with learning disabilities to access and use technologies. (Aug, British Journal of Learning Disabilities)

United States

Unlocking the Virtual Front Door An Examination of Federal Technology’s Accessibility for People with Disabilities, Older Adults and Veterans (Link to pdf, Dec, Senate Special Committee on Aging)

Anticipate and Adjust: Cultivating Access in Human-Centered Methods. (Summary of a research paper on approaches to accessibility in human-computer interaction research communities., Apr, Kelly Mack)

Why Americans With Disabilities Use The Internet Less Frequently (Feb, BOIA)

Fulfilling our commitment to accessibility and inclusion reports from a recent "digital forum" (Feb, Microsoft Industry Blogs)

Artificial Intelligence

International

No, ‘AI’ Will Not Fix Accessibility “Accessibility is about people. It is not a strictly technical problem to be solved with code.” (Jun, Adrian Roselli)

To chat or bot to chat: Ethical issues with using chatbots in mental health (Jun, Digital Health)

Why Sign Language Translation Poses a Puzzle for AI. (May, Slator)

Microsoft leverages power of AI to improve accessibility for disabled people (May, AT Today)

Public letter and call-to-action on Disability And Algorithmic Risks: From Misuse and Silos to Policing, Law Enforcement and Unacceptable Risk Systems. “Existing approaches to understanding high and unacceptable-risk systems still miss disability-specific vocabulary, scenarios and associated risks” (Yonah.org)

A memo on disability-centered AI and algorithms. (Yonah.org)

New GPT-4 Model Can Reportedly Describe Images Accurately “However, when you’re developing content for real people, you need to rely on the judgment of real people.” (Apr, BOIA)

Can ChatGPT Make The World More Accessible? (Apr, Accessibility.com)

AI for Accessibility: discussion of opportunities and challenges. (Mar, Equal Entry)

Equally AI Releases ChatGPT-Powered Report on Web Accessibility Websites in the US, Urges Business Leaders to Prioritize Inclusivity. (Mar, PR Web)

How ableist algorithms dominate digital spaces “From clumsy social media ads to problematic automation in recruitment, algorithms are often unintentionally stacked against disabled professionals” (Feb, IT Pro)

Cognitive diversity-centred AI can improve social inclusion. “Artificial intelligence can address some of the challenges and discrimination that people with cognitive diversity and other disabilities face in everyday life.” (Apr, World Economic Forum)

Ableism and ChatGPT: Why People Fear It Versus Why They Should Fear It:

“If ChatGPT can be used to make education more accessible, then why are so many educators against it? I suspect that part of the reason is that ChatGPT threatens to disrupt able-bodied privilege, which is an entrenched feature of the education system—something used to make decisions about grading, publishing, and hiring.” (Mar, APA Blog)

ChatGPT for Robotics: Design Principles and Model Abilities: “We extended the capabilities of ChatGPT to robotics, and controlled multiple platforms such as robot arms, drones, and home assistant robots intuitively with language.” (Mar, Microsoft)

AI-powered HR technology has a disability problem: “AI recruitment tools have become the first line of defence against high-volume online hiring. But unless the unintended consequences of AI-powered HR technology are urgently addressed, hundreds of millions of people worldwide face lifetimes of economic and societal exclusion” (Mar, The Forum Network)

Be My Eyes Announces New Tool Powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4 to Improve Accessibility for People Who are Blind or Have Low-Vision. (Mar, Business Wire) See background on the collaborations that made it happen, and a reflective piece on riding the AI hype wave.

GPT-4's new capabilities power a 'virtual volunteer' for the visually impaired (Mar, TechCrunch)

ChatGPT-powered web accessibility platform launched (Jan, BusinessCloud) Remember to great this kind of news with healthy scepticism.

Apple's New AI Audiobooks Are Great for Accessibility, Bad for Voice Actors (Jan, Lifewire)

Common AI language models show bias against people with disabilities: ‘when a disability-related term followed “good” in a sentence, the AI generated “bad.”’ (Oct, The Hill)

Artificial Intelligence Is Dangerous For Disabled People At Work: 4 Takeaways For Developers And Buyers. (Oct, Forbes)

Humanity should get the best from AI, not the worst Statement from Gerard Quinn, whose report we explored previously. (May, OHCHR)

Bot can spot depressed Twitter users in 9 out of 10 cases (Apr, Tech Xplore)

A new alliance for Disability Ethical? AI led by Scott Parker International, IBM, Oxford Brookes and others. "AI powered recruitment technology threatens the life chances of hundreds of millions of people with disabilities worldwide, as well as those of us who will become disabled in time." (March, Includes a collection of resources)

Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities study on artificial intelligence and the rights of persons with disabilities. (link to pdf, Feb, UN) See also at EDF.

Policy Brief on Ageism in artificial intelligence for health (Feb, WHO)

Australia

Australian terrorism prediction tool considered autism a sign of criminality “A tool designed to predict future crime in terrorist offenders considered them at greater risk of offending if they were autistic despite having no empirical basis to do so, an independent report has found.” (May, the Guardian)

China

Good for tech: Disability expertise and labor in China's artificial intelligence sector (Feb, First Monday)

Europe

Artificial Intelligence Act: European Parliament misses chance to ensure accessibility. (Jun, EDF)

AI Act: European Parliament must ensure accessibility of Artificial Intelligence systems. (May, EDF)

Civil society and EDF reacts to European Parliament’s Artificial Intelligence Act draft Report urging safeguarding people's rights in AI legislation. (May, EDF)

United Kingdom

Making AI delivery robots disability-friendly “As a robot designed to use pavements, it could have become another frustrating obstacle for disabled people to navigate.”
(May, BBC)

United States

Denied by AI: How Medicare Advantage plans use algorithms to cut off care for seniors in need. (Mar, Stat)

Not magic: Opaque AI tool may flag parents with disabilities. “The couple was stunned when child welfare officials showed up, told them they were negligent and took away their daughter.” (Mar, AP News)

How School Tech Treats Students With Disabilities Like Criminals. “The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) needs an update to protect vulnerable kids’ rights in the age of artificial intelligence (AI) and nonstop surveillance.” (Aug, The Daily Beast)

Ableism And Disability Discrimination In New Surveillance Technologies. How new surveillance technologies in education, policing, health care, and the workplace disproportionately harm disabled people (May, CDT)

The Biden Administration warns that Hiring algorithms, and artificial intelligence risk violating Americans with Disabilities Act (May, NBC News) See the detailed guidance, from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and a summary from ADA.gov. Also on Forbes and Bloomberg Law.

In Our Tech Reckoning, People with Disabilities are Demanding a Reckoning of their Own (Jan, Tech Policy Press)

How AI is being used to improve disability employment (Jan, Microsoft)

Online Accessibility

International

The WebAIM Million: The 2023 report on the accessibility of the top 1,000,000 home pages. (Mar, WebAim)

Are you making these five mistakes when writing alt text? (Mar, The A11Y Project)

Meet the first-ever accessibility engineer at The Washington Post. (Feb, Nieman Lab)

A guide to writing accessible image captions. (Feb, Mashable)

What's New in WCAG 2.2 Draft (Jan, W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI))

WordPress 6.1 Accessibility Improvements. (Oct, Make Wordpress Core)

The History of Digital Accessibility (Oct, Storyly)

New Brutalism and web accessibility: brutalist style and its interactions with accessibility. (Oct, UX Collective)

Yes, accessibility is also a backend concern. “Backend developers wield a tremendous amount of power, as they help shape the underlying structure of what is and is not possible when creating a digital experience.” (Sep, Eric W Bailey)

Verifying the Disability Equality Index by measuring how their website conforms with web-access standards: “the DEI score is not a good predictor of the accessibility score.” (Sep, jpdev.pro)

A how-to on using Firefox for accessibility testing “Firefox has become one of the best tools for accessibility audits.” (Jul, The A11Y Project)

Q&A: Patrick Garvin The creator of two web accessibility bots talks alt text and accountability. “If accessibility is only pitched as something that’s related to code or only related to computers, it’s going to be real easy for people in newsrooms to distance themselves from that.” (Jul, Objective Journalism)

What's Happening with Digital Accessibility in 2022 (Jul, UsableNet)

Web3 must learn from the past: People with disabilities are the largest untapped demographic (Jul, Venture Beat)

Exploration of alt-text including detailed advice (Jun, Accessible Social)

Digital Accessibility: The Next Frontier of Disability Rights Includes a discussion on justifying digital accessibility because of legal compliance or as an opportunity for growth, preferring the latter, quoting this reasoning: “[Focusing on lawsuits] capitalizes on this fear that disabled people are out there to sue you and make your life difficult …. It furthers this really horrible view of disabled people that we’re literally out there to get money and that we just use our disabilities for that.” (Jun, Women Enabled International)

Why Are iFrame Titles Important for Accessibility? (May, Bureau of Internet Accessibility)

An accessibility review of public and private sector websites shows private sector websites significantly worse. Even big companies that have made commitments on disability inclusion through membership of Valuable 500 still only offer a median accessibility score of 52.6, a fraction lower than the median score of Fortune 500 websites. (May, Silktide)

Microsoft Edge site ALT text adds more “making the web a more inclusive and accessible place, starting with the blind and low vision community.” (Microsoft)

5 Ways Delivery Apps Don't Deliver On Accessibility (May, UsableNet)

Rich Screen Reader Experiences for Accessible Data Visualization

“Although our design dimensions highlight a diverse landscape of screen reader experiences for data visualizations, our study participants attested to the value of following existing best practices. Namely, alt text and data tables provide a good baseline for making visualizations accessible. Thus, visualization authors should consider adopting our design dimensions to enable more granular information access patterns only after these initial pieces are in place.” (MIT Visualization Group)

WordPress 6.0 Features Numerous Accessibility Improvements (Apr)

Does Your Website Have Have Any of These 10 Most-Cited Accessibility Issues? (Apr, Equal Entry)

Takeaways from The Internet is Unusable: The Disabled View (Apr, Lireo Designs)

New Department of Justice ADA Web Accessibility Statement reiterating that accessibility online is covered by disability discrimination. (Mar, BOIA)

Zoom Continues to Miss the Boat on True Accessibility. (Mar, Living with Hearing Loss)

The Hidden Image Descriptions Making the Internet Accessible a feature on alternative text for images (Feb, NYT)

The case for describing race in alternative text attributes (Jan, Tolu Adegbite)

How creating an accessible product helped Stark build an inclusive team "You can’t build an accessible product without breaking down internal silos first" (Feb, The Drum)

Disabled And Here "a disability-led effort to provide free and inclusive images from our own perspective" (Affect the Verb)

6 Tips to make your Tweets more accessible and inclusive (Twitter)

A chrome plug-in Wordle for Screen Readers. Great game, and good to see some accessibility retrofitted: see also a site that gives you descriptive text to allow sharing the results in an accessible way. Another disappointing example of how things can go viral without accessibility being baked in.

Email Accessibility 4 Best Practices for Marketers (Jan, BOIA)

Bangladesh

Web Accessibility is now a reality in Bangladesh, not a dream anymore (a bold description of the important initiatives taken.) (Dec, Digital Journal)

Brazil

The Brazilians advocating for digital accessibility. (Sep, Fair Planet)

Canada

The internet doesn't have to be impossible to navigate for Canadians with disabilities. (Dec, National Post)

Europe

A study supporting the review of the Web Accessibility Directive (Dec, EC)

The Digital Services Act must ensure accessible digital services for persons with disabilities (Apr, Brussels Morning)

India

Court of Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities orders a online healthcare service provider to make its application and website accessible. (Aug, The Hindu)

Usability and accessibility-based quality evaluation of Indian airline websites. (Jul, Universal Access in the Information Society)

United Kingdom

Accessibility as a cyber security priority Want security that works better for people? Make it accessible. (May, NCSC)

United States

What Are the Top Barriers to Digital Inclusion in 2023? “79% of website users and 78% of app users said they feel frustrated because they don’t have as much independence as a sighted person when completing digital tasks.” (Apr, American Foundation for the Blind)

How Accessible are Dating Apps? “these services offer little to no recourse for individuals who may have visual impairments.” (Jul, Accessibility.com)

For people with disabilities, AI can only go so far to make the web more accessible (May, Protocol)

LGBTQ+ artists and those with disabilities see Etsy as a lifeline “Many sellers who live at the intersection of multiple marginalized identities were already struggling before the e-commerce site’s latest fee increase.” (Apr, 19th News)

How to Create Accessible & Inclusive Digital Platforms for Those With Mental Health Disabilities (Feb)

App & Web Accessibility Lawsuits Break Records (Dec, UsableNet)

Technology

International

The iPad was meant to revolutionize accessibility. What happened? “For people who can’t speak, there has been depressingly little innovation in technology that helps them communicate.” (Jun, MIT Technology Review)

Life is About to Come with Subtitles “Automated live captions used to be terrible. But they’re becoming transformative for people who can’t hear.” (May, The Atlantic)

Google Project Gameface: A new hands-free AI-powered gaming mouse (May, Google)

Inclusive AR/VR: accessibility barriers for immersive technologies. (Feb)

Not robots; Cyborgs Furthering anti-ableist research in human-computer interaction. (Feb, First Monday)

Xbox lead dev talks about the future of video game accessibility (Feb, Polygon)

What does accessibility in the metaverse look like? (Jan, Vogue)

The accessibility charity helping Xbox and PlayStation: SpecialEffect. (Jan)

Sony Releases Its First Accessible Controller. “The company unveiled Project Leonardo, a fully customizable, accessible console game controller, built with the help of the disabled community.” (Jan, Wired)

Virtual Reality Accessibility: 11 Things We Learned from Blind Users (Nov, Equal Entry)

Disability Inclusion Is Coming Soon to the Metaverse (Jun, PC Mag)

For people with disabilities Consumer Electronics Aren't There Yet (Jul, PCMag)

The Hidden History of Screen Readers: For decades, blind programmers have been creating the tools their community needs. (Jul, The Verge)

Android gets enhanced accessibility features (Jun, Chrome Unboxed)

Apple previews innovative accessibility features (May, Apple)

Accessibility Virtual Reality Meetup: What Is It Like in Spatial? See also an interview on how a blind person can use virtual reality. (May, Equal Entry)

Microsoft’s Adaptive Accessories: Buttons and mice that you can adapt for your body and needs (May, The Verge) See also a short introductory video.

Virtual Reality Is Here to Stay. It's Time to Make It Accessible. VR "needs to be more open-minded when it comes to what its ideal gamer looks like.":

"VR’s reliance on physical movements can be a deterrent for many players with motor disabilities. Beyond that, the headsets and screen resolution can lead to numerous barriers for low-vision users, so much so that games without appropriate features or accessible design are completely unplayable. And as accessibility evolves, the presence of VR is indicative of an industry that still has much to learn." (Mar, Wired)

Virtual Reality Accessibility: The Importance of Comfort Ratings and Reducing Motion (Feb, Equal Entry)

Windows 11 is making it easier to control your PC with your voice (Jan, ZD Net)

United States

Who’s in Charge? Information Technology and Disability Justice in the United States. 'Can disabled people be called “users” or said to “have access” to technology if they are regularly denied agency over how they use technology?'

"Disabled people in the United States are surrounded, defined, and, to some degree, controlled by data, technology, and information—from medical technology and therapies to educational systems to social and government services and policies that shape their lives. The extent to which they can access and use technologies to accomplish their own goals is less clear. This review discusses access to data and technology for people with disabilities, focusing on agency and digital transinstitutionalization—the extension of institutional frameworks, such as surveillance and control, from state hospitals into community settings via data-driven technologies." (March, Just Tech)

Navigational Apps for the Blind Could Have a Broader Appeal (Dec, NYT)

Social Media

International

Why disabled users joined the Reddit blackout “Some disabled users fear the API changes will threaten their ability to access the site. Because both Reddit’s website and its official app fall short of their needs, they rely on third-party applications to navigate Reddit.” (Jun, The Verge)

Fake sign language is spreading on TikTok. “Sign language has become trendy on TikTok, but many videos feature incorrect signs, sparking fears the trend will cause lasting damage to American Sign Language” (May, Washington Post) see also the same problem in New Zealand.

Deaf people like me deserve better than MrBeast’s latest piece of ‘inspiration porn’. ‘After coming under fire for a video in which he helped treat 1,000 people’s blindness, Donaldson decided to double down on videos in which he would go out of his way to “help” people from the disabled community’. (May, The Independent)

Digital Action Pack Accessible Services Social Media Toolkit (Women Enabled)

MrBeast, Welcome to the #BlindNewWorld ‘As we watched the "MrBeast cured blindness" story unfold online, we wrestled with understandably complicated feelings. Here's where we landed.’ (Blind New World)

Twitter is getting rid of its free API tier. That's a nightmare for accessibility activists. What will happen to all the good bots? (Feb, Mashable)

Twitter’s Layoffs Are a Blow to Accessibility among the many layoffs were the team working on accessibility. (Nov, Wired)

Twitter Was a Lifeline for People With Disabilities. Musk’s Reign Is Changing All of That (Nov, Time)

Accessibility in the Fediverse (and Mastodon) (Oct, Eric Eggert)

More than Just a Hashtag: Disability and TikTok (Nov, PBS)

Disability takes center stage on TikTok “Disabled people's accounts are visible in a way that they are not on other platforms, as they are favored by TikTok's For You page and its discovery-oriented algorithm.” (Aug, Le Monde)

Slack Commits To Making The Digital Workplace ‘More Accessible And Equitable’ (Aug, Forbes)

How we're improving the Discord experience for everyone (Jul, Discord)

LinkedIn Top Voices in Disability Advocacy: The 12 creators to follow (Jul, Linkedin)

Twitter reports that only .06% of images on Twitter are accessible. This too often includes tweets from organizations working on disability. (May, Twitter)

12 Disabled LGBTQIA+ Activists and Advocates Who You Need to Know (Jun, World Institute on Disability)

Older people using TikTok to defy ageist stereotypes, research finds (May, the Guardian)

A new TikTok feature changed the game for deaf users. Now, 'DeafTok' is a thriving, inclusive community. (Apr, Business Insider)

Twitter begins rollout of alt text badges for greater accessibility (Mar, Engadget)

How Captions In TikTok Videos And Dictionary.com Are Remaking Internet Culture And How We Literally Talk About Disability In Tech (Mar, Forbes)

Accessibility on Twitch: the complications of streaming (Feb, Euro Gamer)

Twitch streamers campaign for Disability Pride Month (Jan, Euro Gamer)

Australia

Young people living with disability share experiences and create communities through social media. (Aug, ABC News)

Belgium

Belgian social media star uses power of visuals to demystify disability. (Dec)

Canada

Canadian goes viral for honest restaurant accessibility reviews on TikTok (Jun, DH News)

China

Changing attitudes toward disability, one vlog at a time (Jan, Shine)

Mexico

Disability Tiktokers video feature. (In Spanish, Feb, Yo También)

Middle East and North Africa

Youtube conversations with Mostafa Attia. (In Arabic, Dec, Youtube)

United Kingdom

Teen beauty queen's TikTok account blocked over acne. (Jan, BBC)

As a disabled person, social media has been a lifeline "The internet bypasses what keeps us apart: inaccessible transport, a lack of appropriate care, pain and fatigue. [...] The real power of the disability community, [comes] in the slow accumulation of knowledge that accrues from bearing witness to each other’s lives." (Jan, Financial Times)

United States

People with disabilities have built a community on TikTok. They fear its loss if the app is banned. (May, Yahoo! News)

Senator Markey Demands Musk Reinstate Twitter’s Accessibility Team, Online Features for Users with Disabilities. (Feb, Ed Markey)

Twitter’s meltdown isn’t a punchline for disabled communities “Disabled users fear the loss of Twitter-based networks they’ve spent years building for communication, commerce, and connection” (Jan, Prism)

Content creation can be a lifeline for disabled creators —but it can also put their mental and physical health at risk. (Oct, Passionfruit)

Vietnam

‘I get yelled at a lot’: can TikTok help wheelchair users reclaim the streets of Hanoi? “As her videos went viral, VinBus responded by putting more information on their website, including photos of wheelchair users on buses, and has promised to include people with disabilities in their marketing videos.” (Oct, the Guardian)

Disaster Risk Reduction and Crisis Response

Back to contents.

International

Disability should not be a death sentence: global disaster response must be inclusive. (Jun, The BMJ)

Position paper on the Midterm Review of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. And takeaways from the midterm review. (May, CBM Global)

California’s power outages are a life-and-death issue. The impacts of storms for people with disabilities, powerfully illustrated by Alice Wong's own experience and potential harm she would face during a power outage. (Jan, High Country News)

Towards more inclusive disaster risk-management policies (Nov, World Bank)

Feature on why are people with disabilities left out of disaster planning? (Oct, Aljazeera)

Guidance Note on Disability Inclusion in Disaster Risk Management Operations An Exploration of Good Practices and Resources. (Sep, Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery)

Short video on The Importance of Disability Inclusive Disaster Preparedness (Mar, CBM Australia)

Disability Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction (DIDRR) Critical Insights and Good Practices from the Field (link to pdf, CBM)

Including Persons with Disabilities in Disaster Risk Reduction: A Research Study from Eight Countries around the world:

“The study revealed that most disability-inclusive disaster risk reduction initiatives come from non-governmental stakeholders, rather than government agendas aimed at prioritizing and institutionalizing disability inclusion. These initiatives are often reactive (following disaster responses by governments and I/NGOs) or project-based (externally funded instead of being included in the annual budget planning), which raises concerns about the sustainability of these actions and the DiDRR itself.” (May, Relief Web)

UNDRR page on disability inclusion in disaster risk reduction including description of how disability is included in its Strategic Framework 2022-2025. (Jan)

A brief on Inclusion of Marginalised Groups in Social Assistance in Crises (Feb, IDS)

Working paper on the The Risks and Outcomes of Getting Help for Marginalised People: Navigating Access to Social Assistance in Crises. Includes a section on persons with disabilities. (Feb, IDS)

High Risk in Conflicts for Children with Disabilities “Armed conflict takes a devastating toll on children with disabilities, yet governments and the UN have not done nearly enough to protect them." (Feb, Human Rights Watch)

UNDRR webinar Disability inclusive disaster risk reduction – still a tick marking exercise? (14 Feb)

Bridging the divide understanding collaborative action in disability-inclusive disaster risk reduction through socio-cultural activity theory: exploring the collaboration between people with and without disabilities. (Jan, Emerald)

Analysing Intersecting Social Inequalities in Crisis Settings (Jan, IDS)

Asia-Pacific

Disability-inclusive disaster risk reduction and measuring progress against the Sendai Framework. (Sep, The Interpreter)

Australia

Flood Response Failed to Protect Most at Risk. “Human Rights Watch found that New South Wales and local authorities did not provide adequate flood warnings, evacuation, or rescue support, leaving older people, people with disabilities, and those who were pregnant facing life-threatening circumstances with little government assistance.” (Nov, Human Rights Watch)

"I'm about to drown": one phone call Sam Connor received during the recent floods. (Mar, Hireup)

Disability sector demands inclusive disaster preparedness (Apr, Probono)

Pleas for NSW flood survivors with disability to be prioritised for urgent housing, care. (Mar, ABC News)

Floods can worsen inequality. Here are 4 ways we can ensure people with disabilities aren't left behind (Apr, the Conversation)

Bangladesh

Volunteers evacuate people with disabilities ahead of Cyclone Mocha. (May, Relief Web)

Interview with CBM Programmes director on how peer groups have enabled disabled people to participate in disaster risk reduction (Feb, CBM Australia)

Canada

Cyclone Fiona: people with disabilities need more support in extreme storms (Oct, the Conversation)

Europe

Flooding: Disability Inclusion must be a priority in Disaster Risk Reduction. (Jul, EDF)

EDF welcomes regional roadmap to resilience on the adoption of the European Forum for Disaster Risk Reduction (EFDRR) Roadmap 2021-2030, which recognises persons with disabilities are more at risk during such crises. (Dec, EDF)

Review of Disability-inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction Policy across Europe and Central Asia. As well as countries with informal links with organizations of persons with disabilities, Italy and Serbia have disabled people's representatives engaged formally in working groups on disaster management. No country systematically disaggregates information by disability in DRR information systems. See also a collection of further resources on disability-inclusive disaster risk reduction. (Dec, EDF)

India

Status of Disability Inclusion in Disaster Risk Management (Jun, The Sangyan)

Indonesia

UNDP's DX4Resilience project in Indonesia: leveraging digital technologies for collecting disability-disaggregated data in disaster risk assessment. (May, UNDP)

Italy

Death toll mounts in Italy’s worst flooding for 100 years Older and disabled people trapped in homes as rescuers battle harsh conditions in Emilia-Romagna region (May, the Guardian)

Kenya

We have ignored the plight of persons with disabilities (Apr, Nation)

Nigeria

A Bleak Future Awaits Abuja’s Disabled Community After Fire Incident
 (Apr, HumAngle)

Pacific

Australian NGOs enabling disability-inclusive disaster prep in Pacific (Mar, Pro Bono)

Pacific Disaster Ready: Disability inclusion tip sheets. (Sep, CBM Australia)

Pakistan

In response to the floods: Rapid Needs Assessment of Older People. “87% of older people in flood-affected areas of Pakistan have a health condition, but only 51% have access to health care, while government and UN assessment reports are largely ignoring their needs and rights.” (Oct, HelpAge)

The hidden victims of Pakistan’s floods: the elderly. (Oct, Aljazeera)

Women, disabled, and poor more vulnerable during natural disasters. (Aug, South Asia News)

Syria

Two blind men speak about experiences of the earthquake and life afterwards. (In Arabic, with English subtitles, Jun, Institute for War and Peace Reporting)

United States

What People With Disabilities Know About Surviving Climate Disasters Those with disabilities have long been ignored in emergency planning, despite the higher risks they face. Extreme weather is making this gap more deadly. “We’re not given survival mechanisms. So of course, we don’t survive.” (Jun, Bloomberg)

Disability and disaster: Federal lawsuit charging the city of San Antonio with discrimination by “by denying equitable opportunities, outcomes, or even consideration in disaster and emergency planning, response, and recovery programs” (May, Deceleration)

Disabled people face worse outcomes after natural disasters. “March data from the U.S. Census Bureau's Household Pulse Survey shows that, of people who had been displaced in the last year by a natural disaster, people who have a lot of difficulty walking or climbing stairs, like Jaimes, are more than three times more likely than people with no difficulty walking to experience unsanitary conditions one month after the disaster.” (Apr, Earthbeat)

How California’s emergency plans fail disabled communities (Jan, High Country News)

Majority of disabled people never go home after disasters. “Census Bureau data released Thursday shows that people with disabilities are far more likely than anyone else to face major hardships including displacement from their homes due to a major disaster.” (Jan, E&E News)

Many of Hurricane Ian’s Victims Were Older Adults Who Drowned. (Oct, New York Times)

Texans with Disabilities During Winter Storm Uri. A qualitative study that shows:

“the hardships people with a wide range of disabilities experienced during this cascading disaster, including the inability to power life-giving medical equipment and the intensification of pain and health problems due to the loss of heat and water. Findings also show that participants were not passive victims in the face of these life-threatening challenges; disabled people and parents of those with severe disabilities went to extraordinary lengths to survive and to help others survive the disaster, including providing and receiving critical forms of care from family and community members during the storm. In addition, the study illuminates the short-term impacts of Winter Storm Uri and its long-term consequences, which some participants were still negotiating a year later.” (Sep, Natural Hazards Center)

New Interactive Maps Help Inform Disability-Inclusive Disaster Planning (Oct, Mathematica)

Economics and Social Protection

Back to contents.

Overview

International

Poverty of disabled people: more poor, worse nutrition and little coverage of social schemes. (In Spanish, Apr, Yo También.)

Things have just gotten worse The impact of the global food, fuel and finance crisis on older persons. (Apr, HelpAge) See a blog on older people at the sharp end.

Multidimensional Measures and the Extra Costs of Disability: How Are They Related? Exploring whether multidimensional poverty measures can be used to study the extra costs of disability. (Jan, IJERPH)

PWDs Threaten To Demonstrate Over High Cost of Living. “Cost of food and transport fares, in particular, have gone up automatically and that has brought untold hardship on PWDs across the country. Our members spend more on transport because of the peculiar nature of our problem”. (Nov, DailyGuide Network)

Spark Inclusive a help-desk for resources on disability inclusion in rural economies. (Aug, IFAD and LFTW)

Africa

Estimating Households’ Expenditures on Disability in Africa: The Uses and Limitations of the Standard of Living Method. “In lower-income countries, people with disabilities are likely to have fewer opportunities to spend on needed items thus resulting in substantial unmet need for disability-related goods and services. Failing to account for these unmet needs can lead to inadequate systems of social protection if they are based solely on SOL estimates.” (Dec, IJERPH)

Australia

The case for philanthropy in disability: “Deloitte Access Economics used HILDA data to examine benefits to health and wellbeing ($57bn), employment ($25.6bn) and education ($1.7bn) if Australia deliberately includes people with disability. This analysis shows that the cumulative inclusion dividend is $84bn per annum.” (Feb, Achieve Foundation)

Disability royal commission says neglect and abuse costs $46 billion a year. Analysis quantifies economic impacts: “The cost of system failures – such as lost productivity due to low employment – was calculated at $27.7 billion. [...] Interpersonal maltreatment – such as violence in the home, sexual violence, child abuse and neglect – was costed at $18.3 billion.” (Feb, The Sydney Morning Herald)

Bangladesh

On the Debrief: Losing what we've achieved exploring the impact of cost-of-living crisis on disabled people. (Jan, Disability Debrief)

Bhutan

Working with the grain: economic inclusion of persons with disabilities in Bhutan (Dec, Development in Practice)

Canada

Canadians on disability overlooked amid rising inflation (Aug, CTV News)

China

Disability inclusion key to rural revitalization. On how China's poverty alleviation measures supported persons with disabilities: “between 2014 and 2019, the registered number of persons with disabilities living in extreme poverty fell from 7.19 million to 479,000, and reached zero by 2021.” (Mar, China Daily)

Europe

Prioritising persons with disabilities in the action against inflation and energy costs. (Nov, EDF)

A snapshot on the impact of the rising cost of living on service providers in the disability sector. “The report argues for the need for effective government support to help disability service providers cope with the cost of living crisis, and to catalyse their transformation into more resilient and modernised entities.” (Jan)

Finland

147,000 People with disabilities in Finland at risk of poverty or social exclusion. Living conditions statistics. (Apr, Helsinki Times)

France

Salaries for disability professionals to increase but unlikely to be enough to calm a crisis. (Feb, Faire Face)

Georgia

The Cost of Raising a Child with Disabilities The Goods and Services Required for the Equal Participation of Children with Disabilities. (Jun, UNICEF)

Ghana

Emotional ‘journey’ of street beggars with vision impairment: (Aug, Disability and Society)

Ireland

Government must not forget disabled people in this cost of living crisis (Jul, The Journal.ie)

Kenya

How Finance Bill 2023 might affect persons with disabilities adversely. (May, Nation)

What are the additional costs of living to people with disabilities? (Feb, Development Pathways)

New Zealand

Unaffordable home heating increases risk of severe mental distress. (Mar, PHCC)

Norway

Impact of child disability on parental employment and labour income. “The results showed that caring for children with disabilities has a negative effect on mothers’ labour market participation, working hours and labour income. The more severe a child’s condition is, the more likely the mother was to work and earn less, or to stop working entirely.” (Sep, BMC Public Health)

Philippines

The Cost of Raising Children with Disabilities. Not only do children with disabilities cause expenditure 40-80% greater than those without, poverty rates are 50% higher in households with children with disabilities. (Sep, UNICEF)

South Africa

“There is no dignity in poverty and even worse in disabled poverty” (Jan, Daily Vox)

Sri Lanka

The struggle for survival faced by Sri Lanka's senior citizens (Jul, HelpAge)

Turkey

Severe poverty hits the disabled and demands for an equal and fair life. “There are people who sterilize the same catheter and use it several times,” (In Turkish, translation from Google, Dec, Bir Gün)

Uganda

The economic burden incurred by families caring for a young child with developmental disability in Uganda. “Seventy-three caregivers took part in this sub-study. The average annual cost of illness to families was USD 949. The main cost drivers were the cost of seeking care and income lost due to loss of employment.” (Apr, Plos Global Public Health)

United Kingdom

‘I live in fear of debt collectors’: disabled people in England tell of toll of soaring care costs. (Jun, the Guardian)

Disability Price Tag 2023: the extra cost of disability. “On average, disabled households (with at least one disabled adult or child) need an additional £975 a month to have the same standard of living as non-disabled households.” (Jan, Scope)

Homelessness and disability “Report reveals people with physical disabilities and health conditions are at much greater risk of homelessness” (May, University of Bristol)

Disabled people facing a ‘cost-of-breathing’ crisis a campaign by Scope and ITV. “For disabled people, this is not just a cost of living crisis.” (May, Scope)

Broke and disabled in Tory Britain: the reality of life on one meal a day. (Mar, the Guardian)

Disabled young people have less upward social mobility than their peers – and class background makes this worse. (Jan, the Conversation)

Disabled people among hardest hit by cost of living crisis, finds study. ‘Disabled people in the UK are much more likely to struggle to heat their homes and cut back on food this winter, according to a report highlighting “massive” income gaps amid the cost of living squeeze.’ (Jan, the Guardian)

Thousands of vulnerable people cut off from gas and electricity for days at a time. (Dec, The Bureau of Investigative Journalism) And this is just the data from last winter.

Blind people amongst those worst affected by cost of living crisis (Oct, City A.M.)

What actions are people taking because of the rising cost of living? “Around 4 in 10 disabled people experiencing rising cost of living cut back on food and essentials” (Aug, ONS)

From disability to destitution devastating analysis on the economic situation of persons with disabilities. (Jul, JRF)

Disabled people's experiences with activities, goods and services. “Disabled people with invisible impairments could face a conflict between needing support but not wanting to have to identify themselves as disabled to access it, because of perceived external judgement and negative stereotypes regarding disability; this contributed to a sense of vulnerability which people felt negatively impacted their wellbeing.” (Jul, ONS)

‘I see price rises of 25-50%’: how inflation is affecting people with a disability or illness (Jul, the Guardian)

A survey of almost 700 people What disabled consumers choose to buy and why “90 per cent were affected at the decision-making stage of purchases by either; limitations of design, limitations in available information, or how information was presented.” (Jun, BDF) See also on Forbes.

In a survey of 1,200 disabled people, more than half feel “anxious, depressed or hopeless” about financial worries and problems (Apr, Yahoo! News)

Energy prices: Fears and cutbacks as hike hits disabled families (Apr, BBC)

Disabled people facing ‘impossible choices to survive’ in cost of living crisis, “amid a perfect storm of soaring energy prices, increasing fuel and food costs and cuts to government support”. (Mar, the Guardian)

Rising living costs will push more disabled people into destitution "Benefits are falling far behind the extra costs associated with disability," (Feb, New Statesman)

New data shows food insecurity major challenge to levelling up agenda "People who are limited a lot by disability are approximately 5 times more likely to be food insecure (in the past six months) than people who aren’t living with a disability." (Feb, Food Foundation)

United States

How to Embed a Disability Economic Justice Policy Framework in Domestic Policy Making. (Jan, The Century Foundation)

Voices of Disability Economic Justice a series led by disabled writers. (Nov, TCF)

New Rule Would Expand Student Debt Relief for Disabled Borrowers (Aug, TCF)

Financial Inclusion

International

Inclusive Banking: emerging practices and a call to action to enhance economic inclusion of persons with disabilities. (Apr, IFC)

A Mastercard brief on Bridging the Disability Gap with inclusive financial services, focussing on accessibility of financial services. (May, Mastercard)

Fintech can help improve lives of people with disabilities (May, China Daily)

Key sheet on Women's Economic Empowerment and Disability Inclusion in Financial Services. (link to pdf, WOW Helpdesk)

Bangladesh

How can the financial industry address digital accessibility? (May, Dhaka Tribune)

Egypt

The Central Bank of Egypt introduces plastic money in Braille (in Arabic, Jul, Banky)

Malawi

Persons with disabilities grapple with loan accessibility. (Oct, Disability Justice Project)

Malaysia

Ras Adiba calls for introduction of more inclusive financial system for persons with disabilities. (Sep, Malay Mail)

New initiative to support financial education of blind people. (Aug, Disability Insider)

Nigeria

Gaining respect and financial stability: stories from Nigerian women. Village Savings and Loans Associations to help women set up their own businesses and cover expenses. (Nov, CBM)

Pakistan

Bank Alfalah makes a partnership with the Network of Organizations Working for People with Disabilities Pakistan (NOWPDP) to promote financial inclusion. (Apr, Pakistan Observer)

United Kingdom

New debit card lets relatives track spending of relatives with dementia. (Mar, This is Money)

Social Protection

International

Evidence brief on ensuring older men and women with disabilities are equally included in social protection programmes. (Jan, Disability Evidence Portal)

Guidance note for consultation: Towards Inclusive Social Protection Systems Enabling Participation and Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities (Jun, UNICEF / ILO)

On the Debrief: How do we look after each other? Rethinking care systems with policy and personal experience (Apr, Disability Debrief)

A Framework for Evaluating the Adequacy of Disability Benefit Programs and its Application to the U.S. Social Security Disability Programs. “The results indicate that more than 50 percent of older adults of working-age with work-disabilities in the U.S. do not receive SSD benefits, though rates of benefit receipt are higher than the average across other high-income countries” (Jan, Journal of Social Policy)

Report on the support systems to ensure community inclusion “The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated discussions on care systems; such discussions recognize the need to transform traditional care models so that they protect equally the rights of those receiving and providing care. [This report] highlights the human right of persons with disabilities to be included in the community within the current global developments on care, addressing in this context the specific support needs of persons with disabilities for community inclusion” (Jan, OHCHR)
See also extracts and key points from the report (Inclusion Europe).

A discussion paper on the Disability Support Gap: Community support systems for persons with disabilities in low- and middle-income countries (Link to PDF, Aug, CIP)

Working paper on estimating the Extra Costs for Disability for Social Protection Programs. The paper shows how extra costs can vary dramatically, shows methods to estimate extra costs and how social protection programmes can account for them. (Aug, ILO and UNICEF)

ILO and UNICEF report on the role of social protection in the elimination of child labour. “Studies from Bangladesh, Nepal and Gansu Province, China, have found that children in households where adults are sick or disabled or have missed work are more likely to be in child labour within or outside the household.” (May, ILO)

A message to the IMF and World Bank: Targeted Safety Net Programs Fall Short on Rights Protection. (Apr, Human Rights Watch)

Coalition of international organizations holding a conference on Disability and Social Protection (Mar, Social Protection)

Evidence digest focus issue: Social Protection and Disability See also easy read.

'Approaches by governments with schemes labelled for “poor people with severe disabilities who can’t work or care for themselves” have been widely internalised by disability rights activists, who often perceived social protection as demeaning expression charity rather than as rights-based support. In countries with very minimal social protection systems, leaders of many organisations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) would rather focus on employment and livelihood programs with the argument “jobs not charity”, not always taking into account challenges faced by those with high support needs, children with disabilities and their families, or older persons with disabilities. As a consequence, in many low- and middle-income countries, the disability movement and their allies did not engage significantly in framing the emergence of social protection systems. ' (links to pdfs, Feb, SD Direct)

Social protection and access to assistive technology in low- and middle-income countries by friend of the newsletter Alex Cote. (Dec, Assistive Technology Journal)

Argentina

Argentina will issue disability certificates that don't expire an interview with Luis Juez: “bureaucracy hurts”. (In Spanish, May, Yo También)

Good news on disability: non-contributory pension scheme for persons with disabilities. (In Spanish, Jan, CTA)

Armenia

Corruption and disrespect in the process of disability assessment “The disability assessment process has been considered the most corrupt for many years. There were many stories in the media about this and criminal cases have been initiated.” (May, Jam News)

Australia

Public Advocate leaves woman with dementia without heart monitor for 18 months. “The state controls her mother’s life. Katelyn’s fighting desperately to get it back.” (Jun, ABC News)

NDIS must focus on ‘outcomes, not just providing services’ (May, Nation)

The number of reports of unauthorised restrictive practices to the NDIS is up five-fold in three years, to 1.4 million. (May, ABC News)

NDIS participants 'kidnapped' and financially abused in boarding homes for people with disability, report finds. For example ‘being "coaxed" into changing accommodation and service providers "through offers of fast-food 'treats' like KFC and McDonalds".’ (May, ABC News)

NDIS Review – Have your say: a snapshot of what we’ve heard so far. (May, NDIS Review)

The government says NDIS supports should be ‘evidence-based’ – but can they be? (May, The Conversation)

Suggesting NDIS cuts to pay for expensive submarines is the latest attack on disabled people. “The last few weeks have seen an intensification of the predicted pre-federal budget attacks on the NDIS, with a wide range of articles and interviews being published, and the conservative social media in full agreement. These pieces are often shared alongside disgusting slurs against disabled people.” (Mar, the Guardian)

Disability services need to employ more people with lived experience. “New research from the University of Sydney finds almost a quarter of Australian disability services do not employ any people with disability, and 20% employ less than three people with disability.” (Feb, Phys Org)

“There’s been no apology for a mistake that nearly killed me.” The disability community speaks out on Robodebt. (Feb, Hireup)

NDIS funding isn't just a one-way street – it helps participants secure work and give back to the economy. “I was disabled enough to actually qualify for the Paralympics, but not disabled enough to qualify for any assistance on the NDIS” (Nov, ABC News)

Two-year wait for a wheelchair: inquiry hears of difficulty accessing NDIS for remote Indigenous communities (Jul, the Guardian)

When is a condition 'chronic' and when is it a 'disability'? The definition can determine the support you get (Jun, the Conversation)

Two directors of care provider charged with criminal neglect over death of Ann Marie Smith. (Jun, the Guardian)

Hackers Steal a ‘Very Large’ Batch of Private Data from Australia’s Disability Scheme: “this kind of data breach puts vulnerable people at serious risk of identity theft, fraud, and scams,” (Jun, Vice)

Concern millions of Australians with disability not on the NDIS have been 'forgotten' (May, ABC News)

National Disability Insurance Agency scrutinised woman’s social media posts to challenge her eligibility for the scheme (Mar, the Guardian)

Bangladesh

People with disabilities demand Tk 2,000 a month (Apr, New Age Bd)

Deal inked to introduce ‘Bangabandhu Suraksha Bima’ for people with disabilities
 a health insurance introduce for people with neurodevelopmental disabilities. (Feb, Business Insider BD)

Bosnia

MPs adopted Amendments to the Law that will significantly increase Disability Benefits up to 80 percent of the minimum wage. (Feb, Sarajevo Times)

Canada

Canada Disability Benefit Act “enables the Government of Canada to create and deliver a new benefit to working-age persons with disabilities in Canada.” (Jun, Government of Canada) Seen as a “game changer” for people with disabilities living in poverty. (Disability Without Poverty)

Ontario quadriplegic mother applies for MAID over lack of access to disability supports. (Jun, Global News)

This woman with disabilities gets only $1,169 a month. She hopes the Ontario election changes that. (Apr, CBC)

What happened to the Canada Disability Benefit? “It is 2022, the election has been won and done, and as the cynics predicted, the Canada Disability Benefit is still nowhere to be seen.” (Apr, Canada's National Observer)

China

The effect of a disability-targeted cash transfer program on universal health coverage and universal access to education: A nationwide cohort study of Chinese children and adolescents with disabilities. (Nov, The Lancet Regional Health)

Ethiopia

Family quality of life and children with disability: The role of support providers. “Ethiopian families of children with disabilities need holistic support that incorporates spirituality, the whole family’s needs and disability awareness-raising. Collaborative and committed engagement from all stakeholders is necessary to support Ethiopian families to flourish.” (Feb, African Journal of Disability)

Europe

Disabled people and the right to personal assistance Coming EU guidance on independent living should not squander the chance to improve the lives of millions of disabled people. (Jun, Social Europe)

Launch of ENILs´ proposal to the Commission: Guidance on Independent Living. (May, ENIL)

Social protection for people with disabilities An analysis of policies in 35 countries (Mar, ESPN) See a summary from EDF.

For a European Disability Card that makes the freedom of movement accessible. (Jan, ENIL)

Digest in plain English of a Special Issue on Independent Living in Europe and Beyond: Past, Present and Future. (Jan, IJDSJ)

Does the European Care Strategy care about disability? “The council recommendation on long-term care needs first of all to recognise disability support as a topic distinct from care.” (Nov, Social Europe)

Social Protection and the Welfare State: What the EU can do to support persons with disabilities (Mar, EDF)

Rebuilding for sustainability and resilience: strengthening the integrated delivery of long-term care. “ European countries must reorient care models to emphasize person-centredness, user involvement, prevention, healthy ageing and enablement. ” (WHO)

The time to care about care: Responding to changing attitudes, expectations and preferences on long-term care in Europe.:

“Since 2007, the ability of care systems to adequately address evolving care needs has declined: residential care is unaffordable for many, and the supply of community-based services is falling considerably behind a rising demand. Rural communities and poorer individuals bear the brunt of growing capacity gaps, while women are disproportionately affected by the burden of frequent, intensive and undesired informal caregiving spells. ” (link to pdf, Apr, InCare)

Roadmap for user centered funding for long-term care and support. (Mar, UNIC Project)

France

The allowance for disabled adults has been “deconjugalized” meaning that income is assessed on an individual basis rather than together with that of your spouse. (In French, Apr, Handicap.gouv)

Georgia

Georgian court orders government to provide assistant to person with disabilities. (Oct, OC Media)

Pension or disability assistance: an unfair choice? “an older person with disabilities has to choose to receive either a disability benefit or an old-age pension.” (Jun, Development Pathways)

Greece

The availability, accessibility, and quality of support services for older persons with disabilities: the formal and informal care services are “not clearly addressing the needs and special characteristics of older persons with disabilities” (Feb, EASPD)

India

In Tamil Nadu, Unique Disability Identity Cards go missing (Jun, DT Next)

Tangled In Red Tape, The Disability ID Card Process Is Steeped With Gender Barriers. As well as some of the expected implementation issues, this in-depth article discusses how "these problems multiply for women and transgender persons with disabilities." This includes a striking gap in disability card holder percentage of men and women. (Feb, Behan Box)

Indonesia

Government commits to expanding social assurance coverage for disabled people. (Jun, Antara)

Iran

Protests at non-payment of social protection benefits. (In Persian, Mar, @dscampaign1) See coverage on how the protests may have been attacked by police.

Ireland

Each annual budget brings fear. The disability sector is always a target. (Sep, The Irish Times)

Data accessed in Rehab disability group cyberattack (Mar, Irish Times)

Japan

Inside Japan’s long experiment in automating eldercare. “A growing body of evidence is finding that robots tend to end up creating more work for caregivers.” (Jan, MIT Technology Review)

Kenya

Integrated cash transfers promoting inclusion of children with disabilities in Mombasa. (May, UNICEF)

Social protection for disability inclusion in Kenya See also synthesis paper that compares Uganda and Kenya. (Dec, Inclusive Futures)

Kyrgyzstan

Applying design thinking to develop new service models for inclusion of working age persons with disabilities in community and labour market. (Feb, ILO)

Disability drives innovation in the design of social support services and access to employment programmes in Kyrgyzstan - socialprotection-pfm (Nov, SP&PFM)

Latin America and the Caribbean

Disabled people and inclusion in work: the key challenges for social protection systems (In Spanish, Mar, CEPAL)

The Buenos Aires Committment recognises the importance of autonomy and choice of persons with disabilities in receiving care. (Nov, Human Rights Watch)

Lebanon

The Ministry of Social Affairs Introduces a Social Protection Programme for People with Disabilities. “At least 20,000 individuals will benefit from a monthly allowance of US$40 each over an initial period of 12 months.” (Apr, ILO)

Malaysia

How an OKU card [disability card] benefits persons with disabilities (Aug, Free Malaysia Today)

Maldives

Access to the Disability Allowance in the Maldives: National coverage and factors affecting uptake: “This research found that 25.6% of people with disabilities across the Maldives are receiving the Disability Allowance. Coverage was lowest for women, older adults, people living in the capital (Malé), wealthier households and people with sensory impairments. Factors affecting uptake included lack of information about the programme, perceptions of disability and eligibility criteria, geographical and financial factors, and stigma.” (May, Global Social Policy)

Process evaluation of the Disability Allowance programme in the Maldives. “Most importantly, the absence of linkages with the Medical Welfare scheme that provides assistive devices potentially limits the likelihood of the programme achieving intended objectives.” (Mar, International Social Security Review)

Mexico

Workers with disabilities without social protection. (In Spanish, Apr, Yo También)

Irregularities in Teletón and benefits for the wellbeing of people with permanent disabilities. Also: what Teleton owes us. (In Spanish, Feb, Yo También)

New Zealand

Removing Disabling Experiences a vision for a person-directed system that will “provide four enforceable rights to social and income support, habilitation, and healthcare.” (Aug, Warren Forster)

Big gap in support funding between disabled people on Ministry of Health and the national accident compensation scheme. (Aug, Stuff)

How the government asked for social welfare advice, got it, ignored it, and the impact on people with disabilities. (Jun, Stuff)

Disabled people missing out on 'essential' support over relationship status (May, Stuff)

We need a welfare system that works better for people with disabilities (Apr)

Nigeria

In a leprosy colony residents endure stigma and neglect. “There are 64 leprosy settlements across Nigeria but most are in varying states of disrepair with little to no funding.” The article describes how conditions have deteriorated in one colony since the missionaries who founded the colony then left, but people have remained, and new support is not sufficient. (Jun, Aljazeera)

Pakistan

Detailed article on care and the situation of persons with disabilities. (Mar, Dawn)

Palestine

#PensionsForPalestinians: The story of Mohammad, 68. (Mar, Helpage)

Poland

We are talking to you: “The procedure for granting the right to a carer's benefit sounds more like a description of persecution than an example of supporting citizens in a difficult situation. [...] Contact with social workers and center directors is like traveling back in time at least 30 years ago.” (In Polish, translation by Google, Jan, Krytyka)

South Africa

‘People don’t understand what we go through!’: Caregiver views on South Africa’s care dependency grant. (Feb, African Journal of Disability)

Former Sassa officials jailed for disability grant fraud. “The court heard that the pair had recruited unemployed people from the area, who were not disabled, to apply for disability grants.” (Feb, News24)

Challenges of caregivers providing care to children with disabilities at non-governmental organisations in Tshwane townships. (Jul, African Journal on Disability)

The support needs of families raising children with intellectual disability. (Jun, African Journal on Disability)

Spain

The reality of persons with disabilities and non-contributive pensions “they say you can work, but in practice it's not like that.” (In Spanish, Jan, 20 Minutos)

Sweden

Austerity and identity formation: How welfare cutbacks condition narratives of sickness:

“Interviewees describe extreme stress as a result of their contacts with the Social Insurance Agency (SIA), which results in a perpetual crisis that is renewed with each new denied application. In particular, the sense of not having a future means that it is hard to construct narratives to make sense of one’s situation. To escape the perpetual crisis, some people have politicised their situation, constructing a narrative about themselves as suffering from oppressive politics. Others have escaped by not applying for sick insurance or other social insurances. But generally speaking, the most common effect of being denied sick insurance is an ongoing crisis that leads to deteriorating health.” (Sep, Sociology of Health and Illness)

Turkey

Lower social benefits trouble Türkiye's disabled citizens. “Türkiye's disabled citizens find themselves squeezed between a lack of employment opportunities and declining social benefits.” (Jan, Bianet)

Uganda

Disability Inclusion Lifts Rural Ugandan Families From Poverty description of a poverty-reduction programme by BRAC (Jun, Africa.com)

Social protection for disability inclusion in Uganda. See also synthesis paper that compares Uganda and Kenya. (Dec, Inclusive Futures)

United Kingdom

A decade after the Tories demonised disabled people on benefits, it’s happening again. (May, the Guardian) See also: open letter from Scope.

Sussex disabled man breaks silence after being imprisoned and kept in 'squalor' by wife for years. (May, ITV News Meridian)

The tragic deaths the British press is reluctant to cover exploring deaths linked to cuts in government benefits. (May, Columbia Journalism Review)

Social care costs see thousands chased for debt. “More than 60,000 adults with disabilities and long-term illnesses in England were chased for debts by councils last year after failing to pay for their social care support at home.” (Feb, BBC)

UK government errors denied thousands disability benefits: “Campaigners hit out after data reveals majority of successful appeals were due to Department for Work and Pensions mistakes” (Oct, the Guardian)

Five-month disability benefits delay causing hardship (Jul, the Guardian)

Great video on how support workers can enable a social life (Apr, Open Future Learning)

Government spent £440m fighting disability claimants as whistleblowers claim system broken. (Apr, ITV)

Disabled People trapped waiting years for vital home adaptations (Apr, The Bureau of Investigative Journalism)

Secret DWP report reveals unmet needs of disability benefit claimants (Feb, Disability News Service)

United States

Booting 18-Year-Olds From Disability Rolls “About 80,000 kids on SSI turn 18 each year, and, like Gabriel, about half will lose benefits.” And it has has lifelong consequences: “Youth who lost benefits at 18 were twice as likely to be charged with a crime as they were to hold a job.” (Jun, Mother Jones)

Review of Todd Carmody's book Work Requirements on Race, Disability, and the Print Culture of Social Welfare. “For Carmody, there is a direct line that connects the victimization of those at the periphery in early America with the current ideological divide that separates morally superior workers from the lazy, no-good, physically and mentally ill, criminal, visible minorities of American society.” (Jul, H-Disability)

The Application Process for Disability Benefits Shuts Out People in Need “Most who apply for disability benefits are initially turned down. In fact, as per the SSA, only about a third on average get approved on their first try applying for SSDI, and the percentage of those who are initially approved has decreased each year.” (Jun, The Century Foundation)

Social Security may be failing well over a million people with disabilities – and COVID-19 is making the problem worse.

“The data showed that the share of people with substantial work-limiting disabilities who received Disability Insurance, Supplemental Security Income benefits or both rose from 32% in 1998 to 47% in 2016, which was the last year the data was available. This is just a little above the average among 27 high-income countries I compared the data with.” (Apr, The Conversation)

After ‘losing my life’ caring for a sick partner, a professor examines the U.S. caregiver crisis. (Feb, Stat News)

Social Security uses obsolete job titles to deny benefits to disabled applicants. (Dec, Washington Post)

How Dehumanizing Administrative Burdens Harm Disabled People: “All of the systems are set up to really dehumanize disabled people and not to help us.” (Dec, Center for American Progress)

Social Security disability benefit offices reach breaking point with huge claim backlogs. “State operations that review claims face massive backlogs, leaving disabled Americans waiting months and even years for judgments” (Dec, Washington Post)

‘Impending Intergenerational Crisis’: Americans With Disabilities Lack Long-Term Care Plans. (Nov, Kaiser Health News)

A disability program promised to lift people from poverty. Instead, it left many homeless. (Oct, Salon)

Inside the Kafkaesque Process for Determining Who Gets Federal Disability Benefits. (Aug, Mother Jones)

‘People will die waiting’. America’s system for the disabled is nearing collapse: “Providers for intellectually and developmentally disabled struggle to recruit and retain staff amid soaring inflation, pandemic burnout.” (Aug, Politico)

Ending the Two-Tier System of Disability Benefits. If you're not already familiar with how Supplemental Security Income (SSI) works, this article has the gruesome lowdown: benefits below the federal poverty line, and you are ineligible to receive them if you don't have other earnings or assets over $2000. (Apr, Brown Political Review) See more on how policy punishes disabled people who save more than $2,000 from Full Stack Economics.

The Impacts of Disability Benefits on Employment and Crime Discontinuing benefits for children with disabilities as they become adults “increased criminal charges substantially“. (Apr, NBER)

Data breach may have exposed personal information of Oklahomans on disability aid list (Mar, The Oklahoman)

Millions of disabled Americans could lose federal benefits if they get married (Feb, NPR)

The Care Crisis Isn’t What You Think "When it comes to disability, we devalue care (both caregiving and paid care work) because we devalue the people who need it." (Jan, Prospect)

One of the awful features of some disability-related benefits is a limit of the assets that a recipient can have. California just raised the assets limits for medicare from 2000 USD to 130,000 USD. (link to pdf, Dec, State of California)

Tax authorities raise limit allowed benefit recipients in saving accounts (Jan, Disability Scoop)

Education and Childhood

Back to contents.

Overview

International

Evidence brief on impact of collaboration between parents and teachers on children with disabilities in school. (Apr, Disability Evidence Portal)

Focused interventions for girls with disabilities fuelled ‘life-changing’ impact on aspirations and self-esteem. An evaluation of the Girls’ Education Challenge Phase II. (May, Cambridge) See also a blog discussing its results.

Thinking critically about inclusive education in Southern contexts volume 10 of disability and the global south is a special issue dedicated to this. (May, DGS)

For the first time, the State of the World's Children report has a statistical annex with data on children with disabilities. (Apr, UNICEF)

The Routledge International Handbook of Children's Rights and Disability (Apr, Routledge)

Global leadership is needed to optimize early childhood development for children with disabilities. “UNICEF and other international bodies must produce a clear plan that prioritizes development and education for children with disabilities, especially in low- and middle-income settings, as required for achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.” (Apr, Nature Medicine)

Global State of Inclusion in Education “the vision of international inclusive education is falling short of including all learners, no matter their identity, background, or ability.” (Feb, Special Olympics Global Youth and Education) See also an overview: “too many children with intellectual disabilities remain marginalized.”

Disability Inclusive Pre-Primary Education Landscape Review. (Jan, Education Links)

Measuring inclusive teaching practices that support learning for all. Includes a module with tools on disability. (Jan, World Bank)

Inclusion is better for everyone but children with disabilities are 6 times more likely to be out of school. (Dec, Plan International)

The School That Calls the Police on Students Every Other Day “An Illinois school for students with disabilities has routinely used the police to handle discipline, resulting in the highest arrest rate of any district in the country. In one recent year, half of Garrison School students were arrested.”

Inclusive Education for Learners with Multisensory Impairment: a book that “offers a synthesis of best practice with the latest theory and research”. (Nov, McGraw Hill)

Inclusive Interventions for Children with Disabilities – An evidence and gap map from low- and middle-income countries. See a visualization of data and gaps in different areas. (Dec, UNICEF)

The Inclusion Dialogue “Based on fascinating and unique conversations with leading academic experts across the globe, Joanne Banks uses in-depth interviews to examine current debates in special and inclusive education and provides a clear overview of the key tensions which impact policy and practice across different national contexts. Her book also highlights how inclusive education policies do not always translate into inclusive practices in our schools.” (Dec, Routledge)

The evidence for benefits of flexible and adaptive curricula in inclusive education. (Jul, Disability Evidence Portal)

Tools to support TVET policy makers and education providers to plan and deliver inclusive TVET provision for persons with disabilities (Nov, Leave No One Behind)

Children with learning differences are being excluded (Oct, World Education Blog)

Fact Sheet on Children with Disabilities (Aug, UNICEF)

Transforming education: reflections on the calls made to protect the rights of persons with disabilities. (Oct, Sightsavers)

The world is diverse and education should reflect it by including persons with disabilities. (in Spanish, Sep, UN)

Global Partnership for Education factsheet on on inclusive education for children with disabilities. (Sep, Global Partnership on Education)

UNICEF School Guide to Supporting Marginalized Caregivers of Children with Disabilities “Inclusive practices are supported when there is meaningful family engagement.” (Apr, UNICEF)

Value for Money: “Why investing in children with disabilities is worth every penny” (Jul, Able Child Africa)

The Role of Parenting Interventions in Optimizing School Readiness for Children With Disabilities in Low and Middle Income Settings. “The global agenda urgently needs to move beyond token recognition of this marginalized group to inclusive early child intervention programs that consider existing practices, cultural beliefs, and developmental goals in the targeted communities. Children with disabilities in LMICs should receive culturally sensitive parenting interventions to improve learning and educational outcomes.” (Jun, Frontiers in Pediatrics)

Education Cannot Wait Policy and Accountability Framework on Disability Inclusion: Realizing the right to inclusive and equitable quality education of children and adolescents with disabilities in emergencies and protracted crises (May)

A call to action from a coalition of disability organizations on Transforming Education Summit calling for “resilient and inclusive education systems, equitable financing, and the removal of institutional and social barriers to inclusion so every child can benefit from quality education.” (GLAD)

Testing a wide range of technologies to address the reading needs of marginalized children “35% of the awards supporting solutions for children with disabilities.” (May, World Education Blog)

Deaf education in the developing world: what needs to change post-pandemic? (Jun, Global Partnership on Education)

World Vision's child protection work A visual journey of disability inclusion (April, World Vision)

Dismantling barriers and advancing disability-inclusive education: an examination of national laws and policies across 193 countries:

“While strong guarantees exist across diverse countries, we find that notable gaps remain. Forty-six percent of countries do not broadly prohibit disability-based discrimination through the completion of secondary education. Legislation in 35% of countries does not guarantee persons with disabilities access to integrated education in mainstream education environments along with necessary individualized accommodations through the completion of secondary school. Thirty-one percent of countries that make primary education compulsory do not pair compulsory education with guarantees to integration in mainstream education environments and individualized supports for students with disabilities.” (Apr, International Journal of Inclusive Education)

The Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) adopted a Joint Statement on the Rights of Children with Disabilities (link to docx, OHCHR)

A short guide on Achieving Quality Education for All (Mar, Centre for Inclusive Futures.)

A research protocol for study of Effectiveness of Inclusive Interventions for Children with Disabilities in Low- and Middle-income Countries. (link to pdf, Mar, UNICEF)

Evidence brief on overcoming issues of access to digital learning for primary school learners with disabilities in LMICs during Covid-19.

“Primary school learners with disabilities continue to face barriers or continue to be left behind in online/digital learning solutions as a result of the enduring implications of the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions on education. However, access can be improved if, learners with disabilities, parents and their teachers are consulted in the design and implementation of digital learning solutions.” (Jan, Disability Evidence Portal)

Evidence brief on utilising community resources to detect and support children with disabilities? - (Mar, Disability Evidence Portal)

Researching Disability-Inclusive Education: Perspectives from Researchers in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

"Northern scholarship has long dominated the policy discourse on disability-inclusive education. The continued absence of Southern scholarship and overreliance of evidence and perspectives from the North is impeding contextual understanding and action on disability-inclusive education. While the lack of robust evidence is a concern, in parallel, there is an increasing acknowledgment that researchers based in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia have limited opportunities to undertake, engage and publish their own research. This impedes their ability to contribute meaningfully to the disability-inclusive education agenda, both at a national and international level." (Feb, IEI)

When All Truly Means Everyone: Fulfilling the Right to Education of Children with Disabilities in Our Global Education Crisis Response. ECW is "committed to reaching 10% of children with disabilities across our investment portfolio. " (Feb, Education Cannot Wait)

An in-depth Inclusive Education Resources and Toolkit "reference for all staff working in education programming to mainstream inclusion in their work" (Jan, Save the Children)

Students with disabilities hardest hit by school closures (Feb, University of Gothenburg)

Further events on the CaNDER Seminar Series engaging seminars bringing researchers and practitioners together. (Feb)

A "landscape review" of ICT for Disability-Inclusive Education (link to pdf, Jan, World Bank)

In Inclusive education, The case for early identification and early intervention in assistive technology: assistive technology enables learning and so children who need it must be identified as soon as possible. (Dec, Assistive Technology Journal)

Best of UNICEF Research 2021: highlights research on support provided to children with disabilities in Montenegro and how children with developmental disabilities in Palestine experience stigma and discrimination. (Jan, UNICEF)

A new book Global Directions in Inclusive Education Conceptualizations, Practices, and Methodologies for the 21st Century. Edited By Matthew J. Schuelka, Suzanne Carrington (Dec, Routledge)

Afghanistan

Towards Inclusive Education: Narratives of Setting Up a School for Students
with Disabilities in Afghanistan (May, Disability and the Global South)

Africa

In Eastern and Southern Africa Mapping and Recommendations on Disability-Inclusive Education. (Mar, UNICEF)

Cross-Country Brief on Trends in Inclusive Education (Mastercard Foundation)

A Manifesto for Inclusive Education across African Countries. (Jan, HI)

Mapping Learning to Earning Opportunities in Eastern and Southern Africa:

“Several countries in Eastern and Southern Africa provide government sponsored skills-building and training to youth with disabilities in both special and inclusive settings. Despite these efforts and emerging promising practices, limited outreach leaves youth with disabilities and their families unaware of initiatives. In addition, employers, mentors and investors often do not have processes in place to successfully onboard interns, mentees and employees with disabilities, and some may be reluctant to host them at all because of negative perceptions of disability.” (Jan, UNICEF)

Manifesto on Inclusive Education made by representatives of organizations of persons with disabilities. (Nov, African Disability Forum)

A needs assessment of School Violence and Bullying of Children with Disabilities in the Eastern and Southern Africa Region. I hadn't heard of this before, in Zambia, one informant reported:

“There are traditional beliefs, that having sexual relations with a person who is disabled helps you to become cured from a particular disease such as HIV and AIDS. That persons with disabilities can be used as avenues for cleansing and that takes a step further from bullying into sexual violence, sexual abuse, and so on." (link to docx, Leonard Cheshire)

Argentina

Mental health as an educational outcome: Lessons for inclusive education from the Austral in Neuquén (May, Disability and the Global South)

Asia-Pacific

Ensuring continuity of education of children with disabilities during emergencies (Dec, Global Partnership for Education)

Australia

Special schools should be abolished “Educators are pushing for special schools to be scrapped and for all students to be educated together, regardless of their abilities.” (Feb, Herald Sun)

Experts slam ‘culture of low expectations’ surrounding kids with disability, ‘routinely being let down by a widespread lack of support across both mainstream and specialist schools.’ (Jun, The Educator)

What we should all know about authentic inclusive classrooms (Jul, EduResearch Matters)

Why do students with disability go to 'special schools' when research tells us they do better in the mainstream system? (Jun, the Conversation)

Push for special schools to be phased out under inclusive education plan (May, SMH)

‘Devastating impact’: Rise in proportion of disabled students expelled from Victorian government schools during COVID pandemic. “We expect it to be worse this year,” she said. “Every time students have gone back to school following a lockdown period, we have seen both formal and informal exclusions increase.” (Apr, The Age)

Could a national body for ‘Scientists with Disabilities’ level the playing field? (Women's Agenda)

Bangladesh

Majority of children with disabilities in Bangladesh not enrolled in formal education. A national survey shows that “60 percent of children with disabilities aged 5-17 years are not in education.” (Jan, The Daily Star)

Disability and Intrahousehold Investment Decisions in Education: Empirical Evidence from Bangladesh:

“we find the existence of disability bias on the part of parents, especially with regard to the enrollment decision for their children. Results from the direct method using the individual child dataset suggest that there is also a possibility of disability bias in investment decisions even for children who are already enrolled.” (link to pdf, Asian Development Review)

Over 500,000 special needs children affected by school closure "As many as 1,700 private and 77 government special needs schools were closed all over Bangladesh, impeding the mental and physical growth of special needs children. " [Since March 2020] (Feb, Dhaka Tribune)

Belgium

Belgium has the most pupils in special education in all of Europe: why is that? (In Flemish, I used Google Translate, Oct, VRT)

Brazil

Studies on disability in education: anti-ableism, intersectionality, and the ethics of care. (link to pdf, in Portuguese, UDESC)

China

Investigation of sexual assault case at a school for disabled children in Hubei Province (In Chinese, Jun, Weixin)

Discussion on Families We Need Erin Raffety's book on Disability, Abandonment, and Foster Care's Resistance in Contemporary China. (Podcast without transcript, Mar, New Books Network)

Colombia

Listening to the voices of children with disabilities in Escuela Nueva schools. (May, Disability and the Global South)

Mother says teacher offered her money to take her autistic daughter out of class (in Spanish, Feb, Blu Radio)

Congo-Kinshasa

Violent Discipline in North Kivu: The Role of Child Gender and Disability Status in Cross-sectional Analysis: “levels of violence in conflict-affected households in North Kivu, DRC are high, with women reporting higher levels of violent discipline overall, and amplified use of violence against girl children with disabilities.” (Feb, Maternal and Child Health Journal)

Egypt

First e-library for blind people launched in Alexandria (Feb, Disability Insider)

Ethiopia

Research finds “double burden” for high school students with disabilities in conflict affected Oromia region. (Jun, Addis Standard) Research is on the impact of political instability on inclusive education.

Revisiting Equity COVID-19 and Education of Children with Disabilities (Dec, WISE)

Europe

Better Health, Better Lives? 10-Years on From the World Health Organization’s Declaration on the Health of Children With Intellectual Disabilities (Mar, Journal of Intellectual Disabilities)

Germany

Translating Human Rights in Education: The Influence of Article 24 UN CRPD Comparing the meanings of inclusive education in Nigeria and Germany, and how the development of inclusive education has depended on “institutionalized special education” rather than a rights-based approach. (University of Michigan Press)

India

STEM education for blind kids is the need of the hour. (Jan, News Trail)

Inclusive education in practice: disability, ‘special needs’ and the (Re)production of normativity in Indian childhoods. (Sep, Children's Geographies)

Around 71% of govt schools across country made "disabled friendly" according to Ministry data (Jun, Times of India)

For kids with disabilities, the pandemic may have been a reprieve “If not going to school has given them their first taste of learning in a safe and happy place, then schools have to be made safer and happier now that they are heading back” (Mar, Indian Express) I'm sure this doesn't generalize, but great to see cases of people who had a better time.

Early detection of disability among children is important (Dec)

Indonesia

Policy Note on Inclusive Early Childhood Education for children with disabilities. “Inclusion in preschools needs to mean more than just access to the school building.” (Jun, Inclusive Education Initiative)

Discussion paper: Key issues for children with disabilities. (Feb, UNICEF)

The Hurdles to Disability-Inclusive Education (Jun, Jakarta Globe)

Ireland

Children with disabilities waiting years for vital services access to disability services is full of “constant worry, uncertainty, inadequate support and endless struggle”. (Jan, Irish Examiner)

Special classes not best option for students with disabilities:

“Although special classes have been in existence in Ireland since the mid-1970s, their numbers have increased dramatically over the last decade from more than 500 in 2011 to over 2,000 this year. These developments have taken place in the context of research, by the Economic and Social Research Institute and more recently the Department of Education and Skills (DES) Inspectorate, which show little evidence that students in these classes benefit from such placements.” (Jul, Irish Times)

Italy

Embracing and rejecting the medicalization of autism (Feb, Social Science and Medicine)

Jordan

Jordanian parents challenge government policy on disabled children. (Jan, Raseef 22)

Kenya

STEM Courses in Rural Kenya Open Doors for Girls With Disabilities (Short video, May, Voice of America)

Conversations from the field: Stakeholders’ perspectives on inclusive education in western Kenya. (Dec, Canadian Journal of Disability Studies)

Principal of school for the visually impaired pleads for help (Mar, KBC)

Recommendations from a research study on inclusive education and assistive technology: “tax exemption on assistive technology would contribute to the development of education targeting learners with disabilities.” (Feb, NewTimes)

Feature on ANDY's work to promote early childhood education for children with disabilities. (Jan, KBC Channel)

Task-force must address state of disability rights in schools (Nov, Irungu Houghton)

Youth with disabilities decry costly learning equipment (Jun, The Star)

Are ALL Our Children Learning Uwezo Learning Assessment 2021 "1 in 5 girls with disability dropped out of school due [to] Covid-19 enforced schools' closure". (Feb, Usawa Agenda)

Kuwait

Experts of the Committee on the Rights of the Child Commend Kuwait’s Disability Allowance for Children (Sep, OHCHR)

Madagascar

Children with disabilities receive rehabilitation to walk and speak, and prepare to go to school. (Jan, UNICEF)

Malawi

A New Challenge Chrissy Matumba Becomes the First DeafBlind Student at Prestigious Malawian Secondary School (Nov, Disability Justice Project)

Short documentary film Falling Behind exploring “Mismanagement of Funds and A Lack of Accessible Financial Assistance Information Put Students with Disabilities at Risk” (Dec, Disability Justice Project)

‘I might be lucky and go back to school’: Factors affecting inclusion in education for children with disabilities in rural Malawi. (Nov, African Journal on Disability)

Mexico

Inclusive education: four years after reform, only 2% of matriculating students have disabilities. (Mar, Yo También.)

Middle East and North Africa

Hard Lessons: An inquiry into children with disabilities’ exposure to protection risks in Lebanon and Northwest Syria. (Jun, World Vision)

The real lives behind the data: Children with disabilities in education across Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and the occupied Palestinian territory. (link to pdf, Sep, Humanity and Inclusion)

Nepal

How schools are including children with disabilities (Apr, UKFIET)

Revisiting Equity COVID-19 and Education of Children with Disabilities (Dec, WISE)

Books adapted into Nepali Sign-Language by Let's Read Asia with the Nepali Government (Dec, All Children Reading)

Niger

Childhood disability in rural Niger: a population-based assessment using the Key Informant Method. (Mar)

Nigeria

Translating Human Rights in Education: The Influence of Article 24 UN CRPD Comparing the meanings of inclusive education in Nigeria and Germany, and how the development of inclusive education has depended on “institutionalized special education” rather than a rights-based approach. (University of Michigan Press)

Inclusive Education celebrating an amazing partnership & lasting impact (May, CBM UK)

Norway

An Agent-Based Simulation Model of Epidemic Spread in a Residential School. “An agent-based model of a school for deaf children was developed from Norwegian archival sources and 1918 influenza pandemic data to test impacts of non-pharmaceutical interventions. Results show differences in the timing and pattern of spread based on whether the first case is a student or staff member, while epidemics are smaller with more student bedrooms or a hospital ward.” (Jan, Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research)

Qatar

Revisiting Equity COVID-19 and Education of Children with Disabilities (Dec, WISE)

Rwanda

Visually impaired teachers want teaching assistants (Oct, The New Times)

Sierra Leone

Transforming learning for children with disabilities in Sierra Leone’s most remote communities. (Nov, Global Partnership on Education)

South Africa

Inclusion of learners with learning disabilities in the Vaal Triangle mainstream classrooms. “This study argues that for learners with learning disabilities to be more included in mainstream classrooms, the learner population should be reduced to a maximum of 30 learners per class, and collaboration with parents should be enhanced.” (Jun, African Journal of Disability)

Accessibility to education for persons with disability ”Shocking statistics reveal how people living with disabilities in South Africa are denied a right to education.” (Jan, Soweto Urban)

Dire shortage of school places for autistic children “There are currently 133 children on the waiting list at Quest School for Learners with Autism, the only public specialist school in Gqeberha” (Feb, GroundUp)

Towards interventions on school dropouts for disabled learners amidst and post-COVID-19 pandemic. Calls for a “a systematic multi-stakeholder local community-based intervention approach”. (Jun)

Too many disabled children still fall through schooling gaps. Article points to a wild range of estimates of children with disabilities out of school: from 40,000 to 600,000. (Apr, Mail and Guardian)

Inclusive education in South Africa: path dependencies and emergences. “Addressing barriers to inclusive education seems to be less about clearing successive hurdles in a steeplechase race and more about understanding the complex ecology of education systems, and the various actors and socio-cultural, historical and economic processes that constitute these systems.” (Apr, International Journal of Inclusive Education)

Digital technology should be prioritised in schools for pupils with learning disabilities (Feb, Sunday Times )

South Asia

Deaf children and mental health: The challenges and how we’re tackling them. (Nov, Global Partnership on Education)

Mapping of Disability-Inclusive Education Practices in South Asia (Aug, UNICEF)

South Sudan

feature on supporting access to education for children with disabilities: My Wheelchair, My Journey. (Feb, Education Cannot Wait)

Syria

A promising future for Ameer a blog on non-formal education programmes that reached hundreds of children with disabilities. (Nov, Global Partnership on Education)

How Cognitive and Pyschosocial Difficulties Affect Learning Outcomes: A study of primary school children. “The findings suggest that psychosocial and cognitive support for children in emergencies is needed, not just for their wellbeing but to enable them to learn effectively.” (link to pdf, Mar, Journal on Education in Emergencies)

Tajikistan

Including Children with Disabilities in Early Grade Math Assessments (Feb, Inclusive Development Partners)

Tanzania

Leaving no one behind an article exploring inclusive education. (Dec, The Citizen)

Uganda

Facing the challenge of understanding how Northern biases and assumptions impact the research process: Considering the researcher positionality in exploring local practice of disability-inclusive education in Uganda. (May, Disability and the Global South)

Breaking barriers: FCA Uganda ensures access to education for children with disabilities. (Apr, Finn Church Aid)

Experts blame special needs poor grades on few teachers. “The poor performance among special needs learners, both in classwork and at national examinations, has been attributed to a lack of skilled teachers and inadequate learning materials and equipment, a top education official has said.” (Feb, Monitor)

They may have lost sight, but digital assistive learning technologies have given learners a vision. (Dec, UNICEF)

Concern as deaf learners perform poorly in Primary Leaving Exams. (Jan, Monitor)

A Fundraiser by Connor Scott-Gardner to help Salama Blind School after a Devastating Fire (Nov, Go Fund Me)

Understanding child disability: Factors associated with child disability at the Iganga-Mayuge Health and Demographic Surveillance Site (Apr, Plos One)

United Arab Emirates

Examining culturally responsive inclusive education practices in mainstream schools in the United Arab Emirates: A preliminary study to trial an evidence-based framework. (May, Disability and the Global South)

United Kingdom

Children with Disabilities forced to travel hundreds of miles for school. (Apr, The Bureau)

Changing Children’s Attitudes to Disability through Music: "A core driver for change appeared to be sharing enjoyable musical activities with competent musicians who had disabilities." (Feb, Disabilities)

United States

No Power but Deaf Power: Revitalizing Deaf Education Systems via Anarchism (May, Social Inclusion)

How School Shooting Responses Leave Out Disabled Students. “Many schools have policies that leave behind vulnerable students and staff in the event of mass shootings, fires or other disasters.” (Apr, Huffpost)

Supreme Court unanimously rules for deaf student in education case. (Mar, PBS)

Oklahoma votes down ban of corporal punishment on disabled children. (Mar, Washington Post)

How Educators Secretly Remove Students With Disabilities From School. “The removals — which can include repeated dismissals in the middle of the day or shortening students’ education to a few hours a week — are often in violation of federal civil rights protections for those with disabilities.” (Feb, Yahoo! News)

Disability rights advocates call on Texas Legislature to better protect students from restraints. “Jeanna TenBrink said three years ago, when her daughter Leah was in middle school, she started coming home with unexplained bruises and getting upset when it was time to go to school. But because Leah is autistic and mostly nonverbal, TenBrink didn’t know why her daughter was upset until she managed to get access to camera footage.” (Feb, Texas Public Radio)

Education Department Finds that Most States Repeatedly Fail To Meet Special Ed Responsibilities (Jul, Disability Scoop)

New Guidance Helps Schools Support Students with Disabilities and Avoid Discriminatory Use of Discipline (Jul, Department of Education)

Surveillance Tech Is Wrongly Accusing Disabled Students of Cheating on Tests (Jun, Truthout)

Reflections on Disabled Students & Active Shooter Preparedness “How can we use anti-ableism in all aspects of gun violence prevention?” (May, Crip News)

Longest Sit-In in UCLA History Ends with Massive Victory for Students: "A 16-day sit-in by a coalition of students striking for hybrid access and equity for marginalized students got results. " (Feb, Knock LA)

I Gave My Child a Smartphone and It's Been the Best Thing for Her. More screen time has been beneficial for my disabled 10-year-old daughter. Here are five rules that make it all work for us. (Feb, Wired)

Cost of Heaven a moving exploration through graphics and text on the closure of a deaf school and importance of its heritage. "The cultural strength of the Deaf schools enable children to learn without the constant pressure to 'overcome' disability." (text transcript also available, Adrean Clark)

Vietnam

Efforts made to ensure best care for children with disabilities (Apr, Vietnam Plus)

West Africa

Information and Communication Technologies and Inclusive Education "Despite their potential to foster inclusive learning, the use of ICT in schools in the intervention countries faces a number of barriers" (Humanity and Inclusion)

Higher Education

International

Ableism in the academy “Disabled scholars say they often rely on ad hoc agreements to get the accommodations they need to do their jobs. The lack of formal recognition has left many feeling unprotected and unwelcome in the academic workplace.” (Apr, UA/AU)

Moving labs: a checklist for researchers with disabilities. (Dec, Nature Careers)

A discussion forum on quality higher education for persons with disabilities in low and middle income countries. (Sep, CIP)

A review of the anthology Improving Accessible Digital Practices in Higher Education (Apr, Disability Studies Community)

Australia

Barriers facing disabled activism at university: ‘Disability is often relegated to “second-class” status in student activism. More effort, listening and discernment is needed from other activists to build a genuinely inclusive student movement.’ (Aug, Honi Soit)

Women with disabilities 'underestimated' as battle for equality in science careers heats up. (Jul, ABC News)

Bangladesh

A shot in the dark: The state of higher education for persons with disabilities (Feb, TBS)

Bhutan

Understanding Inclusion and Accessibility in Higher Education: A Case Study from Bhutan. (Jan, Fora Education)

Brazil

Changes and challenges that disabled people bring to educational institutions. Feature exploring increased rates of enrolment but gaps in policies and teaching practices. (In Portuguese, Apr, Pesquisa FAPESP) See reflections on the Debrief.

Mexico

Mexico failed to ensure access to inclusive tertiary education for woman with intellectual disability, UN Committee finds. “This case is not about lowering admission standards but about appropriate modifications and adjustments in assessing applications from people with disabilities during the admission process,” (Apr, OHCHR)

South Africa

The subjective experiences of students with invisible disabilities at a historically disadvantaged university. (Jun, African Journal on Disability)

3 ways in which universities can be more inclusive to disabled individuals during an emergency.

United Kingdom

What I’ve learned from a decade of working with a disability in academia “climbing the academic ladder in an able-bodied world” (Jun, Times Higher Education)

Disabled students are being let down by universities (Jun, Metro)

United States

Being Black and Disabled in University “Pursuing an education at the intersection of ableism and racism, Black male students with disabilities develop strategies to silence negative cultural narratives.” (Jun, JSTOR Daily)

‘It’s Backdoor Accessibility’: Disabled Students’ Navigation of University Campus:

“Introducing the concept of ‘backdoor accessibility,’ this paper examines exclusionary practices and systemic ableism to propose that disabled students are routinely offered a lesser quality service that is argued to be ‘better than nothing.’ In order to navigate these barriers, many students reported the additional expenditure of time, resources and energy.”

College students with disabilities deserve accessible spaces “Student journalists at the University of Maryland spent months scrutinizing their campus and talking to people with disabilities. More college newspapers should.” (May, Washington Post)

Students push for Persons with Disabilities Cultural Center (Feb, Yale News)

Employment, Business and Work

Back to contents.

International

Your Workforce Includes People with Disabilities. Does Your People Strategy? “Most organizations report that their workforce includes relatively few employees with disabilities: just 4% to 7% on average. But in our survey of nearly 28,000 employees in 16 countries, some 25% of people said they have a disability or health condition that limits a major life activity.” (May, BCG)

Why disability-inclusive employment benefits all of us blog discussing programming promoting inclusive employment. (Jun, Sightsavers)

The right to work versus the right to retire “Ageism is still pushing older workers out of the labor market” - a report exploring international trends in older persons work and retirement. (Apr, Allianz)

Evidence Brief on what are the strategies or models that support youth with disabilities to enter into employment? (Mar, Disability Evidence Portal)

World's Largest Clothing Retailer To Double Its Disability Employment Inditex, the owner of Zara “is committing to dramatically increase employment of people with disabilities throughout its operations.” (Jan, Disability Scoop)

ESG and Disability Data white paper a call for inclusive reporting and standardized disability inclusion key performance indicators for businesses. (Jan, Valuable 500) See also a blog on why it's needed.

Livelihood support for caregivers of children with developmental disabilities: findings from a scoping review and stakeholder survey. (Dec, Disability and Rehabilitation)

Proxy agencies for disabled hires grow as firms try to fill quota. “Japanese firms have been using proxy agencies to employ people with disabilities, hiring them to work for unrelated farming projects in a move seen as a way to fulfill official disability quotas, according to a welfare ministry probe and a Kyodo News investigation.” (Jan, Kyodo) Reaction from Barrier Free Japan (brief audio, no transcript).

How can we include people with intellectual disabilities at work? (Dec, Sightsavers)

Creating an inclusive culture actions taken by Valuable 500 members for a more inclusive business culture. (Dec, Valuable 500)

Lost in Translation: A global guide to the language of disability: “seeking to apply a single set of language guidelines across a global organisation is often not the best approach. Instead, recognise cultural and linguistic differences and use the language that your audience speaks – whilst seeking to empower the disabled people you work with and serve.” (Dec, BDF)

Note on ensuring that people with disabilities are not bullied at places of work. (Oct, Disability Evidence Portal)

Capacity to Contribute: We must do more to improve the labour market inclusion of people with disability. (Oct, The OECD Forum Network)

Evidence and good practice paper on approaches to Increasing Employment and Quality of Employment Among Youth with Disabilities. (Nov, DEEP / USAID)

Disability Inclusion in Employment Intensive Investment Programming a stocktaking and way forward on inclusion in public works initiatives. By yours truly. (Oct, ILO)

Barriers to employment for people with intellectual disabilities in low- and middle-income countries: Self-advocate and family perspectives. “Self-advocates shared experiences in the focus groups of workplace bullying, mistreatment by supervisors and colleagues and exploitation in the workplace which indicates that supporting people to overcome barriers and get into a job is insufficient for ensuring inclusion.” (Jun, Journal of International Development)

UN General Comment on the right of persons with disabilities to work and employment clarifying what governments need to do to realize the right to work. (Sep, A summary from European Disability Forum.)

Lessons learned on improving access to employment from Kenya and Bangladesh and the i2i project. (Aug, CBM UK)

Mainstreaming disability inclusive employment in international development: “a key message is that instrumental types of intervention such as policy and practice guidelines, provision of assistive devices and soft skills training for jobseekers with disabilities are necessary but not sufficient to bring about wholesale change towards disability inclusive employment.” (Jul, Journal of International Development)

Achieving disability inclusive employment – Are the current approaches deep enough? A detailed critique of recent programming in international development asking interventions to go deeper:

“Thus, shallow approaches, which do not address deep-seated cultural beliefs and assumptions about disability and disabled people (which are pervasive throughout the ecosystem), are likely to perpetuate the existence of opportunities for the already more privileged elite and further disadvantage the rest.” (Jul, Journal of International Development)

Global Trends Report featuring Technological Innovation for Disability Inclusion. (link to pdf, Jul, Valuable 500)

A policy brief on Making Digital Skills Initiatives Inclusive of Young Persons with Disabilities. (Jul, Decent Jobs for Youth)

The state of disability engagement survey data showing “employees with disabilities are having a far less favorable experience at work than their non-disabled counterparts. These significant differences are far greater than we have found for other diversity groups such as gender, race and sexual orientation.” (Mercer)

An Inclusive Workplaces Toolkit which gives guidance for employers how to make their workplaces inclusive of people with intellectual disabilities. “Creating a workplace that is more inclusive of people with intellectual disabilities primarily requires small tweaks and behaviour changes within a workplace that
make it easier for everyone to understand and be included in work.” (Jun, Inclusion International)

A review of effectiveness of interventions for improving livelihood outcomes for people with disabilities in low- and middle-income countries. The review finds studies reporting “positive impacts on livelihood impacts” but given the limited evidence it is hard to conclude about what works. This study calls for more studies. (Jun, Campbell Systematic Reviews)

“This programme is nation-building” reflections at the ending of a disability-inclusive employment programme in Nigeria, Kenya, Bangladesh and Uganda. (Jun, Inclusive Futures)

Equalising access to the labor market for persons with disabilities based on a project in Bangladesh, Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria. The report makes important points on how initiatives to support employment can have negative effects:

“Too often, employment of persons with disabilities has been approached
through a narrow lens of placing people into jobs, without securing
preconditions for inclusive employment such as inclusive workplace culture, provision of reasonable accommodation, and accessible transportation to work.
Worse, persons with disabilities have often been supported to access only a limited range of jobs based on prevailing stereotypes, usually low-wage and perceived low-skill roles, thereby perpetuating stigma and prejudice about what persons with disabilities can or cannot do. This is particularly the case for most marginalized groups, such as persons with intellectual disabilities.”

It also questions the emphasis on the ”business case” when advocating with employers, and argues for a “critical consciousness on disability amongst employers”:

“The business case approach to promote inclusive employment must
be rooted in human rights and social justice to ensure that a for-profit
argument does not lead to further exclusion of those with high risks
of marginalization. Employers need to recognize past and present
marginalization and discrimination of persons with disabilities and
take active responsibility to transform the labor market to become
open, accessible and inclusive for persons with disabilities.” (Jun, IDA)

New ILO database highlights labour market challenges of persons with disabilities. From 60 countries with available data:

“The labour force participation rate of people with disabilities is very low. Globally, seven in ten persons with disabilities are inactive (that is, neither in employment nor unemployed), compared with four in ten persons without disabilities. While the inactivity rate is higher for both women and men with disabilities than for those without, it is particularly high among women with disabilities. This suggests that they face a double disadvantage in the labour market on account of both their sex and their disability status.” (Jun, ILO)

How can public and civil services support people with disabilities into senior roles? (May, Global Government Forum)

This year's Harkin Summit was held in Belfast (Jun, BBC)

What is the future of work for people with disabilities? (May, World Economic Forum)

The Valuable 500 taking action: Inclusive moments from companies in the Valuable 500 network (May, Valuable 500)

LinkedIn Adds ‘Dyslexic Thinking’ To Skills List In Effort To Destigmatize. Dyslexic thinking being seen as ‘strengths in creative, problem-solving and communication skills’. (Mar, The Drum)

Is It The Yuk Factor? Disabilty Advocacy Is Growing Up. Interview with Susan Scott Parker. (Mar, Forbes)

The Valuable 500 Launch World’s First Global Directory of Disability Inclusion Specialists (Mar, Valuable 500)

An ILO report Transforming enterprises through diversity and inclusion. “Overcoming inclusion as a privilege of seniority is key to fully realizing the business benefits it offers” (Apr, ILO)

ILO Global Business and Disability Network Annual Report 2021 (ILO)

What is the current evidence on promoting employment for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities? Recommends supported employment; little evidence from low- and middle-income countries. (Jan, Disability Evidence Portal)

A spotlight on Inclusion Breakthroughs in 2021 (Feb, Valuable 500)

The upcoming G20, hosted by Indonesia will promote employment for persons with disabilities. (Jan, Antara News)

From the ITCILO with Cornell University, a course on Disability in the Workplace a 90 minutes training. (Jan, ILO)

Africa

Cross-Country Brief on Trends in Inclusive Employment (Mastercard Foundation)

Disability inclusion in the African business community: latest trends and good practices. Includes big multinational companies Unilever and Safaricom setting recruitment targets of 5% of persons with disabilities in their workforces by 2025. (Link to pdf, Feb, ILO)

Asia-Pacific

A policy paper on Preferential Contracting for Persons with Disabilities “an in-depth look at the practice of using public procurement to promote the employment of persons with disabilities” (Nov, UNESCAP)

Why Hiring Individuals With Disabilities Can Benefit Asia’s Workforce (Apr, Verve Times)

A resource guide for employers on Tapping the potential of persons with disabilities (Mar, ILO)

Australia

Employment and mental health for people with and without disability. The beneficial mental health effects of part- or full-time employment were larger for disabled people. (Sep, Population Health)

Research reveals employer attitudes to disability. “The survey of Australian Network on Disability’s 400 member organisations, including some of the country’s biggest corporations, major universities, and government departments, found 68 per cent do not have targets for the employment of people with disability.” (Mar, Pro Bono)

Australia is lagging when it comes to employing people with disability – “it will need to take affirmative action.” (Feb, The Conversation)

Many Australian bosses believe disabled staff faking impairment. (Feb, Daily Telegraph)

Royal Commission report finds Disability Employment Services (DES) program failed to provide appropriate support. (Jan, Royal Commission) Further reaction on the Guardian.

(Under)valuing lived experience in the disability workforce: “this study examined the ways in which lived experience was described as an asset in disability workforce recruitment.” (Sep, Australian Journal of Social Issues)

'The gap is widening': disability advocates say not all Australians are enjoying equal employment opportunities. (Jul, SBS News)

Low staff turnover, high loyalty and productivity gains: the business benefits of hiring people with intellectual disability (May, the Conversation)

People with disability working for legal pay as low as $2.27 an hour, inquiry hears (Apr, the Guardian)

Increasing board and executive representation (Jan, Australian Network on Disability)

Bangladesh

Learning Document: Towards inclusion of persons with disabilities within BRAC’s Skills Development Programme. (May, Light for the World International)

Creating new opportunities Interview with Murteza Khan of Bangladesh Business and Disability Network. (May, Ice Business Times)

Short video on the Inclusion Journey of Domino's Pizza Bangladesh (May, Bangladesh Business and Disability Network)

Capability-sensitive principles for assistive technology to support young graduates with disabilities in Bangladesh and Kenya into employment. “In Bangladesh, innovation hubs, SMEs and enterprise units are increasingly building new assistive technology solutions to strengthen capacity and assist young disabled graduates.” (Jul, Journal of International Development)

Bangladesh expands tax incentive for employers of persons with disabilities and third-gender people (Jun, BD News)

Conquering the challenges in employment: a film made by Bangladesh OPDs (Mar, i2i)

Bhutan

Supporting Employment for Persons with Disabilities in Bhutan: Results from an Employer Survey (Apr)

“I want to achieve more, so that I can inspire more people” Living and Working with a Disability in Bhutan. A nice presentation of case studies and pictures from a project supporting disabled people with small grants. (Royal Thimphu College and Fora Education)

Microgrants used to promote entrepreneurship in a pilot project. A film was also made about the project, Dreams of Birds Flying in the Sky, trailer available on Youtube. (Jan, Kuensel Online)

Brazil

Unilever ordered to fulfil quota of contracting persons with disabilities and making an investment to professional development. (In Portuguese, May, Justiça do Trabalho)

A new approach is needed to ensure equality in the work place for autistic people:

“As an autistic woman from a favela, my experience with the job market has always been an uphill struggle because the selection processes are designed for neurotypical people, who generally are at ease with oral communication normative social skills, while the specific communication styles of autistic and neurodiverse people are not considered. My work with the Black Lives with Disabilities Matter Movement (Vidas Negras com Deficiência in Portuguese), a movement that focuses on race and disability [...] has helped me to understand that these selective processes were built to prioritize white and non-disabled bodies.” (Jun, Minority Rights Group International)

Inclusion with Accessibility at Work a site with quite a few resources (in Portuguese)

Cambodia

The Government sets quota of 2% for the recruitment of persons with disabilities. (Mar, Khmer Times)

Cameroon

Prejudice robs disabled women of work "Laws to protect disabled people are not enforced in the central African nation, leaving many without jobs. But a local organisation is helping equip disabled women for work." (Dec, New Frame)

Canada

Executives with disabilities in Canada, 2019 (Apr, Statistics Canada)

Diversity Works research looking at employment journeys of black, indigenous and people of colour with disabilities. (Aug, Canadian Association for Supported Employment)

Opinion: It’s time for a culture shift where disability inclusion is concerned. By friend of the Debrief, Yazmine Laroche. (Jun, Globe and Mail)

Up to $270 million is available to fund projects to connect persons with disabilities with good jobs. (May, Government of Canada)

Job boards aren’t designed with disability in mind. That needs to change (Feb, CareerWise)

A report on disability inclusion in MBA programs “half of the respondents had a negative perception of employers' on-campus recruitment drives“ including stereotyping and ableism. (Access to Success)

Employers’ lessons learned in hiring, retaining and advancing employees with disabilities (Feb, Public Policy Forum)

Hiring more people with disabilities can address labour shortages > "Labour shortages are one of the biggest issues facing Canadian companies right now, but there’s an underrepresented and untapped pool of skilled Canadians that could help close the gap: people with disabilities." (Dec, Globe and Mail)

Chile

How businesses manage law 21.015 on inclusion of disabled people in the labour market. (Dec, Azarbe)

China

Supported employment helps people with Down syndrome find jobs (Mar, Xinhua News)

Europe

Updated guide on disability in sustainability reporting. (Jun, GRI)

Majority of persons with disabilities locked out of quality employment review of the right to work across European countries shows a gap of 24 percentage points in employment between people with and without disabilities. (Apr, EDF)

A toolkit for Public Employment Services to combat labour market discrimination against persons with disabilities. (Sep, European Commission)

Disability Employment Package to improve labour market outcomes for persons with disabilities (European Commission)

Disability and Gender Gaps: a position paper addressing unequal employment of women with disabilities. (Sep, EDF)

EU historic agreement on minimum wage covers workers with disabilities. (Jul, EDF)

Working at EU institutions not easy for ethnic minority staff “Working for the EU institutions is no walk in the park for people of colour or with disability, with almost 60 percent of respondents from both categories saying they have observed or experienced discrimination.” (May, EU Observer)

The right to work: enabling people with disabilities to thrive in the job market (Feb, Euronews)

France

The disability employment quota between social policy and antidiscrimination (Nov, Anne Revillard)

Germany

A higher fee for larger employers who do not fulfil obligations to employ people with severe disabilities. (May, Deutschlandfunk)

India

Supreme Court gives a welcome order with problematic observations. Judges accepted inclusion of disabled people in public services they had been excluded from, but accompanied this with “seemingly discouraging remarks”. (Nov, Indian Express)

Article on employment of persons with disabilities and statistics from public and private sectors. (Oct, Business Standard)

Official Data Shows Central Government Jobs for Disabled Persons Have Declined Since 2018 (Jul, The Wire)

Enabling Inclusive: Best Practices in Disability Inclusion in Manufacturing Sector (link to pdf, Mar, IBDN)

The Supreme Court bats for disabled people in police force. “Experiment it for a while and if it does not work then you may not continue with it.” (May, Times of India)

Poorly Worded Ads, Apathy Are Depriving Doctors With Disabilities of Job Opportunities (Dec, The Wire)

Indonesia

A Different Way of Learning feature on how “Indonesians with Autism Forge Their Own Path to Education and Employment”. (Oct, Disability Justice Project)

Inside Indonesia's grassroots fight for accessibility. (Sep, FairPlanet)

Out of Their Hands video feature on blind massage therapists and other employment challenges for those with visual impairments, including the impact of the pandemic. (Aug, Disability Justice Project)

New skills helped my business recover from pandemic. Feature trainings for entrepreneurs with disabilities. (Feb, ILO)

Ireland

Graduates with disabilities are less likely to be employed – and are paid less. (Feb, Independent.ie)

Kenya

Bridging the Gap Between Young PWDs and Technology “The academy run by Sightsavers and partners aims to have young people with disabilities transition into formal employment at IT and telecommunications firms” (May, The Kenya Times)

Platform livelihoods for youth with disabilities (May, AllAfrica)

The startup giving a chance to people with disabilities Riziki Source matches members' credentials and disability with potential employers (Apr, The Star)

Capability-sensitive principles for assistive technology to support young graduates with disabilities in Bangladesh and Kenya into employment. (Jul, Journal of International Development)

New $6 million Inclusive Futures programme launched which "aims to increase the inclusion of people with disabilities, particularly women, and improve labour rights at two large Kenyan companies. " (Mar, Inclusive Futures)

Unemployment in women with psychosocial disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic: Lessons from Tana River County. "We found that the pandemic worsened their experiences of work and employment, and they did not receive any social welfare or support from the government." (Feb, Journal of International Development)

Safaricom in partnership to offer internships for People with Disabilities (Feb, KBC)

Business as Unusual Disability inclusion practices of private sector employers. (Dec, Kenya Business and Disability Network)

Malawi

Disability inclusive employment in urban Malawi: A multi-perspective interview study. Explores the gap between policy and practice, looks into the informal labour market, economic factors as a source of discrimination and includes a scathing remark about international NGOs that “come to Malawi”:

“They come with their agenda of inclusion. But you'd find that for them to accommodate persons with disabilities, it would not be easy for them. You'd find they have signed commitments, whatever, out there, but [when] they come to Malawi—nothing like that is happening.” (Jul, Journal of International Development)

Moldova

Give people with disabilities a chance to work experience of a woman with disability working at an electronic systems company. (Mar, ILO Voices)

Mozambique

Solution and Success: Felix’s Story of Farming in Gorongosa. (Jan, Spark)

Nepal

Lived Employment Experiences of Persons with Physical Disabilities: “over-protective behaviour from family members, discrimination by employers in recruitment, and continuance in employment were barriers.” (Apr, Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research)

Niger

Economic empowerment for women and girls with disabilities (Jan, UN SDG)

Nigeria

Decent work inaccessible to most workers with disabilities: a survey of 600 workers with disabilities. “Most of the 660 workers surveyed are self-employed and in the informal sector. Almost half of respondents earn less than Nigeria’s minimum wage and say their work environment is not accommodating to their disability.” (Mar, Solidarity Center)

Inside the lives of professionals living with invisible disabilities in Nigerian workplaces. (Jan, Techpoint)

Documentary released on women living with disabilities in mining communities (Jun, Guardian Nigeria)

Norway

This is a pretty tough industry: an initiative for recruitment into IT jobs. (In Norwegian, Feb, Kode24)

Pakistan

The Human Rights Ministry wants disability quota filled “The ministry for human rights on Saturday wrote official letters to 29 government departments to implement two percent disability employment quota.” (May, Dawn)

Poland

Survey report on 10 principles for successfully employing people with disabilities A mixture of experiences of disabled people, employers, and guidance for businesses to become more inclusive. (link to pdf, Dec, TAKpelnosprawni)

Russia

Search for people to build fortifications, including digging trenches, mentions jobs for persons with disabilities. (Dec, Yahoo! News)

Barriers and Opportunities to Employment for Persons with Disabilities (Nov, World Bank)

Rwanda

A video feature on Seeing Hands Rwanda which provides training and transition from training to employment. (Dec, Disability Justice Project)

Singapore

Leadership commitment is key to scaling disability inclusion (May, The Business Times)

South Africa

In search of a landing place for persons with disabilities: A critique of South Africa’s skills development programme. One of which is that “focusing exclusively on providing hard skills fails to account for complex challenges faced by persons with disabilities”. (Mar, Int Journal of Discrimination and the Law)

A labour lawyer argues that very little has been done to ensure that people with disabilities have employment opportunities. (Dec, IOL)

The matrix of linguistic exclusions impeding career construction for D/deaf learners: “experiences at home, school and in social contexts combined, impact negatively the process of career construction and its prospects.” (Jun, African Journal on Disability)

Inclusive development: clearing up misconceptions on disability in the workplace (Jun, Engineering News)

How education, training and development support the wellness of employees with disabilities. (Apr, African Journal of Disability)

South Korea

”They cancelled my job interviews because I'm disabled” a linkedin post that went viral. (Sep, BBC)

South Sudan

'I want to be self-reliant' — encouraging enterprise for Internally Displaced People. (May, Light for the World International)

Spain

Persons with intellectual disabilities and public sector job openings (in Spanish, Feb, Discapnet)

"The leader of the future, if they're not inclusive, won't be a leader" (in Spanish, Jan, Ethic)

Sweden

Disability, Gender and Hiring Discrimination: an experimenting sending 2,000 job applications found that “nondisabled applicants receive 33 percent more callbacks than similarly qualified wheelchair users despite applying for jobs where the impairment should not interfere with performance” (Jun, IZA Institute of Labour Economics)

Switzerland

Sheltered workshops criticized for derisory pay of persons with disabilities. Some receiving as little as 5 francs per month. (Jan, MA RTS)

Tunisia

"We are all different" video featuring the situation of workers with disabilities, discrimination against them, and political actions taken. Great selection of people working in different areas including entrepreneurs and artists. (in Arabic, with English subtitles., Oct, Solidarity Center and UGTT)

Uganda

Closing the Employment Gap a feature video on how Ugandans with Disabilities Advocate for a More Inclusive Work Environment (Dec, Disability Justice Project)

Celebrating “Make 12,4% work” a project for economic empowerment of persons with disabilities. Report discusses the way disability inclusion facilitators implemented the program and a detailed description of methodology and lessons learned. “Disability Inclusive Development is an emerging field with no blueprint readily available for practitioners developing and implementing programmes in the sector. In addition, a high level of complexity exists due to intersectionality and the diversity in disability.” (Sep, LFTW)

Banking on Inclusion the experience of Stanbic bank. See also Lekker Bakery and Riley Packaging. (Jun, Make 12.4% Work)

United Kingdom

Disability and Small Business Report (Small Business Britain)

Why employer inflexibility matters for the recruitment, retention and progression of disabled workers.

“Whilst some disabled people may need specific aids, adaptions, or equipment in order to facilitate their ability to work, the vast majority only require changes in the way in which work is organised. In the same way that it offers working parents the opportunity to balance family life with work, flexible working can offer disabled people a way to accommodate requirements arising from their impairment. However, a common complaint made by disabled people is a lack of employer flexibility in terms of where, when, and how work can be performed. Despite disabled workers having a legal right to flexible working as a reasonable adjustment under the provision of the Equality Act (2010), employers often refuse.” (Jan, Disability & Society)

Non-disabled workers paid 17% more than disabled peers. Disabled women face the biggest pay gap and it persists for workers throughout their careers. (Nov, TUC)

Positively Purple a new book from Kate Nash on building an inclusive culture in business. (Oct, KoganPage)

Disability Pay Gap: “Mandatory reporting would only capture a snippet of the full picture as only large organisations would be required to report”. (Jul)

Employers influencing disabled people’s employment through responses to reasonable adjustments. Employer reactions to requests for adjustments in the workplace go on to influence the rest of disabled people's careers. (Jul, Disability and Society)

‘I was dismissed as simple’: People reveal the reality of disability discrimination at work (May, Metro.co.uk)

The blind farmer: ‘It’s all I ever wanted to do. Now I can help others do it’ (May, the Guardian)

Disability pay gaps in the UK: 2021 “The disability pay gap, the gap between median pay for disabled employees and non-disabled employees, was 13.8% in 2021”. There is a slightly wider pay-gap for men with disabilities, and considerably wider for those with more activity limitations, or with autism listed as their main impairment. (Apr, ONS)

Business Without Barriers: interviews with successful disabled entrepreneurs and personal accounts from employers who are helping to break down barriers to employment. (FSB)

Disability Smart Awards (Dec, Business Disability Forum)

United States

‘An inherent indignity’: the fight to get workers with disability a living wage. “Advocates are highlighting a system of state tax credits across the US that allow employers to pay employees as low as $3 an hour” (Mar, the Guardian)

Women of Color Lose Billions Each Year a report on the negative effects of job segregation on women in the workforce and its impacts on women of color and women with disabilities:

“The 10 occupations employing the most disabled women pay, on average, $41,200 per year – $15,800 less than the average annual wage across the 10 most-common occupations for non-disabled men. If that gap were closed, disabled women in these 10 occupations would make $9 billion more in a year.” (Mar, National Partnership for Women and Families)

Disability Justice—in the Workplace (and Beyond) (Feb, NPQ)

Hearing Disabilities in the Workplace and the Americans with Disabilities Act. (Jan, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission)

My Daughter Expects to Work. Will She Make Only $3.35 an Hour? “Changing expectations, especially those informed by decades of social and economic discrimination, takes time, and ending 14(c) certificates [that permit employers to pay disabled people less than the minimum wage] is just the beginning.” (Jan, New York Times)

Disability disparities in STEM: Gaps in salaries and representation for doctorate recipients with disabilities. “Doctorate recipients working in STEM with early onset disabilities (identified <25 years of age) earned $10,580 less per year than non-disabled workers.” (Dec, MedRxiv)

What the Disability Community Told Us About Sheltered Workshops in Missouri. “The respondents told me that they would be devastated if their sheltered workshops were forced to shut down. Some family members even bypassed our outreach questions and instead sent in letters expressing opposition to any changes to the federal subminimum wage law or requesting that sheltered workshops remain open in the state.” (Nov, ProPublica)

For Disabled Workers, a Tight Labor Market Opens New Doors (Oct, New York Times)

Federal agencies recommend strategies to expand disability employment in state and local government. (Aug, Disability Scoop)

Supporting Employees with Long COVID: A Guide for Employers (EARN and JAN)

Twenty-Two Cents an Hour a book by Doug Crandell on Disability Rights and the Fight to End Subminimum Wages (Apr, Cornell University Press)

Disability Representation on Boards Is Up, Yet Inclusion Lags. (Jul, Bloomberg Law)

Human Resources software aims to make disclosing disability easier. Disclo is software for employers to “collect, verify, and manage health disclosures and employee accommodation requests”. (Aug, Forbes)

Including Disability in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Priorities: Building A Maturity Model (Jun, AskEARN)

New edited collection on Neurodiversity in the Workplace: Interests, Issues and Opportunities. “This collection provides an opportunity to look at how discrimination can occur across the employment process and what can be done to minimize the exclusionary practices that prevent neurodiverse individuals from getting into the workplace, advancing, thriving, and contributing as each of us desires to do.” The chapter on Shaping Organizational Climates to Develop and Leverage Workforce Neurodiversity is open access. (Jul, Routledge)

Making the ‘Business Case for Diversity’ Can Backfire with Underrepresented Groups by leading to a lower sense of belonging. (Jun, Yale Insights)

7 Resources for People With Disabilities to Break Into Software Engineering Careers (Apr, ContainIQ)

Detailed report on how Economic Justice Is Disability Justice “Achieving the as-yet unrealized promises of the ADA—and finally breaking the persistent link between disability and poverty in the United States—will require applying a disability lens across the nation’s economic policymaking.” (TCF) See also 7 Facts About the Economic Crisis Facing People with Disabilities in the United States.

Brand activism floods 'disability awareness' holidays. But too often, it ends there as well. (Mar, Business Insider)

Unemployment Soars for New Yorkers With Disabilities as Challenges Outweigh New Opportunities. ”New technologies and an explosion of remote-work jobs hasn’t stopped the unemployment rate for New Yorkers with disabilities from jumping 10 percentage points since 2019, while funding for support groups has been slashed.” (Mar, The City)

How Managers Can Support Employees With Long COVID (Mar, MIT Sloan)

New Microsoft program connects recruiters with neurodivergent talent on a Neurodiversity Career Connector job portal. (Mar, HR Brew)

How Employees With Disabilities Are Influencing Workplace Trends In 2022 (Feb, Forbes)

The Rise In Telework During The Pandemic, An Opportunity For Accessibility And Inclusion (Jan, Forbes)

Adobe Releases Results Of Study Looking At Recruiting, Retaining, And Supporting Disabled Workers See also the adobe study results. (Dec, Forbes)

U.S. Department of Labor eliminates exemption for federal contractors with disabilities to be paid less than the minimum wage (Nov, Council of State Governments)

Uzbekistan

Barriers to disability-inclusive employment: A pilot qualitative study of disabled people's lived experiences. “The current institutional and policy framework is rooted in the Soviet legacies of disability assessment which conflates disability with the loss of working capacity.” (Jul, Journal of International Development)

Gender Equality and Women with Disabilities

Back to contents.

Overview

International

Resource guide on strengthening gender inclusion in disability rights spaces. (Jun, Women Enabled)

From Beijing to the CRPD: the missing keystone. (Mar, IDA)

The Feminist Accessibility Protocol: “a groundbreaking set of commitments that seek to ensure the inclusion of feminists with disabilities in gender equality spaces.” See also some notes on what it is, and why we need it. (Nov, Women Enabled)

Laws across the world fail to consider disability and gender. A policy brief surveys legislation in 190 economies: only ten of them have mentions of women with disabilities in both their gender equality law and disability rights law. (Oct, World Bank)

A short brief from UN Women “addressing the intersection” of Gender, age, and disability. The brief focusses on older women with disabilities, which is very important to do – but I can't help but be disappointed by this brief not reflecting more deeply on how interventions on gender, age, and disability intersect. (Jun, UN Women)

A Compass to Steer Our Work in Gender Transformation and Inclusion - on steps to put gender equity into practice. (May, DRF)

Policy discussion on barriers for disability organizations, and especially women with disabilities, to be involved in discussions on gender equality. (Apr, Center for Inclusive Policy)

Mama Cash report If you stay quiet, you stay invisible featuring eight profiles of feminist disability rights activism.

"The activist groups featured in this collection are doing ground-breaking work – often with relatively limited resources. Many of them depended on volunteer labour and worked from their homes before they received their first funding. Sufficient and good quality financial and other resources are crucial for sustained activism. This is a key recommendation that most of the activists in this collection made, and one that we feel strongly about emphasising and amplifying. Funders need to provide consistent, long-term, core support so that feminist disability rights groups can strengthen themselves and sustain their work." (Feb)

Empowering women and changing minds on CBM Germany efforts to support women with disabilities. (Jan, D+C)

Cameroon

Pascaline Mekati Matoko, the founder of Deaf Rights Cameroon Association, is passionate about promoting the rights and education of girls and women with disabilities. (Sightsavers)

Colombia

Cultivating Autonomy Colectiva Polimorfas: ‘Donors should listen. That’s the number one thing,’ says Yoli. ‘That’s what we do ourselves – we listen to the voices of people with disabilities that may be different from ours.’ (link to pdf, May, Mama Cash)

Europe

Addressing the invisibility of women and girls with disabilities (Apr, Council of Europe)

Fiji

Needs assessment on women and young people with disabilities. (Aug, UNFPA)

Georgia

Exploring visions of inclusion: women’s disability activism in Georgia. (Oct)

India

Trans Persons With Disabilities Lack Enabling Social Systems and Healthcare Support: “the medical fraternity is patronising and insensitive towards their healthcare needs. It does not help that families, already struggling to cope with their disability, find it hard to come to terms with their gender identity.” (Jun, BehanBox)

Women With Disabilities Have To Constantly Negotiate Between Isolation And Intrusion

“We noted in our conversations with women with disabilities that they experience social isolation and the invasion of privacy simultaneously. Their body becomes available to other people — parents, doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, groups of medical students doing the round of wards, for example.”
(Mar)

Kenya

Profile of Easter Achieng (Mar, Inclusive Futures)

Nepal

Disability and Gender: Lived Experiences of Economic Hardships Faced by Women with Disabilities from Sudurpaschim Province (Apr, International Journal of Social Sciences and Management)

My Lens My Reality a photovoice study on the rights of women with disabilities. Appreciated the slippers that illustrate inclusion and exclusion (p16): “The slippers symbolize there are many members in the family. Dad, mom, brother, sister who are actually going outside to work. And me, I’m inside, with my disability, I was always in my room.” (Mar, SDDC) Some great pictures in here - first time I saw a pic of slippers that illustrates exclusion (on page 16).

Nigeria

Assessing impact of Disability Act on Nigerian women (Jul, BluePrint)

Pakistan

The stigma against women with disabilities: Women with disabilities suffer from discrimination and are less likely to get married. Why? (Aug, T-Magazine)

Tanzila Khan: disability rights campaigner tells young women ‘the world is yours’ (May, the Guardian)

Rwanda

Improving gender mainstreaming efforts within organizations of persons with disabilities. (Apr, African Business)

Samoa

Needs assessment of women and young people with disabilities. (Aug, UNFPA)

Uganda

Leave No Woman Behind: A blog on Disability, Gender, and Employment. (Nov, Disability Justice Project)

Leading the Charge a feature on Christine Oliver Dhikusooka and her work mobilizing around women with disabilities. (Sep, Disability Justice Project)

United States

Book review of V. Jo Hsu's Constellating home: trans and queer Asian American rhetorics which “enfolds transnational and Black feminism, critical race, disability, queer and trans studies into its’ theoretical framework.” (Mar, Disability & Society)

A federal appeals court finds that gender dysphoria is protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). (Aug, CT Mirror)

Vanuatu

Needs assessment of women and young people with disabilities. (Aug, UNFPA)

International Women's Day

International

CEDAW Committee adopts General recommendation No 39 on the rights of Indigenous Women and Girls: 30 references to disability and to indigenous women and girls with disabilities. (Nov, IDA)

What does it take to create a space for women and girls with disabilities? content of a webinar. (Mar, IDA)

From Light for the World International: Women activists with disabilities say: "#BreakTheBias!" (Mar, LFTW)

CBM Australia stories from women with disabilities. (Mar, CBM)

Sightsavers joining the campaign to #BreakTheBias. (Mar, Sightsavers)

Cameroon

Break the Bias: Paving the Way for Women in Healthcare features Pascaline Mekati Matoko, the founder of Deaf Rights Cameroon Association.

Europe

Gender Equality Week: outsized discrimination against women with disabilities (Oct, EDF)

Mexico

Look at me, I'm also a woman demands of women with disabilities. (In Spanish, Mar, Yo También)

Women’s Disability Rights Should Not Only Exist on Paper: “demanding inclusion in services provided for women, particularly related to gender-based violence.” (Mar, Human Rights Watch)

Rwanda

A journey at the intersection of gender and disability. (Mar, LFTW)

Health

Back to contents.

Overview

International

Evidence brief on how to remove access barriers to healthcare for people with psychosocial, developmental, and neurological disabilities. (May, Disability Evidence Portal)

Disability is central to discrimination in health “Overlooking disability issues is not just a question of omitting one diversity marker among many. Disability brings with it a range of embodied challenges, with implications regarding functional limitations, compromised access to health care and information, and resultant health outcomes.” (Jun, The Lancet)

WHO guideline for for meaningful engagement of people living with noncommunicable diseases, and mental health and neurological conditions. (May, WHO)

Universal Health Coverage for All Ages An agenda for action. (May, Age International)

The doctors selling bogus treatments to people facing blindness. (Mar, BBC)

On the Debrief: Healthcare has to be healed The impacts of health inequities and how we take revenge. (Jan, Disability Debrief)

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people with disabilities and implications for health services research. (Feb, Journal of Health Services Research and Policy)

Achieving Universal Health Coverage fit for an ageing world. (Jan, HelpAge)

Disability-Inclusive Health Care Systems: Technical Note for World Bank Task Teams. “The guide provides the rationale for disability inclusion, tips for engaging in dialogue, information and examples on disability-inclusive practices and operations, and specific guidance on integrating disability into health service programming and delivery supported by the World Bank.” (Nov, World Bank)

Reimagining health systems for a billion people with disabilities. (Dec, BMZ)

Global report on health equity for persons with disabilities. See also the press release. “Health systems should be alleviating the challenges that people with disabilities face, not adding to them.” (Dec, WHO)

Blind people still get medical bills they can't read. (Dec, NPR)

Evidence brief on addressing intersectional stigma for people living with disability and chronic infectious diseases. (Oct, Disability Evidence Portal)

Promoting equity in health emergencies through health systems strengthening: “Lessons learned relating to disability inclusion in the COVID-19 pandemic can inform health systems strengthening in recovery efforts, addressing underlying barriers to access and inclusion, and in turn improving preparedness for future health emergencies.” (Oct, International Journal for Equity in Health)

Reimagining Health Systems that expect, accept and connect 1 billion people with disabilities. “People with disabilities have 2.4-fold higher mortality rates than those without disabilities and are missing 10 to 20 years of life expectancy.” (Sep, Missing Billion)

World Alzheimer Report 2022 Life after diagnosis: Navigating treatment, care and support:

“A surprising number of people living with dementia indicated they had not been offered post-diagnosis support beyond the initial information provided immediately after their diagnosis. In lower-income countries, 45% indicated they had not been offered support, while 55% reported they had. In higher-income countries, although 63% reported having been offered post-diagnosis support, 37% indicated they were offered nothing” (Sep, ADI)

WHO-ITU global standard for accessibility of telehealth services: “very
often telehealth platforms are not compatible with devices such as screen readers that
facilitate people with vision impairment to access information, or the lack of captioning
or volume control in video conferencing impedes persons who are deaf or hard of
hearing to interact with health professionals virtually”. (WHO)

A report on access and equity in the Future of Virtual Health and Care features discussion and practices of inclusion of persons with disabilities. (Jun, Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development)

A selection of videos on rehabilitation from around the world shortlisted for WHO's Health For All Film Festival (Apr, WHO)

A focus on disability is necessary to achieve HIV epidemic control:

“People with disabilities often have lower levels of access and adherence to HIV treatment due to barriers with regard to the provision of services (eg, inadequate knowledge among health-care workers and inaccessibility of facilities) and the demand for services (eg, absence of autonomy and awareness of people with disabilities of HIV care needs and service availability). ” (Apr, The Lancet HIV)

Chronically ill face life-or-death challenges due to pandemic shortages. “Millions of chronically ill people struggle to get medical supplies amid global shortages.” (Mar, Washington Post)

Disrupting Global Health: From Allyship To Collective Liberation:

“We must understand that many disabled people across the world have experienced public health and biomedicine in violent and oppressive ways; and that that history continues to resonate today. So, we must engage meaningfully with (involve them as stakeholders) disabled people’s voices, opinions, activism, and advocacy,” (Mar, Forbes)

Evidence brief on what works to improve healthcare professionals’ competency on disability: “Negative healthcare professionals’ attitudes and stigma towards people with disabilities remain a major barrier in receiving equitable healthcare services. ” (Jan, Disability Evidence Portal)

Inclusive Medicine and Medical Education: Increasing the Number of Clinicians With Disabilities "Their experiences as patients position them to provide recommendations for promoting patient-centered care and reshaping healthcare systems and delivery processes to increase accessibility and improve patient outcomes." (Feb, Global Public Health)

Lessons from Long COVID: working with patients to design better research:

"Scientific research sets the medical and care agenda for patients with chronic illnesses. It also influences the wider social and economic agenda for people living with these conditions. The more socially and economically disadvantaged people are, the greater the potential influence on their lives. This is a huge responsibility that researchers are only able to fulfil with sharp awareness of the power structures involved in conducting research, with humility and with an openness to see things from different perspectives." (Feb, Nature)

Africa

Taking steps towards disability inclusive (sexual and reproductive) health: exploring lessons from programming in Ethiopia, Mozambique and Rwanda. One disability focal point in a health centre in Ethiopia said:

“Once we received a deaf woman who came to the center for help. We understood that she was raped and was pregnant, and as showed the test she was HIV positive. Yet, none of us could explain it to her and inform her on necessary treatment. So she left and never came again. We all remember this lady, so we are committed to learn sign language to be able to address such cases next time.” (link to pdf, Feb, See You Foundation)

Australia

Developing self-report disability questions for a voluntary patient registration form for general practice in Australia (Apr, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health)

Access to general practice for people with intellectual disability in Australia: a systematic scoping review. (Nov)

Hospitals only note a person's intellectual disability 20% of the time – so they don't adjust their care. “Potentially avoidable deaths (from conditions that could have been prevented through individualised care or treatment, like viral pneumonia, asthma, or diabetes) are more than twice as likely in people with intellectual disability.” (May, the Conversation)

Bangladesh

“We bear it and accept our fate”: Perceptions of healthcare access from people with disabilities in Cox’s Bazar. (Aug, Relief Web)

Government launch of health insurance for persons with (some?) disabilities. (Mar, Asia News Network) Also on the daily star.

Brazil

The National Health Policy for People with Disabilities: An Analysis of the Content, Context and the Performance of Social Actors. “The coming to power of ultra-right governments triggered fiscal austerity, a setback in the implementation of the care network and a weakening in the content of various social policies related to the care of people with disabilities. During this era, the political approach changed, with the attempt to evade the role of the State, and the perspective of guaranteeing social rights. Undoubtedly, the neoliberal offensive on social policies, especially the Unified Health System, is the main obstacle to the effective implementation of the PNPCD in Brazil.” (Jun, Health Policy and Planning)

Canada

Healthcare inclusion and Indigenous people (Jan, Abilities Canada)

Egypt

Opening of addiction treatment center that provides services for people with disabilities. (In Arabic, Mar, Cairo24)

Europe

Denied the right to health: persons with disabilities have more difficulty accessing healthcare. (Mar, European Economic and Social Committee)

EDF position paper Recommendations on cancer screening and treatment. "Unfortunately, the mention of persons with disabilities in EU policies does not translate into concrete actions to ensure their equal access to cancer screening and care, and to address the pre-existing inequalities and factors putting them at higher risk of cancer or inadequate care." (Feb, EDF)

Policy brief on disability-inclusive health systems Highlights greater risk factors in health, limited service delivery and poor health outcomes. (WHO)

Guatemala

How do people with disabilities in three regions of Guatemala make healthcare decisions? A qualitative study focusing on use of primary healthcare services. (Feb)

India

Power of touch: how blind women are helping detect breast cancer in India. (Jun, the Guardian)

‘Hell on earth’: India’s taboos around women’s pain leave endometriosis sufferers in agony. (May, the Guardian)

As Covid Flares Again, India’s Disabled, Serviced By Quacks Or Not At All, Struggle To Access Healthcare and vaccinations. (Apr, Article 14)

A disability-inclusive healthcare delivery system is the need of the hour (Mar, Times of India)

High Court rules that People with disabilities are entitled to health insurance. (Dec, Times of India)

Insurers Are Denying Health Cover For Intellectual, Developmental Disabilities. “Despite clear guidelines, insurance companies in India exclude those with intellectual and developmental disabilities from coverage”. Includes insurers denying care after the non-disclosure of conditions often unrelated to the medical need. (Jan, BehanBox)

Can a Blind Doctor Become a Psychiatrist? discussion of a case that has reached the Supreme Court. (Feb, The Wire)

Indonesia

Interview with Luthfi Azizatunnisa studying for her phd. (Mar, Missing Billion)

Healthcare Ensured short video feature on accessing universal healthcare. (Aug, Disability Justice Project)

Ireland

disability and rehabilitation at the heart of its health system reform (Mar, WHO Europe)

Jordan

Language in Medical Worlds: Hearing Technology for Deaf Jordanian Children "The focus on the acquisition of orality and speech for deaf Jordanians, to the exclusion of other forms of language and communication, can result in deaf Jordanian children not being able to communicate—in any modality—as well as their having a diminished sense of belonging to broader deaf collectivities." (Jan, Medical Anthropology)

Malawi

‘We live in fear because of our skin’: Malawians with albinism demand action to reduce cancer risk. (Feb, the Guardian)

Mismanagement of public resources affecting healthcare of people with disability (Jul, Malawi24)

Maldives

Disability and the achievement of Universal Health Coverage (Dec, Plos One)

New Zealand

Woman wheeled herself to hospital when ambulance couldn't take her wheelchair (Jul, Stuff)

Nigeria

Report on barriers to healthcare access for Deaf Nigerian Women and Girls during Emergencies. (Dec, WFD)

Healthcare Services Should be Inclusive of Persons with Disabilities: Here is How. (Aug, Nigeria Health Watch)

Albinism group calls for reinstatement of free skin cancer treatment. (May, Radio Nigeria)

Norway

Balancing on a knife-edge: Experiences of older patients with acquired deafblindness when receiving existential care. "The patients can experience empowerment through the maintenance of trust and communion. However, if met with an overprotecting or neglecting attitude, older patients with acquired deafblindness can feel disempowered." (March, Nordisk Sygeplejeforskning)

Rwanda

Ottobock and association for disabled persons strengthen orthopaedic care (Jan, Ottobock)

South Africa

Non-use of healthcare services among persons with mobility impairments in Cofimvaba. Challenges includes “inaccessible roads, geographic inaccessibility, financial accessibility and indirect cost of care, having little or not many health problems, physical infrastructure difficulties within facilities, and attitudinal barriers.” (Jan, African Journal of Disability)

Uganda

Hospital and a home: Uganda shelters offer a lifeline to cancer patients. (Dec, the Guardian)

United Kingdom

Thousands with learning disabilities trapped in hospital, some for years “because of a lack of psychological support and overly complicated treatment systems” (Mar, the Guardian)

National Health Service crisis: Why are disabled people disproportionately affected? (Jan, BBC)

Recognising lived experience is essential to empowering disabled patients. (Sep, BMJ)

Will the NHS Care for Me? feature by a disabled person on why people with a learning disability are more than twice as likely to die from avoidable causes than the rest of the population. (Oct, BBC)

Fractured, fighting, fixed: my personal experiences in hospital as a base to reflect on why medical systems struggle with inclusion. (Sep, Disability Debrief)

A study on avoidable mortality in children/young people with intellectual disabilities. “Children with intellectual disabilities had significantly higher rates of all-cause, avoidable, treatable and preventable mortality than their peers. The largest differences were for treatable mortality, particularly at ages 5–9 years. Interventions to improve healthcare to reduce treatable mortality should be a priority for children/young people with intellectual disabilities.” (Sep, BMJ Open)

Warning over early deaths of learning disabled: “adults with a learning disability were twice as likely to die from preventable illnesses.” (Aug, BBC)

A BBC show Ellie Simmonds: A World Without Dwarfism?

“A pioneering drug is coming on the market that promises to make children with achondroplasia - Ellie’s form of dwarfism - grow closer to average height. A genetic condition, achondroplasia is the most common type of dwarfism in the UK, and the new treatment raises the question: if cutting-edge medicine can stop disability in its tracks, should we use it?” (Apr, BBC)

United States

Inside the Private Group Where Parents Give Ivermectin to Kids With Autism “experts have repeatedly said is designed only for large animals and is so concentrated that it can be toxic when ingested by humans.” (Mar, Vice)

The disability rights fight intersecting the drug pricing debate. Discussing a bill to ban use of Quality-Adjusted Life Years. (Feb, Axios Pro)

Why addiction should be classified as a disability. “How Treating Addiction as a Disability Could Transform Treatment” (Feb, Slate)

People With Disabilities Deserve Better Health Care. We All Do. (Feb, Undark)

Sickle Cell Cure Brings Mix of Anxiety and Hope (Jan, New York Times)

National Institutes of Health advances landmark recommendations on disability inclusion and anti-ableism. (Jan, Statnews)

Revenge of the gaslit patients: Now, as scientists, they’re tackling Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (Dec, Stat News)

Visually impaired people less likely to access health care. A study from the CDC shows that 50% of those with vision impairment reported fair or poor general health compared with 17% without vision problems. (Nov, Washington Post)

Doctors Are Failing Patients With Disabilities “Decades after the ADA passed, medical care still isn’t accessible.” (Nov, The Atlantic)

Mistreatment of physicians with disabilities is widespread, study finds. (Oct, Medical Economics)

Disability & Health In 10 Exhibits: Themes from Health Affairs’ October 2022 Issue. (Oct, Health Affairs)

‘I Am Not The Doctor For You’: important research on Physicians’ Attitudes About Caring For People With Disabilities (Oct, Health Affairs) Coverage in New York Times.

At last, medical guidelines address care for adults with Down syndrome. (Jul, Washington Post)

The autistic community is having a reckoning with Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) therapy. Includes interesting reflections on the privatization of autism services and how ‘ABA has become “the single most reliable way to make money in the human services field beyond being a physician.”’ (May, Fortune)

Key groups overlooked in bias training for doctors (May, The Boston Globe)

Committing to Health Equity for All, Including People with Disability (Apr, Mathematica)

Severe maternal morbidity and other perinatal complications among women with disabilities. (Apr, Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology)

Ageism: Signs, Causes, and How to Address It (Mar, Healthline)

An article on Ableism: Types, examples, impact, and anti-ableism. “In healthcare, ableism can affect interactions with doctors and other professionals, healthcare policies, and health outcomes. The idea that disabled people have less value or lower-quality lives contributes to damaging practices that persist today.” (Nov)

A new book, Deaf Rhetoric “An Ecology of Health Communication” (Jan, Spriner)

People with disabilities left behind by telemedicine and other pandemic medical innovations. (Mar, CNN)

Why billions in Medicaid funds for people with disabilities are being held up (Mar, NPR)

Many doctors are still befuddled by accommodating people with disability (Jan, Stat News)

Technical Standards from Newly Established Medical Schools: Review of Disability Inclusive Practices: "medical schools may perpetuate historically restrictive technical standards that serve as barriers to applicants with disabilities." (Jan, Journal of Medical Education and Curricular Development)

'I am a medical student with significant hearing loss. ': Here’s what the pandemic has been like for me and others with my disability (Jan, AAMC)

Program Access, Depressive Symptoms, and Medical Errors Among Resident Physicians With Disability. 'Our study establishes an association between a lack of accessibility and heightened risk for depression and self-reported medical errors during training.' (Dec, JAMA Network)

Pregnancy among Women with Physical Disabilities: Unmet Needs and Recommendations (Jan, Brandeis)

Zimbabwe

A path toward disability-inclusive health in Zimbabwe Part 1: A qualitative study on access to healthcare “People with disabilities experienced difficulties accessing health services in Zimbabwe prior to COVID-19. These experiences were shaped by health literacy, self-stigma and affordability of services, which limited demand. Supply of health services was constrained by the perceived poor capacity of health workers to treat people with disabilities and discrimination. Inclusion was facilitated by clinic staff support of people with disabilities’ access to medication through referral to mission hospitals and private clinics, and the lobbying of organisations of people with disabilities.” (May, African Journal of Disability)

A path toward disability-inclusive health in Zimbabwe Part 2: A qualitative study on the national response to COVID-19 “People with disabilities demonstrated good awareness of COVID-19 mitigation strategies, but faced difficulties accessing COVID-19 information and health services. Challenges to the implementation of COVID-19 guidelines related to a person’s functional impairment and financial ability to do so. A key supply-side constraint was the perceived de-prioritisation of rehabilitation services. Further restrictions on access to health services and rehabilitation decreased an individual’s functional ability and exacerbated pre-existing conditions.” (May, African Journal of Disability)

Should disability-inclusive health be a priority in low-income countries? This paper proposed four complementary arguments why it is important to focus on people with disabilities. They include a “a growing rationale that disability-inclusive health systems will work better for all“ and “that they will create cost savings“. (Mar, Global Health Action)

Rehabilitation

International

Centenary declaration from Rehabilitation International to promote “Equal Participation and Well-rounded Development of Persons with Disabilities.” Calls on the United Nations to “establish a World Disability Organization (WDO) to strengthen the coordination and advocacy for disability rights.” (Jun, Rehabilitation International)

World Health Assembly commits to boosting global access to rehabilitation. (May, the Guardian)

WHO board recommendation on Strengthening rehabilitation in health systems (Link to pdf, Jan, WHO)

Provision of rehabilitation for congenital conditions “We argue that the global health community must act to ensure that rehabilitation services to support functioning from birth are well established, accepted and integrated within health systems, and that disability is prioritized within child health.” (Nov, Bulletin World Health Organization)

The World Rehabilitation Alliance is open to membership applications. (May, WHO)

Factsheet on Rehabilitation through a gender lens (Dec, ReLAB-HS)

Bangladesh

An assessment of disability and quality of life in people with spinal cord injury upon discharge from a rehabilitation unit. Unfortunately, post-discharge quality of life decreases and disability level increases. (Oct, Spinal Cord)

South Africa

A review of the framework and strategy for disability and rehabilitation services (Dec, African Journal on Disability)

Food Security and Nutrition

International

Feeding and Disability Resource Bank “A collection of resources to address feeding difficulties and disability inclusion in nutrition programs” (Nov, USAID Advancing Nutrition)

Belgium

Discussion on why “Veganism isn’t ableist” (Jun, Crip HumAnimal)

United States

Why the Formula Shortage Is Also a Disability Rights Issue (Yes Magazine)

History and Memorial

Back to contents.

Overview

International

Disabled people were Holocaust victims, too: they were excluded from German society and murdered by Nazi programs. (Jan, The Conversation)

A new book on Prosthetics and Assistive Technology in Ancient Greece and Rome. (Dec, Cambridge University Press)

From the wheelchair-using Black Panther to the ‘cripple suffragette’ – 10 heroes of the disabled rights movement. (Dec, the Guardian)

Reader's Block a book on the history of reading differences. (Oct, Combined Academic Publishers)

50th Anniversary of the Independent Living Movement (Aug, ENIL)

Wheelchairs Through Time A visual history of the wheelchair: a look through thousands of years covering palanquins, tricycles, wheelbarrows, thrones, and much more. (Aug, Wayland's Workshop)

Book review of Disease and Disability in Medieval and Early Modern Art and Literature (Jul, H-Disability)

State of the Field: Disability History. An overview of many strengths of a growing field, and reflections on some of the gaps, which include:

“As impressive as disability scholarship on activism is, its lack of chronological depth obscures the full range of disabled people's political actions. Most studies focus on the last one hundred years, especially the period after the emergence of the modern DRM in the 1970s. This limits our understanding of disabled people's activism by implying that their engagement in meaningful political action is a relatively recent phenomenon, concerned primarily with the fight for disability rights. Yet, disabled people have a longer and richer history of activism than this. From factory reform to women's suffrage, they have fought for many causes, often taking up prominent roles in the process.” (Jul, History)

Global Stamp Issues a book exploring postage stamps marking the United Nations International Year of Disabled People, 1981. (Jun, Digital Disability) See a write up and samples on Disability Arts Online.

Review of Hearing Happiness: Deafness Cures in History “a spell-binding book of research and stories” (May, H-Disability)

Complicating Disability On the Invisibilization of Chronic Illness throughout History (Feb, Playtpus)

The Historians magazine: The LGBTQ+ Edition 6 has an article on Disability and LGBT History, seeking out stories that show the intersections. (Feb)

Australia

Remembering Stella Young a webpage dedicated to her life and memory. (Mar)

Remembering Stella Young a statue of Stella in her hometown, Stawell. “I am not a snowflake. I am not a sweet, infantilising symbol of fragility and life. I am a strong, fierce, flawed adult woman. I plan to remain that way, in life and in death.” (Mar, Northern Grampians Shire Council)

Brazil

Romeu Sassaki died at 84 years old a vital figure working on inclusion in Brazil. (Links in Portuguese, Sep, Terra) See more about his 60 years of work on inclusion and an online meeting with tributes.

In Brazil, the Museum of Inclusion's exhibition on Fights, Rights and Conquests of persons with disabilities. (in Portuguese, Museum of Inclusion)

Bulgaria

In Memoriam: Vanya Pandieva “Vanya was one of the pioneers of the independent living movement in Bulgaria.” (Jan, ENIL)

Memorial to Kapka Panayotova – a great Independent Living activist (Dec, Disability Defenders Network Newsletter)

Canada

Former lieutenant-governor of Ontario David Onley dies at 72. “Onley, who used a motorized scooter after having polio as a child, was the first visibly disabled person to hold the position when appointed in 2007.” (Jan, The Star)

China

Maoism and mental illness: psychiatric institutionalization during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. (Aug, History of Psychiatry)

Egypt

Recognising inequality: ableism in Egyptological approaches to disability and bodily differences (Mar, World Archaeology)

On the Debrief: How ancient history resists our stereotypes discussion of Tutankhamun and disability in ancient Egypt. (Jan, Disability Debrief)

Sheikh Rafaat: A Genius in Meaning-Based Recitation of Quran. One of the blind men among the brilliant qaris of Egypt (people who recite the Quran). (Sep, International Quran News Agency)

Sheikh Imam: Voice of Dissent Profile on a blind oud player his music and politics from the 60s-80s and how they resonate through history and the Middle East today. (May, KC Network)

Europe

We mourn the loss of Jolijn Santegoeds, disability activist and voice for people with psychosocial disabilities. (Apr, EDF) Also from Mental Health Europe.

Disabled Clerics in the Late Middle Ages Un/suitable for Divine Service? “The petitions received and the letters sent by the Papal Chancery during the Late Middle Ages attest to the recognition of disability at the highest levels of the medieval Church.” (Apr, Amsterdam University Press)

A book review of an interdisciplinary account of deaf history in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. (Jul, H-Disability)

France

A series on disability and collective mobilizatons: a demonstration by young blind people in 1939, by the old and unwell in 1963, deaf people in 1993 and a blockage by Handi-social in 2018. (In French, Mar, Balises)

An Early Medieval Prosthetic Hand and what it might show us about violence, community and care. (Sep, History Workshop)

Germany

Uncovering a life deemed “unworthy of life”. “Why the Story of Hans Heinrich Festersen—Gay, Disabled, and Murdered by the Nazis—Matters” (Nov, Zocalo Public Square)

Haiti

Google Doodle Celebrating Mama Cax Haitian American model and disability rights advocate. (Feb, Google) See more about her (Yahoo! News).

Iceland

Discussion of a research and community project that took Multidisciplinary Approaches to Disability from late 9th to early 20th Century:

“the “Disability before Disability” project recognized the vital relationship between disability communities in the past, present, and future. [...] The project provides representation of people who lived with physical, mental, and/or sensory differences across Iceland’s history not simply as a homogenous group defined by one common experience but as individuals with their own unique lives and stories. Responsible historical disability representation affects both society as a whole and disability communities, with the latter having a valuable opportunity to see their experiences reflected in the past.” (May, Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research)

Ireland

Maeve McCormack Nolan obituary: Celebrated artist and disability advocate. (May, Irish Times)

Malaysia

Disabled activist Anthony Thanasayan passes away aged 63. (Feb, The Star) Also celebrated on the Debrief.

New Zealand

Why doesn’t every New Zealander know about Eve Rimmer? “She had a glittering international sports career and became a brave advocate for paraplegic rights, but Eve Rimmer is still largely unknown to the country she represented.” (Dec, The Spinoff)

Nigeria

Demise of Danlami Bashir “Danlami will be remembered as one of the great leaders of the disability movement in Africa and in his country of Nigeria, where he was promoting the rights of people with disabilities, especially focusing on blind and deaf communities.” (Jun, IDA)

Poland

Polish Senator and Disability Rights Defender Marek Plura passed away. (Jan, EDF)

Russia

A book review of The Broken Years: Russia's Disabled War Veterans, 1904-1921. The book argues that the rights of disabled people as a minority were born out of the 1917 February revolution. (Dec, H-Net)

Sierra Leone

Recaptive number 11,407: Poet Raymond Antrobus traces the lost story of a deaf man freed from slavery. (Oct, BBC)

Sweden

Why did Sweden sterilise up to 30,000 people against their will? ‘Sweden set up a eugenics plan, grounded in the science of racial biology, between 1934 and 1976. “They wanted to get rid of a certain type of people: The weaker ones”.’ (Jun, Euronews)

United Kingdom

In his time, Benjamin Lay may have been the most radical person on the planet. ‘Benjamin Lay’s dwarf body shaped his radicalism. For someone “not much above four feet” tall, life was a struggle to be considered equal, even to be taken seriously in many situations. Benjamin had to fight.’ (May, Verso)

Lois Keith obituary “Writer, teacher and disability rights campaigner who challenged the barriers facing disabled women” (May, the Guardian)

Everywhere and Nowhere short film “spotlights 10 fascinating stories, objects and sites with connections to histories of disability from the National Trust’s buildings and landscapes, and collections and historical records.” (Jan, University of Leicester Research Centre)

Disabled people’s activism on exhibition at the People's History Museum (Dec, Disability Arts Online)

Ebooks of Paul Hunt's writings. “Paul Hunt was one of the founders of the Disabled People's Movement in Britain, and one of the first activists to argue for the social model of disability.” (Oct, GMCDP)

A review of Beholding Disability in Renaissance England a book which argues that “by focusing on disability in Renaissance texts we can collapse barriers between us and the past, while at the same time gain new perspectives on both historical and contemporary perceptions of the disabled body.” (Sep, H-Disability)

Book review of Shakespeare and Disability Studies, a book which argues that a disability studies view should not focus just on disabled characters but rather ‘theater as a “social phenomenon” in which both disabled and nondisabled bodyminds engage with one another and the text.’ (Aug, Disability Studies Community)

Book review of Those They Called Idiots: The Idea of the Disabled Mind from 1700 to the Present Day. “The conflation of race and intelligence is vividly documented in this volume. The long and complex history of ideas that have bound these concepts together helps us understand today’s deeply institutionalized racism as well as the entrenched we/they ableism of our educational and social service institutions.” (Aug, Disability Studies Community)

Dr Peter Scott-Morgan dies: Tributes to world's first 'cyborg' ‘And when I say “Cyborg”, I don’t just mean any old cyborg, you understand, but by far the most advanced human cybernetic organism ever created in 13.8 billion years.’ (Jun, Metro.co.uk)

‘The lady without legs or arms’: how an artist shattered Victorian ideas about disability. (May, the Guardian)

The Jewish Deaf Association launch new website: Jewish Deaf History (London) discussion of the history and website. (May, Limping Chicken)

The 1921 census is a snapshot of a post-war Britain where disability suddenly became visible: "Poignant, defiant notes by men living with war wounds show the roots of the ongoing fight for disability rights taking hold". (Jan, Inews)

United States

Don Triplett, the first person diagnosed with autism, dead at 89. (Jun, WLBT)

Juneteenth and the legacy of disabled Black slaves “Finding firsthand accounts of disabled, enslaved African Americans proves to be a daunting task, but it is evident that many were unable to leave forced labor camps after the Civil War ended and remained within the institution of slavery (or its rebranding, sharecropping).” (Jun, AWN)

37 years and over 100 arrests: Longtime disability rights icon Anita Cameron is retiring from protests. (May, the 19th)

The long history of staring in the disability community personal and illustrated exploration. (May, Washington Post)

Meet Zona Roberts: The grandmother of the disability movement turns 103. (Apr, University of California)

Mary Pinotti Kaessinger “Revolutionary, disability justice and rights fighter, labor organizer – Rest in power!” (Workers World)

Google Doodle Spotlights Kitty O'Neil, Deaf Stuntwoman and Daredevil, on her 77th birthday. (Mar, CNET)

Book review of 'Public Hostage, Public Ransom: Ending Institutional America' an autobiography by William Bronston. (Mar, H-Disability)

'Revolutionary': Remembering John Boyer a pioneer for the deaf and blind in computer science. “He foresaw very, very early that the use of computers was a way for people with disabilities, who are vastly underrepresented in the job force, to be able to work,” (Jan, Wisconsin State Journal)

Book review of 'Money, Marriage, and Madness: The Life of Anna Ott' “Swiss immigrant Anna Barbara Blaser Miesse Ott (1819-93) became a woman of means and a practicing doctor, only to spend her last two decades in the Wisconsin State Hospital for the Insane.” (Feb, H-Disability)

‘Disability is not a tragedy’: the remarkable life of activist and rebel Hale Zukas. “Born in an era when disabled people were routinely institutionalized, Zukas fought for – and won – access to transportation and better urban design”. (Jan, the Guardian)

How should we reckon with history’s uncomfortable truths about disability? “My research found that eugenics, a theory popular from the late nineteenth century until World War II, had an early but profound influence on educational policy that lingers to this day in the rationale for, and funding of, educational provisions for students with disability.” (Dec, Monash)

Disability Dialogues a book on the “Advocacy, Science, and Prestige in Postwar Clinical Professions” (Dec, Johns Hopkins University Press)

Deaf Printers Pages “preserves the last of many generations of Deaf people who learned printing in school and worked at local and national newspapers around the country. From the 1970s-2000 more than 125 Deaf people found employment at The Washington Post.”

Landmark disability rights figure Lois Curtis dies. (Nov, NPR) See more about her legacy on 19th News.

Disability Culture So Far: “A Movement in Milestones” – highlights from disability arts. (Oct, Art in America)

Carl Croneberg, Explorer of Deaf Culture, Dies at 92. Croneberg “helped write the first comprehensive dictionary of American Sign Language and was the first to outline the idea of Deaf culture as a distinct part of society and one worth studying”. (Aug, New York Times)

The Untold Origins of the Black & Blind Musician (Video feature, Jul, PBS Origins)

Crip/Mad Archive Dances: Arts-Based Methods in and out of the Archive (May, Theatre)

A new book: Work Requirements: Race, Disability and the Print Culture of Social Welfare: “yoking the project of social welfare to the consolidation of a work society and powerfully revealing their shared entanglement in racialized fantasies about the ‘able’ body.” (Jul, Duke University Press)

The upsetting online market for historic asylum patient records. “These files contained details such as physicians’ notes on diagnoses, test results, and therapy notes, in addition to accounts of violent treatments like electrotherapy and hydrotherapy” (Jul, Slate)

Life at a Distance: Archiving Disability Cultures of Remote Participation. “Autistic self-advocacy, for instance, famously emerged in the 1990s from internet discussion boards, which allowed autistic adults to connect and form communities without having to socialize in person (Sinclair 2010). Even earlier, in the 1940s and 50s, institutionalized disabled people used technologies such as sending quilt patches to their families (as forms of storytelling), while disabled people living at home with families shared tips and tricks in print newsletters for making houses more accessible” (Jun, Just Tech)

Google Doodle Honors Disability Rights Activist Stacey Park Milbern (May, CNET)

Inside the Pentagon’s shameful effort to draft mentally disabled men to fight in Vietnam (May, Task & Purpose)

Harriet Tubman’s Disability and Why it Matters (Feb, Ms Magazine)

The Helen Keller Exorcism. Brilliant rollercoaster-ride of an episode, remembering Helen Keller and her myths today. (complete with transcript, Mar, Radiolab) See also a feature on Helen Keller's Legacy (Teen Vogue).

Disabled Ancestry Should Be Embraced With Pride (Feb, NYT)

Neil Marcus, Whose Art Illuminated Disability, Dies at 67 See more about Neil in the introduction and the last newsletter. (Dec, NYT)

Darby Penney, Who Crusaded for Better Psychiatric Care, Dies at 68 (Dec, NYT)

The letter that Helen Keller wrote after she visited the Empire State Building.

“I will concede that my guides saw a thousand things that escaped me from the top of the Empire Building, but I am not envious. For imagination creates distances and horizons that reach to the end of the world. It is as easy for the mind to think in stars as in cobble-stones.” (Jan, Letters of Note)

Zimbabwe

Henry Maysa an advocate for rights of disabled people, passed away. (Jun, Temba Mliswa)

Remembering Judy Heumann

International

Judy Heumann Mentored the Next Generation of Disability Advocates. (May, New Mobility)

Obituary: Judy Heumann, Who Led the Fight for Disability Rights, Dies at 75 (Mar, New York Times)

Human Rights Watch Mourns Loss of Judy Heumann. (Mar, Human Rights Watch)

Judy Heumann obituary: Disability rights activist who helped shape global protocols and played a decisive role in fighting discrimination in the US. (Mar, the Guardian)

Remembering Judy Heumann tributes and memories. (Mar, Women Enabled International)

Unafraid, unbowed, and unapologetic: The life and legacy of Judy Heumann. “This is how Judy changed the world: Person by person, from the corridors of New York City’s public schools to the streets of Berkeley to the halls of power around the globe.” (Mar, Ford Foundation)

On the Debrief: Our movement is in mourning. Remembering Judy Heumann, and how she changed us. (Mar, Disability Debrief)

Disability rights activist Judy Heumann dies at 75. A rich tribute and obituary by Joseph Shapiro. (Mar, NPR)

Honoring Judy Heumann’s Legacy a tribute from Michael Ashley Stein:

‘Ultimately and thoroughly, Judy was a teacher. Completely fearless, she eagerly approached anyone at any time whenever she spied a “teachable moment.” Judy would speed up to them in her power wheelchair and insist, “Excuse me, can we talk for a minute?” What followed was invariably a polite, concise, but direct lesson on how that individual could alter their behavior to be more equitable, if not disability-empowering, in similar circumstances in the future. “Next time, when you . . .” No one was exempt from receiving her sagacious advice.’ (Mar, Harvard Law Review)

The World Mourns the Passing of Judy Heumann (Mar, Judy Heumann)

Brazil

World loses Judy Heumann (In Portuguese, Mar, Jornalismo Diário PcD)

United Kingdom

Samantha Renke on how Judith Heumann was, and is, my role model. (Mar, Metro.co.uk)

United States

Memories of Judy Heumann, my Oldest Friend. “Although she is a fantastic communicator, Judy didn’t always warn people about what she volunteered them to do.” (Mar, Helen: The Journal of Human Exceptionality)

Judy Heumann: The Legacy of Leadership. “It is often said that true leaders don’t build followers, they build more leaders.” (Mar, U.S. Department of Labor Blog)

“All Voices Matter” Remembering Judy Heumann with tributes from Communication FIRST. (Mar, Communication First)

Super Heumann: Steve Way on the legacy of the late, great disability activist Judy Heumann. “Thank you for giving me so many opportunities to have the life that I choose for myself.” (Mar, Steve Way's Substack)

Obituary: Judy Heumann, disability rights activist, dies at age 75. (Mar, AP News)

Because she made a fuss, Judy Heumann made everyone's life better segment from Rachel Maddox. (Mar, MSNBC)

Judy Heumann’s life is a testament and a reminder personal tribute by Rebecca Cokley. (Mar, CNN)

What the next generation of disability activists can learn from Judy Heumann. (Mar, WBUR)

Statements of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on the Passing of Judy Heumann. “Judy Heumann was a trailblazer – a rolling warrior – for disability rights in America.” (Mar, The White House)

Remembering the mother of the disability rights movement. An interview with Sandy Ho. (Mar, Slate)

Remembering Judy Heumann: tributes from those that knew her, introduced by Jim LeBrecht. (Mar, International Documentary Association)

Humanitarian, Migrants and Refugees

Back to contents.

Overview

International

Crisis response for refugee children with disability: New book published. (May, ENIL)

Profile of Aleema Shivji her work in humanitarian response and inclusion of persons with disabilities. (May, The New Humanitarian)

Free E-learning Course on Disability-Inclusive Humanitarian Action for Humanitarians. (May, HI)

Humanitarian emergencies and situations of risk for women and girls and gender diverse persons with disabilities. (May, Women Enabled International)

Exploring the intersectionality of International Refugee Protection and the 2006 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. “This paper highlights the multitude of barriers persons with disabilities experience in obtaining refugee protection.” (Feb, IDA)

Guidance note Qualitative Assessment Approaches for the Protection of Children with Disabilities Within Humanitarian Contexts. (Apr, Alliance CHPA)

Disability-Inclusive Humanitarian Action Toolkit Operational guidance on including children with disabilities in humanitarian response (UNICEF)

Key principles and recommendations for inclusive cash and voucher assistance (Feb, Calp Network)

People with Disabilities in Humanitarian Emergencies and Situations of Risk a policy submission to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. (Feb, Human Rights Watch)

Included, Every Step of the Way Upholding the rights of migrant and displaced children with disabilities. (Feb, UNICEF)

Disability and Inclusion Survey by IOM of IDP sites in Montepuez (Jan, Relief Web)

IDA-UNHCR Strategic Collaboration in 2022: Key Steps Towards Inclusion and Participation. (Feb, IDA)

IASC Guidance, Addressing Suicide in Humanitarian Settings. (Dec, IASC)

A review of evidence on disability inclusive Early Childhood Development and Education in Humanitarian Settings. (Jan, Institute of Development Studies)

Disability and Older Age Inclusion in Humanitarian Action: Innovation Catalogue. See also notes on its launching. (Dec, elrha)

Advancing disability-inclusive action on internal displacement. “This report represents a first step toward addressing the paucity of data on IDPs with disabilities.” (Dec, IDMC)

Discussion on inclusion of persons with disabilities in humanitarian affairs with Ricardo Pla of UNHCHR, on Ukraine and beyond. (In Spanish, Oct, En Marcha)

Disabled refugee students included and visible in education. Case studies of challenges and opportunities in Uganda, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. (Sep, Disabled Refugees Included)

Training Package on Strengthening Protection of Persons with Disabilities in Forced Displacement (UNHCR)

A scoping review of research on adolescents with disabilities’ experiences of COVID-19 and other humanitarian emergencies in low- and middle-income countries. (Sep, Global Health Action)

Around the world, refugees with disabilities face an uphill battle (Aug, Equal Times)

All Under One Roof: disability-inclusive shelter and settlements in emergencies. Technical guidance for inclusion to improve on how “post disaster shelter and settlement responses are invariably designed to provide standardised solutions to an affected community”. (May, Global Shelter Cluster)

Under the Radar: Surviving Wars With a Disability:

“I was like a double-burden to my mom. The pressure was so much that one day, she decided to get rid of me.” She threw him into a shallow body of water and was ready to move on. But Mauot’s sisters refused to leave him behind. They picked him up as he cried, until their mother relented.” (Jul, Pass Blue)

Inclusion and exclusion in humanitarian action: findings from a three-year study. A call to treat inclusion more holistically. Important reflections on a ”fragmentation of approaches”, and how it creates a siloed approach:

“In many cases, inclusion is still understood in categorical terms, focusing on specific groups of people or categories of need, such as gender, people with disabilities, people with diverse SOGIESC, religious and ethnic minorities, and beyond. This has a number of implications for how inclusion is operationalised in practice. First, seeing inclusion largely as a proliferation of different categories all requiring their own specific approaches has led to a sense of being overwhelmed and being asked to do too many things at once [... Also] it can have the unintended effect of creating hierarchies between different marginalised or vulnerable groups in terms of what or who gets prioritised. [.. . ] Breaking things down into categories can reduce inclusion to a question of ‘marketability’ in terms of what gets funded, with ‘women and girls’ competing with ‘older people’ [...] Absent altogether from these hierarchies are axes of inclusion that do not fall neatly into categories because they are not always identity-based or easily visible – such as race, social class or stigmatised occupations. In general, these aspects tend to lack the same kinds of communities of expertise and advocacy that have forcefully pushed for greater sensitivity to other aspects of inclusion over the years at both the global and response levels.” (Jul, ODI)

UNHCR 2021 report on Age, Gender and Diversity Accountability “2021 marked an important turning point in UNHCR’s work
on persons with disabilities.”:

“Enhanced reporting by operations allowed UNHCR to better capture the support provided to persons with disabilities. Cumulatively, UNHCR operations supported 479,815 persons with disabilities worldwide, including at least 7,615 children.” (Jun, UNHCR)

People with disabilities face 10-40% higher costs does Cash and Voucher Assistance account for this? “The way transfer values are calculated for people with disabilities must change” (May, Calp Network)

Statement Adopted by the Thematic Group on Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Action for the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction. (May, IDA)

More disasters, less inclusion: will transformation start in Bali? Calls from IDA for the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction to empower persons with disabilities. (May, PR Web)

IDMC 2022 Global Report on Internal Displacement includes a spotlight on displaced children with disabilities and promising practices. (May)

Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Week Resources about Inclusion (May, HNPW)

Report on the role of Cash and Voucher Assistance in Increasing Equity and Inclusion for Girls and Children with Disabilities in Education in Emergencies. Report speaks to how this assistance “primarily addresses” the demand-side barriers to education in emergencies. (SDC and others)

UNHCR's Approach to Forcibly Displaced and Stateless Persons with Disabilities. Most of this brief describes the organization's approach to disability inclusion in general. (UNHCR)

Introductory video to the IASC Guidelines on inclusive humanitarian has been translated into Arabic, Bangla, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swahili, Ukrainian and Russian. (Apr, EDF)

CBM's Humanitarian Hands on Tool is now available in more languages including Ukrainian. (CBM)

International Rescue Committee UK: Step by step – our work to become inclusive. (Feb, EDF)

"No One is Spared" Report on Older People at Heightened Risk in Conflict. Including disturbing examples of violence. (Feb, Human Rights Watch)

Give people with disabilities better protection in conflict and crises (Feb, The New Humanitarian)

December Newsletter from the Reference Group on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action (Dec, IDA)

An overall view on Aid policy trends to watch in 2022 Diversifying aid, its staff and its workplaces are one of the key themes to explore this year. The article puts this under the "decolonisation agenda" but there are many examples where genuine gains in diversity and inclusion are made without touching colonial dynamics. (Jan, The New Humanitarian)

Perhaps familiar to some of you, but this month I learned that physical rehabilitation centres are one of the ways that humanitarian impact bonds are being used. The idea of the impact bond is that you pay for results and they might be a means to secure different sources of funding. (Government Outcomes Lab)

Good to see these six reflections on Cash and Voucher Assistance in 2021 that shows the place of disability-inclusive cash assistance in a "patchy" shift to putting people at the centre of work. (Dec, CALP Network)

Afghanistan

Cash assistance is a lifeline for older people: “many older people in Afghanistan have faced illness, disability, trauma and displacement from their homes, all of which can be barriers to accessing paid work and humanitarian support.” (Aug, DEC)

Taliban Takeover 1 year on: The situation is worse than ever and people with disabilities are the hardest hit. See more on the HI Kandahar Rehabilitation Centre. (Aug, Humanity and Inclusion)

Afghanistan Earthquake Response Overlooks People with Disabilities (Jul, Human Rights Watch)

Multi-sectoral needs assessments of Households with Disability “A significant proportion of households headed by a person with disability experience life-threatening circumstances and are in need of urgent life-saving humanitarian assistance to survive.” (Save the Children)

Humanitarian Crisis And Neglect In Afghanistan Puts People With Disabilities At Risk (Jan, the OWP)

Helping the disabled in Afghanistan: rehab and assistive technology in centres staffed by people with physical disabilities (Dec, ICRC)

Africa

Workshop on Including Displaced Persons with Disabilities Workshop for African OPDs (Jan, IDA)

Asia-Pacific

New report on OPD engagement in Humanitarian Action reflections from Bangladesh, Indonesia and Nepal. (May, CBM Global)

Australia

Small changes could bridge communication and cultural gaps for people from refugee backgrounds who need disability support. (Jul, the Conversation)

The association between chronic pain and pre-and-post migration experiences in resettled humanitarian refugee women residing in Australia. “Chronic pain was reported in 45% (n = 139) of women, and among these a further 66% (n = 120) also reported having a long-term disability or health condition that had lasted 12 months.” (May, BMC Public Health)

Bangladesh

Work to include Rohingya Refugees with disabilities in humanitarian response. (Short video, Mar, AHP III Bangladesh Consortium)

Short video of Tagari's Story from Cox’s Bazar. (Jan, CBM UK)

Threadbare disability support faces uncertain future in Bangladesh refugee camps. “The limited support available to Rohingya refugees with disabilities in the country’s sprawling camps is at risk as humanitarian budgets face cuts.” (Dec, UNHCR)

5 Years After The Genocide: Rohingya refugees’ needs are higher than ever. Report calls for international actors to pay more attention to needs of persons with disabilities. (Jul, MedGlobal)

Providing a dignified life for refugee children with disabilities. “In the Rohingya refugee camp, an accessible latrine is making a difference in Irfan’s life” (Jun, UNICEF)

The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar visited the facilities at Bhasan Char island, where Rohingya refugees are to be relocated:

“Structures, including residential housing, appear well constructed and are considerably stronger and more durable than those in Cox’s Bazar. Unfortunately, accessibility for persons with disabilities was clearly not factored into the planning and construction process.” (Mar, OHCHR)

Tip sheet on inclusion in the Rohingya Refugee Response (Feb, Relief Web)

East Africa

An unreported crisis: experiencing worst drought in fifty years (Jun, Age International)

Webinar on Who Eats Last? The impact of Food Insecurity on People with Disabilities in the Horn of Africa. (Jun, IDA CRPD Forum)

Urgent action needed to stop famine and the annihilation of pastoralism in the Horn of Africa, older people warn (devastating testimonies). (Jun, HelpAge)

Egypt

42,300 Sudanese refugees in Egypt: “Local teams note that between 20 and 25% of the refugees are persons with disabilities.” (May, Relief Web)

Ethiopia

Scaling up humanitarian support for children with disabilities and their families. “UNICEF is expanding programming in IDP camps to provide services and support for children with disabilities and their families.” (Jan, UNICEF)

A rapid review of Disability inclusion for refugees in Ethiopia: an urgent need. One refugee from Jewi Camp, Gambella, said:

“The refugee camp is in rural area with harsh weather condition…It is extremely humid…. sitting on wheelchair for long time burned my back. It is very difficult to move around using wheelchair. In addition, the physical environment is not straight and flat to easily move round using wheelchair. I am sometimes trapped in ditches.” (May, Research and Evidence Facility)

Europe

We have a duty to promote disability inclusive refugee responses to achieve the highest attainable standard of health in the European region. (Jun, The BMJ)

EDF calls for inclusive and participatory response to humanitarian crises. (Jun, EDF)

Refugees in Europe Need Mental Health Support (Apr, Human Rights Watch)

France

Afghan Evacuees Need Mental Health Support (Mar, Human Rights Watch)

Germany

Blind Syrian granted asylum, is allowed to stay in Germany (Jun, InfoMigrants)

Haiti

It’s Time to Recognize the Leadership of Persons with Disabilities for Inclusive Humanitarian Response. (Aug, DRF)

Iraq

Fact sheet on Accessible documents for persons with vision impairments and persons with low vision in Iraq. (May, IOM)

Italy

How a photo of a Syrian father and son led to a new life in Italy (photo shows father and son both with physical disabilities) (Feb, the Guardian)

Jordan

Jordan’s sole refuge for people with disabilities risk closure as COVID-19 dries up donations (Jan, Global Voices)

Kenya

Profile of Racheal Njiru and her work as a project manager at Kakuma refugee camp. (Aug, Inclusive Futures)

Supporting people with disabilities affected by the Kenya food crisis. (Sep, QAV Global)

Stories from the Kenya Drought see also the second and third stories. (Jul, CBM UK)

A fundraising appeal to support people in Kenya paying the devastating price for a climate crisis they have done nothing to create. (CBM UK)

Libya

Sudanese refugee with disabled son: 'UNHCR Libya does not answer my calls'. After a journey through Chad and Egypt they faced imprisonment in Libya and are searching for assistance. (Feb, InfoMigrants)

Madagascar

Crisis in Madagascar worsens following massive storms (Feb, CBM Australia)

Mozambique

IOM Disability and Inclusion Survey (Jan, IOM)

Addressing the needs of children with disabilities affected by emergencies. (Mar, UNICEF)

Cyclone recovery brings civil society and local government together to build inclusive society. (Oct, UNICEF)

Nagorno-Karabakh territory

Joint statement on the blockade of the Lachin Corridor, Nagorno-Karabakh (Jan, IDA)

Nigeria

Stories of being disabled and displaced from Sokoto and Zamfara. (Oct, ICIR Nigeria)

Pakistan

Afghan refugee removes obstacles barring kids with disabilities from school The Afgahn Refugee Disabled Union provides wheelchairs to help kids get to school. (Feb, UNHCHR)

Philippines

The Humanitarian Needs and Priorities identified after Super Typhoon Rai includes mentions of persons with disabilities. (Dec, Relief Web)

Super Typhoon Rai leaves widespread destruction (Dec, CBM Global)

Somalia

Exclusive humanitarianism: Policy recommendations for genuine inclusion of persons with disabilities in humanitarian action. (Aug, International Review of the Red Cross)

study from IOM on disability inclusion in Internally Displaced People sites in Kismayo. Among other barriers:

"Access to information remains a critical barrier preventing persons with disabilities from accessing services within the IDP site and broader community. Door-to-door or shelter-level information engagement is recommended for all organizations providing support in IDP sites to ensure greater service knowledge of persons with disabilities" (Feb, Relief Web)

South Sudan

Towards a Disability-Inclusive Humanitarian Response in South Sudan? See also the full version. While "tangible progress is being made", "serious gaps and challenges to disability inclusion remain":

"Humanitarian organizations still do not recognize the diversity of disability and lack strategies to include persons with intellectual and psychosocial impairments. Moreover, persons with disabilities rarely participate in the project design phase and seldom contribute to programme development due to persisting attitudinal, environmental and institutional barriers. Furthermore, the Humanitarian Country Team in South Sudan has no systematic approach for the collection, analysis and use of either disability-disaggregated data or information on risks, capacities and unmet needs of persons with disabilities. This results in important information gaps on barriers to inclusion. In addition, communication barriers and lack of ‘reasonable accommodation’ in consultation meetings hinder the full and effective participation of persons with hearing, visual and other types of disabilities and make them dependent on family members and caregivers. " (links to pdfs, February, IFHV)

Sudan

As hundreds of thousands flee Sudan, inclusion must be prioritised. Refugees fleeing to South Sudan. (May, Light for the World)

Syria

Home Modification Project Brings Hope to Palestine Refugees with Disabilities. (Jun, UNRWA)

Children with Disabilities Left Unprotected report on the impact of armed conflict. “Most of the children included in this report were born just before or as the war started in 2011 and have not known a time without conflict, displacement, or difficulties in getting the services they need to grow and thrive.” And much as the international community spends billions in humanitarian response, people with disabilities “face systematic challenges in accessing humanitarian services on an equal basis with others.” (Sep, Human Rights Watch)

North-West Syria Protection Analysis Update June 2022 gives a disability prevalence of 32%, increasing to 39% for displaced persons. (link to pdf, Jun, Protection Sector)

Saeed’s smile: ‘Disability should never be a reason for exclusion’, and a description of a partnership with Sesame Street. (May, IRC)

Turkey

Türkiye and Syria 3/17/2023 Update: “In the weeks since the earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria, government agencies have not made resources available to meet the needs of disabled survivors, and there are no policies that directly address their disability and accessibility related needs and support their inclusion throughout response, recovery, and reconstruction.” (Mar, WID)

Meet The 6 Disability-Led Organizations Responding To The Needs of People with Disabilities in Türkiye and Syria (Apr, Gadra)

Disability Inclusion Task Team (DITT) Tips on disability-inclusive emergency response (Earthquake) (Feb, UNHCR)

Iran amputee football team players dead in Turkey quake. (Feb, Tehran Times)

Violent earthquakes kill thousands in Turkey, Syria.

In Solidarity with Women, Girls, and Gender Minorities with Disabilities in Turkey and Syria. Context and call for “women and gender-diverse people with disabilities are included in response efforts”. (Feb, Women Enabled)

Protection & Education Needs of Refugees with Disabilities in Southeast Turkey. “Given the often complex needs of children with a disability, access to information about public services was cited by families as being of particular importance.” (Aug, Sened)

Turkish man sparks outrage for kicking 70-year-old Syrian refugee woman in the head (May, Stockholm Center for Freedom)

Protection Needs of Refugees with Disabilities Only one of the 300 research participants had a job; 9% had part-time work. (Jan, Relief Web)

United States

Refugees with Disabilities Struggle to Join the Workforce (May, Chicago Monitor)

Yemen

Alarming new report on the dire situation for people with disabilities. 81% of those surveyed could not reach or use humanitarian services. Of the 300 local organizations providing disability services before the war, “only a fraction remain, with extremely limited capacity and resources”. One person interviewed said that:

“we simply cannot escape when explosions or armed clashes take place. This is a fear of every Yemeni, yet our limitations prevent us from being able to quickly get away from such hostile situations. It is a constant fear persons with disabilities in Yemen live with, and it’s holding us back from being able to do many things such as looking for sources of income.” (May, Humanity & Inclusion)

Migration

International

Empowering Disabled Refugees: Mustafa Rifat's experiences navigating the refugee resettlement process as a disabled refugee, and his concrete recommendations for resettlement agencies, disability services organizations, (Mar, Down to the Struts)

A Scoping Review of Needs and Barriers to Achieving A Livable Life among Refugees with Disabilities: Implications for Future Research, Practice, and Policy. (Dec, Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work)

For Many Disabled People, a Battle to Stay in Australia or New Zealand (Oct, New York Times)

Crossing the Border: How Disability Civil Rights Protections are “powerful tools for ensuring that disabled asylum-seekers have access to the protection and services they need in the U.S. immigration system.” (Aug, American Progress)

Migration data portal: Disability and human mobility (Feb, Migration Data Portal)

Data on disability and migration – what do we know? estimates of 12 million displaced persons around the world being disabled, and emerging practices on data. (Feb, Data 4 SDGs)

Disability-inclusive data in migration: How far have we come? (Jan, Migration Data Portal)

Australia

Calls for changes to migration laws as families shown the door due to high medical costs. (Apr, ABC News)

Perth family facing deportation as son's Down syndrome diagnosis deemed taxpayer burden. (Mar, ABC News)

Cairns family facing deportation “After living in Australia for more than a decade, a Korean couple is facing deportation because their son, who was born here, has autism.” (Nov, 9 News)

Bangladeshi refugee describes 'humiliating' treatment because of disability while detained on Nauru. (Oct, SBS News)

Migrants with disability are discriminated against with 'impossible' health requirements, advocacy groups say. “We're working with a young man who came to Australia as an asylum seeker and had a stroke. The federal government supports him to live in a nursing home, but they won’t allow him access to the National Disability Insurance Scheme to receive the support he needs to live a good life in the community.” (Apr, SBS News)

Canada

Migration has always been a disability justice issue. (Sep, Briarpatch)

Italy

Disability, Rehabilitation, and Assistive Technologies for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Italy: Policies and Challenges. “The lack of a standardized vulnerability assessment represents the main barrier to the organization of specific services for migrants within the community.” (Mar, Societies)

Mexico

Women with disabilities: the other face of migration. (May, Yo También)

New Zealand

'Inhumane': The Government policy that deports disabled children (Nov, 1 News)

Girl, 12, denied residency because her autism does not meet 'acceptable standards of health'. (Apr, Sky)

New Zealand denies entry to autistic daughter of immigrant couple. “Rules do not allow people to move to New Zealand if they would impose a high cost to the health system”. (Apr, the Guardian)

Time to scrap ableist migration rules down under Áine, contributor to the Debrief, arguing for fair migration rules. (Apr, Overland)

Immigration policy discriminates against disabled “It’s become commonplace to read news stories about people with disabilities who have been denied New Zealand residency and face deportation.” (Mar, Stuff)

Government won't review 'discriminatory' immigration policy towards disabled people. (Mar, Stuff)

South Africa

A group evicts more than 200 people from a privately owned derelict building “which has been home to over 400 occupants — mostly migrants. Many are people living with disabilities and are wheelchair [users], while others are visually impaired.” (Dec, Daily Maverick)

Taiwan

Disability inclusion petition launched for foreign residents in Taiwan. “Petition calls on health ministry to enable foreign permanent residents to qualify for disability certificate” (May, Taiwan News) Government mulls over how to respond. (Focus Taiwan)

United Kingdom

Asylum seekers with disabilities ‘abandoned’ in former Essex care home. One advocate described this as “putting them in a dustbin and putting the lid on. But what they need is help. What is going on is unpardonable”. (Jun, the Guardian)

Vulnerable asylum seekers 'prisoners in their own homes' after fleeing war zones. “Many claim they have been placed in unsuitable properties that are littered with tripping hazards and have broken lifts.” (Feb, Mirror)

Jamaicans with disabilities facing ‘unjust’ deportation from UK. “Most of the Jamaicans facing deportation next week on a government flight live with a disability or health problem and came to Britain as children” (May, Independent)

Non-verbal black teenager who has never left UK detained at immigration centre. “Boy who went missing from hospital arrested and held at Gatwick facility after being wrongly recorded as Nigerian” (Apr, the Guardian)

A Mural on Disability and Migration bringing together the disabled movement and asylum sector. (Youtube, Dec, Disability Murals)

United States

Venezuelan family seeks asylum at border with baby and disabled daughter to escape cartel. (May, WOAI)

U.S. removes Trump-era barriers to citizenship-test waivers for disabled immigrants (Oct, NPR)

Indigenous People and Minority Communities

Back to contents.

International

Intersectionality is a Practice: Inclusive Funding Must Resource Disability and Indigenous Rights. (Oct, Cultural Survival)

Disability Studies Quarterly special edition on indigeneity and disability: Kinship, Place, and Knowledge-Making (Jan)

Australia

The I Am, Movement designs 'culturally safe' education resources for Indigenous children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. (Aug, ABC News)

Indigenous people with disabilities face racism and ableism. ‘I coined the term “racial-ableism” to capture the intersectionality of these experiences at the cultural interface.’ (Aug, the Conversation)

From employment barriers to food insecurity, the challenges of the pandemic have only intensified for First Nations Australians with disabilities (Jun, Minority Rights Group International)

Europe

Briefing note on social exclusion of Roma with Disabilities. (Dec, EDF)

Kenya

Eviction, flooding and disability in Baringo County (Jun, Minority and Indigenous Trends 2023)

New Zealand

‘I’m Māori first’: The vision-impaired community finding strength in whakapapa (Dec, The Spinoff)

United States

Indigeneity and Disability: The Teachings of our Ancestors. “In my Indigenous community, Diné (Navajo) ancestral teachings of disability are a relational concept that embodies a sophisticated value system of care” (Jun, Disability Visibility Project)

Understanding Disabilities in American Indian & Alaska Native Communities, a toolkit to increase awareness and knowledge. (Mar, NICOA)

Institutions and Deinstitutionalization

Back to contents.

International

Guidelines on Deinstitutionalization commentary and an explanatory video. (Jan, IDA)

UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Guidelines on deinstitutionalization, including in emergencies. “They are intended to guide and support States parties, in their efforts to realize the right of persons with disabilities to live independently and be included in the community, and to be the basis for planning deinstitutionalization processes and prevention of institutionalization.” (Sep, OHCHR) A statement on the guidelines from the Global Coalition on Deinstitutionalization.

Feeding practices of children within institution-based care: A retrospective analysis of surveillance data. “Feeding difficulties are common among children living in institution-based care (IBC), particularly but not exclusively among those children with disabilities.” (Mar, Maternal & Child Nutrition)

Australia

People with disabilities in group homes are suffering shocking abuse. New housing models could prevent harm. “This latest report shows 17,000 Australians living in group homes are too frequently subjected to sexual misconduct, coercion, serious injury, abuse and neglect.” (Jan, The Conversation) See also the lack of independent monitoring of group homes (The Guardian).

Damning aged care audit reveals abuse and neglect of residents across the country. (Oct, the Guardian)

Sites of conscience redressing disability institutional violence (May, Incarceration)

Victorian government seizes control of supported care homes over abuse, ‘uninhabitable conditions’ (Jan, SMH)

Austria

Going in the wrong direction, “In Carinthia, despite all human rights recommendations, a new residential facility for disabled children is currently being built” (Jan, ENIL)

Disability organisations accuse Austria of misuse of EU rural funds in plans to build a residential facility for children with disabilities. (Nov, Euractiv)

How did people in institutions fare during the corona pandemic? Short animated video comparing independent living solutions to the confinement in institutions. (Youtube, in German with English subtitles, Dec, Unabhängiger Monitoringausschuss)

Bulgaria

Joint statement: Stop funding institutions in Bulgaria! (Jan, EDF)

Canada

Why there is so much happiness in this long-term care home that doubles as a Grade 6 classroom. (Dec, CBC)

Making the invisible visible: an interview with Megan Linton about the harms of the institutional system, COVID-19, and disability justice. (Aug, Canadian Dimension)

Invisible Institutions Podcast “a new documentary podcast exploring the past and present of institutions for people labelled with intellectual and developmental disabilities” (Invisible Institutions)

Discussion of and key points on Sheltered Workshops and Sub-Minimum Wage Labour 'Workers on average work more than 2 years in sheltered workshops, despite their label of “training programs”.' (Mar, Invisible Institutions)

Warehousing disabled people in long-term care homes needs to stop. Instead, nationalize home care. (Jan, the Conversation)

Czech Republic

Deaths and abuse of people with severe intellectual disabilities and autism in Czechia. “37-years old woman with intellectual disabilities was killed by a staff member of a “care” institution in Czechia”. (Nov, Inclusion Europe)

From hospitals back to life An in-depth feature on pyschiatric institutions. "I've been in the hospital since I was eighteen. I'm eighty-one now." (in Czech but google translate seems to make sense, Jan, iROZHLAS)

Europe

Role of the European Union in deinstitutionalisation and independent living. (Apr, Inclusion Europe)

Why does Europe keep funding institutions and what can be done about it? (Jan, EDF)

Deinstitutionalising disabled people: making it happen. “Notably absent from the EU countries with a deinstitutionalisation strategy is the entirety of south-west Europe. None of the most populated EU member states—France, Italy, Spain and Germany—has adopted such a document.” (Sep, Social Europe)

Deinstitutionalisation, disability and delay “After a decade of inertia, the EU has made little progress on the deinstitutionalisation of disabled people.” (May, Social Europe)

A Call for Change Role of the European Union funding in supporting deinstitutionalisation around the world. "The EU is in a particularly strong position to promote deinstitutionalisation reforms during the process of EU enlargement. " (Feb, EDF)

Inclusion Europe's 2022 Campaign is to End Segregation.

“The situation of people with disabilities more generally has improved over time. However, this is not true for all people and more limited for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, who are more likely to be living in segregated or congregated settings and less likely to be experiencing real inclusion.” (Jan, Inclusion Europe)

France

In France, the debate over closure of establishments for disabled people has stalled. “Emmanuel Macron recently advocated "deinstitutionalization", while emptying the term of its meaning.” (In French, Jun, Libération) See discussion on the Debrief.

Hungary

We need good support to live independently - Report about a self-advocacy conference in Hungary. (May, 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” (Dec, Validity)

Indonesia

‘Not To Be Feared’ Reports from one of Indonesia's last remaining leprosy settlements. (Sep, Disability Justice Project)

CBM kicks off work to improve mental health institutions. (Feb, CBM) Unclear how this fits into a process of deinstitutionalization.

Ireland

Regulator warned disability services provider over ‘unsafe environment’ in residential homes. (Nov, Irish Times)

Concern over future safeguarding incidents at disability services raised in Donegal review (Apr, The Irish Times)

Ireland is tarnished by its use of prisons to house the unwanted and mentally ill (Jan, The Journal)

Japan

Freeing Disabled People from institutions in Japan: conversation with Misako Yasuhara. (Feb, ENIL)

Netherlands

Inspectorate sees staggering conditions in an institutional setting with abuse of clients. (In Dutch, Feb, NOS)

New Zealand

‘There was no respect or effort to recognise me for who I was’:

“Artist and dancer Lusi Faiva was two when, diagnosed with cerebral palsy, she was taken to live in an institution for people with intellectual disabilities. She spent five years at the Kimberley Centre, experiencing neglect, terrible loneliness, alienation from her Sāmoan heritage and a sense of entrapment which has inspired a lifetime of seeking expression and freedom.” (May, The Spinoff)

Complaints laid after woman found in own faeces, weighing 35kg at a residential care home. (Nov, NZ Herald)

Abuse in Care: “Men raped disabled children, paid staff for access”. Testimonies from a commission of inquiry into institutional care. Further coverage at: 'a prison with no bars' and 'you can't walk away from this'. (Jul, Stuff) Also on NZ Herald: 'hellhole, worse than prison'

Chief Ombudsman scathing of environment at Wakari Hospital ward "We're mixing in this facility – not just patients who are mentally ill and need caring for – but we’re mixing them with those who come from a different forensic stream who have been involved in criminal offending and who are there for a very different reason; it’s not safe." (Feb, 1 News)

He Purapura Ora, he Māra Tipu. A report on survivors of abuse in care, their efforts to restore their lives and hold governments to account. (Dec, Abuse in Care Inquiry)

Poland

Horror Behind Closed Doors of Polish Residential Institution. “Women and Girls with Intellectual Disabilities Beaten, Tied, and Locked in Caged Bed” (Jun, Human Rights Watch)

Romania

"Now I support others to get out of institutions" speech from Elisabeta Moldovan, gut-wrenching episodes from her time in institution herself, and how she is changing things. (Sep, Inclusion Europe)

South Africa

Provincial funding for many Gauteng care homes have been slashed. “Thousands of frail and vulnerable people, some with disabilities, others elderly or orphaned, may have to spend the winter on the streets as the nonprofit organisations (NPO) that have cared for them can no longer do so.” (Apr, The Citizen)

South Korea

Grave concern on recent claims in Korea that institutions for disabled people in Europe are models of good practice. (Mar, ENIL)

A column reflecting on deinstitutionalization and the leading politician from the government party who said that “deinstitutionalization is a matter of choice.” (Apr, Hankyoreh)

Spain

A fire in a care home for disabled people killled one person and injured ten more. (Jun, RTVE)

United Kingdom

Learning-disabled and autistic people are being neglected and tortured. “Across the UK, revelations of institutional abuse keep mounting up, yet people are still being denied basic respect” (Apr, the Guardian)

Brother, do you love me? The cry for help that sparked a care-home rescue mission. (Oct, the Guardian)

A new book, open access, Deprivation of Liberty in the Shadows of the Institution on how restrictive practices from institutions continued as services were provided in the community. (Mar, Bristol University Press)

My Freedom A retrospective on the 10th anniversary of abuse reported at residential facility Winterbourne View. "My freedom means I go to bed when I want." (Bemix)

The shameful legacy of the Lennox Castle hospital Scotland's largest institutiono for people with learning disabilities, which closed 20 years ago. (Jan, BBC)

United States

Why Nursing Home Reform Is Finally Coming (Dec, Next Avenue)

Unsafe: Abuse and neglect of Arizona's most vulnerable can happen anywhere (Nov, Kjzz)

At a Remote Mental Health Facility, a Culture of Cruelty Persists Despite Decades of Warnings. (Sep, Pro Publica)

Medicaid's Money Follows the Person has allowed over 90,000 people with disabilities and seniors to move out of nursing homes and back into their communities. But Congress still won’t make the funding permanent. (Aug, 19th News)

Profit, Pain and Private Equity: ‘BrightSpring Health Services, which KKR bought in 2019, says it helps thousands of people with disabilities “live their best lives.”’:

‘But a yearlong BuzzFeed News investigation found that KKR focused on expanding the business even as a crisis mounted in its group home division, where conditions grew so dire that nurses and caretakers quit in droves, a state prohibited the company from accepting new residents, and some of the most vulnerable people in its care suffered and died.’ (May, Buzzfeed News)

International Cooperation

Back to contents.

Overview

International

Re-thinking disability inclusion for the SDGs (Jun, UNDP)

Debrief Feature: Do we practice what we preach? The discrimination we face while advocating on disability
(May, Disability Debrief)

From Crises to Solutions: Disability Rights Fund 2022 annual report on Building Diverse Movements for Inclusion (May, DRF)

World Food Programme Disability Inclusion Helpdesk: a learning brief on its contributions to mainstreaming disability within the organization. (Apr, CBM Global)

G20 process gets separate group to mainstream persons with disabilities within civil society engagement: Disability, Equity and Justice. (Apr, Times of India)

Dialogue of the Special Rapporteurs: a conversation between Catalina Devandas and Gerard Quinn. (Apr, Gerard Quinn)

How can building collaborative alliances support disability inclusion? (Mar, Inclusive Futures)

A guide to building successful partnerships between INGOs and disability organisations. (Jan, Inclusive Futures)

CBM Global’s Power Shift Journey: “The diversity of views received were not always easy to reconcile or harmonise – a fair reflection of the diversity of the disability movement.” (Feb, CBM Global)

Inclusive Participation Toolbox Supports Disability Inclusive Planning. (Nov, CBM)

The Zero Project 2023 celebrated. See the session recordings and this year's awardees. (Feb, Zero Project)

UNICEF Disability Inclusion Policy and Strategy (DIPAS) 2022-2030. Commitments to increase resourcing, employment and more. (Feb, UNICEF) See also coverage on the Lancet.

Discussion on increasing the engagement between disabled people's organizations and the United Nations (Feb, Center for Inclusive Policy)

It is time for a radical rethink on how we distribute funding in the disability rights movement. (Jan, Bond)

Gerard Quinn interviews Charlotte McClain-Nhlapo, discussing the World Bank & disability inclusion. (Dec, Gerard Quinn)

The third report on Disability Inclusion in the United Nations system reviews work done in 2021:

“As we move into the fourth year of the Strategy’s implementation, it is clear that staff at all levels, supported by their leadership, are taking action to advance disability inclusion across programmes and operations. While findings demonstrate that significant progress has been made since 2019, a majority of benchmarks set by the Strategy to achieve the transformative change on disability inclusion are still not being met.” (Dec, UN)

A podcast discussion with Gopal Mitra on the the UN Disability Inclusion Strategy. (Nov, Gerard Quinn)

Situation Analyses of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Lessons and Conclusions from Twenty-Six Countries. (Dec, UNPRPD)

Evaluation of Ford's Disability Inclusion Initiative “Since 2018, we have invested more than $70 million toward projects and organizations focused on disability and an additional $250 million to social justice organizations including disability within their broader work.” See also the lessons for other grant makers. (Ford Foundation)

Communique from the GLAD Network 2022 Annual General Meeting. (Nov, GLAD)

Data Quick Guide Towards Disability Inclusive Programme Monitoring (Oct, DCDD)

Inclusion of persons with disabilities in project planning a short guide. (Link to pdf, Oct, GIZ)

An evaluation of CBM Australia's Inclusion Advisory Group dedicated to advising partner organizations on disability inclusion, and an important model of how capacity on disability inclusion might be provided. (May, CBM Australia)

Disability Rights Funds welcomes Catalina Devandas as Executive Director. (Jul, DRF) Cata was the first person I interviewed on the Debrief to reflect on her years as Special Rapporteur on Disability.

Organizations of Persons with Disabilities Engagement Officer as a medium to strengthening the disability movement (Jul, IDA)

An interview with USAID employee (and friend of the newsletter, Josh Josa) who talking about his background and inclusive education (Jul, Government Matters)

A scoping review on Community Support for Persons with Disabilities in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. (Jul, Environmental Research and Public Health)

Stakeholder Group of Persons with Disabilities for Sustainable Development Position Paper for the High-Level Political Forum “governments must redouble their efforts to reach the most marginalized and furthest behind to implement policies and programs to address the discrimination and disadvantage faced by persons with disabilities. ” (link to pdf, Jul, Stakeholder Group)

The pursuit of authentic partnership: personal reflections from the executive director of CBM Global on the difference between partnership and imposition. (Feb, CBM Global)

Reflections on how racism in the aid sector relates to persons with disabilities and measures that can be taken to localize work on disability: “Any capacity-building programme should be locally and culturally designed and managed by a local CSO/DPO on its premises to build a disability movement locally. ” (Jun, Mosharraf Hossein)

Pocket guide to safeguarding persons with disabilities and/or mental health conditions in programming. See also for safeguarding in workplaces doing humanitarian and development work. (May, RSH)

Evidence digest on youth and disability inclusion (Jun, SD Direct)

The UNPRPD Annual Narrative and Financial Report 2021 (link to pdf, Jun, UNPRPD)

Lessons from our partnerships with local organisations of persons with disabilities. Featuring CBM Global's experiences and reactions from partners. “You are supporting with resources. We are getting job done. We should be paid in the same way, with same remuneration – that’s what equal partnership is!” (May, Bond)

UN Women experience with Disability Inclusion Markers. (Jan, UN Women)

In-depth conversation with World Bank Global Disability Advisor Charlotte Vuyiswa McClain-Nhlapo. “It is clear to me that my early exposure to racism and inequality influenced my life’s work for social justice and equality for all.” (Apr, Allfie)

Tracking disability inclusion in multilateral organizations a report tracking how inclusion changed between 2018 and 2022. “Although this report finds certain progress regarding the monitoring of disability inclusion since the first Global Disability Summit, particularly on strategies and commitments, the findings discuss how the step from ambitions to documentation of successful disability inclusion continues to be limited.” (Mar, Fafo)

LFTW Fact Sheet on Intersectionality Unveiling intersecting discrimination (Mar, LFTW)

Working towards a more inclusive society: Five stories of how the UN is working with partners to advance disability inclusion. (Feb, UNSDG)

The High Level Political Forum will be in July: see the position paper on how it relates to disability and more from the Stakeholder Group of Persons with Disabilities. (IDA)

A new issue of Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development featuring a lively editorial on the need for local solutions. (Feb, DCIDJ)

Discussion on how development partners can ensure engagement of organizations of persons with disabilities in CIP's question of the month. (Feb, CIP)

Lessons learned from partnerships with organisations of persons with disabilities (CBM Global)

Celebrating MIUSA's Story | Mobility International USA "If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost. They are where they should be. Now put foundations under them. " (MIUSA)

Intersectionality Resource Guide and Toolkit An Intersectional Approach to Leave No One Behind

'This does not require an “add and stir” approach, but rather a full shift in mindset—one that is willing to sit with the discomfort that comes with exploring the relational nature of power and discrimination both within and beyond UN systems.' (Jan, UN Women)

A survey on the situation of persons with deafblindness (2022) (up to 14th Feb, WFDB)

World Federation of the Deaf review of 2021. (WFD)

Innovation to Inclusion Learning Update (link to pdf, Jan, Leonard Cheshire)

See the CIP question of the month on How civil society can work with large development partners and financial institutions to address disability inclusion. Hosted by the World Bank's lead on disability. (Jan)

Light for the World 2021: The year in review (Dec, LFTW)

Reflecting a Movement’s Principles in Grantmaking Structure Evidence on the Benefits of Participation (Dec, DRF)

See You Strategic Framework 2021-2024 Light for the World Netherlands is now See You: 'We see our values reflected in the Bible, as well as represented in the UNCRPD' (link to pdf, Nov, See You)

Africa

Working with self-advocates through the Inclusion Matters project. (Mar, Inclusion International)

How a project seeks to solve the north-south power imbalance in leprosy and development work. (Apr, The Leprosy News)

Asia-Pacific

Persons with Disabilities Key to Achieving Fully Inclusive Societies (Oct, SDG Knowledge Hub)

Australia

Important day for Australia in leaving no-one behind in development program (Nov, CBM Australia)

Profile of Jane Edge, CEO of CBM Australia (Jul, Probono Australia)

Bangladesh

On the Debrief: Prayer to failure Reflections 10 years after the Rana Plaza building collapse (Jun, Disability Debrief)

Workshop on building Donor Investment in OPDs at the Country Level (Mar, IDA)

How Sadia became a strong advocate for people with disabilities (Dec, CBM Australia)

Cambodia

New horizons for Light for the World Cambodia. “Our Light for the World Cambodia office has taken the exciting step of becoming a Cambodian non-profit.” (Mar, LFTW)

Ethiopia

Strengthening OPDs in Ethiopia increases impact and value for money: "For every $1 provided by CBM, FEAPD have generated approximately a staggering $14." (Nov, CBM Australia)

Europe

Toolkits for cooperation between DPOs and EU delegations. Guidance on how disabled-led organizations can engage with the largest humanitarian donor in the world. (Feb, EDF)

European Union of the Deaf Impact Report 2022 (Feb, EUD)

Annual report on EC spending on disability inclusion in global actions 2018-2020 analysis of the OECD-DAC marker. (Nov, EDF)

A guidance note on Global Europe funding for Disabled People's Organizations (Nov, EDF)

Lack of inclusion of people with disabilities is worrying exclusion at the Conference on the Future of Europe (Dec, Euractiv)

What about young persons with disabilities? Key issues for how the European Year of Youth should include young people with disabilities. (Dec, EDF)

Ghana

The work we began on disability inclusion will continue: reflections on working with organizations of persons with disabilities. (Jun, Sightsavers)

How inclusion ambassadors are reducing disability stigma and discrimination (Apr, Sightsavers)

Indonesia

Disability Rights: A guide to monitoring compliance (Apr, Formasi Disabilitas)

Iraq

Testimonials from the Bridge CRPD-SDGs Training "I have never seen a training so inclusive". Everything I've heard from people that have gone through this training around the world is extremely positive. (Nov, IDA)

Kenya

Myth busting: a film made by Kenya OPDs (Mar, i2i)

Short video on participation in development projects Inclusivity in Kenya Meru Inclusive Trachoma (MINT) Programme (Jan, CBM Global)

Latin America and the Caribbean

Changing Latin American Lives through JICA’s Training: The Independent Living Movement of Persons with Disabilities. (Jan, JICA)

The path to inclusive local development good practice guide to the social and employment inclusion of young persons with disabilities (in Spanish, Dec, CEPAL)

Madagascar

Making localisation a reality: Five takeaways from CBM Global’s partners (May, CBM Global)

Malawi

Deepening Diversity for a More Inclusive Malawi (Feb, Disability Rights Fund)

Myanmar

“A dream to achieve”: Making Myanmar more disability-inclusive. (Jan, UNFPA)

Netherlands

Dutch Coalition on Disability and Development Annual Report 2022 (Link to pdf, May)

Nigeria

Building a Movement for Inclusive Nigeria: Highlights of DRF's Grantee Convening. (Nov, Disability Rights Fund)

Norway

Norway's international work for people with disabilities an article assessing the government's initiatives. (In Norwegian, Dec, Bistands Aktuelt)

Norway launched a new strategy for disability-inclusive development 2022-2025. (Feb)

Pacific

Organisations of Persons with Disabilities: Making a Difference in Vanuatu and Solomon Islands “It is testament to OPDs’ success that they have become sought-after partners for international agencies in the Pacific”. The report also describes how these agencies perceive and fund the OPD role limits what they can do and makes it harder for them to follow their own objectives. (Jun, CBM Global)

Australian leadership in disability inclusion at the 2022 Pacific Satellite Summit (Mar, CBM Australia)

Philippines

CBM partners with women leaders to create movement of change for disability “we are supporting the establishment of a federation of disability organisations in the Philippines to collect comprehensive data related to disability inequalities”. (Mar, CBM Australia)

Rwanda

The Ripples of Resourcing Rwanda’s Disability Rights Movement (Jan, Disability Rights Fund)

Senegal

Raising awareness of albinism in west Africa See Maroussia Mbaye's instagram for the series of photos. (does not appear to have alt text, Feb, the Guardian)

Switzerland

UN Committee scrutinizes disability inclusion in Swiss international cooperation. “There is no consistent approach to disability across Switzerland’s work internationally.” (Jul, EDF)

The Swiss Government responded to the concerns of the CRPD and this is a response to that from civil society in relation to Swiss international cooperation and humanitarian action. (Jan, SDDC)

Uganda

Light for the World Uganda Annual Report 2022 (Link to PDF, May, LFTW)

The Disability Inclusive Graduation Program alleviating poverty. (Apr, Borgen Project)

Uganda’s Diverse Disability Movement Offers Lessons for an Ableist Global Philanthropy (Nov, Yes!)

OPD Conversations: Building Confidence and Challenging Stigma and on inclusive communications during COVID-19. (Mar, CBM UK)

United Kingdom

UK government strategy: Sightsavers calls for further action for women and girls with disabilities. (Mar, Sightsavers)

On the new International Development Strategy, People with Disabilities don’t have the luxury of time “there is no observable strategy to focus concerted efforts on eradicating poverty and improving the lives of the most marginalised.” (May, CBM UK)

UK Government's Strategy for International Development must include older people “we are disappointed that the Strategy did not refer explicitly to the impact of global ageing, did not consider needs throughout the life course, or address the specific needs and rights of older people.” (May, Age International)

Meeting the Ambition of the new FCDO Disability Inclusion & Rights Strategy (Apr, CBM UK)

Launch of a new development policy, FCDO disability inclusion and rights strategy 2022 to 2030. See a blog post welcoming the new strategy from CBM UK. (Feb, Gov UK)

Vietnam

A project officer with disability reflects on his experience in CBM's project (Feb, CBM Australia)

Global Disability Summit

International

Words are not enough “One year on from the Global Disability Summit 2022, we urgently call on global governments to uphold disability rights and make their summit commitments a reality” (Sightsavers)

Global Disability Summit 2022 Report (Oct, IDA)

Series of videos featuring youth with disabilities. (Mar, IDA)

Will the 2022 Global Disability Summit result in a more equal world? As well highlighting the achievements of the summit, a concern raised that "overall, there aren’t enough commitments with concrete financing attached. " (Mar, Sightsavers)

Preceding the Summit was the GDS Youth Summit 2022 which launched a call for action for organizations and youth with disabilities to commit to.

The Global Disability Summit closed. See the co-chair summary. Watch recordings from both days or browse the portal of commitments made. The Summit reiterated the 2018 charter for change.

Upcoming disability summit must be a turning point, position from President of Ghana, PM of Norway, chief of WHO, and president of the International Disability Alliance. (Feb, BMJ)

The next summit will be hosted by Jordan and Germany scheduled for Berlin, 2025.

An Accessible Future for Persons with Disabilities a beautiful multimedia feature on the World Bank's work on disability around the world, and their commitments for the summit. (Feb, World Bank)

Guterres opens Global Disability Summit with inclusivity call. Strange to see 'handicap' used in this article. (Feb, UN)

Discussion Paper on engagement of organizations of persons with disabilities: "OPDs are more consulted than before,
levels of participation remain insufficient." The paper explores the gaps as well as good practices, particularly around investment in supporting representative organizations.

"While progress [on disability inclusion] is significant, it takes a lot more effort to turn these promises into action, and initiatives often fail to engage and consult with persons with disabilities themselves. Reasons vary but usually relate to gaps in understanding disability from a rights-based perspective or prejudice regarding OPDs’ capacity to contribute, limited knowledge of and contacts with OPDs, gaps in ensuring inclusive and accessible venues, information and methods to support active engagement of OPDs. This significantly reduces the relevance and impact of disability-inclusive investments and perpetuates paternalistic approaches whereby persons with disabilities are only recipients of aid. The Covid-19 global pandemic brutally recalled and exposed pervasive discriminations, with dramatic consequences as lives of persons with disabilities are not considered of equal importance. " (Feb, IDA)

Global Disability Summit 2022: another talkshop? Raises concerns, referring to concrete examples, about initiatives for disability inclusion "without the direct involvement of disabled people". Organizations working on disability rights "are yet to recognize the power of lived-experience and professional representation within their leadership ranks and thus continue making decisions around disability rights issues without the participation of disabled people". (Feb, Fred Ouko)

Sightsavers’ campaign petition for the Global Disability Summit hits 30,000 signatures from 111 countries. (Feb, Sightsavers)

Four priorities in inclusive education for the Global Disability Summit 2022 Collection of evidence in each priority. (Jan, Cambridge)

3 things to expect from the Global Disability Summit "The answers are there already – use them!" - agree with the sentiment that we have under-used solutions, but disagree we know "what it takes to implement the CRPD". (Feb, LFTW)

Recommendations from the Thematic Workshop on Inclusive Education (Jan, Global Disability Summit)

Ensure disability inclusion is not just a tick mark (Jan, Humanity and Inclusion)

International Summit On Disability And Health Aims To Achieve #HealthForAll (Jan, Health Policy Watch)

You can follow the GDS on social media and with its social media toolkit. Hashtags will be #CommitToChange and #GDS2022. Suggested prompt is “I believe in a disability-inclusive future because…” (Jan, Global Disability Summit)

Get ready for the Global Disability Summit The main events are 14-17th Feb, with the youth summit followed by the civil society forum and then the summit itself.

Plenty of events on the way into this as well: see the event guide. covering the thematic, regional and side events.

See also the master guide (Global Disability Summit)

On Humanitarian response, a call for commitments to disability inclusion (Jan, Global Disability Summit)

Africa

People with disabilities have been forgotten. Not any more. (Feb, African Arguments)

Europe

On the European Regional Disability Summit and positive participation of European leaders. (Feb, EDF)

Community Based Inclusive Development

International

Greece makes nearly 200 beaches accessible with Seatrac chairs - The Washington Post (May, Washington Post)

A report on CBM's work on Community Based Inclusive Development (Jun, CBM)

Back to contents.

International

A review on corruption and the equal enjoyment of rights for persons with disabilities:

“People with disabilities are exposed to abuse by those that provide care, the embezzlement of funds intended to benefit persons with disabilities and extortion in the process of acquiring a disability certificate. [...] This impact of this corruption is caused, enabled or exacerbated by discrimination against persons with disabilities.“ (Apr, U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre)

Evidence brief on promoting effective implementation of legal capacity as outlined in Article 12 of the UN CRPD in LMICs. "Reforms for legal capacity do not engage a wide variety of stakeholders, and instead tend to reinforce existing powers structures" (Jan, Disability Evidence Portal)

Africa

Recognising the testimonial competence of persons with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities in Southern Africa:

“Lesotho the only country in southern Africa to successfully contest and change the legal position on the testimonial competence of persons with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities. As such, the other countries have lessons to learn both from what Lesotho got right and from what it missed. Two lessons in particular can be gleaned from Lesotho’s experience. The first lesson is that upholding testimonial competence requires the recognition of the right to legal capacity. Second, the recognition of the testimonial competence of persons with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities is merely a first step, they also need to be given the support necessary for their effective participation.” (Nov, African Disability Rights Year Book)

Americas

Practical Guide for the Establishment of Support for the Exercise of the Legal Capacity of persons with disabilities. Also available in Portuguese and Spanish (links to pdf, OAS)

Australia

Report examines pathways leading children with disability from child protection into the justice system.

Detainees with disabilities in 'spiral of hopelessness' “People with disabilities in the criminal justice system feel like they exist in a "black hole" after an international torture prevention body cancelled a visit to Australia.” (Mar, ABC News)

Report outlines framework for supported decision-making for people with cognitive disability. (Jan, Royal Commission)

Study in New South Wales shows that young people with a disability are overrepresented in the youth justice system: "Factors such as age of initial engagement with disability-related services, remoteness of residence, and frequency of child protection contact were strongly associated with the likelihood of a young person with disability having criminal justice contact before the age of 18". (Jan, NSW BOSCAR)

Trapped, stripped of assets, and silenced. And it’s all perfectly legal photo-essay feature on challenging public guardianship. (Mar, ABC News)

Bahrain

Gerard Quinn, Special Rapporteur, condemns detention and ill-treatment of Dr Abduljalil al Singace (Apr, Gerard Quinn)

Bangladesh

Mobilizing Disabled Peoples’ Organizations to Implement Bangladesh’s Disability Law (Yes, the Journal of Human Rights Practice has a paywall oh dear, Jan, Journal of Human Rights Practice)

Participation of People with Disability Program resources for disabled people's organizations to implement the UNCRPD. (Jan, Disability Bangladesh)

Brazil

Outrage as mentally ill Black man dies in police car ‘gas chamber’ (May, the Guardian) See also on Human Rights Watch.

Canada

A new book Disability Injustice - Confronting Criminalization in Canada "Ableism is embedded in Canadian criminal justice institutions, policies, and practices, making incarceration and institutionalization dangerous – even deadly – for disabled people." Edited by Kelly Fritsch, Jeffrey Monaghan and Emily van der Meulen (Feb, UBC Press)

Caribbean

Study on Access to Justice for Persons With Disabilities in CARICOM Countries Published. See also part 2. (links to pdf, Dec, Improved Access to Justice in the Carribean)

Colombia

ABC of Legal Capacity a podcast exploring the concept and what you need to know. (In Spanish, May, Asdown Colombia)

Documentary on law 1996 of 2019: “a path to equality”. The development and first three years of a law promoting legal capacity of persons with disabilities. (Oct, Paiis Uniandes)

Europe

Recommendations on disability rights in pre-trial detention (Apr, EDF)

Ghana

Criminal justice in Ghana as experienced by people with disabilities: “we found that the criminal justice system was unfriendly toward persons with disabilities due to factors such as lack of funds, inaccessible physical environments, language and communication barriers, and negative attitudes toward persons with disabilities” (Apr, Journal of Human Rights)

Mexico

Two brothers imprisoned because of their disability their intellectual disabilities a primary factor in how they were treated by police. (In Spanish, May, Yo También)

Congress approves a new civil and family code that ends the legal position identifying some disabled people as minors. (Apr, El País)

The right for all persons to decide over their own lives. (In Spanish, Feb, Yo También)

Manual on Justice and Persons with Disabilities a reference for judges and others in the legal system to apply a rights-based approach to disability. See also a launch event on youtube. (in Spanish, Dec, Supreme Court)

New Zealand

Alan Hall's controversial murder conviction set to be quashed after 36 years (Apr, Stuff)

Palestine

Soldiers handcuff and arrest intellectually disabled teen (13) for two hours, and then arrest two of his relatives and abuse them. (May, B'Tselem)

Singapore

Singapore executes man on drugs charge, rejecting mental disability plea. (Apr, BBC) UN human rights exerts called for an immediate moratorium on use of the death penalty.

Court upholds death sentence of man with learning disabilities “Outcry over drug smuggling case of Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam, who could be executed in days” (Mar, the Guardian)

Pending Execution Highlights Singapore’s Failures on Disability Rights. "During a hearing on March 1, Singapore’s highest court made clear that Singapore law does not prohibit the execution of people with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities." (Mar, Human Rights Watch)

Singapore courts set to consider executions amid fears authorities want to clear backlog Case of Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam, who has learning difficulties, among four to be heard next week (Feb, the Guardian)

Singapore urged to halt two executions over disability concerns (Feb, the Guardian)

South Africa

Thirteen years after a disabled child spent a night in a filthy cell, court slashes damages payout. (Apr, Ground Up)

Spain

CERMI Mujeres awards the best photographs about the difficulties of women with disabilities to access justice. (In Spanish., Nov, CERMI Mujeres)

Court confirms 14 years in prison for a former political leader for abuse of two persons with disability. (Mar, Eldiaro.)

United Kingdom

Are we receiving the justice we deserve? With support from disabled magistrates, a report on inaccessible courtrooms. (Jun, Magistrates Association)

No longer free to be Deaf: Cultural, medical and social understandings of d/Deafness in prison: “there is little room for a cultural model of Deafness in prison, and in consequence, prison becomes medically deafening for Deaf prisoners.” (Nov, Disability and Society)

Pushing at the Boundaries of Legal Personhood. “Could we then imagine a framework of legal personhood that recognises persons with removeable parts?” (Jun, Frontiers of Sociolegal Studies)

United States

For Deaf People in Prison, FCC Mandates Videophone Call Access. (Mar, The Marshall Project)

Will shock treatment finally be banned? “The fact that autistic students are still being shocked at the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center is unconscionable.” (Jan)

House Approves Ban On Electric Shock Devices For Those With Developmental Disabilities. (Jun, Disability Scoop)

Lawsuit argues the Americans with Disabilities Act should apply to transgender rights (May, Washington Post)

A discussion about the relationships between law, political economy and disability (LPE Project)

Discussion on When an Intellectual Disability Means Life or Death revisiting the case of Pervis Payne and how a disability claim reduced his death sentence to life in jail after over 30 years. (Jan, Undark)

Lived Experience and Opinion

Back to contents.

International

Yes, Disabled People Can Be Parents stories from disabled parents. (Feb, Women Enabled International)

Disability and Technology? No, Disability as Technology. "My argument is, rather, that technology is a constitutive mechanism of disability, that is, disability is a fully-fledged technology (artifact) itself, a complex and complicated apparatus of power, a composite of technologies and other artifacts." (Jan, Biopolitical Philosophy)

Naming Disability Including Disability Issue 2 explores “the power play between stigma and identity”. (Jan, Including Disability)

An issue of the Massachusetts Review dedicated to Disability Justice (Dec, Massachusetts Review)

Living Inclusion a campaign featuring the voices and lives of persons with disabilities in the global south. (GIZ)

The Valuable 500 reflects on What Disability Pride means to us. (Jul)

From the Debrief's own Áine Kelly-Costello: Social Role Valorisation: What is it, and what’s the problem? “When people hold roles that are valued by others, they will become more valued as individuals”. Unfortunately this can have the side-effect of ”perpetuating the devalued status of disability and disabled people” by focussing on individual conformity. (Jun, A Frame on Life)

Disability Pride Month July “looks to celebrate disability as an identity by sharing the experiences of the disabled community” (Jul, Forbes)

How a Cyborg Challenges Reality “It seems obvious that cyborgs are first and foremost disabled people, and yet I’m stuck inside this other reality, defined by nondisabled people, where I make an appeal for personhood.” (Jun, NYT)

‘I’m a TV producer’s dream!’ – Rosie Jones on the trouble with being the poster girl for disabled comedy:

“sometimes think I am the ‘perfect amount of disabled’. I am being facetious but hear me out. I look disabled and I sound disabled, but I am not too disabled. I can appear on a panel show without disrupting the whole programme. There’s no need for subtitles, ramps or additional needs. I’m a TV producer’s dream!” (Mar, the Guardian)

Satirical take on Five Ways to Accommodate Sighties in the Workplace “Turn on the lights. You know this.” (Mar, Squeaky Wheel)

Jane Waithera′s fight against the stigma of albinism (short video, no subtitles, Feb, DW)

A powerful tribute to her body from Frances Ryan: Living in a woman’s body: this body is a genetic mistake – but it is sex, laughter and beauty too.

"This body is a genetic mistake, a pitiable stare, the scan on a mundane Tuesday lunchtime with a doctor speaking in hushed tones by the bed.

It is glorious too, thanks. It is deep-in-the-bones laughter at 2am with people who love you; only strangers care that it is sitting in a wheelchair while doing so (“Have you got a licence for that thing, sweetheart?”). It is straight-As, promotions and beating expectations as much as the odds. It is being buckled over from the pain, clutching a public toilet bowl, pills and dignity rattling at the bottom of a handbag. It is sex, fevered goosebumps and kisses to the skin like magic. It is warm summers with friends, sunshine on bare legs and 90s dance music ricocheting through the air. It is fucking knackered." (Feb, the Guardian)

Define Yourself: Riva Lehrer’s and Jan Grue’s Disability Memoirs (Jan, LA Review of Books)

Africa

Young people with albinism call for acceptance conversations with three advocates. (Jun, UNICEF)

Argentina

Julia risso, podcaster and activist: “I hate the word inclusion. I don't want to be included anywhere, I'm already here.” (In Spanish, Jun, BBC News)

Australia

As a disabled woman, my self-portraits help me reclaim my body. (Jun, ABC News)

Nobody I’ve been locked up with in a psychiatric hospital felt ‘proud’ of their illness. “But the sickest people I’ve ever known – myself included – have had almost no part in this opening up, as if we’re suffering from a different condition altogether.” (Jun, the Guardian)

Ableism and disablism – how to spot them and how we can all do better. (May, The Conversation)

My talking, flameless stove How my talking induction stove gave me the confidence to cook. (Mar, ABC News)

Re-Frame 2022 a TV show showcasing “stories from all around the country highlighting perspectives from people with disability” (Dec, ABC)

Women with disability already battle stereotypes. I can't afford to be an angry, brown woman, too. (Dec, ABC News)

Reflections between Australia and Indonesia on how #MeToo gave me a vocabulary to claim disability rights “my reaction to unsolicited help formed the crux of my dilemma. I felt torn between the need to keep myself safe, and the pressure to meet society’s expectations that I would welcome help.” (Sep, Unbias the News)

Forming body image as a blind person “When I was younger, I trusted other people's perceptions of my appearance more than my own.” (Aug, ABC News)

Special Issue on Writing Disability in Australia (May, Australian Literary Studies)

The Disability Pandemic:

”I lived in two worlds during COVID. One that suddenly got more open and inclusive, where I was asked to talk at events, on television, to Senate committees. I pasted lipstick on, and calmed my frizzy hair, adjusting a badly fitting shirt, so I could tell the world that disabled people needed help. Then I would scrub it all off, limp to the kitchen and face the anxiety swarm about there being no food.” (Meanjin)

Brazil

Would you buy a friend for your child with disability? Isolation lived by disabled people can lean to loneliness and psychological suffering. (In Portuguese, Feb, Sler)

An anti-guideline on accessibility to challenge the silos and specificity disability gets put into. (In Portuguese, Oct, SISEM-SP)

Cambodia

Sokhak's story “Sokhak, 31, is a young leader working with ADD International, Cambodia. She comes from Kampot province, and has a degree in accountancy. She has worked in the disability rights sector for several years.” (Mar, ADD)

Canada

Dispatches from Disabled Country a book by Catherine Frazee, “a poetics of identity, an ethos of empathy, and a sanctuary from philosophies of greed and utility.” (May, UBC Press)

A Disability Justice Issue featuring writing and art from activists across Canada. (Sep, Briarpatch)

What Does It Mean to ‘Crip’ Healing?

'We’re used to thinking of “healing” as specific treatments — surgery, pills, herbs, acupuncture. Those things are useful and important. But a cripped definition of healing would include anything that supports someone’s disabled body/mind. My cane; my friend’s garden bench chair they sit on while they weed; my heating pad and excellent ice packs; my friend’s sensory friendly hijab; the CRV my friend and his partner bought that can easily fit his wheelchair in the back; stim toys; my car with its disabled parking permit; the disabled parking spaces at the Grocery Outlet; the portable wheelchair at the protest; Zoom captions; the autistic Black, brown, Indigenous, Asian and mixed race group I hang out in online; and my close and extended disabled BIPOC friend family who are available to bitch and vent and commiserate and troubleshoot and doula each other: none of these are healing in the “cure” sense. But all of these things do a lot to ensure my or someone else’s chances of an excellent disabled life.' (Dec, The Tyee)

Djibouti

Searching for identity “The award-winning Djiboutian author, Abdourahman Waberi, shares his reflections on writing, power and living with a disability.” (Mar, Africa is a Country)

Egypt

The reaction of Egyptians to meeting blind people on the street. Mostafa Attia shows, in a video, how Egyptians are the most helpful of any country he's travelled to. (in Arabic, Jul, Mostafa Attia)

Europe

On Our Terms a podcast on independent living and disability activism, hosted by the Debrief's own Áine Kelly-Costello. (Dec, European Network on Independent Living)

Ghana

She's a U.N. disability advocate profile of Gertrude Oforiwa Fefoame new chair of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. (May, NPR)

The story of Anaaba Agbango, the visually impaired farmer in Goka. (Dec, Ghana Web)

India

Reclaiming Consent As A Non-Visibly Disabled Trans Survivor (Jun, Revival Disability Magazine)

There are too many barriers for persons with disabilities “Accessibility in India is often seen from the lens of the individual and the collective or societal approach is missing [...] It is not surprising that it is disabled individuals who have to take the onus on themselves and turn into activists and serial petitioners in courts.” (Dec, Money Control)

Not Your Everyday Ableism a series of short videos to “to unlearn everyday ableist notions, acknowledge the need for creating disability affirmative spaces, and understand the ways for taking action, one conversation at a time.” (Aug, That Sassy Thing)

Don't Mourn For Us, an advocacy poem by Aishwarya Othena (on Youtube, Dec, Rising Flame)

Indonesia

‘I Feel Like an Outsider’ Facing Stigma and Discrimination, Ardiansyah, a 44-year-old Indonesian Man with Schizophrenia, Finds Refuge in a Mosque. (Mar, Disability Justice Project) See also a poetic response to it on the Debrief.

‘We Are Born Perfect’ Rina Prasarani Has a Message for Disabled Women: “Don’t Give Up, Keep Fighting, and Show We Can.” (Mar, Disability Justice Project)

Agus's Story profile on an international advocate for the rights of people with psychosocial disabilities. (In Bahasa, Feb, Detik Edu)

Sticks and Stones Naufal Asy-Syaddad Encourages Other Young Indonesians with Autism to Know Their Rights (Jul, Disability Justice Project)

Ireland

I moved from all I know: “Jennifer McShane moved to London when it became too expensive and difficult to live in Dublin.” (Dec, Irish Times)

I've Used A Wheelchair Since I Was 19. Why Don't I Need It In My Dreams? Is it denial, long-term memory of previous ways of mobilizing or mirroring what we see? It can take years for our dreams to catch-up with how our bodies change. (Jul, Huffington Post)

Does Representation Miss the Point When it Comes to Creating Body Diversity in Fashion?

"Looking back on my relationship with my body—and perhaps more importantly, the world’s perception of it—it makes sense that I gravitated towards the fashion industry. Even in my teenage years, I knew that clothes could be used as a vehicle to create change. [...] It was also disappointing that such efforts were needed for people to see me the way I wanted to be seen." (Mar, Vogue)

Japan

Profile of Yui Yuda and the care that supports her independent living. (Jun, The Japan Times)

Why is Japan Seemingly Obsessed with “Barrier-Free Minds”? “Why is the phrase “Barrier-free minds” almost always used, but there is rarely any mention of ‘Barrier-free spaces’, physical environments where people with disabilities can live?” (Nov, Barrier Free Japan)

Kenya

Top 40 Under 40: feature on Patricia Mativo. (Mar, BDO)

SARAH, a short movie “The story is centered on the life of Sarah who is a pregnant woman with disability. She is unable to access health services in time because of stigmatization and discrimination she faces.” (Nov, DAYO Kenya)

Feature on Eve Kibare's story focussing on managing periods as a visually impaired woman. (Aug, Mummy Tales)

Open letter to Kenyan Disability league leaders: “When will you rise to the occasion?” Argues that so far progress has been “low-hanging fruit” and ”having a few of persons with disabilities in to the system but not yet more robust gains for the Kenyans with disabilities.” (Apr, Mugami Paul)

Citizen Reporting series features small business owner's COVID-19 story (Mar, Inclusive Futures)

Kenyan activist Ashura Michael fights for disability and gender rights (short interview, no transcript, Feb, BBC)

Kosovo

“I have the right to be here in this bar, smoking a cigarette and drinking a coffee without people whispering, looking at me, and being surprised at how I can do this,” profile of blind poet Muhaxhiri Agusholli. (Jan, Balkan Insight)

Kuwait

Head Above Water: a disabled writer shares her journey with multiple sclerosis in a new book. “Head Above Water excels in exploring the mental and emotional scars of being a mixed-race disabled woman in a very traditional and patriarchal society.” (Jul, Disability Horizons)

Latin America and the Caribbean

Portraying our diverse bodies. Animation of stories of women with disabilities. (Apr, Fondo de Acción Urgente America Latina y el Caribe)

Malawi

Youtube channel from Du Lucius a “Deafblind young man from Malawi, student at secondary school and l will be sharing my life style, Deafblind and disability awareness” (Feb, Youtube)

Malaysia

Profile of Debrief illustrator KA Tan "Painting makes me reflect and reflect. When society is progressing, what should life be like and what is its meaning? Are those illusions important to life?" (In Chinese, Jun, Penang China Press)

A day in the life of people with visual impairments. (Mar, Malaysia Now)

Mexico

Short-film “Sufficient” features five disabled people and the barriers they have faced. (In Spanish, Mar, Yo También)

A wonderful short video on inspiration porn reflecting on ableism, privilege and presentations of disability online. (In Spanish, no image description, Jul, Ruido En La Red)

Middle East and North Africa

Toxic positivity harms the disabled community (Apr, The National News)

New Zealand

Human not machine: how autistic writers are writing new space for themselves:

“Why are autistic people so attracted to these magical or other-worldly connections? Most of us experience loneliness and isolation – and if we are repeatedly rejected by humans then the idea of friendship with ghosts or aliens may almost seem less far-fetched.

“It’s also the fantasy we might be able to meet someone else on equal terms; both of us having to adapt to and learn each other’s way of communicating, rather than always having to be the ones who make the effort, exhausting ourselves to the point of burnout.” (Apr, The Spinoff)

Nigeria

Interview with Olawale Alade Olawale Alade is a Nigerian Deaf nurse in the United Kingdom where he attends to Deaf adults with varying degrees of mental health challenges. (Jun, BO News)

From telecoms engineer to disability advocate: interview with Dolapo Agbede (Feb, Techpoint)

How discrimination affects Albinos freedom. (Jan, Radio Nigeria)

It’s The Little Things: stories and life experience of people with visual impairments. (Jul, Unbias the News)

Philippines

Notes on Paralysis “Becoming disabled saved my life”. (Jun, Protean Magazine)

Rwanda

‘I Wish to Live a Normal Life’ For Many Rwandan Families, Caring for Their Children’s Needs Becomes a Job All Its Own. (Apr, Disability Justice Project)

Somalia

The Social Worker Making a Difference: Meet Dahir Abdulle. (Mar, UNICEF)

South Africa

Parenting a child with disability: A mother’s reflection on the significance of social support. “I avoided public areas because I did not want the community to know that my child was disabled and I was shy.” (May, African Journal of Disability)

Sudan

Elkhansa's Story “Elkhansa is a young leader in Sudan. She is a disability rights activist advocating for equal rights for disabled women and girls in her country.” (Mar, ADD)

A moment that changed me: after losing my hearing, newspapers helped me find a way to cope (Apr, the Guardian) By Saleh Addonia, a refugee from Eritrea, who later moved to the UK and whose short story collection the Feeling House has just come out.

Sweden

Help to live before help to die powerful personal testimony on why end of life decisions shouldn't be left to medical professionals (Feb, Adolf Ratzka on Facebook)

Tanzania

The life journey of a blind Tanzanian professor. (Oct, The Citizen)

Uganda

A Peace Fellow and polio survivor focuses on accessibility: feature on Ronald Kasule. (Apr, Rotary)

Let it pass an animated poem about the lived experience of anxiety. (Nov, Making it Work)

Why I do self-advocacy as a deafblind youth (Oct, Voices of Youth)

United Kingdom

The 90s are back why disability simulations are harmful. (Jun, The Accessible Link)

On the Debrief: Don't you have mercy on yourself? How we turn our isolation into connection (Feb, Disability Debrief)

‘I did not expect motherhood to legitimise me’: parenting with a disability – “four families share their eye-opening stories of love and joy” (Feb, the Guardian)

Moving Nowhere Here a poem by Kimberly Campanello. “I must be propped on pillows // to attempt anything at all // other than dream”. (Jan, Granta)

Why We Need Spaces to Discuss Disabled Joy in All Its Complexity Rather than Inspiration. (Jan, The Spill)

What London Is Like When You're Deaf. (Jan, Londonist)

The Disability Serviceland Song “a song about control, power and self-determination. Staring Ellie Goldstein.” (Dec, Open Future Learning)

On living two lives:

“To be as disabled as I am is to have control of your life parcelled out to people you’ve never met and who will never know you. The doctor, the care recruiting firm, the dating agency. I am forever trying to claw it back; a decision made for myself here, a stand taken there. Sometimes I think I am succeeding, I can breathe a little easier. I feel in control - of my career, of where I’m going, of the small but vital details of how I live my everyday life. And then the dam breaks and the water is rushing again, seemingly higher than before. I find myself wondering whether this time it’ll finally flow over my head.” (Dec, The View From Down Here)

Invisible: Documentary about 6 disabled women activists. (Dec, Tend Project)

'Being grabbed, pushed or touched without warning is terrifying when you can’t see' (Jul, Mirror)

How I found my own disability pride “Disability pride came slowly to me, like dawn breaking on a December morning.” (Jul, The View from Down Here)

Disabled people don’t need your outrage – we need you to fight with us for change (Jul, the Guardian)

What Does it Mean to Forge a Body? Autonomy through Disability Cures and Gender Transition (Apr, Catch these Words)

I'm treated differently depending on what kind of wheelchair I use - on the difference between using a manual and powered wheelchair. (Feb, Metro)

“No you’re not” collection of profiles of autistic women (Feb, Wellcome Collection)

My Life With Dynamic Disabilities: What You Should Know (Dec, Refinery29)

Unbound an animation reacting to the phrase "wheelchair bound": "my wheels travel the world, and they dance, whirl in light and colour" (subtitles but no visual description, Dec, BBC)

United States

My Son & I Both Have Autism. My Wordless Days With My Son Are Filled With Love (Jun, Romper)

‘I Don’t See the Wheelchair, I Just See You,’ Says Lying Coworker Who Does See Wheelchair. (Jul, The Squeaky Wheel)

Our Son Has Down Syndrome. Then we started to hear a line that many parents of a child with a disability hear: “God only gives a burden to those he knows who can handle it.” (Jun, Huffpost)

Activism, Adaptation, or Awareness? Different modes of action in modern disability culture. (Jun, Disability Thinking Monthly)

Low and Slow A series on the joys and pleasures of eating, cooking, and sustenance (Jun, Eater)

Quad moms: Portraits of mothers with disabilities (Jun, CBS News)

Honoring All of Ourselves: On Disability and Transness. “Transness and disability are frequently linked and presented as a danger by state legislatures as they dehumanize trans people and deny rights” (Jun, Disability Visibility Project)

"All the parts work together": Author Sara Nović on Identity, Adoption, and Falling Short as a Parent. (Jun, Mutha Magazine)

How A Disabled Chinese Immigrant Turned Polio And Ableism Into Becoming An Apple Executive And Author (May, Forbes)

Crip Negativity an open-access book by J. Logan Smilges. “Smilges asks and imagines what horizons might exist for the liberation of those oppressed by ableism—beyond access and inclusion. [...] Smilges proposes that bad crip feelings might help all of us to care gently for one another, even as we demand more from the world than we currently believe to be possible.” (Jun, Manifold @uminnpress)

Disability Conference Rejoices in Disregarding the Pandemic Just Like Everyone Else. (May, The Squeaky Wheel)

5 Things I Wish I Understood As A Disabled Youth Andrew Pulrang's thoughts for young disabled people. (Mar, Forbes)

Imani Barbarin: My Experience As A Black Woman With Cerebral Palsy I Didn’t Think I’d Make It Into Adulthood (Mar, Refinery29)

Disability Is Always Someone Else’s Problem Why I’m not celebrating Disabilities Awareness Month. (Mar, The Nation)

I Am Going Blind, and I Now Find It Strangely Exhilarating. “Daily life has a renewed delight and vigor. I am learning new things constantly. The most ordinary tasks, like going to the post office, have become terrifically interesting. In terms of everyday life, I feel that I am finally in there, more mindful and alert, more fully present. I have chosen curiosity over despair.” (Mar, New York Times)

Sipping Dom Pérignon Through a Straw. Autobiography by Eddie Ndopu. “Reimagining Success as a Disabled Achiever” (Legacy Lit)

Five Ways to Clarify You’re (Badass) Disabled and Not (Inspirational) Disabled (Feb, Squeaky Wheel)

Alice Wong on What I've learned being reliant on a caregiver: “My well-being is tied to the well-being of the people who care for me.”:

“Care is not a checklist of tasks and responsibilities. Care is a shared value and actions operating in a larger political context within a hypercapitalist, racist, ableist society that devalues certain types of labor and bodies. Conversations by policy experts and advocates about the caregiving crisis can be too abstract, and any meaningful structural and cultural change must acknowledge the tensions, human toll, material consequences, complexities and nuances about care from the people who provide and rely on it.” (Feb, CNN)

How Innovation Sets Me Backwards Tech that could be enabling me is impairing me instead. (Jan, Immerse)

The Micropedia of Microaggressions - the first encyclopedia of microaggressions. (Jun)

Alice Wong on Hospitalization, Crowdfunding Medical Care, and Finding Love In Community: “a paper tiger is delicate and light, it can fold and transform itself, resisting the forces that seek to crumple it” (Feb, Teen Vogue)

Deaf Role Model of the Month: Pamela Molina (Jan, Deaf Unity)

4 Ways People With Disabilities Can Have Privilege Too “Money can buy at least some access and opportunity – which in turn increases social acceptance, and can even reduce a disabled person's exposure to ableism”. Neatly summed up in Game of Thrones as “If you’re going to be a cripple, it’s better to be a rich cripple.” (Jan, Forbes)

Profound discussion of how ableism enables all forms of inequity. “Ableism plays a leading role in how we frame, understand, construct and respond to race, class, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, nationality, criminal status, disability, and countless other identities.” (Jan, Truthout)

'My Life Is in My Caregivers' Hands': Disability Advocate Alice Wong's Vision for a New Approach to Health Care. (Dec, KQED)

What disabled people know about making better New Year’s resolutions resolutions to do less and quit Yoga. (Dec, Washington Post)

Progress Over Perfection: A Better Way to Accessibility: “Don't wait until everything is done and perfect. The small steps make a big difference. [...] Educate, don't berate.” (Nov, Meryl Evans)

Our Meeting on Accessibility Is Just Down Those Stairs. “There is a special lift that would help you down the stairs, but it has been out of order for the last ten years.” (Nov, McSweeney's)

Queer, Crip and Here: Meet blind writer Caitlin Hernandez (Oct, Washington Blade)

Growing Up As A Disabled Latinx Immigrant In America. “I believe that my community is best served when we gather and envision a liberated world outside of oppressive systems, and we fight toward it everyday. We’ve always been our own best answers.” (Sep, Refinery29)

Constant Cravings “My feeding tube means I can no longer enjoy the feeling of being sated after a meal. But there are other ways to nourish myself beyond my body.“ (Oct, Eater)

What It's Like to Fall a Lot Because of My Disability “Really, I probably fall as often as you get Starbucks.” (Sep, The Mighty)

Alice Wong: I Still Have a Voice.

“While recovering, communication access is one of my greatest challenges since I can no longer speak. People have talked over me, ignored me, or became impatient as I type my responses. I currently use a text to speech app called Proloquo4text. The voice options are robotic, clinical, and white. It mispronounces slang and Chinglish, a mix of Mandarin and English which is part of my culture. It also fails to capture my personality, cadence, and emotions.” (Oct, KQED)

11 Disability Rights Activists on Where the Fight for Justice Stands (Sep, Teen Vogue)

Year of the Tiger. Alice Wong's book on her activist life: “Drawing on a collection of original essays, previously published work, conversations, graphics, photos, commissioned art by disabled and Asian American artists, and more, Alice uses her unique talent to share an impressionistic scrapbook of her life as an Asian American disabled activist, community organizer, media maker, and dreamer.” (Nov, Disability Visibility Project) See an exerpt in Teen Vogue.

For 'disabled oracle' Alice Wong, rest is a radical act. (Sep, Los Angeles Times)

Society of Disabled Oracles “a living chorus and archive of disabled wisdom from the past, present and future. We have been waiting for you. This is a collection of ‘telegrams’ by disabled oracles to the world.”

A new book, by John Kemp, Disability Friendly: How to Move from Clueless to Inclusive, “a call to action for businesses around the world to realize the opportunities presented by employing people with disabilities.” (Aug, Lakeshore)

Benevolence Porn “I suggest that we consider benevolence porn as a means of distinguishing media attention that centers the abled person rather than the disabled person.” (Aug, Not an Angry Deaf Person)

The Future Is Disabled a new book by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, Prophecies, Love Notes and Mourning Songs. (Jan, Arsenal Pulp) See an interview on Ms Magazine.

My Experience as an Immigrant and Expectant Mother with a Physical Disability. (Aug, Blogs @ Brandeis)

I’m Going Blind. This Is What I Want You to See. “It’s time to expand our definition of blindness.” (Aug, NYT)

My ICU Summer: A Photo Essay. Alice Wong's harrowing experience in the hospital system. (Aug, Disability Visibility Project) Alice is fundraising to get the resources needed to live in community.

Care Tactics an essay on “hacking an ableist world”, the tech that goes viral versus the adaptations we actually use the new worlds that disabled people and their caregivers are building. (Jul, The Baffler)

Americans with Disabilities Act Turns 32 Buys a Motorcycle and Gets a Cute Pixie Cut (Jul, The Squeaky Wheel)

Observing Disability Pride Month this July (Jul, Human Rights Watch)

Selma Blair: It’s Time We Shift the Story About How Disabled People Are Represented (Jul, Variety)

Disabled Community Disappointed that Corporations Don't Pander to Them During Disability Pride Month “I have the right to be pandered to and patronized just like any able-bodied person,” one disabled consumer told us. “I already pay more for accessibility in my daily life; I have the right to pay more for branded pride merch too.” (Jul, Squeaky Wheel)

‘Is That Ableist?’ Good Question. (Jul, NYT)

The Tragedy of Nondisability: A Sad and Boring Life. “As crip testimonies show, it can be a relief to be liberated from nondisabled culture, with its fixation on prescriptive life-stages and rituals, to be followed in a specific way and at specific times from birth until death. Crip culture stands in opposition to this culture, as a site of non-normativity, resistance, and playful world-building.” (Jul, Biopolitical Philosophy)

What Counts as Seeing A conversation between Alice Wong and Ed Yong, about Ed Yong's books on biology. Includes reflections on ableism in scientific writing:

“I’ve read a lot of writing on the senses, both about humans and other animals, and it’s really striking to me that people gravitate towards big, sweeping statements about humans as a species that clearly don’t apply to all members of the species. One of the most common things you’ll read on this topic, from almost any source, is that humans are a visual species. We are visual creatures. That’s true on average, but millions of people are blind or have sight impairments. So if you’re a blind person, what does it mean to have someone repeatedly tell you humans are a visual species? Does that mean that you’re less than human?” (Orion Magazine)

In New York City, a video feature on wheelchair users, discussing adaptive sports, accessibility and inclusion. (Jun, CUNY TV)

It’s Time for ‘Crip Time’:

“The concept of crip time emerges from disabled experience and acknowledges that people with disabilities experience time and the demands of time differently from nondisabled persons. Crip time means that we may need to sleep more or longer, that it may take us longer to cook a meal, that it might take longer to get from point A to point B, or—most relevant to the academy—that it might take longer to write the book, that we may need to schedule meetings later in the day because that is when our bodies and minds are most functional, or that we may need additional time on our tenure clock because of health-related disruptions in our scholarly production.” (Jun, Inside Higher Ed)

Short documentary film, My Disability Roadmap “The path to adulthood is a precarious one for those with disabilities. So Samuel Habib, 21, seeks out guidance from America’s most rebellious disability activists.” (May, NYT) The NYT page doesn't load properly for me; you can also see the film at Like Right Films.

Is There A Healthy Place For ‘Inspirational’ In Disability Culture? (Apr, Forbes)

Autism Speaks, and It’s Telling Allistics to Shut Up (Apr, Jonah Rothman)

I'm Deaf And I Have 'Perfect' Speech. Here's Why It's Actually A Nightmare. (Apr, HuffPost)

Rebecca Cokley on her Break-up with Little People America:

“It is harmful to be surrounded by people who are actively celebrating the eradication of your people. Because the reality is, average height people and corporations don’t see us as a distinct people, as a culture. We are patients and a market. A majority of average height family members see us as a flaw in the genetic code, a reminder that their loved one is not EXACTLY like everyone else in their family. For some parents, our dwarfism is a reminder that there is always something that they will not fully understand about their child.” (Mar, Disability Visibility Project)

After Disability Awareness, What’s Next? (Feb, Forbes)

I Approach Polyamory With the Same Drive I Do My Work.

'As I hopped across genres [of writing], and from page to screen, nondisabled people would ask, “Why don’t you just be yourself?” and I would hear, in their question, Tell the story we expect: Your disabled life is very hard, you are very sad, but then you overcome it and are very happy. I refused. I’m not Cyborg Cinderella. I’m not a parable. I’m an artist.' (Mar, The Cut)

Dave Grohl, of Foo Fighters and previously Nirvana, talks about hearing loss: ‘I’ve Been Reading Lips For 20 Years’ “I’m a rock musician. I’m fucking deaf. I can’t hear what you’re saying.” - and more on how he performs and makes music. (Feb, HuffPost)

NPR Life Kit: Don't be scared to talk about disabilities. Here's what to know and what to say, feature with Emily Ladau, with links to further resources. (Feb, NPR)

Disabilities are not binary. Why do we treat them that way? (Feb, AAMC)

Ableism Is More Than A Breach Of Etiquette — It Has Consequences (Feb, Forbes)

Q&A With Lainey Feingold, Disability Rights Lawyer on structured negotiation and "negotiating instead of suing". (Equal Entry)

An interesting twitter thread from @cmmhartmann on "feel[ing] torn about the trend of people describing their physical appearance during meetings for those who are blind/low vision. [...] I am uneasy with the assumption that visual details are better." (Feb)

If you're interested in controversy about Autism, see this Position Statement on Language, Images and Depictions Concerning Severe Autism This statement criticizes "vocal activists and autism self-advocates" in ways that I don't agree with, but I provide this FYI and because there are important issues in play. (Feb, NCSA)

You Are Not Entitled To Our Deaths COVID, Abled Supremacy & Interdependence

"My people are dying and terrified. And you don’t seem to care. You don’t seem to care because you don’t see them–see us–as your people too. When you talk to me about racial justice or housing justice or healing justice or gender justice, who exactly are you talking about? Whose justice are you fighting for? Because it never seems to include disabled people or if it does, it is only in theory, not practice; only to make yourself look better. Or only when disabled people are in the room or when disabled people initiate the conversation. " (
"My people are dying and terrified. And you don’t seem to care. You don’t seem to care because you don’t see them–see us–as your people too. When you talk to me about racial justice or housing justice or healing justice or gender justice, who exactly are you talking about? Whose justice are you fighting for? Because it never seems to include disabled people or if it does, it is only in theory, not practice; only to make yourself look better. Or only when disabled people are in the room or when disabled people initiate the conversation. ", Jan, Mia Mingus)

Tina's art: "How I see the world" Art and photography from someone with Cerebral visual impairment. (Perkins)

On Marta Russell’s Money Model of Disability Locating disability in its economic circumstances, rather than in terms of stigma: seeing the industries of charity and care that commodify disabled people. (Dec, Blind Archive)

To Hold the Grief and the Growth: On Crip Ecologies

"Crip ecologies, crip time, crip ingenuity, crip spirit radically aim to question root systems that keep our imaginations limited and starved. How can we channel joy within our own skins before there is the stethoscope, the specialist’s jackhammered interrogation, before all the stigma we battle? I am not asking to look beyond it, because these constraints in our beings are here and ever-present. I am asking, as poets, as curious people who want liberation, how do we revel in the grief and also the growth we experience? In what ways does this unpack how we are taught to perceive place and nature?" (Jan, Poetry Foundation)

Reframing Entrepreneurship And Disability To Shape A New Business Culture describes the way we make changes within organizations as 'intrapreneurship'. (Dec, Forbes)

Working definition of Ableism updated in January 2022:

A system of assigning value to people's bodies and minds based on societally constructed ideas of normalcy, productivity, desirability, intelligence, excellence, and fitness. These constructed ideas are deeply rooted in eugenics, anti-Blackness, misogyny, colonialism, imperialism, and capitalism. This systemic oppression that leads to people and society determining people's value based on their culture, age, language, appearance, religion, birth or living place, "health/wellness", and/or their ability to satisfactorily re/produce, "excel" and "behave." You do not have to be disabled to experience ableism. (Jan, Talila Lewis)

Vatican City

The Pope says that inclusion of disabled people must not remain a slogan. “There is no inclusion if the experience of fraternity and mutual communion is missing. There is no inclusion if it remains a slogan, a formula to be used in politically correct speeches, a flag. There is no inclusion if there is no conversion in the practices of coexistence and relationships.” (Dec, Vatican News)

Zimbabwe

Being a deafblind child in Africa: My personal experience

"Unlike most fellow children with deafblindness, I was lucky enough to have an educated, working and caring father who supported me in my education. By the time he died, when I was doing my junior secondary school, he had built a foundation for my upbringing. My disability nevertheless haunted him. I would hear my parents whisper their helplessness and despair when I lost a great deal of my hearing and sight at the age of 10 and 15 respectively. It was a miracle to them that I continued to pass at school despite my deteriorating senses of sight and hearing. This is what encouraged them to keep me in school. They concentrated on enhancing my ability, rather than limiting me because of my disability. " (Feb, Thought Leader)

Mental Health

Back to contents.

International

Decolonising global mental health: the role of Mad Studies (May, Global Mental Health)

Reprioritising global mental health: psychoses in sub-Saharan Africa. “Our findings point to the need not only for more research on psychoses in sub-Saharan Africa, but also for more representation and leadership in the conduct of research and in international priority-setting more broadly—especially by people with lived experience from diverse backgrounds.” (Mar, International Journal of Mental Health Systems.)

The Drawbacks and Downsides of Online Therapy

“In the past year, a flurry of reports have found that some of the most recognizable names in the industry have repeatedly engaged in creepy and harmful data-sharing practices that treat people in need of help as prospective sources of profit instead of as patients. Taken together, the reports reveal a dangerous cocktail of tech solutionism, abuse of consumer trust, and regulatory failure that puts highly vulnerable people at risk.” (Apr, Business Insider)

BasicNeeds Network Launch: bringing together 100+ years of mental health implementation experience. (Jan, CBM UK)

The future of mental health care might lie beyond psychiatry: “Poor countries are developing a new paradigm of mental health care.” (Nov, Vox)

Controversy erupts over non-consensual AI mental health experiment. “Koko let 4,000 people get therapeutic help from GPT-3 without telling them first.” (Jan, Ars Technica)

The Virtual Asylum Replacing Mental Healthcare (Dec, Tech Policy Press)

Anxiety and Depression Signs Among Adolescents in 26 Low- and Middle-Income Countries: “Compared to adolescents without functional difficulties, those with difficulties in one or more domains were three times more likely to have signs of depression and anxiety.” (Jan, Journal of Adolescent Health)

Mental Health Apps Are Not Keeping Your Data Safe “With little regulation and sometimes outright deception, the possibility of discrimination and other “data harms” is high” (Nov, Scientific American)

The story of depression and how we treat it a review of A Cure for Darkness, a new book which “takes a more global and socioeconomically inclusive approach to studying depression”. (Sep, Africa is a Country)

Launch of the report of the Lancet Commission On Ending Stigma and Discrimination in Mental Health. (Oct, United for Global Mental Health)

Guidelines on mental health at work: “evidence-based recommendations to promote mental health, prevent mental health conditions, and enable people living with mental health conditions to participate and thrive in work.” (Sep, WHO)

Digital Futures in Mind Reflecting on Technological Experiments in Mental Health & Crisis Support:

The “paradigm of advocating for and developing algorithmic mental health tools has in turn exacerbated harms done to those in crisis, by not recognising either the particularities of their circumstances, or the systemic stigma these systems can reinforce. In this report, the authors present an alternative framework in which every step of the design, training, implementation and regulation of algorithmic healthcare systems would be done with the direct involvement of people who know the worst things that these systems can do, because they’ve lived it.” (link to pdf)

WHO World Mental Health Report “Stigma, discrimination and human rights violations against people with mental health conditions are widespread in communities and care systems everywhere. And in all countries, it is the poorest and most
disadvantaged in society who are at greater risk of mental ill-health and who are also the least likely to receive adequate services.” (Jun, WHO)

Mental Health Apps Like BetterHelp Are a Privacy Nightmare, Mozilla Says. (May, Gizmodo)

Hope, empowerment, action: a new series dedicated to suicide prevention:

“To begin with, we need to abandon the myth that every suicide is the outcome of 'mental illness'. And we must reckon with the deep socioeconomic factors that make suicide one of the biggest public health challenges of our time.” (May, Sanity by Tanmoy)

A briefing on Financing Mental Health For All as part of universal healthcare: “the opportunity for once-in-a-generation change”. (Mar, United for Global Mental Health)

COVID-19 pandemic triggers 25% increase in prevalence of anxiety and depression worldwide (March, WHO)

Entry points for mental health and wellbeing a brief on how international cooperation can incorporate mental health. (Feb, Bond)

Mental health support for children and adolescents with hearing loss scoping review (Jan, BJPsych)

Afghanistan

Kabul’s Mental Health Crisis Spirals Out of Control “The Taliban-led government has little expertise in dealing with long-standing issues in psychological treatment”. (Apr, New Lines Magazine)

Australia

As Australia’s human rights record comes under scrutiny, here is a missing piece in mental health reforms. (Jan, Croakey Health Media)

People living inside our mental health system must not be left outside its reform. “For too long, people with lived experience of mental health have been excluded from policy discussions,” (Jan, Independent Australia)

More than 1,200 people are detained indefinitely with no criminal conviction. “People detained indefinitely without conviction are most commonly those who are found unfit to plead after being charged with a criminal offence, or who are found not guilty because of a mental impairment.” See more in how advocates have responded. (Aug, the Guardian)

Mental distress is much worse for people with disabilities, and many health professionals don't know how to help. “Someone may present to a disability-specific health service, and be turned away due to a co-occuring mental health difficulty. They might then present to a mental health service and be turned away due to having a disability.” (Aug, the Conversation)

Belgium

A Radical Experiment in Mental Health Care, Tested Over Centuries. “In the Belgian town of Geel, families have long taken in people with psychiatric conditions. Could this approach work elsewhere?” (Apr, New York Times)

China

For people with mental health conditions finding work remains a challenge. (Oct, Sixth Tone)

Denmark

“Mental health is declining in Denmark” and the plan to tackle the inefficiencies in the mental healthcare system through the next ten years. (Oct, Unbias the News)

Europe

Mental health of people with intellectual disabilities and family members: “Mental health and intellectual disabilities diagnoses are being used to deprive people of their right to decide about their lives.” (Feb, Inclusion Europe)

Joint statement welcoming the suspension of the adoption of the draft Additional Protocol to the Oviedo Convention (Jun, EDF) See more from Human Rights Watch.

Finland

Vastaamo hacking suspect arrested in France. “French police arrested a suspect Friday who is allegedly connected to the notorious cyber attack against Finnish psychotherapy center Vastaamo in 2018.” (Feb, TechTarget)

Ghana

Chaining People with Mental Health Conditions Persists Visits to prayer camps and healing centers see “people were chained or confined in small cages, in some cases for more than seven months.” (Dec, Human Rights Watch)

A policy brief on addressing mental health needs of deaf people (Nov, Ghana National Association of the Deaf)

Mental Health Quarters is a youtube channel on mental health advocacy.

India

Laws, Health Policy Fail To Stem India’s Tsunami Of Mental Health, As Stress Claims Victims, Cuts Productivity. (May, Article 14)

Mental justice: Addressing the mental health of de-notified tribes. (Jan, IDR)

‘A lifeline’: mental health camps bring peace of mind to thousands in rural Assam. (Jan, the Guardian)

The Long-Run Effects of Psychotherapy on Depression, Beliefs and Economic Outcomes:

“We revisit two clinical trials that randomized depressed adults in India (n=775) to a brief course of psychotherapy or a control condition. Four to five years later, the treatment group was 11 percentage points less likely to be depressed than the control group. The more effective intervention averted 9 months of depression on average over five years and cost only $66 per recipient.” (link to pdf, May, Bhat et al)

Jordan

‘Amman is a prison’: Rise in suicides highlights mental health crisis in Jordan: ‘Instead of addressing the structural problems, the government is trying to punish and repress the symptoms of the crisis.’ (Jun, The New Humanitarian)

Kenya

Kenya Mental Health Investment Case 2021 Providing Evidence for the Long-Term Health, Social and Economic Benefits of Investment in Mental Health.

“Kenya has a standalone mental health policy, and efforts to review the outdated mental health act are on-going. [But] Mental health services are scarce and inaccessible, the
mental health workforce is limited, and budgetary allocation to mental health is inadequate.” (Jun, Ministry of Health)

Alienation in three parts: mental health in Kenyan women activists (Jun, ROAPE)

Latin America and the Caribbean

Towards Mad Justice and Reparation (In Spanish, Jun, RedEsfera)

Russia

Tedtalk on How to alter the perception of mental health care in Russia “During the Soviet Union era, therapy was often used as a tool of political oppression. Since then, Russia has seen major reforms in mental health care -- but stigmas and distrust for the practice still live on.” (Jul, TED)

Mental Health Crisis Looms in Russia as Sanctions Fuel Drug Shortages, Job Losses (Mar, The Moscow Times)

Somalia

A new plan to tackle trauma in Somalia after 30 years of ‘shared distress’ (Feb, The New Humanitarian)

South Africa

A retrospective study exploring how South African newspapers framed Schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders over an 11-year period (2004–2014). (Oct, BMC Psychiatry)

Large mental health study finds 20-30% of students at risk (Nov, Mail and Guardian)

United Kingdom

A toolkit to support understanding and supporting mental health in infancy and early childhood. (Apr, UNICEF)

The Guardian view on mental health privatisation: unsafe spaces. “Businesses that fail patients while making profit margins of 15%-20% are no substitute for investment in the NHS” (Apr, the Guardian)

Autistic people are six times more likely to attempt suicide – poor mental health support may be to blame (Apr, The Conversation)

A critique of digital mental health via assessing the psychodigitalisation of the COVID-19 crisis (Feb, Psychotherapy and Politics International)

United States

Advocates Fear The Impact Of NYC’s Involuntary Hospitalization Plan. (Dec, Huffington Post) See also an extended take on the push to expand involuntary treatment (Mad in America).

This Teen Shared Her Troubles With a Robot. Could AI ‘Chatbots’ Solve the Youth Mental Health Crisis? “The pandemic hit and this technology basically skyrocketed. Everywhere I turn now there’s a new chatbot promising to deliver new things,” (Apr, 74 Million)

Doctors Gave Her Antipsychotics. She Decided to Live With Her Voices: “A new movement wants to shift mainstream thinking away from medication and toward greater acceptance.” (May, New York Times)

Mobility, Travel, Transport and Tourism

Back to contents.

Overview

International

10 Most Accessible Cities features some big capitals including some cities I did not think of as very accessible. (link to pdf, Nov, Valuable 500)

Global Trends Report on Making Travel Inclusive for All (link to pdf, Oct, Valuable 500)

‘It’s not the waiting, it’s the indignity’: disabled passengers tell of air travel torment. (Jun, the Guardian)

Fostering an inclusive urban transport system. Survey on inclusion from 20 public-transport operators around the world. They found that there were initiatives for inclusion but they were usually not integrated. (Feb, McKinsey)

Experts at Dubai summit seek better travel facilities and accessibility for 'people of determination' worldwide (Jan, Gulf News)

Australia

Australia misses 20-year public transport accessibility target as many train and tram networks fail people with disabilities. One source estimated “at best 50 per cent compliance to [accessible public transport] standards”. (Jan, ABC News)

Web Guide for Disability Access to Australian Beaches (Jun, Accessible Beaches)

Left behind: the fight for accessible public transport in Victoria | Victoria | The Guardian (Jun, the Guardian)

‘We’re not a priority’: people with disabilities wait up to three hours for transport in regional Queensland. (Apr, the Guardian)

‘You can make money out of us’ the disabled people demanding more accessible travel and tourism (Dec, the Guardian)

Bangladesh

Is the metrorail disabled friendly? Video feature demonstrating accessibility features. (Apr, Human Development Media)

Belgium

Ghent launches campaign for visually and hearing impaired tourists. (May, Travel Tomorrow)

Canada

People with disabilities bearing the brunt of travel woes: “Whereas a lost or damaged suitcase is an inconvenience, a lost or damaged mobility device robs people of their dignity, their mobility, and their independence, and it can pose a risk to their health. This is far more than an inconvenience. In many cases, it may be a violation of fundamental human rights.” (Oct, Canadian Human Rights Commission)

Toronto City Council Today Banned Robots from Sidewalks, to Protect People with Disabilities (Dec, AODA)

Chile

Association of the Blind demands that the government take responsibility for the death of the person who fell onto the metro track. (In Spanish, Sep, ElMostrador)

Egypt

Egyptians with disabilities enjoy swimming at dedicated Mediterranean beach (Jul, Global Times)

Europe

Next stop: a transport system accessible for all (Dec, EC)

Germany

A lawyer sues the Ministry of Transport to ensure access to trains. (in German, Feb, Rollstuhl Kurier)

Ghana

Ride-Hailing Services in Ghana Struggle to Meet Wheelchair Accessibility Needs. (Apr, Tech Nova)

Greece

Tourism for disabled people has obstacles “Holidays are like a battle plan" (In Greek, May, Dikaioma)

Greece makes nearly 200 beaches accessible with adaptive chairs (May, Washington Post)

Acropolis in Athens Becomes Accessible to Visually Impaired Visitors. (Nov, GTP)

Cooperation Protocol signed with the Ministry of Tourism to promote accessible tourism. (in Greek, Mar, National Confederation of Persons with Disabilities)

India

The long fight for accessible buses in Chennai (Jan, Citizen Matters, Chennai)

Diary of a wheelchair traveller: 7 accessible spaces in India (Dec, Money Control)

Representation to West Bengal Transport Authorities on procurement of accessible, low floor buses. (Mar, Freedom of Movement Coalition)

Ireland

'Shameful': Ombudsman slams ten-year delay by Govt to provide disabled people transport supports. (Jun, The Journal)

Israel

Making Israel’s history and heritage accessible for all (Feb, Jerusalem Post)

Japan

Japan’s Transit System and its efforts on disability access (Jun, Bloomberg)

Jordan

Accessibility issues remain a barrier at Jordan’s tourist attractions (May, Jordan Times)

People with disabilities see long road ahead to accessible public transport (Nov, Jordan Times)

Netherlands

This tiny Dutch vehicle for people with disabilities is taking off: “a compact four-wheeled, two-seat microcar that's unlocking micromobility”. (Dec, MIT Technology Review)

An interview about Haltebuddy: personalizing accessibility information in public transport. (Jan, Amserdam Intelligence)

New Zealand

Not Built For Me: Freedom, frustration in navigating public transport with a disability (Mar, Stuff)

Poland

What if I were to take your place a short advertisement that starts of sexy and ends up... well you'll have to watch it for the twist. See some background on Red Pepper.

Portugal

For Diogo, There's a new Metro station in Lisbon. (in Portuguese, May, #Lisboa Para Pessoas)

Tanzania

Long-Distance Coaches, Trains and City Buses Ignore Persons with Disabilities (Dec, Tanzania Times)

United Kingdom

Accessible Electric Vehicle Charging (Jan, Motability)

Blind man and guide dog refused taxis over 30 times. (Dec, BBC)

A Disability-Inclusive Micromobility Charter the result of roundtables discussing micro-mobility transport options such as electric scooters. (Jan, Open Inclusion)

How can electric vehicles be made more accessible to disabled people? (Sep, Environment Journal)

‘I have to plan for if I am stranded, if I am dropped, if my chair is damaged’: the perils of travelling while disabled. (Aug, the Guardian)

Disabled passengers bearing brunt of travel disruption (Jun, the Guardian)

Disabled campaigners are to thank for accessibility on the Elizabeth Line “A decade ago, Transport for All campaigned hard for the Line to be accessible, and were successful in securing £33 million additional investment to make this happen” (May, Transport for All) The Elizabeth Line will make a big difference for me in getting across London. Can't wait to try it out.

Death of blind man hit by train ruled accident. ‘Matt Stringer, chief executive of the Royal National Institute of Blind People, said the death "was not an isolated incident".’ (May, BBC) See also other experiences and reflections on access issues at train stations.

What makes an EV charging station accessible for people with disabilities? (Apr, WhichEV)

United States

One Way to a Better City: Ask Disabled People to Design It. David Gissen on Designing Cities for Disability (Jan, Curbed)

Disability rights vs. snowy sidewalks: Seattle's annual conversation. (Dec, Crosscut)

Six Things Wheelchair Users Should Know About Autonomous Vehicles (Jul, New Mobility)

Biden administration to announce $1.75 billion in funding to improve rail station accessibility (Jul, CNN)

How Uber and Lyft still fail their disabled passengers. See also a judgement that Uber doesn't have to provide wheelchair-accessible vehicles in every city. (Jul, The Verge) Also on NBC News.

In New York, M.T.A. Vows to Make Subways 95% Accessible. “It Will Take 33 Years.” (Jun, NYT)

Amtrak Pays $2.25 Million to Disabled People Who Were Unable to Access Train Stations (Jan, Newsweek)

How 3 travelers with disabilities or chronic illness navigate the world "These travelers cope with an added layer of worry and logistics. Here’s how they do it." (Jan, Washington Post)

Accessible Cars Aren’t Born, They’re Made "Car buyers looking for specific mobility features have limited options, but customizers and manufacturers are trying to change that." (Jan, Wired)

Good to see that in NYC the pilor shared e-scooter scheme included possibility to rent wheelchairs or mobility scooters. (Jan, NYC Scooter Share)

Uzbekistan

Inaccessible public transportation a video of a wheelchair user not managing to get on buses explained on twitter. (in Uzbek, no subtitles, Jun)

Air Travel

International

First Look: Air4All Wheelchair Securement Space by Delta Flight Products. Preview of a model where wheelchairs ride in body of the plane. (Jun, Wheelchair Travel)

Delta Developing First-of-Its-Kind Airplane Seat for Wheelchair Users. (Jun)

Why Accessibility is Essential for Air Travel efforts to “move the priority of accessible air travel” and their inclusion in the latest Airport Handling Manual. (Mar, IATA)

New bill aims to improve transparency around disability-related air travel complaints. (Feb, Changing America)

How airline Apps let down blind passengers “Only one major UK airline’s App works with screenreaders for the blind” (May, Which)

Australia

Australia’s airlines and airports urged to improve treatment of travellers with disabilities. (Feb, the Guardian)

‘This was indignity’: passenger with disability left without wheelchair at Sydney airport. (Jul, the Guardian)

Canada

Ministers take steps towards ensuring disability-inclusive air travel. (May, Disability Insider)

Flight Attendant Refuses to Store Passenger's Wheelchair. the story unfolds on TikTok. (Mar, Distractify)

Toronto woman with disability says flying Air Canada made her feel like an 'unwanted burden' (Feb, CBC)

Airlines can't seem to safely transport my wheelchair, but they've found a way to move horses by air. (Nov, CBC)

Air Canada broke my $30,000 motorized wheelchair. Here’s what happened next (Oct, Toronto Life)

Europe

End the Nightmare: Passengers with disabilities deserve to travel by air – a call for passenger rights. (Apr, EDF)

Why Flying Is A Nightmare For Wheelchair Users: “The worst part of flying for me is spending the journey anxiously waiting to see if my wheelchair has made it safely to the other side.” (Jan, Huffpost)

Ghana

Disability Advocates Appeal to Ghana Airport Company to investigate mistreatment of people with disabilities. (Aug, Disability News Africa)

India

IndiGo staff 'abandons' visually impaired flyer. (Mar, Times of India)

India's aviation authority adds new disability rule for airlines. (Jul, Disability Insider) See also from NDTV and an example of air India failing to deliver a wheelchair at destination airport (Jul, Dignified Flying for Disabled).

Passengers with special needs: “A wheelchair is not what my sister needs at an airport” (Jul, The Indian Express)

Anger after India airline IndiGo removes disabled teenager “India's aviation minister has said he is investigating a domestic airline after it allegedly refused to let a disabled teenager board its flight.” (May, BBC)

Middle East and North Africa

Dubai disability campaigner left stranded after airline loses wheelchair. “Swiss International Airlines covers costs of damaged wheelchair lost on Dubai to London flight” (Apr, The National)

Nigeria

Mainstream Disability Inclusion In Aviation Policies (Jan, Independent NG)

We shall picket airports plans to protest against lack of access in airports and airlines. (Nov, Inclusive News)

Calls Mount For Nigerian Airports To Be Made More Accessible (May, Inclusive News Network)

Sweden

Wheelchair user left to crawl off Ryanair plane in Sweden. (May, BBC)

United Kingdom

Government pledges change for air travel after #RightsOnFlights campaign. (Jun, Disability Rights UK)

Airlines can’t be trusted with disabled people’s wheelchairs. (May, Tortoise)

Rights on Flights: the new campaign seeking to make air travel more accessible. Exchange with Sophie Morgan. (May, National Geographic)

A campaign for Rights on flights it’s time for the air travel industry to take Disabled people seriously. (Feb, Disability Rights UK)

Heathrow and other airports criticised by watchdog after disabled passengers missed summer flights. (Dec, the Guardian)

Airports must stop failing disabled passengers, says UK regulator. (Jun, the Guardian)

United States

Bill aims to improve air travel for passengers with disabilities. (May, Washington Post)

Austin Jailer Breaks Elderly Deaf Woman’s Arm at Airport “what was supposed to be a three-hour layover at Austin-Berg­strom International Airport turned into an arrest, a weekend in the Travis County Jail, and an arm broken by a jailer and left untreated for three days.” (Mar, The Austin Chronicle)

Gaby Assouline dies one year after being ‘thrown’ from Southwest Airlines walkway. (Jan, NY Post)

Start-up Targets Sustainable and Accessible Regional Airliner that can accommodate wheelchairs inside the cabin. (Feb, Future Flight)

Short video accompanying air travel: Flying Has Become Hell for Passengers with Wheelchairs. (Jan, Vice)

The airline passengers getting 'unacceptable' treatment. 'If I reported every incident, I'd never leave the airport' (Nov, CNN)

Ideas abound as the Department of Transport eyes wheelchairs in the aircraft cabin. (Aug, Runway Girl Network)

Embarrassing, Uncomfortable and Risky: A photo-essay feature on what flying is like for passengers who use wheelchairs. (Aug, NYT)

The Department of Transport Announces First-Ever Bill of Rights for Passengers with Disabilities. The Bill of Rights describes 10 rights for airline passengers with disabilities. (Jul, Department of Transportation)

Policy and Rights

Back to contents.

International

Progress on disability rights risks going in reverse. Remarks from António Guterres. “We must do much, much better,” (Jun, UN)

Will disabled people be accounted for in the UN process for a crimes against humanity treaty? (May, Just Security)

Compilation of CRPD Closing Observations by each article of the convention. (Apr, IDA, Dropbox)

Global Report on Deafblindness: Good Practices and Recommendations for the Inclusion of Persons with Deafblindness (Apr, WFDB)

Youth lead anti-corruption talks on disability (Jan, EDYN)

Transformation of services for persons with disabilities. “New technologies and participation allow us to imagine support services of persons with disabilities beyond traditional models based on impairment and dependency. This report offers a framework to rethink these services with personhood, autonomy and human rights at their center.” (Jan, Gerard Quinn) Also on OHCHR.

Life for Israelis with disabilities is a well-kept secret “For-profit institutions and government neglect have led to brutal abuse and exploitation.” Explored in the context of immigration laws that allow for recognition of disability before migration. (Jan, Jewish News Syndicate)

World Report 2023 makes many references to disability in each of the country profiles and provides a mixed but optimistic view on a “new international embrace of human rights”:

“The magnitude, scale, and frequency of human rights crises across the globe show the urgency of a new framing and new model for action. Viewing our greatest challenges and threats to the modern world through a human rights lens reveals not only the root causes of disruption but also offers guidance to address them.” (Jan, Human Rights Watch)

A lively discussion on the most under-researched topic when it comes to inclusive policies? (Dec, Center for Inclusive Policy)

How Human Rights Defenders with disabilities are targeted & excluded globally. See the video testimonies. (Nov, Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders)

Restoring the personhood of persons with disabilities short intervention on how “the Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities is allowing those who were assumed to be hidden permanently from the world to have their moral agency both respected and restored.” See also further remarks on disability and the struggle for personhood. (Nov, Gerard Quinn, Special Rapporteur)

The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities had its twenty-seventh session reviewing reports from Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China, Macau Special Administrative Region of China, Indonesia, Japan, Lao People's Democratic Republic, New Zealand, Republic of Korea and Singapore. See also documentation from the meetings. (Aug, OHCHR)

CIP Discussion on how development partners influence governments in taking ownership of disability inclusion? (Jul, CIP)

Disability rights: How ‘nothing about us without us’ powered a global treaty. A vital, wide-ranging conversation exploring development of the Convention and onwards onto tensions today, with focus on legal capacity, mental health and psycho-social disabilities:

“The medical model that the disability community abandoned is still very prevalent for persons with psychosocial disabilities. It’s very hard to do advocacy that is not framed through mental health lens. [...] When people talk about your rights, (they) think we need to ensure access to mental health services and quality support, but nobody’s talking about my right to employment, my right to education. [...] The mental health system works as a gatekeeper. If I want to access a social benefit, I actually have to go to see a psychiatrist that will say that I have a disability and depending on the country, he may say, actually, this person doesn’t take medication; he may need to be assessed to see if he has the capacity to decide not to take medication. [...] You have a system ready to take away your rights.” (Jul, Strength and Solidarity)

CIP Question of the month is on the gap between policy and practice in disability rights in low and middle-income countries, and what can be done to close it. (Jun, CIP)

Face Equality is a Human Right:

“Historically, legal recognition of disfigurement has been limited to disability laws and spaces. But is facial difference always classed as a disability? While it is true that there is often an overlap between the two characteristics, many members of the facial difference community indicate that facial difference is an identity in itself.” (link to pdf, May, Face Equality International)

We cannot keep leaving women with disabilities behind in leadership (May, African Arguments)

Open letter to the UN to protect gender parity and diversity of representation on the committee on the rights of persons with disabilities. (Sightsavers and 80 other signatories)

Why tax justice is critical to the rights of persons with disabilities. Injustices that persons with disabilities face “cannot be properly tackled without dedicated public resources. ” (Apr, CESR)

Taxes, Budgets, and Human Rights: Part of a series on key concepts in human rights and the economy:

‘the use of public resources can help to tackle centuries of exclusion towards certain groups (like women, indigenous peoples, people with disabilities, LGBTIQ+ communities, and more) who have been systematically denied their rights. In fact, any group fighting for social justice is going to face, at some point, the question of “how to pay” to fix the problem.’ (Apr, CESR)

Report on disability legislation and how it works for people with Facial Disfigurements “While the UNCRPD provides a strong theoretical foundation for protecting the rights of people with facial disfigurements through its wide definition of disability, in reality, it has had more limited practical success, owing to the limited accountability measures in place” (link to pdf, May, Face Equality)

Unchaining Disability Law Global Considerations, Limitations and Possibilities in the Global South and East:

‘Over the past years, there have been increased legal measures to protect and promote the rights of persons with disabilities. Yet there has been significantly less action in relation to direct prosecution, despite mounting global pressure from disability rights advocates. The majority of persons with disabilities continue to live on the margins of, and often outside, the law, as the law offers them little or no protection because of deep stigmatization, inequality, and marginality. Institutions designed to protect persons with disabilities in countries positioned on the “global peripheries of law” are “places in the world where it is particularly difficult to realize human rights in practice.”’ (Mar, AJIL Unbound)

The proposal for a United Nations Convention on Tax aims to ensure that tax systems support realization of goals relating to equality, including the rights of persons with disabilities, and that States report on this. (Mar, Eurodad)

CRPD Committee Twenty-Sixth Session considered State reports of Hungary, Jamaica, Mexico,Switzerland and Venezuela. (Mar, OHCHR)

5 types of discriminatory laws that punish you for having leprosy (Jan, Leprosy Mission)

A paper exploring how Fiscal policy needs a focus on disability: how to make this possible? (in Spanish, Feb, Principles for Human Rights in Fiscal Policy)

Human Rights Watch World Report 2022 starts with a discussion of autocrats "on the defensive" and how democracies can "rise to the ocassion"; from there it is an update on human rights by country, including updates on disability rights. (Jan, Human Rights Watch)

A training course The Human Rights-Based Approach to Disability running in February-March (UNITAR)

The 15th session of the Conference of States Parties to the CRPD is scheduled in New York from 14th to 16h June (UN)

Argentina

Situation Analysis of the rights of persons with disabilities. (Nov, UNPRPD)

Armenia

Situation Analysis of the rights of persons with disabilities. (Nov, UNPRPD)

Asia-Pacific

Three-decade journey towards inclusion: assessing the state of disability-inclusive development. (Dec, UNESCAP)

Using the Capability Approach to Review the National Legislative Frameworks for Support Services for Persons with Disabilities in Four Countries in Asia: “most countries address support services, including assistive devices, only from the perspective of a social security measure for persons with disabilities living in poverty, failing to uphold the rights of those not meeting those eligibility criteria.” (Dec, Societies)

Framework for disability policies and strategies:

“The essential elements of a disability policy include a commitment to disability mainstreaming, intentionality around ensuring disability inclusion efforts are part and parcel of the national development agendas, the allocation of adequate budgets, the establishment of robust implementation mechanisms, the articulation of implementable objectives, and guidance for disability strategies. The essential elements for disability strategies include the completion of a situational analysis and the identification of priorities, actions to put into practice the state’s obligations to implement the CRPD, the identification of intended outcomes and objectives, and finally the adaptation of national development mechanisms and plans so they are fully inclusive of persons with disabilities.” (Jul, UNESCAP)

Australia

Australia’s disability strategy 2021–2031 outcomes framework: first annual report (Feb, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare)

Australia’s disability strategy 2021–2031 (Dec, APO)

Bangladesh

Bangladesh falling behind on disability rights disabled groups protested limited supports in the new budget. “The monthly allowance for people with disabilities is still Tk 850, which is nothing but a mockery of their deepening vulnerability.” (Jun, The Business Standard)

Situation Analysis of the rights of persons with disabilities. (Nov, UNPRPD)

Input to the UN Committee highlights areas of concern that Human Rights Watch hopes will inform the Committee’s consideration of the government’s compliance with its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. (Jul, Human Rights Watch)

Inclusive development needs disability-friendly budget. (Jun, The Daily Star)

Advocacy on Disability Inclusive National Budget 2022-23 (Jan, The Daily Star)

Cambodia

Situation Analysis of the rights of persons with disabilities. (Nov, UNPRPD)

Cameroon

Situation Analysis of the rights of persons with disabilities. (Nov, UNPRPD)

Cameroon ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (in French, Dec, Republique du Cameroun)

Canada

I am a MAID provider. “Canada’s MAID laws are missing fundamental safeguards for vulnerable people. That needs to change.” (Feb, Maclean's)

Death shouldn’t always be the sentence for suffering Canadians. “As our Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) laws expand, even supporters of MAiD have become alarmed at how widely the net is being cast. [...] We have not witnessed a slippery slope in Canada, we have fallen off a cliff.” (Jul, National Observer) There are warnings from experts that a lack of safeguards mean it might be suggested to people who would not have otherwise considered the procedure, and of instances where “people have sought to be killed because they weren’t getting adequate government support to live.” (Aug, AP News) See also reactions from activists (Aug, BioEdge). One woman in her late 30s asked “If I'm not able to access health care am I then able to access death care?” (Jun, CTV News).

China

Draft law to improve accessible facilities under review. (Oct, China Daily)

Input to the UN Committee highlights areas of concern in consideration of the government’s compliance with its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. (Jul, Human Rights Watch)

Disability Inclusion in China an overview helpdesk report. "The disability movement in China has been disproportionately affected by the Charity Law and Overseas NGO Law, which have necessitated a move from advocacy towards service provision. " (link to pdf, Nov, SD Direct)

Colombia

Situation Analysis of the rights of persons with disabilities. (Nov, UNPRPD)

Cook Islands

Situation Analysis of the rights of persons with disabilities. (Nov, UNPRPD)

East Africa

Legislator Revives push for regional law (Mar, The New Times)

Eswatini

Situation Analysis of the rights of persons with disabilities. (Nov, UNPRPD)

Ethiopia

Disability-Inclusive Education and Employment: Understanding the Context (Mastercard Foundation)

Europe

Does the future of Europe include disability? The Conference on the Future of Europe failed to address persons with disabilities. (May, Social Europe)

UN expert hails EU commitment to disability rights The Special Rapporteur's initial findings on his review of disability in Europe, celebrating efforts taken, and raising concern that some funding is still going to institutional arrangements for persons with disabilities. (Mar, OHCHR)

President of the European Parliament committed to work on improving the rights of Europeans with disabilities. (Mar, EDF)

Improving Accessibility and Access to Rights – Implementing the Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030. (March, EU France 22)

Joint Briefing for United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities regarding the review of the implementation of the CRPD by the EU. "The EU has not taken enough measures to address equality and non-discrimination in its legislation and policies, and in particular to address intersectional and multiple forms of discrimination. " (Feb, EDF)

Fiji

Analysis of government budget (CIP)

France

President Macron announces 1.5 billion euro investment in accessible public spaces, and initiatives to support children, employment, financial support and sports. (In French, Apr, Le Monde) See also on France 24 and the context of upcoming Olympics, and how it's welcomed by the International Paralympic Committee.

The Council of Europe denounces the violation of the rights of people with disabilities by the French State. “The Council of Europe has now declared the lack of support and shortage of support services, socio-economic injustices, difficulty in accessing housing and health care, but also the refusal of schooling. The freedom and dignity of people with disabilities are hindered, their rights are violated by the French state.”violation of the rights of people with disabilities by the French State. “The Council of Europe has now declared the lack of support and shortage of support services, socio-economic injustices, difficulty in accessing housing and health care, but also the refusal of schooling. The freedom and dignity of people with disabilities are hindered, their rights are violated by the French state.” (Apr, Inclusion Europe)

The 2021 report of the Defender of Rights shows disability as the most frequent claim of discrimination (in French, Jul, Faire Face)

Gambia

Situation Analysis of the rights of persons with disabilities. (Nov, UNPRPD)

Georgia

Situation Analysis of the rights of persons with disabilities. (Nov, UNPRPD)

Situation Analysis of the Rights of People with Disabilities Describes legislative and policy progress but "despite these changes, little has improved in the daily lives of many persons with disabilities in Georgia". (Jan, UNDP)

Ghana

Disability-Inclusive Education and Employment: Understanding the Context (Mastercard Foundation)

Situation Analysis of the rights of persons with disabilities. (Nov, UNPRPD)

Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations urges the government to Implement UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. “Ghana still has traditional practices that promote abuse and, in some ways, the killing of some children with disabilities including some category of adults in spite of constitutional provisions that prohibits inhumane cultural and traditional practices.” (Aug, Ghanaian American)

Learn How the Ghanaian Disability Rights Movement is Influencing National Policy. (Apr, DRF)

Guatemala

Situation Analysis of the rights of persons with disabilities. (Nov, UNPRPD)

Haiti

Greater Inclusion Necessary for Haitians Living with a Disability (Dec, World Bank)

India

How Budget 2023 'neglected and condemned' persons with disabilities: “despite the rhetoric of 'Inclusive India' [...] persons with disabilities continue to be ignored by the State.” (Feb, Money Control)

Budget 2023 spend on disability: Move towards investment for social inclusion. (Jan, Times of India)

Analysis of government budget (CIP)

New Policy for disabled paves way for early intervention centres employment portal & national database (Jun, Times of India) Concerns raised that the draft was not accessible (The Hindu)

Government advisory board on disability not re-constituted since November 2020 (Jun, The Hindu)

Indonesia

National Commission on Disabilities receives thousands of complaints through a National Disabilities Channel. (Dec, Antara News)

Input to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Aug, Human Rights Watch)

Israel

Editorial on a government bill that allocates funding for disability inclusion: A major achievement for Israel (May, Jerusalem Post)

Italy

Lack of financial and social support to family of people with disabilities amounted to human rights violation, according to the UN committee on rights of persons with disabilities. (Oct, UNRIC)

Japan

Conclusions from the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on the rights of people with disabilities in Japan: “Committee Experts commended Japan’s compensation of victims of eugenic surgery, while asking questions on institutionalisation and inclusive education.” (Aug, OHCHR)

Jordan

Jordan stands out as a regional leader on disability rights. Celebrating a “sophisticated body of law” and calling for actions to address inequalities and exclusion. (Sep, Gerard Quinn)

Kenya

The state of disability inclusion in Kenya: An analysis of the past 60 years.

Shackling of mentally ill people is unacceptable and must be stopped (Mar, The Standard)

Disability-Inclusive Education and Employment: Understanding the Context (Mastercard Foundation)

Kosovo

Kosovo Country Profile detailed summary of legislation and available data. (Jan, World Bank)

Malaysia

Podcast discussion on the persons with disabilities act: “a toothless tiger”. (No transcript, Feb, BFM)

Nothing about Us without Us “Malaysia has a long-standing practice of making policy decisions and planning programmes for persons with disabilities (OKU) and care partners – without engaging us.” (Dec, FMT)

Mexico

A Procedure Centered in the Person: Mexico’s New Law Grants Full Legal Capacity, Ends Guardianship. (Apr, Human Rights Watch)

Mexico Bill Would Further Endanger Disability Rights “Right to Make Decisions Should Not Turn on ‘Capacity’” (Apr, Human Rights Watch)

Moldova

Situation Analysis of the rights of persons with disabilities. (Nov, UNPRPD)

Montenegro

Situation Analysis of the rights of persons with disabilities. (Nov, UNPRPD)

Myanmar

Disabled face discrimination in Myanmar. “There is little wonder in a society that is attempting to develop economically and culturally after decades of military regime mismanagement that those on the bottom rungs have a particularly hard time, in part because they tend to be ignored.” (Jul, Mizzima)

Nepal

Situation Analysis of the rights of persons with disabilities. (Nov, UNPRPD)

Netherlands

Dutch amend constitution to specify gay, disabled protections. "an historic day for the disability movement". (Jan, Reuters)

New Zealand

Accessibility legislation a tokenistic toothless failure say disabled people, including the Debrief's own Áine Kelly-Costello: “This proposed bill is systemically ableist to its core”. (Feb, 1 News)

Accessibility Bill lacks teeth by the Debrief's own Áine Kelly-Costello. (Te Awa) See also coverage on Stuff.

UN disability rights experts concerned with NZ progress, call for urgent action. (Sep, Stuff)

Disability Rights: How is New Zealand doing? Highlights cross-cutting issues of data collection, lack of agency ownership of the Disability Convention, and lack of genuine partnership with disabled people. (Aug, Ombudsman) See coverage on Stuff.

Lack of cross-government ownership a major barrier warns disability rights report, which particularly emphasizes the need for consultation with disabled people. One of the authors says “there is still a quantum leap required to remove disparities for disabled people in New Zealand”. (Aug, Ombudsman)

Why is a non-disabled person leading the establishment of a disability ministry? (Feb, The Spinoff)

Disability advocates frustrated over feedback process for accessibility legislation (Jan, Stuff)

Appointment irks disabled community Ministry for Disabled People sees major appointments of people who do not identify as disabled. (Jan, Otago Daily Times)

Nigeria

Stakeholders Hail Signing Of African Disability Protocol (Feb, Heritage Times)

Disability-Inclusive Education and Employment: Understanding the Context (Mastercard Foundation)

10% of social investment programmes will be set aside for inclusion of persons with disabilities, declares the minister of social development. (Sep, The Cable)

The House of Representatives passes a bill prohibiting discrimination against persons with disability (Jun, Nigerian Tribune)

Nigerian Disability Rights Acts: 3 years after Prospects and challenges (Jan, Pulse NG)

Lagos Govt Reiterates Commitment to People with Disabilities "with the launch of comic books aimed at promoting a friendly platform for disability inclusion." (Dec, This Day)

North Macedonia

Situation Analysis of the rights of persons with disabilities. (Nov, UNPRPD)

Pacific

A short video with nice footage introducing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Jun, ILO)

Pacific Islands

Inequality, discrimination, and exclusion assessing CRPD compliance in Pacific Island legislation (Oct, UN ESCAP)

Pakistan

Pakistani people with disabilities “It has taken a long time for Pakistan to pass legislation to contend with some of the challenges faced by PWDs” (Jul, Tribune)

Socio-Economic inclusion of PWDs Towards an Inclusive, Accessible & Sustainable Pakistan (Dec, Pakistan Today)

Panama

Situation Analysis of the rights of persons with disabilities. (Nov, UNPRPD)

Peru

Experts of the CRPD Commend Peru’s Reform of Disability Legislation, Ask Questions on Discrimination of Migrants, Refugees and Minorities with Disabilities. (Mar, OHCHR)

Directive to regulate the management of regional and local governments on disability issues (in Spanish, Dec, El Peruano)

Philippines

Analysis of government budget (CIP)

Rwanda

People With Albinism Need Inclusiveness, Not Pity (Jun, The New Times)

Disability-Inclusive Education and Employment: Understanding the Context (Mastercard Foundation)

Situation Analysis of the rights of persons with disabilities. (Nov, UNPRPD)

Saudi Arabia

The Consultative Assembly approved a draft law on the rights of persons with disabilities. (Oct, Zawya)

Senegal

Disability-Inclusive Education and Employment: Understanding the context. (Mastercard Foundation)

Sierra Leone

Situation Analysis of the rights of persons with disabilities. (Nov, UNPRPD)

Singapore

A collection of essays: Not Without Us: Perspectives on Disability and Inclusion in Singapore. “In a city-state slowly moving towards inclusion, how do those meant to be 'included' feel about such efforts?” (Jan, Ethos Books) See an extract from one of the chapters, on medicine and marginality.

Experts of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Ask Questions on the Death Penalty and Access to Health Insurance. (Aug, OHCHR)

Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands Ratifies the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Jun, Solomon Star)

South Africa

Government committed to supporting people with disabilities opening remarks at the meeting of the Presidential Working Group on Disability. (Mar, SA News)

Key considerations for an inclusive framework for youth with disabilities in post-apartheid South Africa. (Nov, African Journal on Disability)

Cabinet approves Framework on Disability Rights Awareness Campaigns (May, SA News)

South African Autism community says 'government has overlooked us for long enough' (Feb, News 24)

South Sudan

South Sudan signed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. (Feb, LFTW)

Spain

Spain bans decades-long tradition of ‘dwarf bullfighting’. “Dwarves in Spain have long dressed as firefighters or clowns to chase bulls without killing them, at public spectacles designed to be humorous. The tradition stretches back decades, but has declined in popularity.” (Apr, the Guardian)

Switzerland

People with visual impairment, blindness still face many barriers. “More adapted jobs and mandatory concepts for professional inclusion of people with visual impairment are needed, says Swiss group”. (Jan, Andolu Agency)

Tanzania

Situation Analysis of the rights of persons with disabilities. (Nov, UNPRPD)

Trinidad and Tobago

Situation Analysis of the rights of persons with disabilities. (Nov, UNPRPD)

Tunisia

Experts of the CRPD Commend Tunisia on Distributing Accessible Technology, Ask Questions on Disaster Response Plans and Access for Refugees and Asylum Seekers with Disabilities to Essential Services (Mar, OHCHR)

Situation Analysis of the rights of persons with disabilities. (Nov, UNPRPD)

Uganda

Disability-Inclusive Education and Employment: Understanding the Context (Mastercard Foundation)

A music video on disability rights: Did You Know - Air Jay ft Daxx Kartel (Jul, Make 12.4% Work)

United Kingdom

UK Ministry of Justice Treats People with Disabilities as an Afterthought: "Human Rights Act Consultation Exercise Fails Fully to Include People with Disabilities". (Mar, Human Rights Watch)

Bristol appoints disability equality commissioners to tackle inequality Interesting to see this at city-level. (Feb, Bristol)

High Court declares National Disability Strategy unlawful due to inadequate consultation (Jan, Bindmans)

United States

What’s Next For Disability Policy? (Apr, Forbes)

Uzbekistan

Situation Analysis of the rights of persons with disabilities. (Nov, UNPRPD)

Venezuela

Experts of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Ask about Braille and Sign Language in Education and Public Life and about the Situation of Women with Disabilities (Mar, OHCHR)

Vietnam

Situation Analysis of the rights of persons with disabilities. (Nov, UNPRPD)

West Africa

ECOWAS hosts regional experts’ meeting on disability inclusion to validate a regional plan of action. (Apr, ECOWAS)

Western Balkans

A report on social rights finds that “Integration of People with disabilities is difficult at all Levels” (Nov, Sarajevo Times)

Zimbabwe

Situation Analysis of the rights of persons with disabilities. (Nov, UNPRPD)

A call to include people living with disabilities in development programmes. (Aug, Chronicle)

Include PWDs in politics, governance, govt urged (Feb, News Day)

Politics and Elections

Back to contents.

Australia

This Election, We Need to Vote for Disability Rights — Here’s How (Apr, The Latch)

Scott Morrison: Australia PM faces backlash over 'blessed' disability remark (Apr, BBC)

Brazil

Lula apologises for using unfortunate language about people with intellectual disabilities. (In Portuguese, Apr, G1)

Lula received the presidential sash from representatives of minority groups including Ivan Baron, an anti-ableism influencer, wearing a white suit graffited with slogans. (In Portuguese, Jan, Globo)

A network of People With Disabilities in the PSOL party, São Paulo “We want to get out of invisibility and construct an anti-ableist and inclusive society.” (in Portuguese, Jul, PcDs do PSOL SP)

Burkina Faso

Guide to disability inclusive elections. (Mar, LFTW)

Canada

Convoy Occupation's Politics Pose Unique Threat to Disabled People

"People who required support could no longer access it; streets were no longer being cleared of snow in some areas; and sidewalks had vehicles parked on them. Public space was overrun by those whose interpretation of “freedom” left no room for social responsibility to others and treated someone else’s choice to wear a mask as a provocation." (Feb, The Maple)

Chile

Disability in the Chilean constitutional process “Both for substantive and procedural reasons, the constitutional process led by the Constitutional Convention offers solid ground to advance the rights of persons with disabilities as a constitutional issue.” (Apr, Disability & Society)

Europe

EDF Manifesto on the European Elections 2024 (May, EDF)

700 disability advocates meet in the European Parliament to ask for an “inclusive future in the EU”. (May, EDF)

Millions of voters with disabilities in the European Union may not be able to participate in EP elections in 2024. “There are estimated 800,000 people with disabilities unable to vote in European elections because of legal capacity laws, and millions because of lack of accessibility.” (Nov, Inclusion Europe)

Political participation of persons with disabilities: what you need to know ahead of the 2024 European Elections. (May, EDF)

Human Rights Report 2022: political participation of persons with disabilities. Exploring the right to vote and the right to be a candidate in elections, the report finds some emerging good practices against a concerning backdrop:

“In the 2019 European Parliament elections, approximately 400,000 persons with disabilities in 14 countries were deprived from their right to vote on the basis of their disability.” (May, EDF)

The EU Parliament proposes a new electoral law ensuring the political rights of persons with disabilities. (May, EDF)

Action needed on voting rights, disability rights and free movement (Jan, European Interest)

France

Pressure mounts on French disabilities minister accused of rape “In an earlier statement denying the allegations, Abad said his own disability meant he was incapable of sexually assaulting anyone.” (May, France 24) I don't know more than what's in this article, but I don't buy the disability excuse.

For the elections, a campaign 23 Million Voices of persons with disabilities and caregivers in France to remind politicians of the essential measures to integrate into their campaign program. (Mar, APF France Handicap)

Japan

Candidate with severe disability wins seat in Japan's upper house (Jul, Disability Insider)

Interview with Eiko Kimura "the first person with a severe disability who is a member of the House of Councillors in Japan" (Jan, Equal Entry)

Interview with Eiko Kimura, member of the Japanese Congress. (Nov, Disability Visibility Project)

Kenya

How Visually Impaired Kenyans Will Cast Their Votes (Jul, Kenyans.co.ke)

Blind Kenyan singer goes to court over rejected presidential candidacy. “A gospel singer who wants to be Kenya’s first disabled presidential candidate has brought a case in the country’s courts after being barred from the electoral race.” (Jun, the Guardian)

Malaysia

A survey of over 700 people to examine opinions of the disability community regarding factors that influence their voting behaviour and disability issues that are important to them. Key priorities identified were employment, education, and enforcing rights. The study also shows reasons people did not register for disability cards: they were not aware of it, worried it might lead to stigma, or did not see how it would help them. (Make the Right Real) See coverage on Free Malaysia Today.

Mexico

Cripwashing the presence of the National Guard in the Metro of Mexico City – by publishing pictures of them assisting disabled people. (In Spanish, Jan, Yo También)

Statements Urging Stronger Political Representation for People with Intellectual Disabilities (May, Human Rights Watch)

New Zealand

$1m Election Access Fund gets mixed response from disabled people. (Jul, Stuff)

A disabled person's view of the Wellington occupation (Feb, RNZ)

Nigeria

I Voted: Benedicta Oyèdayọ̀ Oyèwọlé Documents the Challenges Nigerians with Disabilities Faced Voting in February’s Elections. (Mar, Disability Justice Project)

CEAMI Initiative Launches GoVote Campaign For People With Disabilities In Nigeria’s Elections (Mar, Inclusive News Network)

A young person with disabilitiy and first time voter documents their experience on polling day with text and photos. (Feb, Oyedayo, Twitter)

INEC and the Police assure people living with disability of safety. “In the unfortunate incidence or occurrence of electoral violence, threat or intimidation, the PWDs are unfortunately the most vulnerable groups that may be most adversely affected. Hence, most of them shy away from the polls to safeguard themselves,” (Feb, Punch)

Physically-challenged persons lament hostile environment, discrimination against political dreams. (Feb, Punch)

How blind people are frustrated by INEC’s failure to provide Braille ballot. “For over 10 years, I have been voting. My son does help me. But you know I can’t trust him because he may have a different choice from what I asked him to do for me.” (Jan, Informant 24/7)

The Independent National Electoral Commission registers 73,609 voters with disabilities (Jul, Inclusive News)

Nigerians with disabilities seek inclusion in electoral process. (Jun, Aljazeera)

North Macedonia

President walks bullied 11-year-old girl with Down syndrome to school (Feb, CNN)

Pakistan

Parliament House fully has been made disability friendly (Dec, Pak NGOs)

Peru

On the Debrief: Disabled People in Peru's Political Protests. Breaking stereotypes about protest and taking an active role during a crisis (Mar, Disability Debrief)

Russia

'I Was Screaming': Disabled Russian Alleges Police Tortured Him To Confess To Burning Pro-War Banners. (Nov, Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty)

Thailand

Election commission provides Braille campaign guide for visually impaired voters (May, Thaiger)

Thai royalists “outraged” over Lazada campaign “mocking disabled people” (May, Thaiger)

Timor Leste

New party offers chance for disability inclusion. “Partido Verdes de Timor-Leste – a new political party contesting in Timor-Leste’s upcoming 21 May election – has committed to send a person with disability to parliament if elected.” (May, The Interpreter)

Uganda

Short video on Deputy Mayor Kauma “Fazira Kauma Toppled Political Barriers in Uganda When She Became the First Woman and the First Blind Citizen To Be Appointed Deputy Mayor in Jinja” (Mar, Disability Justice Project)

United Kingdom

Thousands of disabled people lost their vote at local elections, reports suggest. (May, Disability News Service)

MP with cerebral palsy has been mocked and accused of being drunk. (Mar, Independent)

‘I’ve always felt these spaces were ours’: disability activism and austerity capitalism, reflections on an interview with Disabled People Against the Cuts. (Feb, City)

Breaking down Barriers: a report on Improving Disabled Representation & Participation (Mar, Disability Policy Centre)

‘Deaf’ Liz Truss – a curious choice of insult reflecting on the Russian Foreign Minister's comments. (Limping Chicken)

United States

How a Senate aide and her guide dog made Capitol Hill more accessible for all. (Mar, The 19th)

The candidates with disabilities who won their political positions in 2022. (Dec, Respect Ability)

What does fair and equal media look like with a disabled politician? On properly accommodating John Fetterman. (Nov, MSNBC)

New Voting Laws Add Difficulties for People With Disabilities: “Restrictions in several states on mail-in voting are sending more people with disabilities to the polls. What they find isn’t always easy to navigate.” (Nov, New York Times)

US voters with disabilities face maze of new restrictions. (Oct, the Guardian)

The Right to Be Involved in Politics on the barriers persons with intellectual disabilities face and work done to protect their right to do so. (Oct, HPOD)

Disabled Community Calls Out Ableism In Coverage Of John Fetterman and the focus that coverage put on his use of closed captions. (Oct, Huffington Post)

Politicians With Disabilities Are Rare Because of Structural Barriers and discrimination. (Sep, Teen Vogue)

Accessible Voting a tool to search and find accessible voting options across 50 states. See more on a blog by Microsoft.

Why Vice President Kamala Harris mentioned her blue suit at a disability rights meeting a great set of reflections on the importance to give visual descriptions. (Jul, 19th News)

5 Disability Issue Questions To Ask State And Local Midterm Election Candidates (Jun, Forbes)

Wisconsin voters with disabilities say their right to vote is at risk (May, NPR)

Voters with disabilities find barriers in new voting and election laws.

“2020 was probably the most accessible election we’ve seen,” said Michelle Bishop, the voter access and engagement manager at National Disability Rights Network. “We made a lot of changes in response to Covid, which also happened to be best practices for making voting more accessible for people with disabilities. But we are still in the period of pushback to all of those positive changes.” (Apr, Vox)

in Louisiana Disabled people face GOP pushback in bid to study voting access (Apr, Louisiana Illuminator)

The Ignominious Deceits of Congressman Cawthorn ”Representative Madison Cawthorn has misled the public about training for the Paralympics, just as he misrepresented his education and business history.” (Jan, The Nation)

Reflections on the 6th January Insurrection attempt includes a condemnation of people involved using disability to try to get off criminal charges: including the so-called QAnon Shaman attempt to invoke autism. (Jan, AAPD)

Zimbabwe

Voting With Dignity - the Plight of Persons With Disabilities in Zim's Elections. (May, All Africa)

Relationships, Sex and Reproductive Rights

Back to contents.

International

LGBTQ+ Disabled Activists on Pride and Creating Their Own Representation. (Jun, Tilting The Lens)

Disability & Sexual Violence: Women with disabilities’ global struggle for their right to intimacy (Apr, HPOD)

The Right to Marry: Barriers to intimacy for persons with disabilities. (Mar, HPOD)

A quick guide towards Disability Inclusive Sexual and Reproductive Health & Rights (DCDD)

Evidence Digest on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights. (Nov, SDD Direct)

Be inclusive: sexual and reproductive health. (Inclusive Futures)

A campaign to end forced sterilisation of persons with disabilities in the European Union:

“The study of EU Member States’ legislation on sterilisation shows
widespread forced sterilisation of persons with disabilities, especially
women and girls. Forced sterilisation is authorised by the legislation of 14 EU Member States (even though the expression of “forced” is not expressly present in the legislation except for Hungary and Lithuania). The legislation of Czechia, Hungary and Portugal allows forced sterilisation of minors.” (link to pdf, Sep, EDF)

Some experiences of sex workers with disabilities who find opportunities in their work. (Jul, URevolution)

An evidence digest on LGBTIQ+ and disability inclusion (Jun, Social Development Direct)

Evidence brief on promoting the sexual health of men and women with physical disabilities in low- and middle- income countries. (Dec, Disability Evidence Portal)

Between Vulnerability and Sexual Agency recent history discussion in the US and UK contexts. (Feb, History Workshop)

Asia-Pacific

Disability-inclusive Comprehensive Sexuality Education: An Assessment of Teacher Needs. (Dec, UNESCO)

Australia

Meet Melanie and Chayse: The disabled woman and her sex worker. (May, BBC)

Resource will help reduce prejudice against parents with intellectual disability (Jun, University of Sydney)

We've Got This: Stories by Disabled Parents edited by Eliza Hull. (Mar, Black Inc Books)

"I am on a mission to make dating more accessible and inclusive." (Women's Agenda)

Canada

Disability Justice in Queer Communities (Jul, Rainbow Salad)

I'm queer and disabled. Pride isn't accessible for me. (Jun, CBC)

Chile

Government apologizes to woman for forced sterilization. “Doctors performed procedure in 2002 without consent while Francisca was under anesthesia because she was HIV positive” (May, the Guardian)

Europe

Europe's hidden shame: documentary on forced sterilisation of women with disabilities. “They took me to hospital without telling me anything.” See also a feature article. (Jun, Euronews)

New guide to raise awareness of issues around sex, gender and sexuality in dementia (Jan, Alzheimer Europe)

A book on LGBTQ+ People with Chronic Illness: Chroniqueers in Southern Europe. (Jan, Springer)

An Infographic on Female Genital Mutilation and Disability. (Dec, EDF)

EU Parliament wants to ban forced sterilisation to protect people with disabilities. (Dec, Euractiv)

The Fight to End Forced Sterilization of Disabled Women and Girls (Aug, Women's Media Center)

Disability rights activists fight for access to cities' Pride events “People with disabilities who face barriers accessing Pride events and LGBTQ+ spaces say they're made to feel like a 'double minority.'” (Jun, Politico)

A petition to the European Union to End forced sterilisation in the EU now! (EDF) See also an op-ed asking Who is allowed to be a parent?

France

The consent dilemma: Why France is struggling to end forced sterilisation of women with disabilities. (Jun, Euronews)

Ghana

A town had banned deaf people from marrying each other one couple defied the decree for love. (Apr, BBC News Africa)

Hungary

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

India

What Pride Month Means To Queer Indians With Disabilities (Jun, Vice)

Online Dating; A More Accessible Option For Queer Disabled Folks (Feb, Gaysi)

Autonomy, agency, choice: Yes these are for us. A panel discussing gender, sexuality and disability. (Feb, In Plainspeak)

Desire, Sexuality And Choice: Disabled Indian Women And Queer Persons On Their Experiences. “I never stopped to think whether I liked them or not. I was just glad that someone liked me. I didn’t feel I had the right to say no. I thought ‘I will figure out how to like them too,’” (Mar, BehanBox)

Why It Is Hard For Disabled Women, Queer Persons To Leave Abusive Partners (Jun, BehanBox)

An impressive series of collaborations for Cripplentines Week 2022 "Cripplentines is rooted in the belief that all kinds of love should be celebrated". I particularly enjoyed picking out my favorite lipstick for you: "We deserve rough sex, slow sex, sex that makes us forget the ableist world for a while, sex that is loving, sex that values our disabled bodies." And the article on the space to dream of disability affirmative love:

"As single disabled young adults navigating (or trying to navigate) dating during a pandemic, there is so much despair and frustration. Yes, there are plenty of fish in the sea, but most of the fish are ableist and would rather not wear a mask because 'the omicron wave is mild, ya'."

See further in the collaborations with Feminism India and Gaysi. Featured on New India Express and Mid-Day. (Feb, Revival Disability Mag)

“I am disabled, it doesn’t mean I have no dignity” (Jan, The Lancet)

Japan

Japan court awards damages to victims of forced sterilisation for first time three plaintiffs, in their 70s and 80s, receive payouts. (Feb, the Guardian)

Kazakhstan

Reclaiming bodily autonomy for persons with disabilities (Jan, UNFPA)

Kenya

Experiences of Women and Girls with Disabilities around Gender Based Violence and Sexual Reproductive Health Rights. Surveys show women and girls with disabilities having faced a form of violence and that “the perpetrators of these heinous acts are mostly people known to the victims.” (Jun, Kenya Network of Women and Girls with Disabilities)

Interventions around Menstrual Health and Hygiene Must Be Inclusive of Women and Girls with Disabilities:

“The most rarely spoken about is how menstrual product manufacturers overlook consumers with disabilities. Most sanitary pads, tampons, or menstrual cups are not a better fit for women and girls who use assistive devices or have no limbs (hands and/or legs).

For women and girls who use prosthesis legs, wheelchairs, calipers, or crutches, the sanitary pad cannot be properly kept in place, which in the process causes leakage or even worse falls off during movement. Those without hands or fingers also find it difficult to tear the packet and insert the sanitary pad into their panty or insert the tampon or menstrual cup correctly.

Availability and high cost of menstrual products pauses a challenge to women and girls with disabilities in the rural areas causing them to opt for alternative solutions such as using rags, leaves, animal skins, and even cow dung that exposes them to multiple infections.” (May, Kenya Network of Women and Girls with Disabilities)

Nepal

Chhaupadi practice puts women with disabilities at higher risk On the practice of isolating women while menstruating: “Disabled girls and women are more prone to getting sexually violated while staying away in chhau sheds.” (Jul, Kathmandu Post)

New Zealand

More guidance needed for health providers on learning disability competency and sex education (Apr, Stuff)

Nigeria

‘How Long Do We Have To Wait?’ Inclusive and Intersectional Sexual and Reproductive Health Resources for all Nigerians. (Nov, Disability Justice Project)

‘You Can’t Legislate Attitudes’ Discussion on the Deterioration of Rights for Queer and Disabled Nigerians (Nov, Disability Justice Project)

Rwanda

Dative's Story "I am a role model for Persons with Disabilities" (Jan, short video on Youtube, UNFPA)

Senegal

A quest for dignified health care for women with disabilities: “a woman with disability talks about her experience giving birth and how it drives her activism today.” (Dec, WHO)

South Africa

Addressing the psychosexual underrepresentation of people with disabilities a new book. (May, UNISA)

How people with disabilities navigate sexual health and reproduction. (Apr, Eyewitness News)

People with intellectual disability have a right to sexuality – but their families have concerns. (Aug, the Conversation)

Sexual abuse of children with intellectual disabilities stems from poor education, false beliefs and poor safety structures. Article gives distressing examples of violence, incest, rape and abduction. (Apr, Sunday Times)

South Sudan

Why are persons with disabilities at great risk of Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Sexual Harassment? An infographic. (Dec, RSH)

Uganda

Ugandan Parliament Passes Extreme Anti-LGBT Bill:

“But one of the most egregious provisions – the bill calls it “aggravated homosexuality” – calls for the death penalty in certain circumstances, including for “serial offenders,” or for anyone having same-sex relations with a person with a disability, thereby automatically denying persons with disabilities the capacity to consent to sex.” (Mar, Human Rights Watch)

United Kingdom

Do accessible sex toys exist? Podcast (no transcript, Feb, BBC)

United States

Seeking a Lover, Not a Nurse “Disability shouldn’t make someone undesirable or impractical as a romantic partner.” (May, New York Times)

Disabled Woman Seeks Marriage Equality From Social Security Administration – Files Religious Freedom and Due Process Complaint. “The law cuts off Long’s access to life-saving benefits if she marries. The complaint alleges that the law violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) and the U.S. Constitution.” (Nov, DREDF)

‘Why am I having to explain this?’: Seven stories of barriers to reproductive care for those with disabilities. (Jan, StatNews)

Including Disabled People in the Battle to Protect Abortion Rights: A Call-to-Action (Oct, UCLA Law Review)

Giving Birth While Disabled: “A Florida mother’s child was taken from her by authorities in 2018. Now her case could change things.” (Sep, The Progressive Magazine)

‘People Think I’m a Project:’ he Unique Challenges of Dating With Chronic Illness (Sep, New York Times)

Seeking Marriage Equality for People With Disabilities “When one partner is disabled and the other isn’t, getting married could mean giving up lifesaving health care and benefits from the government.” (Aug, NYT)

Rethinking Guardianship To Protect Disabled People’s Reproductive Rights (Aug, Center for American Progress)

For a Woman in a Wheelchair, Abortion Access Was One More Challenge (Jul, NYT)

With Roe v. Wade overturned, disabled people reflect on how it will impact them (NPR) See also the dire cost of forced birth for people with disabilities (Huffington Post).

Statement on the Supreme Court’s Ruling Overturning the Right to Abortion “We are more likely to be sexually assaulted. Especially people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Some of us have complex medical conditions and pregnancy is dangerous. The government already tries to control our lives and our bodies. Disabled people need abortion.” (Jun, DREDF) See also from AAPD and others.

How do people with disabilities feel about abortion? Ives-Rublee, one of the co-authors, says “I think it’s extremely important for us to expand the way we talk about the impact of having a bodily autonomy, to include abortion access, but to include all of these other issues that particularly affect the disability community.” (May, 19th News)

Reproductive Justice for Disabled Women: Ending Systemic Discrimination. “As access to reproductive rights continues to shrink in the United States, disabled women struggle to gain visibility around their rights and needs.” (Apr, American Progress)

What’s Next In ‘Marriage Equality’ For People With Disabilities?’ (Mar, Forbes)

Book review of Eradicating Deafness? Genetics, Pathology, and Diversity in Twentieth-Century America. (Mar, H-Disability)

Sex Workers and Persons With Disabilities: "Persons with disabilities are often taught by society to feel guilty or ashamed of asking for accommodations – seeing a sex worker may overcome that by explicitly focusing on the client’s needs and abilities." (Mar, Psychology Today)

Disability-inspired Valentines Cards "The illness may be chronic but together we're iconic" (Feb, Squeaky Wheel on twitter)

Forced Sterilization of Disabled People in the United States: "Laws allowing forced sterilization exist in 31 states plus Washington, D.C." The latest were passed in 2019. (Jan, NWCL)

I’m Thankful Every Day for the Decision I Made After My Prenatal Tests

"Done right, prenatal testing could allow parents to prepare well for the birth of their children. But without broad social acceptance of people with disabilities, without a medical establishment that conveys the positive social situations of many people with disabilities, and without funding for accurate and up-to-date information in the face of a prenatal diagnosis, more and more women will face decisions about their pregnancies without the support they deserve." (Feb, NYT)

We Talked To People Living With Disabilities About Sex And Here's What They Had To Say (Dec, BuzzFeed)

Resources

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International

Draft Guide to Publicly Available Influencing Toolkits a blog post collecting guides on influencing. (Not disability related, but maybe relevant for some of you.) (Feb, FP2P)

A great weekly newsletter Crip News with weekly updates on arts, culture and politics. Largely US/UK.

A podcast Road to Inclusion covering many themes relating to the Global Disability Summit. (link to youtube, also available on Spotify and other platforms, Jan, Atlas Alliance)

Brazil

Portraits of Brazil with Disability A new podcast exploring a range of disability issues (in Portuguese, with transcription, Jan)

Europe

I appreciated this newsletter from Inclusion Europe updates on inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities in Europe albeit the subscription link is broken (Feb, Inclusion Europe)

United States

Disability Justice Resource Directory evolving curation of disability justice tools, resources and best practices. (May, Creating Freedom Movements)

I was very happy to find The Squeaky Wheel: a parody disability news site - think the Onion, but for us

Space Exploration

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International

Alt text proved unexpected star of NASA’s Webb images:

“The image is divided horizontally by an undulating line between a cloudscape forming a nebula along the bottom portion and a comparatively clear upper portion,” reads one. “Speckled across both portions is a starfield, showing innumerable stars of many sizes. The smallest of these are small, distant, and faint points of light. The largest of these appear larger, closer, brighter, and more fully resolved with 8-point diffraction spikes. The upper portion of the image is bluish, and has wispy translucent cloudlike streaks rising from the nebula below.” (Jul, Washington Post)

How AstroAccess Plans to Extend Accessibility in Space. Good to see in this piece that NASA experiments in the area of disability and space exploration date back to the 1960s with a study on motion sickness as experienced by deaf men. (Jun, Payload)

The Right Stuff a great episode exploring the ways we imagine space, space travel, and what that means for life back on Earth. (Mar, Radiolab)

Europe

British Paralympian John McFall becomes European Space Agency's first disabled astronaut. (Nov, Sky) See also what the parastronaut program means for disability in space. (Inverse)

United States

Disabled in Space with Denna Lambert. “Denna’s experience as part of the second disabled cohort to experience zero gravity and its implications for access here on Earth, and how being a single mom to a four-year-old is sometimes like being in space.” (Mar, Down to the Struts)

‘You Are Not Leaving Without Us’: “AstroAccess is on a mission to make it possible for disabled people to live and work in space. By doing so, it’s making space safer and better for everyone.” (Mar, GizModo)

AstroAccess Successfully Completes First Weightless Research Flight with International Disabled Crew. (Dec, AstroAccess)

Making space accessible for all discussion with the team from Mission:AstroAccess on research and esting in microgravity. (Jan, WMFE)

This space company wants to help people with disabilities become astronauts “So often we make design decisions up front that are exclusionary to entire segments of the population. That’s why I’m so excited about space. Space, to me, is a blank canvas.” and “NASA proved that deaf space flight participants would be more adaptable to the foreign gravitational environments, and yet there has never been a deaf astronaut.” (Dec, The Hill)

Sport and Paralympics

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International

On the Debrief: Games of inclusion or exclusion? reflecting on the gap between disability rights and the Paralympic Games. (Jun, Disability Debrief)

Debrief view: How would you like to be called that? reflection on the Paralympics Committee social media. (May, Disability Debrief)

Double amputee Everest climber “An Army veteran who lost both his legs in Afghanistan has reached the top of Mount Everest in an attempt to make mountaineering history.” (May, AP)

Paralympics in crisis as international and Australian athletes game the system. “Insiders described a culture where classification rules were regularly bent and broken, with few repercussions for those prepared to exploit a weak system.” (Apr, ABC News)

Dementia and Football: a taboo in the most popular sport in the world. (In Spanish, Jan, Yo También.)

The first Olympiad for People with Disabilities: A milestone for chess. (Jan, ChessBase)

What to look forward to in the Paralympic Movement in 2023 (Jan, International Paralympic Committee)

What should the future of para sport look like at the Commonwealth Games? (Aug, ABC News)

Special Olympics Unified with Refugees brings inclusion to the world's most marginalized (Apr, Fansided)

A blog on Inclusion through sport and sports programmes that have promoted this. (Mar, LFTW)

Stop Calling Paralympic and Disabled Athletes “Inspiring”. (Mar, Bitch Media)

Book review of More Than Medals A History of the Paralympics and Disability Sports in Postwar Japan. (Mar, H-Disability)

As an Afghan Paralympian, sport gave me opportunities all disabled people deserve (Mar, the Guardian)

See highlights and results of the Paralympic Winter Games held in Beijing between 4th and 13th March. (Mar, Paralympic)

Paralympic Classifications Are Meant To Level The Playing Field. Do They? Detailed breakdown of classification systems and results. (Mar, Five Thirty Eight)

Special Olympics Calls Off World Winter Games In Russia (Mar, Disability Scoop)

Opening ceremony of the Paralympics started with a speech calling for peace (4 Mar, Youtube, Channel 4 Sport)

IPC makes decisions regarding RPC and NPC Belarus. Decision for athletes from Russia and Belarus to participate as neutrals. And "The Paralympic Honour bestowed to Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, has been withdrawn." (2 Mar, IPC) Athletes of Ukraine criticised the IPC for not taking a strong enough stance, “choosing bloodshed and profits over principle and stakeholders”. See also video of their appeal, (28 Feb).

The Para Equestrian Digest a new monthly digest "building inclusion, one story at a time" (Feb, FEI)

Channel 4 presenting team for Winter Paralympics will all be disabled people (Feb, the Guardian)

Africa

The development of a policy brief on physical activity and health in Africa for children and adolescents with disabilities: COVID-19 and beyond. (Dec, African Journal on Disability)

Argentina

Children’s book series aims to write new chapter for Para sports. (Apr, International Paralympic Committee)

Australia

Ellie Cole was told she wasn't 'disabled enough’ to represent Paralympians. Here’s her response. (Apr, MamaMia)

Paralympics Australia announces new plan for Para-sport to Brisbane 2032 and beyond. “Paralympics Australia (PA) has called out the inequity in funding and support for the Para-sport system” (Mar, ABC News)

‘It makes you think about things’: Australian Rules Football’s uncomfortable truth with brain trauma (Feb, Brisbane Times)

‘I am who I am’: how a blind Kurdish refugee became an Australian sporting superstar. (Nov, the Guardian)

Brazil

What changes in teaching practice when physical education focusses on inclusion (In Portuguese, May, Porvir)

Brazil leads way in making football accessible to autistic fans (Apr, AlJazeera)

Great pictures of Paraskating (no image description, Feb, @Aurch, Instagram)

Canada

Informing Future Paralympic Media Approaches: The Perspective of Canadian Paralympic Athletes. “I have no problem talking a little bit about how I got started in the sport or whatever. I just don't want that to be the primary focus of the article. I don't want it to be focused on my disability. I want it to be focused on my ability.” (Jun, Project ECHO)

China

Disabled Chinese Fight for Equal Rights Despite Paralympic Glory. (Mar, NYT) “Even China’s most decorated Paralympians have faced discrimination.” Sure, yes, as have decorated Paralympians in every other country?

Government paper on China's Parasports: Progress and the Protection of Rights. “The remarkable achievements of parasports in China reflect both the sportsmanship and sporting prowess of the disabled, and the progress China is making in human rights and national development.” (Mar, Xinhua)

China is a Paralympics star, but its people with disabilities face high hurdles (Feb, NPR)

The lowdown on on being disabled in China. With accompanying podcast:

“the perception of disability has changed a lot from my childhood. Now the group of people with disability is more diverse. So, some people are well educated and so they work for some big IT companies which are more open for us. And more importantly is that people with a disability can go outside to use the public transportation and also go shopping, and so the common people become more familiar with them. [...]”

“There were many public demonstrations before 2012, some of them legal, some of them illegal, and many of them broken up by the police. I remember there was a huge demonstration of wheelchair users in Anhui Province in about 2009 for various reasons, because people were being denied accessible homes. So, there was a big public movement at that time. And that’s all stopped. You do not see public activism or protest any longer in China. But what you do get is people working in much more subtle ways. ” (podcast, with transcript, Mar, BBC) (Mar, BBC)

Beijing 2022 promotes accessibility for Paralympians (Jan, CGTN)

China excels at the Paralympics, "but its disabled citizens are fighting for access." Like many other countries doing well at the Paralympics, eh. (Jan, NPR)

Europe

Ignored and isolated: my nightmare in a wheelchair at the Champions League final. (Jun, the Guardian)

France

Paris 2024 Olympics: Slow roll-out of accessible services worries disability campaigners (Feb, Le Monde)

Paris 2024: two years from the Paralympic Games, what are the challenges to be met regarding accessibility? (Aug, California18)

Ahead of 2024 Olympics, Paris sponsors accessibility of neighbourhoods. (Jul, The Mayor)

Hungary

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

India

Awaiting the right move. “Persons with Disabilities and activists share their grievances on inaccessibility at the ongoing Chess Olympiad and how it could have been made better” (Aug, The New Indian Express)

Japan

More accessibility: the Tokyo Olympic legacy for people with disabilities. (Jul, La Prensa Latina)

Liberia

First Wheel Chair Basketball Court Dedicated (Feb, Front Page Africa)

Mozambique

Coach Muianga on mission to add Para powerlifting to Mozambique's sports agenda (Mar, International Paralympic Committee)

Namibia

‘Once they saw us everybody stood still’ Para cycling making waves (Jul, International Paralympic Committee)

Qatar

Accessibility takes centre stage as countdown to Qatar 2022 continues (Nov, FIFA) Also on EuroNews.

Will FIFA World Cup 2022 mark the beginning of a new era for accessibility in Qatar?

Russia

Russia and Belarus appeal against International Paralympic Committee suspension upheld - BBC Sport - but they remain banned from world championship events. (May, BBC)

Sierra Leone

Amputee football association brings together Sierra Leone's civil war survivors (Feb, CNN)

Spain

Disabled Syrian Refugee Dreams of Paralympics Glory (Jun, VOA)

Ukraine

Disability sport in Ukraine has 'died' thanks to the Russian invasion the country's Paralympic boss says. Ukraine came second in the overall medal table in this year's Winter Paralympics. (May, Business Insider)

Equal opportunities for girls with intellectual disabilities
(Dec, UNFPA)

United Kingdom

“I want motorsport to be accessible for disabled people.” (Jan, RedBull)

Did the Paralympic games change things for disabled people? The legacy ten years on. (Oct, Spirit of 2012)

Activity levels among disabled people have failed to return to pre-Covid levels (Jun, the Guardian)

‘Stare at me because I deserve to be stared at’: Lauren Steadman and the evolution of representation at the Paralympics (Mar, the 19th)

United States

These Groups Are Making Skiing More Inclusive. (Apr)

Born without hands, Brandon Canesi is playing golf on his own terms. (Feb, CNN)

Former players sue NFL over how it handled disability benefits (Feb, NPR)

How the NFL avoids paying disabled players — with the union’s help. “A system still stacked against players left broken by football.” (Feb, Washington Post)

Sheri Byrne-Haber’s on the road to the 2024 Paris Paralympics: it “begins with ableism, discrimination and archery”. (Sep, URevolution)

The Hardest Part About Being a Deaf Hiker? Everyone Else. (Jun, Backpacker)

Deaf Performers Were Not Included At The Halftime Show: Separate is Not Equal. See a more positive article on inclusion of deaf rappers. (Feb, Access Vine)

‘I need to speak my truth’: Allegations of emotional abuse led to the resignation of the Paralympic women’s wheelchair basketball coach (Dec, 19th News)

Violence and Harassment

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International

Global estimates of violence against children with disabilities: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis. “This review shows that children with disabilities experience a high burden of all forms of violence, despite advances in awareness and policy in the past 10 years.” (Mar, Lancet Child & Adolescent Health) See also coverage on Disability Insider: “1 in 3 children with disabilities globally have experienced violence in their lifetimes”. And on NPR.

Report on Harmful practices and hate crimes targeting persons with albinism. in a statement on the report, the Special Rapporteur said:

“For many persons with albinism, this is what their day-to-day realities entail – experiences of ostracism, rejection and the debilitating fear of being abducted or attacked on their way to school, work or home.” (Mar, OHCHR)

Rising Flame's From the Shadows to the Centre important collection of testimonies from women with disabilities. (link to pdf, Feb, Rising Flame)

The 1st of March is Disability Day of Mourning remembering people with disabilities who were victims of filicide (killed by their parents).

'When we say “filicide,” we are talking about a pattern of violence that starts when a parent or caregiver murders their child or adult relative with a disability and continues in how these murders are reported, discussed, justified, excused, and replicated.' (March, Disability Memorial)

Africa

Uncovering our Hidden Shame: Addressing Witchcraft Accusations and Ritual Attacks. Reports of ritual attacks against children with disabilities in eleven countries, and on children with albinism in five. Some reports from Benin suggest that midwives may kill new-born children with disabilities without informing the mothers.

“Children with disabilities and children with albinism in particular may be accused of witchcraft based on the circumstances of their birth or their congenital deformities, or the way they look or talk. Ritual attacks against children with albinism are also driven by myths, and the false belief that their body parts can be sold for money. ” (Jun, African Child Policy Forum) See also coverage on the Guardian.

Intersections between disability, masculinities, and violence: experiences and insights from men with physical disabilities from Ghana, Rwanda and South Africa. The article shares many fascinating quotes, and concludes, comparing with the situation of women with disabilities:

“men with disabilities report threats, verbal and physical abuse by people outside their household and emotional abuse within their households and not the same level of sexual and intimate partner violence as women with disabilities have reported in similar studies”. (Apr, BMC Public Health)

Australia

Australia’s disability royal commission has faced near media silence – and left politicians unaccountable. (Dec, the Guardian)

‘They yell at you’: woman with dwarfism reveals ‘deeply offensive’ abuse received in public. (Oct, the Guardian)

‘Devastating’: woman with a disability met with disbelief after sexual assault, royal commission hears. (Mar, the Guardian)

Changing the landscape: a national resource to prevent violence against women and girls with disabilities (Feb, Our Watch)

Bangladesh

Mother kills physically challenged daughter (Jan, New Age)

Czech Republic

Czech courts are lenient towards sexual violence against people with intellectual disabilities. (In Czech, Mar, CT24)

Europe

European Parliament’s Committees voted on law to end violence against women. (Jun, EDF)

EUCAP project on violence against autistic people: a survey and personal short stories on violence faced by autistic people. (Apr, EDF)

India

Why it is hard for disabled women, queer persons to leave abusive partners. (Aug, The News Minute)

Deaf man fatally stabbed for not responding to teen’s honking say Indian Police. (Jul, Limpling Chicken)

Disability, Gender, Violence, Home and the City 'Nidhi Goyal takes us beyond keywords' with interesting reflections on a range of subjects, illustrated with concrete examples, from her experience of the city, the relations between access and safety, and the home itself:

  • "To access a city space, I invite someone in my physical space, and allow them to touch me. [...] I disconnect my arms from my body, because I have to offer my arm to every stranger I meet."
  • How disability shows us new forms of exclusion and violence, whether a family not speaking in sign language, or "for a disabled women, domestic violence is not giving her medications on time, putting away her assistive device where she cannot reach by herself, without asking her."
  • Whether this is about getting dressed, whether to go out: "We don't consider that taking consent from a disabled woman is required at all." (Dec, Third Eye Portal)

Iraq

Understanding Gender-Based Violence Service Barriers to Disability and Older Age Inclusion in Iraq. (Jan, Heartland Alliance) See also the blog on inclusive research methodologies.

Kenya

Killing children with disabilities a collective stain (Oct, Nation)

Forced to Beg: a video feature on disabled children trafficked from Tanzania and made to beg in Kenya. One of the alleged ringleaders is a disabled guy himself. Distressing images. (Jun, BBC)

Mexico

High Toll of Violence For Women With Disabilities, according to a new survey. (Sep, Human Rights Watch)

Mother of Child with Autism Killed after Seeking Protection from Authorities. “Luz reported being threatened by a neighbor because he didn’t like the noises her son made during crises. She also said the neighbor had attacked her with industrial bleach.” (Jul, Human Rights Watch)

Nigeria

‘He Knew’: People With Disabilities Are More Vulnerable To Sexual Abuse. A story of Ifeoma and how the impacts “impacts of her encounter with an abuser are still visible in her life, decades after the incident took place.” (Feb, HumAngle)

Failure to Protect: Disabilities and Gender-Based Violence In Nigeria. (Nov, Minority Africa)

How organisations of persons with disabilities are keeping people safe. Among disability organizations ”there is limited understanding of key concepts of safeguarding, why they are important, and what needs to be in place to operationalise these concepts to keep people safe” (Mar, RSH)

Pacific

Know your rights: Gender-Based Violence and Sexual and Reproductive Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic. (link to pdf, Feb, Women Enabled)

Rwanda

UNABU’s advocacy at the intersection of gender and disability (Feb, DRF)

Tanzania

Disability and intimate partner violence: A cross-sectional study from Mwanza, Tanzania. (Nov, Disability and Health Journal)

Uganda

Disability status, partner behavior, and the risk of sexual intimate partner violence: an analysis of the demographic and health survey data. (Oct, BMC Public Health)

United Kingdom

An uphill battle from day one: “Non-disabled women are twice as likely as disabled women to have the person they accuse of rape charged or summonsed.” (Jun, Now Then Magazine)

Kaylea Titford’s parents jailed for manslaughter after daughter died in ‘conditions unfit for any animal’. (Mar, the Guardian)

Formal support needs of disabled adult victim survivors of sexual violence. A qualitative research report. (Jan, Ministry of Justice)

United States

Police Brutality: A (Speech) Disability Concern. (Feb, Communication First)

Paralyzed by Gun Violence, They Seek Solace From Other Survivors. “In one city, a support group that includes people who spent time in the same trauma ward offers a way to cope.” (Jan, New York Times)

2022 Anti-Filicide Toolkit. Parents murdering their disabled children is reported in the media as "justifiable and inevitable" and this contributes to a cycle of violence. (March, Autistic Self Advocacy Network)

Zimbabwe

People with albinism struggling against stigma: risks of attacks, rape, trafficking and other discrimination. (Jun, News Day)

War in Ukraine

Back to contents.

Overview

International

Easy-read magazine edition Europe for us Everything created was destroyed. (Link to pdf, Feb, Inclusion Europe)

Russia

Putin's mobilisation plans in tatters after officials enlist handicapped and blind people. (Oct, Express)

Ukraine

Rights of persons with disabilities during the war in Ukraine. Summary of monitoring report. (Feb, EDF)

Ukraine's war through the voices of persons with disabilities and their families (Feb, EDF)

Bridging the Gaps - four studies on Ukrainian children with disabilities. (Feb, EDF)

Russia Mobilizing Disabled Locals to Fight in Failing Donetsk Campaign. (Jan, Newsweek)

A summary of the first 100 days: Ukrainians with intellectual disabilities and their families surviving the war (Jun, Inclusion Europe)

A video feature on What support do people with disabilities need? (Apr, Aljazeera)

Ongoing updates on the situation of people with intellectual disabilities and their families in Ukraine. Includes a concern about what a future after the conflict will look like: given stoppages of day-care services, “A new wave of institutionalisation is a great danger specifically for persons with intellectual disability.” (Apr, Inclusion Europe)

People with disabilities and mobility issues find themselves trapped in Kyiv a profile on a family unable to evacuate or get to the shelters (27 Feb, CNN)

IPC calls for peace ahead of Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games (24 Feb, IPC)

Ukraine's 20 Paralympic athletes have yet to arrive in China (28 Feb, WPXI)

As conflict reignites, a Ukrainian family knows all too well 'the collateral damage of war' a case study of a family affected by the previous violence. (24 Feb, CTV News)

When a man can leave Ukraine under marial law (25 Feb, Visit Ukraine)

An open letter appealing for protection and safety of persons with disabilities in Ukraine See also a page with resources on inclusive emergency response. (Feb, EDF)

People with intellectual disabilities mustn't be abandoned A page with rolling updates, noting that current priorities include provision of basic supplies, especially medicine, and ensuring the safety and wellbeing of the 80,000 children and adults with disabilities in care homes. (Feb, Inclusion Europe)

Background Reading

Russia

A new book, The Broken Years: Russia's Disabled War Veterans, 1904–1921, which shows:

"the question of disabled veterans became bound up in broader political and social debates in the early twentieth century and fostered health care and social welfare policy. The experience of these 1.14 million war veterans reconfigured notions of heroism, sacrifice and patriotism while the period of 1915-1919 was marked by extensive political activism by disabled veterans." (Feb, Cambridge University Press)

Ukraine

Advocacy Note on Assisting Displaced and Conflict-Affected Older People (link to pdf, June 2020, Protection Cluster)

A working paper on the impact of COVID-19 on People with Disabilities: Perspectives of Organisations of People with Disabilities. Describes inaccessibility of healthcare, increased social isolation, restricted mobility and deepening poverty. While some organizations of persons with disabilities reported new partnerships, many had funding reduced. (Mar, Kiril Sharapov et al)

Recent Historiographical Trends in Scholarship on Disability and Socialism in Eastern Europe. A good overview of how research shows the place of disabled people and their relationships with socialism:

"A common thread that runs through the studies discussed in this paper is the emphasis on productivism in disability policies and expert discourses, a logic aimed at integrating the disabled into the socialist society by increasing their work capacity. The authors show that conceptions about disability were embedded in overarching biopolitical considerations revolving around labour productivity. While the socialist work ethos led to a segregation of the ‘productive’ from the ‘unproductive’, it would be misleading to conceive disability during state socialism exclusively as a history of discrimination and marginalisation. Disability histories ‘from below’ point to the fact that disabled people in various historical contexts played an active role in reproducing and recreating discourses that defined disability [...]"

"In state socialist countries, disabled persons and associations frequently articulated emancipatory claims and sought to prove their productivity and eagerness to participate in the workforce. However, these egalitarian aspirations had troublesome implications since integration into socialist societies was strictly conditional on their contribution to the labour force. Social security programmes were primarily formed as a reward system for work, not as a way to meet the needs of the disabled. While those recognised as partially disabled were to be integrated through work placement in regular or sheltered workplaces, this system ultimately had the opposite effect and created a segregated system of work." (Feb, Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research)

A very useful book for the region and Soviet context is Disability in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union: History, policy and everyday life. It includes a chapter with Sarah Phillips research in Ukraine, who gives the then-position of disabled people. At a very outside view, it seems that the presence on the political stage may have increased since she wrote:

"Interviews with persons with disabilities in Ukraine and a review of the available literature indicate that quality of life for most mobility disabled people has improved considerably since perestroika and the collapse of the Soviet Union. Some improvements in infrastructure and life possibilities, however, are accompanied by a range of injustices that compel many people with disabilities in Ukraine to feel as if they live in a “parallel world” where their rights to full citizenship in the new Ukrainian state are circumscribed (Phillips 2002, 2011). This parallel world is constructed at the intersection of public discourse and institutional infrastructure. The “unknown population” of the disabled is made further invisible by a hegemonic discourse that refuses to acknowledge the presence of the disabled on the political stage." (2016)

For more detailed ethnographic research on persons with disabilities, Sarah Phillips 2010 book is Disability and Mobile Citizenship in Postsocialist Ukraine. See a detailed review by Cassandra Hartblay.

National Strategy for a Barrier-Free Environment in Ukraine presented "We set extremely ambitious goals". See also the government reporting on the first steps towards a barrier free environment in Oct 2021. (April 2021, Cabinet of Ministers)

Situation assessment of rehabilitation in Ukraine As of September 2020: "The rehabilitation sector in Ukraine is rapidly evolving and many examples of good practice are emerging." (2021, WHO)

Briefing Note: Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on persons with disabilities. "The COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated existing institutional, attitudinal and environmental barriers that persons with disabilities face in exercising their rights and accessing basic services." (Oct 2020, UN)

Policy Recommendations to the Ukraine government. The document notes that as the government develops plans to implement its Strategy for Barrier-Free society:

"At the same time, many Ukrainians living with disabilities remain trapped in their homes, restricted in their access to transportation, health care, social services and public buildings. Ukraine continues to apply medical and charitable approaches to persons with disabilities, rather than the human rights-based approach of creating favourable conditions to the enjoyment of all human rights on an equal basis." (Dec 2021, UN)

Ukraine's inaccessible cities "Ukraine’s urban accessibility issues are part of the country’s Soviet inheritance." (2021, Atlantic Council)

Opinion and Reactions

Ukraine

Sarah Phillips has been researching with disabled people in the Ukraine for around 20 yeras. Refusal to Die is an essay revisiting the current situation of those she knows.

"Back in his Kyiv hotel, Dmitrii keeps his good humor. He sends me jokes and memes on Telegram. He claims he’s glad he got stranded with the other hotel guests, who rely on his cool head and jokes to get through each day. He won’t answer my questions about his supplies of food and medicines. Dmitrii has survived everything else: Can he survive a war? I hope he will keep up his streak and refuse to die." (11 Mar, Cultural Anthropology)

Discrimination against people with disabilities is one example of how Russia operates outside rule of law (Mar, Canada's National Observer: News & Analysis) Sure, I guess, I wonder what it is an example of when other countries do it though.

In war disabled people cannot be left behind. Quotes a Paralympian saying in 2016, "Ukraine has already won 37 medals in the Paralympics, 12 of them are gold… We have more medals than wheelchair ramps in an average Ukrainian town." (27 Feb, The Once and Future Cripple)

Q&A with Ilya Kaminsky, Ukrainian-American poet a beautiful wide-ranging issues that touches on Deaf Gain and its contribution to the larger world.

"We must remember that even in the most difficult situations, people are still able to retain their humanity. They fall in love, they marry, and they have children. We must honor that too, and not just speak of the darkness of war. We must honor human survival, because if we don’t do this, if we don’t pay attention to every aspect, we dehumanize the suffering." (25 Feb, Daily Princetonian)

Affected Communities

Ukraine

The War in Ukraine Is a Reproductive Health Crisis for Millions "Russia's invasion is making it harder to deliver babies and provide birth control, abortion services, and other essential care." (16 Mar, Wired)

The Fight for Ukraine Is Also a Fight for LGBTQ Rights “People Are Not Coming Back to the Closet” (4 Mar, Vanity Fair)

Support for LGBTI People in Ukraine (ILGA-Europe)

Appeals and Statements

France

Communication of the CNCPH on the protection and security of persons with disabilities in Ukraine (in French, 4 Mar)

Ireland

Disabled Women Ireland Statement on supporting disabled people arriving from Ukraine (DWI)

Ukraine

Joint statement on the forcible transfer, deportation, and adoption of children from Ukraine by Russia. (Mar, EDF)

UN experts call for urgent action to protect Ukrainian children with disabilities in residential care institutions. (Oct, OHCHR)

Joint Statement on the Situation of Older Persons in Ukraine. “Those older persons who have relocated to other areas within Ukraine have undertaken arduous journeys, beset with risk, lacking access to basic health care and other needs while on the move—all while being away from their families and loved ones. Many of those who have remained in their own towns have also experienced limited access to services and a breakdown of their social networks.” (Jun, HelpAge and others)

UN Human Rights experts on the Millions of displaced traumatised and urgently need help (May, OHCHR)

UN Committee warns that 2.7 million people with disabilities at risk (Apr, OHCHR)

the UN Head of Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine on the situation in Ukraine: (Mar, OHCHR)

World Blind Union stands united with Ukraine and is taking action to help (Mar, WBU)

An open letter from social scientists of disability call to Stop the War in Ukraine

European Disability Forum Resolution on Protection and safety of persons with disabilities in the war in Ukraine. Recommendations to the European Union and Member States. (link to pdf, 11 Mar)

The European Blind Union Protect blind and partially sighted people "Stop War Immediately" (link to pdf, 7 Mar)

UN Human Rights Experts: Protecting life must be a priority "Many more risk dying as a result of the destruction of essential infrastructure, including health care facilities and institutions for older persons with disabilities." (8 Mar, OHCHR) See also statement on older people and those with disabilities face heightened risks (4 March).

Global Alliance for Disaster Resource Acceleration (GADRA), Statement on Russian Invasion of Ukraine (1 Mar, WID)

Down Syndrome International statement on Ukraine conflict (1 Mar)

G3ict and IAAP Statement: Protection and Safety of Persons with Disabilities in Ukraine (28 Feb)

International Disability Alliance: Through this conflict in Ukraine, what happens to persons with disabilities? (Mar, IDA)

Covid and Disability project Letter from Kiril Sharapov

"Organisations of persons with disabilities remain one of the last remaining systems of support for people they have been taking care of within the context of the pandemic and now within the context of this catastrophic war. They continue, where and when they can, to provide support to the most vulnerable individuals and their families. Their knowledge and expertise must inform all current and future relief efforts provided by the Government of Ukraine and by the international donors and humanitarian agencies." (3 Mar)

Diakonia International Humanitarian Law Centre calls to Protect persons with disabilities in the Ukraine conflict (10 Mar)

Ukraine Crisis: CBM Global Statement (9 Mar)

War in Ukraine shows devastating impact of heavy bombing and shelling on civilian population. "Explosive weapons kill and/or cause complex injuries. They are the cause of massive forced displacement. Entire communities suffer extensive psychological trauma, with particularly acute consequences on children." (8 Mar, Humanity and Inclusion)

CRPD Committee opens first full session since 2019: The situation of persons with disabilities in Ukraine in focus. (Mar, IDA) See also detailed report of the Committee Meeting.

Autism Europe Call to ensure the protection of Ukrainian autistic people "autistic people and their families are largely invisible and underserved by humanitarian aid dedicated to supporting the people of Ukraine" (3 Mar, Autism Europe)

European Network on Independent Living War in Ukraine: Leave No One Behind (Mar, ENIL)

Appeal from the National Assembly of People with Disabilities of Ukraine appeal for help to "defend peace in our country", which speaks to the active role disabled people and their organizations are playing:

"Today in Ukraine, people with disabilities and disabled people’s organizations are helping our State and are standing shoulder to shoulder with our defenders. Everyone is trying to help as best they can: by cooking meals, working as dispatchers, delivering medicines, helping in hospitals, offering shelter to displaced people within the country, joining territorial civilian defence forces, or making Molotov cocktails. Yesterday we received information that a son, father and husband was killed near Kiev when defending his family, his home. He used a wheelchair but also joined the defence forces. Our world-famous paralympic athletes took up arms. We are united. " (2 Mar, EDF)

The United States International Council on Disabilities Calls for the Protection And Safety of Ukrainians with Disabilities (link to pdf, 25 Feb)

United Kingdom

Older people’s organisations across the UK call on the Prime Minister to take further action to support older people affected by war in Ukraine (10 Mar, Older People's Commissioner for Wales)

Evacuating or Leaving Ukraine

International

A note on priorities for Ensuring the protection of persons with disabilities fleeing from Ukraine (Dec, UNHCR)

Europe

Info sheet on measures for arrival of displaced people fleeing the war in Ukraine, including extensive reference to measures in relation to disability. (Apr, ecre)

Georgia

WHO supports an inclusive response to refugees with disabilities in Georgia. (Feb, WHO)

Hungary

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.” (Jun, France 24)

Moldova

Enabling support for Ukrainian refugees with disabilities in the Republic of Moldova (Mar, WHO)

Rapid Needs Assessment of Older Refugees

"Only 22% of older people interviewed had a disability. This is surprisingly low and may reflect that many of those with a disability have found it harder to flee their homes. Agencies should be prepared in coming weeks for older people arriving who need assistive aids such as hearing aids, wheelchairs, and incontinence pads, which may have been left behind, lost, or broken along the journey. " (link to pdf, 10 Mar, Help Age)

"I want to go back" testimonies from older people who left Ukraine. (11 Mar, Help Age)

Poland

Profile of Mudita Association and its support to refugees with disabilities. (Mar, Borgen Magazine)

Post Distribution Monitoring for Targeted Cash Assistance for Ukrainian Refugees. Of the recipients “48% of them were persons with disabilities, 30% were people 60-years-old or above, and 22% were legal caretakers of person(s) with disability.” (Jan, Relief Web)

‘We long for home - but our son has chances here’: “their eldest son Roman, who has cerebral palsy and learning disabilities, has been given the chance to go to school for the first time. He is 20 years old.” See also a video feature. (Dec, BBC)

Situation analysis on the assistive technology needs of Ukrainian people in Poland. (May, WHO)

Interview with Autism-Poland Association on the situation on the border with Ukraine (Apr, EDF)

Ukrainian families with disabilities get new chance “Ukrainian families are finding better opportunities for their children with disabilities in Poland. Local volunteer organizations help them on their journey to adapt to their new life.” (DW)

Special assistance is needed for some refugees on those with disabilities arriving in Poland (in Polish, March, Rzeczpospolita)

Poland representative stated that mong the over million Ukrainians who arrived fleeing the war, 100,000 are with disabilities, mostly children. They are arriving without basic assistive technologies like wheelchairs, canes, etc. Poland is trying to find Ukrainian sign language interpreters, develop accessibility and support. (9 Mar, Alejandro Moledo) Polish rehabilitation centres are offering their services for free.

War refugees with disabilities in Poland - situation, support, needs. Links to this page with a list of resource organizations in Polish. (8 Mar, Inclusion Europe)

Russia

Two Ukrainian men in wheelchairs were forcibly deported to Russia and subjected to months of abuse. Then they escaped. (Apr, Business Insider)

Turkey

'My heart is torn': As war rages on at home, these young disabled Ukrainian swimmers are stranded in Turkey. (Apr, CNN)

Ukraine

Study Report: Rapid Assessment of the Experience of Evacuating People with Disabilities in Ukraine Due to the War in 2022. (Mar, UNDP)

Ensuring the protection of persons with disabilities fleeing from Ukraine. Report that “provides an overview of the situation in Ukraine, highlights the five priority actions to strengthen support to persons with disabilities fleeing from Ukraine.” (Jan, EDF)

Surviving the Russo-Ukraine War with disability – a feature with Tetyana Herasymova of Fight for Right. (Aug, Ink Stick Media)

‘Calls kept coming’: Ukraine’s network for the blind shelters displaced people: factories predominantly staffed by people with visual impairments provide shelter. (Jun, the Guardian)

Rapid needs assessment of displaced older people. The most widely reported need is cash support. (HelpAge) See also on Age International.

Evacuating the Vulnerable Amid the Terror of War photos and descriptions of the work of Vostok-SOS, evacuating people from Eastern Ukraine. (Jun, NYT)

How Misha, a 19-Year-Old With Down Syndrome, Escaped Ukraine (May, WSJ)

Here’s what Ukrainians with disabilities face as we cope with war A first-hand account of the first days of invasion and leaving Kharkiv to Western Ukraine by a blind woman with other disabled family members. (Apr, The New Humanitarian)

A rescue was organized from Russian occupied territory for a Ukrainian mother and disabled daughter (Apr, Info Migrants)

I fled Ukraine with a disability. “In this state of war, you start to think differently. You understand that HIV therapy is your life, and you understand just how badly you need access to this therapy.” (Apr, Business Insider)

The hearing impaired Ukrainians fighting to survive war (Mar, La Prensa Latina)

The Informal International Network Getting Disabled Ukrainians Out of the War Zone Important especially in highlighting the active role persons with disabilities themselves play in humanitarian response. (Apr, Time)

Ministry of Social Policy reports on the evacuation of About 5,000 children from vulnerable categories being brought up in institutional care facilities (Mar, Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine)

Rules and documents from the Ministry of Social policy on who can accompany children and people with disabilities when crossing the border (in Ukrainian, I used google translate, Mar, HB)

The Global Effort To Evacuate Children With Cancer (15 Mar, Forbes)

BBC Ouch podcast 'I think of my wheelchair more than myself now' with Tanya from Fight for your Right, and a disabled Russian journalist who left Moscow after her article denouncing the Ukraine war went viral. (no transcript I think, 18 Mar, BBC)

Disabled children fleeing Kyiv received by Poles, Hungarians. Evacuation of residents of orphanages for children with disabilities. (3 Mar, KTAR News)

In-depth conversation with Tanya Herasymova, of Fight for your Right (15 Mar, Natasha Lipman)

In Touch podcast on the blind people and organizations supporting people in Poland and children with visual impairments in Lviv. As with so much of the response, these are individual, ad-hoc measures. (with transcript, 15 Mar, BBC)

Refugees on the Moldova-Ukraine border "We saw a fairly large number of older people arriving, as well as some people with disabilities who were being assisted in their journey. But the number is disproportionately low, compared to the population of Ukraine." (15 Mar, HelpAge)

As Millions Flee, Disabled Ukrainians Forced to Fend for Themselves (11 Mar, New Mobility)

Escaping the horror in Ukraine is not an option for many disabled children and their families One parent, stuck near the Polish border for several days described their daughter's need to resume physical therapy:

"Vika has been without rehabilitation for a very long time, her condition is deteriorating," Chuiska said. "She is constantly growing and her muscles do not develop at the same pace, so she is starting to lose the progress. She has started falling while walking and her legs are not developing well, she has pain in her legs now." (11 Mar, CNN)

Humanitarian efforts aren't doing enough to evacuate Ukrainians with disabilities A deeper look at the barriers disabled people are facing to leave, including being stopped at the border.

"Despite collective condemnation of Russia and support for Ukraine's sovereignty among the international community, the humanitarian response has lacked inclusivity and accessibility for many. From inaccessible evacuation centers to a lack of information in accessible formats such as braille or sign language, the lack of proper resources for people with disabilities has had devastating consequences." (8 Mar, MSNBC)

The Disabled Ukrainians Doing What the UN Can’t (or Won’t?) Behind the scenes on the ad-hoc connections within the disability community and lack of support from humanitarian organizations.

'But as we made these connections, reaching the highest heights of the “who’s who” of the humanitarian field, we were turned down every time. The typical line was that the organization lacked the ability to evacuate “personnel with those needs” – in other words, people with disabilities.

How fascinating (read: infuriating), given that every single one claims to serve the disability community in their promotional materials and appeals for funding. ' [...]

'Notice a pattern here? The disability community, already under-resourced and struggling, is consistently the only one to step in to help.' (9 Mar, FP2P)

Chaos, upheaval and exhaustion for Ukraine's disabled children. Evacuation of children with disabilities from one centre. "The bus to the Polish border was a capsule of exhaustion, grief and tender mercies." (8 Mar, BBC)

Ukrainian woman says people with disabilities 'left behind' after 'almost impossible' journey across the border. The experience of Tanya Herasymova, project coordinator of Fight For Our Right. "The only people who offered support is volunteers. Without people, such people, it couldn't be possible to evacuate for us." (2 Mar, Irish Mirror)

United Kingdom

Ukrainian refugee family with disabled son denied accessible house by East Renfrewshire Council (Feb, STV News)

Situation in Ukraine

International

Perils of War for Children in Institutions. “Russia Should End Deportations; Kyiv, Allies Should Support Families” (Mar, Human Rights Watch)

Harder than ever: How power outages affect people with disabilities in Ukraine. (Jan, Kyiv Independent)

Russia

Russian Soldiers Dream Of Being Injured In Ukraine, 'Getting Rich' From Disability Pay (Apr, International Business Times) I am sceptical of this dubiously sourced news. The publicly announced figures are in the region of €40,000 for families of soldiers who die, and almost €25,000 for those wounded. I question whether all those injured actually get that.

Ukraine

Families Find a Way: report on families and children in the midst of war. (Jun, Disability Rights International)

Report on the situation of persons with disabilities in the context of the war of aggression by Russia against Ukraine. “This report focuses on the voices of persons with disabilities themselves, through extensive personal testimony from persons with disabilities and some of their representative organizations with the aim of encouraging more disability- inclusive rights protection and humanitarian response.” (Apr, IDA)

Amputation is like graduating from school an interview with a veteran who lost two limbs. (Apr, NAIU)

Impossible Choices A photoessay: “Life was a struggle for families of Ukrainians with disabilities before the war. It’s even harder now” (Mar, CNN)

‘They’re dying in large numbers’: Disabled Ukrainians face abuse, neglect in institutions. (Feb, EuroNews)

The Ukrainian Psychiatric Hospital That Endured Russian Occupation – photo-essay account from the director of an institution near Kyiv for people with mental and physical disabilities. “In the summer, the patients returned to their psychiatric home. Now they sometimes ask anxiously if the Russians will return. Many hold on to the idea that they need to stock up on bread. They hide it in their nightstands.” (Dec, Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty)

“I used to have a home”: Older people’s experience of war, displacement, and access to housing.

“After older people were displaced from their homes, many struggled to find suitable accommodation. Pushed out of the private market by poverty, many older people turned to temporary shelters in schools, administrative buildings, train stations, former medical facilities, and sanitoriums. However, shelters were largely physically inaccessible to older people with disabilities and did not have staff with the capacity or skills to support people with disabilities. Sometimes, shelters said they could only take an older person with a disability if they were with somebody who could support them. Capacity at shelters that did have support services was extremely limited.”

“As a result, older people sometimes had no choice but to enter an institution for older people or people with disabilities after being displaced.” (Dec, Amnesty)

Photo-essay on how War Amputees Find Camaraderia in Recovery. (Oct, New York Times)

What the war means for Ukrainians with disabilities “Rights activists and carers are filling the gap as the war creates huge challenges in accessing disability support.” (Oct, Aljazeera)

For a Deaf Family in Ukraine, the Bombs Came Without Warning (Sep, New York Times)

Ukraine: UN committee ‘gravely concerned’ over treatment of people with disabilities. “Some people with disabilities in Ukraine remain trapped in life-threatening situations and must be evacuated to ensure they can access basic needs like food and heating as winter approaches,” (Sep, UN)

Children with disabilities disproportionately impacted by war in Ukraine. One concern raised is that “Ukraine seems to require third countries receiving children with disabilities to place them in facilities – even States that have successfully moved away from institutionalization for their own citizens.” (Aug, UN)

Ukrainian care center for disabled deals with the trauma of occupation. A story of being under attack, evacuating, and the subsequent return. (Jul, Washington Post)

'Left behind': How war is hitting the disabled in Ukraine. (Aug, Euronews.)

Ukraine orphanages: Children tied up and men in cots: “A BBC News investigation exposes the abuse and neglect of disabled people locked away in institutions across Ukraine.” BBC iPlayer has a feature Locked Away. (Jul, BBC)

As Russia’s invasion continues, Ukraine’s elderly and disabled struggle to survive “After a recent visit to hard-hit northeastern Ukraine, unarmed civilian protectors are exposing the lack of humanitarian engagement with the country’s most vulnerable populations.” (Jul, Waging Nonviolence)

Younger people ran from the shelling – we couldn’t (Jul, Age International)

Complex injuries from explosive weapons in Ukraine (Jun, Humanity and Inclusion)

People with disabilities left behind during the war in Ukraine (Jul, Devex)

War in Ukraine takes heavy toll on those with disabilities, and many can't leave (Jun, ABC News)

Older People No Longer Invisible Casualties of War in Ukraine (May, Human Rights Watch)

Interview with Child With Future on the situation of children with autism (Apr, EDF)

Alone under siege: how older women are being left behind in Ukraine. “I wonder why some young people evacuate their cats and hamsters, but leave their parents behind,” says Roman Vodyanyk, head doctor at Severodonetsk hospital in Luhansk (May, the Guardian)

In April a team from Disability Rights International visited Ukraine's institutions to report on those Left Behind in the War: “DRI finds that Ukraine’s children with disabilities with the greatest support needs are living in atrocious conditions – entirely overlooked by major international relief agencies and receiving little support from abroad.”:

“In two of four facilities DRI visited. However, we found that children and adults with greater support needs were left behind in the institutions of western Ukraine while less impaired or non-disabled children from the same institution were moved to Poland, Italy, and Germany. Directors we interviewed report that children with greater impairments are being left behind in institutions in the east.

“Children with greater impairments face the largest brunt of increased dangers. DRI investigators observed children tied down, left in beds in near total inactivity, and held in dark, poorly ventilated rooms that are so understaffed that they are enveloped in smells of urine and feces. Children rock back and forth or self-abuse as a result of years of emotional neglect. Staff have no resources or knowledge about how to respond to this behavior other than to restrain them for much of the day.” (May, DRI)

See also a short video with footage from the visit, or a short BBC report. Both have distressing images.

‘We have to go’: nursing home residents await evacuation in Donbas (Apr, the Guardian)

‘I feel so lost’: The elderly in Ukraine, left behind, mourn (Apr, AP News)

People with disabilities cannot escape the terrors of war (Mar, Huckmag)

An unfolding horror story: Ukraine's disabled population has been left behind (Apr, iNews)

Public Health Catastrophe Looms in Ukraine “Even before the war, the country struggled with epidemics of H.I.V., tuberculosis and hepatitis. The conflict threatens to undo decades of progress.” (Mar, NYT) See also in the Independent.

One month of the Russian war on Ukraine in the words of families of people with intellectual disabilities. Photos and testimonies from around the country in this vital collection:

  • “Children are locked between four walls, do not have proper communication. After the explosions, many people have a fear of going out in the streets. All our achievements have come to nothing.”
  • “They bomb outside the window; we sit in apartments with adult children who do not understand why you can't go outside, why you can't go to the centre. They have problematic behaviour and epilepsy seizures.”
  • “I'm from Mariupol. It is hell.” (Mar, Inclusion Europe)

Updates on People with intellectual disabilities and families in Ukraine affected by Russian war. (Inclusion Europe) Includes the testimony of a mother with a 9-year-old son with autism:

"With the start of the war, we moved to another area, a city close to the border, but it did not last long, only 5 days.

My son was always nervous, resolving to dissatisfied kicking. The neighbours often complained about the noise. Any walk was accompanied by screaming, crying, the child’s lips trembled and his face lost colour.

When we left the apartment, we had to take out all our belongings, he ran and packed his bags, anxiously inspected whether we had forgotten anything. Eventually we returned home, I felt calmer and so did my son.

But the sirens and the basement became the next problem. Dragging him there was not easy, he did not understand why we were there and what was happening.

Then we decided to live improve it a bit in our basement, brought some things, goodies. Everything seemed to be fine, because the time in the basement lasted up to an hour. But later we had to stay there until 6 o’clock, we can’t get used to it.

We also have a curfew and at 20.00 the light should go out. This has become another problem for the child he can not understand. Because when you turn off the light, you need to sleep, and his biological clock says it’s not time. We are faced with self-aggression, he began to bite his hands and cry, lying on the ground. There was no way of a hug, the child did not want it categorically.

There was little light from the TV and nightlights and then we lit candles. For now, it’s calm.

I believe that everything will end soon, but my son has autism, and some things will become a habit for him. For example, we had dinner in the basement several times, and now he takes his dinner and demands to go downstairs, even if the sirens are not on." (16 March)

The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) warns that millions of older people and people with disabilities now at high risk. "Nine out of ten older people need help to get food because they may have mobility issues and many live alone." (10 Mar, Age International) See also the press release from DEC.

For an overall view, see this UNDP warning that 30% of the population are likely to require life-saving humanitarian assistance and 90% of the population could be facing poverty and vulnerability to poverty. Does not mention persons with disabilities. (16 Mar)

Press Conference on experiences of persons with disabilities Act Now to Support Ukrainians with Disabilities and their Families. As well as giving context, gave testimonies of people in Ukraine:

“I am in Kyiv in the capital together with my adult daughter who is autistic and has behavioral disorders. Currently we cannot possibly leave the city of Kyiv. I also have my mother who is 82 years old. She cannot move. We cannot go downstairs to the bomb shelter. Please believe me and we are not alone in this situation. There are many of us in this situation, all over the city of Kyiv, all over Ukraine.” -- Yuliaa Klepets

“one of our NGO leaders has a son with autism and cannot leave him for more than one hour. Which means that she cannot queue for the pharmacy, for the supermarket, for the bank machine and therefore cannot get the drugs, the food, the money she needs. She needs help for even these basic amenities. We also know that those with severe disabilities, and those whose parents are older, they do not leave Ukraine. The trip is so difficult and so long.” -- Raisa Kravchenko (10 Mar, EASPD)

A plea from disabled Ukrainians: ‘We have no chance without help’ (9 Mar, Washington Post)

Professor fears for elderly immobile mother in Mariupol. "Her feeling is, it will just take too much time and effort to evacuate her out of her home and out of the war zone, and her plans are basically to stay put for as long as she can because she feels that really the world belongs to the future, to the women and children and the younger generations." (4 Mar, BBC)

Millions with disabilities ‘abandoned’ in Ukraine, charities fear “We have had disabled people who have called medical humanitarian-oriented agencies, have called their crisis hotline and said, ‘Hi, I’m a wheelchair user, with pressure sores. I need help’, and have been told: ‘Oh, we don’t help people with disabilities, you should call the Department of Social Protection’. If they manage to reach the borders, the refugee centres and buses are 'not wheelchair accessible'". (8 Mar, Independent)

Under Shelling in Kharkiv People with Disabilities Need to Evacuate Safely. (7 Mar, Human Rights Watch)

Stories from the ground in Ukraine collected testimonies from persons with disabilities.

"I move with the aid of a stroller. My mother lives with me, 78 years old and has suffered a stroke. We stayed at home. We run to our 'shelter' to the toilet, taped door and towels, with a bath of water in case it turns off, with pillows on the floor. I never thought bread and drinking water, chocolate, I will store in the washing machine. Near the washing machine there is a backpack with medicines, clothes. My mom and I went to our shelter nine times today. When there is no bombing, I call persons with disabilities, I ask whether all is well, what help is needed.' - person in Zhytomyr on 4th March (Mar, EDF)

First Days of War: A Report from Bucha, Kyiv Oblast

"Everyone is either running — out of buildings, into buildings — or is standing still in shock. And on the top floor of our five-story apartment building, one man stands alone on his balcony, leaning on the railing, apathetically smoking and watching the fire." (does not mention disability, 2 Mar, LA Review of Books)

Resources

Ukraine

People with intellectual disabilities, families in Ukraine April Updates (Apr, Inclusion Europe)

HelpAge have a series of blogs on the situation of older people in the war. (Apr, HelpAge)

Generations Beat Online had put together news links on the situation of older persons in Ukraine (Apr, GBO News)

Protection Monitoring Highlights on how organizations are supporting displaced persons, including persons with disabilities. See the protection snapshot of 7th April for brief notes on support to those remaining in institutions. (Apr, Protection Cluster Ukraine)

Disability Inclusion Helpdesk Report Impacts of the Ukraine invasion for persons with disabilities and priority entry points in humanitarian response. (11 Mar, Inclusive Futures)

Resources, particularly from Germany and Slovakia, on Support for Sick, Disabled and Deaf People affected by the war. (Nowar.Help)

Updates from Inclusion Europe

Psychoeducational resources on PTSD and trauma translated into Ukrainian, Polish and Russian. (10 Mar, Psychology Tools)

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Ukraine resources. As of 16th March, estimates are almost 6.5 million internally disabled people. (OCHA)

Autism Europe Support for autistic people in Ukraine includes link for a facebook group supporting the autistic community in Ukraine.

Global Alliance for Disaster Resource Acceleration (GADRA) updates on support efforts to disability-led organizations in Ukraine (WID)

World Federation of the Deaf Updates on Ukraine. "Several deaf associations throughout the country dispersed these announcements. Interpreters have also been at work to ensure that government announcements are accessible, and a 24/7 video relay network still works to guarantee deaf people their right to make phone calls at all hours as necessary." (17 Mar)

The Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies Ukraine Crisis. Practical information and resources.

The National Assembly of People with Disabilities has frequent updates on the evolving situation, in Ukrainian.

A Ukrainian translation of the WG Short Set on Functioning is now available. (Mar, The Washington Group on Disability Statistics)

HelpAge page on Supporting older people in the Ukraine crisis

European Disability Forum page on Ukraine War providing updates, testimonies of disabled people, resources, and further links. See also:

UNHCR portal on the Ukraine Refugee Situation which gives an indication of overall numbers in destination countries as well as the flash reports on the situation of displacement and refugees. (UNHCR)

Advice and support for those affected by the Ukrainian crisis Overview of organizations and resources in relation to older people, people with dementia and their families. (Alzheimer's Disease International)

Attacks on disabled people and facilities

International

Visually impaired people in Ukraine struggle to cope during Russian missile attacks (Jun, WDIO.com)

Ukraine

Near Kherson, orphanage staff hid Ukrainian children from Russian occupiers. (Nov, Washington Post)

Social media posts chart life and death of girl in Russian strike (Jul, the Guardian)

Russian attack in Vinnytsia: “Among them was a four-year-old girl with Down syndrome, Liza, who never made it home from her speech therapy session.” (Jul, EDF)

‘Thank You for Not Killing Us’ An ordeal at a mental health facility in Ukraine illuminated the horrors of the Russian occupation, as the facility was taken hostage:

“The siege at the mental health facility dragged on for weeks, during which the building lost heat, water and electricity, and more than a dozen patients lost their lives. What unfolded there represents the depths of despair and at the same time amazing pluck under a brief but harrowing Russian occupation.“ (Apr, NYT)

Ukrainians With Disabilities At Breaking Point As Russian Onslaught Bears Down (Mar, Forbes)

Russian troops shoot dead disabled Ukrainian volunteer "The Governor claimed that Kononov, who voluntarily provided food, water, medicines, etc., to Ukrainian soldiers fighting pro-Moscow militants in Luhansk, was killed whilst he sat in his wheelchair at his home" (14 Mar, Republic World) See more in Hromadske, in Ukranian. And a tribute from Fight for Right.

Russia hit a psychoneurological institution in Pushcha-Vodytsya, Kyiv Patients and staff were evacuated in advance. (13 Mar, Spravdi)

Russian forces take over psychiatric hospital in central Ukraine "Russian forces have taken control of a psychiatric hospital in the town of Borodyanka in Ukraine's Kyiv region, with 670 people inside, the regional governor Oleksiy Kuleba told local media." (5 Mar, Reuters)

A school for the deaf hit, no injuries reported, on weekend of 5th/6th March. (7 Mar, World Federation of the Deaf)

Russia Shells Kharkiv Care Home for Adults, Children With Disabilities 73 were evacuated and no casualties were reported of the 330 residents. (12 Mar, Business Insider)

Response

International

Rebuilding a society for all ages in Ukraine “Reforming long-term care and support, healthcare and pensions and building inclusive infrastructure, are critical priorities to address as Ukraine rebuilds and aligns itself with EU norms and standards.” (Jun, HelpAge International)

Fighting for Disability Rights Amid Russian War. Profile of Tanya Herasymova. “We helped more than 14,000 people in the last year,” Tanya says, “and we’ve got one more thousand waiting for help.” (May, Byline Times)

Immediate needs and an inclusive future: Persons with disabilities in Ukraine need more support. (Mar, EDF)

The monitoring of the accessibility of pre-fab camps for people with disabilities (Feb, League of the Strong)

Europe

Reflections from supporting response on building sustainability into disability rights work. (Feb, EDF)

Solidarity platform for people with disabilities (May, Inclusion Europe)

European Commission allocates €9 million for mental health assistance of Ukrainian refugees (Apr, EC)

the European Union Agency for Asylum Response to the War in Ukraine (Apr, EUAA)

Romania

Safe Haven And A Ray Of Hope For Ukrainian Orphans With Intellectual Disabilities (Nov, Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty)

Ukraine

Uzhhorod Centre for Persons with Disabilities (Jun, EDF)

Decolonising disability and other ableism reflections. “Decolonising aid, and in particular decolonising disability, is a battle worth fighting. We want to address discriminatory and ableist practices within the humanitarian response in Ukraine. Funding needs to reach people with disabilities and their representative organisations.” (Mar, EDF)

Frontline Defenders of Disability Rights: Our Stories. (Jan, EDF)

Ukrainian soldiers benefit from U.S. prosthetics expertise but their war is different. (Feb, NPR)

UNICEF urges a humanitarian response that includes all children with disabilities (Dec, UNICEF)

Humanitarian needs of older men and women IDPs in Lviv and Lvivska oblast. (Nov, HelpAge)

Do not use Ukraine recovery money for institutions, but for support to independent living - Raisa Kravchenko. (Sep, Inclusion Europe)

Ukraine, where sirens sound day and night: a factsheet on persons with disabilities and emergency health services. (Oct, Humanity and Inclusion)

When sounds of war can't be heard: How one group is helping deaf Ukrainians survive (Aug, USA Today)

No One Should be Left Behind Disabled People in the Russia-Ukraine War and Armed Conflicts (Aug, Politics Today)

Reflections from HelpAge on six months in: delivery, impact and challenges. (Aug)

Cash Feasibility Assessment conducted on adult internally displaced people (IDPs) with disabilities in Ukraine in May/June. “The assessment shows that cash and emergency livelihoods support is highly needed and appropriate given the income loss all IDPs with disabilities have experienced since their displacement.” (Aug, NAIU)

The reconstruction of Ukraine must take into account human diversity — human rights defender Yuliya Sachuk (Jul, Fight For Right)

Sound of Silence “Now, a non-profit organization [Off The Grid Missions] is helping people who are deaf or hard of hearing learn of the danger.” (Jul, The News with Shepard Smith)

UNICEF launched project to support children with disabilities and their families (Jul, Disability Insider)

We must not neglect rehabilitation in Ukraine “The damage and disruption to usual health services, coupled with conflict related traumatic injuries and the forced displacement of millions of people, will create an enormous surge in rehabilitation needs.” (Aug, eClinicalMedicine)

Ukraine highlights efforts to close digital divide for people with disabilities (Jun, Relief Web)

‘I just can’t stand aside if I know that I can help’ “Disability rights activist Tetiana Barantsova escaped the war in Ukraine in a wheelchair. Now she’s helping others with disabilities to do the same.“ (Jun, UNHCR)

How To Help Disabled Ukrainian Children Left Behind During War (Jun, Today)

Open letter to US administration to Protect the Rights of People with Disabilities and Older People (Jul, Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies and others)

Disabled children and the war against Ukraine “The EU should ensure its humanitarian aid involves this vulnerable group while also supporting community-based disability support,” (Jun, Euractiv)

Key Principles and Recommendations for Inclusive Cash and Voucher Assistance in Ukraine (May, EDF)

People with disabilities in Ukraine are being left behind. “It's time for concerted humanitarian action” (May, World Economic Forum)

Facebook group helps Ukrainian refugees with autistic children (Apr, InfoMigrants)

EDF Position Paper, the Recommended response to children from institutions in Ukraine. (Apr, EDF)

Support for the remaining disabled people in Ukraine as Nippon Foundation launches new initiative for those who are ‘trapped or abandoned’ (May, Valuable 500)

Short video montage on Off-The-Grid Missions supporting Deaf and Hard of Hearing people in Ukraine. (Apr, Off-The-Grid Missions)

A nice photoessay on the Luhansk Association of Organizations of People with Disabilities and the work they did before the most recent invasion as well as how they are responding now. (Mar, UNDP)

In the humanitarian response, the Age and Disability Technical Working Group is a forum for exchange and working to “effective mainstreaming of age and disability into the humanitarian response” since 2015. (Apr, OCHA Humanitarian Response)

Why we must not forget older people and people with disabilities in Ukraine (Mar, LSHTM)

Webinar discussion from GADRA and Fight for Right Ukrainians with disabilities In-depth discussion on the response. Include insights into the volunteer networks coordinating the response, some of the organizations supporting, and the challenges being faced. (11 Mar) See also the webinar transcript.

Fight for Right's Call to Action Prioritize Ukrainians with Disabilities. Relates experiences and calls for inclusion in response. (2 Mar, The Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies) See also practical information for people with disabilities seeking to evacuate.

Update from the National Assembly of People with Disabilities of Ukraine on how they are responding (scroll down for English text, 17 Mar, NAIU)

Relief Web hub on the Ukraine Humanitarian Crisis. Overall information and key documents from the international humanitarian response.

Armed conflict and displacement heightens risks of all forms of sexual violence including trafficking in persons. Calls for responses to risks of trafficking in persons to be inclusive and ensure the rights of persons with disabilities. (16 Mar, OHCHR)

The UN High Commission for Refugees Summary of Regional Refugee Response Plan. Mentions the need to target and adapt services for persons with disabilities. (UNHCR)

Resources on the Protection of Persons with Disabilities during Armed Conflict (link to docx, UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities)

Global Protection Cluster update on Protection of persons with disabilities in Ukraine. Describes recommendations for an inclusive humanitarian response. (8 Mar)

Disabled people in Ukraine at risk of being abandoned and forgotten (7 Mar, Eye Witness News)

Persons with disabilities in Ukraine face a ‘crisis within a crisis’ "Civil society calls on the EU, national governments and humanitarian organisations to step up efforts to protect Ukraine’s 2.7 million persons with disabilities who risk abandonment, death or a lack of shelter amid Russia’s invasion." (15 Mar, Euractiv)

A rapid review: Can social protection be sustained and support a humanitarian response? "the Ukrainian Government has moved with remarkable speed to adapt systems to ensure the delivery of existing programmes." Includes mention of disability-related benefits. (14 Mar, CIDT)

Eastern Ukraine

Ukraine

Survey of more than 1,500 over-60s: Older people on the edge of survival "Older people make up a third of all people in need of assistance in Ukraine, making this conflict the ‘oldest’ humanitarian crisis in the world. One in four people in Ukraine are over 60-years-old and Ukraine has the largest percentage of older people affected by conflict in a single country in the world." (Mar)

“We Live Like We Are Homeless” The Consequences of Conflict for Displaced People with Disabilities in Eastern Ukraine (Mar 2020, Human Rights Watch)

Ukraine frontline: disabled and elderly people threatened after 7 years of conflict (Oct 2021, Fair Planet)

Access to health-care services for older persons and persons with disabilities living in Eastern Ukraine along the "line of contact". "In the two oblasts of Luhansk and Donetsk, where health indicators were among the lowest even before the conflict, the situation has grown worse, leaving those living in the area to face increased health expenditure, including transport costs and out-of-pocket payments for services that are supposed to be free." (2021, WHO)

How People with Disabilities Live in the Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts Based on a survey in both government and nongovernment-controlled areas. (2019)

People with Limited Mobility Can’t Access Pensions Challenges those who live in nongovernment-controlled areas had to access their benefits. (Jan 2020, Human Rights Watch)

Water and Sanitation (WASH)

Back to contents.

International

Taking action to achieve inclusive WASH an introductory online course exploring disability-inclusive WASH. (WaterAid / UNICEF)

The inclusion of disability within efforts to address menstrual health during humanitarian emergencies: A systematized review. (Sep, Frontiers)

Water for Women guide on Partnerships for Transformation for WASH and Rights Holder Organizations includes a section featuring partnerships with organizations of persons with disabilities. (Link to pdf, Aug, Water for Women) See also their other recent publications that have taken efforts to mainstream disability.

Terminology Guidelines for Equality, inclusion and rights (Jun, Water Aid)

Progress on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene in schools: 2000-2021 Data update includes a section on disability which shows gaps in data and how changes are lagging: “schools were
more likely to have adapted infrastructure and
materials than disability-accessible toilets” (Jun, UNICEF)

Reflections on barriers to inclusion of older people with incontinence and their caregivers in humanitarian settings (Jan, Amita Bhakta)

A guide to making WASH workplaces inclusive considering gender equality, disability and social inclusion. (Dec, Institute for Sustainable Futures)

Bangladesh

Translating disability-inclusive WASH policies into practice: lessons learned from Bangladesh. “Few people with disabilities could access or use WASH services independently at home, meaning they did not bathe or use the toilet as often as required and relied on caregivers. [...] WASH and disability are considered and implemented in silos, so many people with disabilities fall through the gap and remain unserved.” (Oct, LSHTM)

Exploring the implementation of disability-inclusive WASH policy commitments. (Sep, The Daily Star)

Accessible latrines supporting independence in Cox's Bazar camps (Jun, Relief Web)

Cambodia

A qualitative cross-sectional study exploring the implementation of disability-inclusive WASH policy commitments in Svay Reing and Kampong Chhnang Provinces. (Sep, Frontiers)

India

When nature calls, where do we go? on access to public toilets in Chennai. (Oct, DT Next)

Kenya

Menstrual struggles girls and women living with disability face. “The only safe place is home, where I can sit on a plastic chair while changing.” (Jun, Nation)

The menstruation experiences of women and girls with disability in Kenya. Details from lived experience and policy. (Nov, Mummy Tales)

Nepal

Field note on Promoting Disability Friendly WASH in Schools. (Apr, UNICEF)

Nigeria

Accessible Sanitation in the Workplace Important Considerations for Disability-Inclusive Employment in Nigeria and Bangladesh (Jan, IDS)

Vanuatu

Menstrual Health Experiences of People with Intellectual Disabilities and Their Caregivers during Vanuatu's Humanitarian Responses: A Qualitative Study. (Nov, IJERPH)

“The weather is not good”: exploring the menstrual health experiences of menstruators with and without disabilities:

“Menstrual restrictions were widespread for all, but collecting water and managing menstrual materials was harder for menstruators with disabilities, particularly those requiring caregivers’ support. These factors negatively impacted menstruators with disabilities’ comfort, safety and hygiene, yet they reported less interference of menstruation on participation. [...] Menstruators with disabilities may have reported less interference because they are accustomed to greater participation restrictions than others.” (Jan, Lancet Regional Health - Western Pacific)

Yemen

A feature on safe latrines for the Bait Al-Amir community includes a section on inclusion of persons with disabilities. (Feb, Sanitation Learning Hub)

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