Disability

Cotonou, 21 juillet: La discrimination manifestée Á  l’égard des personnes handicapées est monnaie courante au Bénin.

In the future, I want to move the projects upward and onward. To do all we can to make the lives of these very special children better. To influence a change of attitude within our Country relating to the Disabled. Thank you Gender Links for inspiring me to become a better person!!

Dlamini met Gender Links through a series of entrepreneurship workshops that taught participants how to develop business plans. “Gender Links came to teach us about business plans. They catered for us even if we did not have a plan but a vision for the business they wanted to develop. About 20 of us participated in this initiative. Through this I have been empowered and gained knowledge on how I can improve my business plan. I can talk confidently and know how to approach people in business. I want to register my business and get a license and be able to get tenders. Business has to be serious,” she added.

The exploratory quantitative study sought to develop an understanding about the relationships among disability, gender and employment in Northern Ghana. A total of 110 individuals with disabilities (20À“60 years) from various disability groups participated in the study. The results indicate that many persons with disabilities are unemployed, the majority being women. Discrimination is cited as the greatest barrier to the employment of persons with disabilities, particularly women. The majority of persons with disabilities, typically women, live in poverty; given that some are unemployed and those who are employed worked mostly in marginal, seasonal and menial jobs. Persons with disabilities also experience several challenges on the job, including negative perceptions about their capabilities, discrimination and exclusion, irrespective of the employment sector and disability type. Educational interventions such as workshops, documenting and showcasing success stories of persons with disabilities could be helpful to reduce negative perceptions about their capabilities as well as discrimination against them. Government intervention to support persons with disabilities with start-up capital and funding for formal education is also recommended as these two elements were identified respectively as barriers to self-employment and employment in the public/private sectors. Government interventions to create educational opportunities for persons with disabilities are essential given that lower educational attainment affect their employment.

Disabled women are at the intersection of various forms of discrimination on the grounds of gender and disability. This report provides an overview of relevant legislation and its limitations. It examines the ways this discrimination manifests itself in many domains of the private and public spheres. An intersectionality approach is seen as the most appropriate tool to analyse the complexity of this phenomenon and inform future policies and legislation, which will ensure participation and realisation of disabled women’s full potential.

Port Louis: Maintenant que le gouvernement mauricien a nommé une femme comme présidente de la République et une femme comme Speaker, il est possible d’espérer qu’il signe finalement le Protocole de la SADC sur le Genre et le Développement (PSGD). C’est ce qu’ont appelé de leurs vÅ“ux hier les dirigeants de Gender Links (GL), organisation non gouvernementale de l’Afrique australe, Á  l’occasion de la cérémonie d’ouverture de son Sommet national qui se tient pendant deux jours Á  l’hôtel Gold Crest Á  Quatre-Bornes.

This book addresses many aspects of disability law in Africa. The book starts with a chapter on the right of disabled persons to receive protection in the African human rights system. There are chapters on the rights of disabled children to an education. There are also chapters on labour law and the right of a disabled person to be treated equally in the workplace in Malawi and in South Africa.

The integration of women with disabilities in the 2015 development framework and beyond must be reinforced. While all human rights and development norms and standards apply to women and girls with disabilities, they have not enjoyed the full rights on an equal basis with others.

For far too long, women and girls with disabilities have been invisible, both to the advocates of women’s rights and of disability rights, and this has increased their vulnerability. Women and girls with disabilities (W&GWD) are likely to experience the “double discrimination,À which includes the gender based violence, abuse and marginalization. As a result, women with disabilities often must confront additional disadvantages even in comparison to men with disabilities and the women without disabilities.

The study is based on the social model of disability focusing on issues of human rights for people with intellectual disabilities. Disability is defined as the social restriction confronted by people with disabilities living in a society that is not organized to take account of their needs. Disability is not an individual condition but rather an issue of equal opportunities. Self-determination for people with intellectual disability should be respected as it is a central aspect of personal well being based on the understanding that disability is a result of social attitudes, architectural, and legal barriers that confront people with disabilities. The research was aimed at the acquisition of information on the knowledge of people with intellectual disabilities about sexuality and if that knowledge is appropriately linked to HIV and AIDS. The study uses research as a scientific tool that will assist policy makers and programme developers to dispel the myths on issues affecting people with intellectual disabilities. Self-advocacy of people with intellectual disabilities in research was key to the research method that was applied. People with mental retardation, head injury, other or any type of actual or perceived mental or cognitive disability are often marginalized by society. The HIV/AIDS global epidemic has greatly exceeded earlier predictions. About 95% of all people infected are living in developing countries, which have to cope with poverty and health problems. HIV and AIDS prevalence can remain undetected for long periods, particularly in local groupings and settings. HIV remains localized before the epidemic spreads to involve the wider population. These localized groupings can be classified as having no known cases. It is during this period that the proactive interventions should be implemented. It is for these reasons that this study was undertaken to address HIV and AIDS among the grouping of people with intellectual disabilities.

Live, learn, thrive ….Too many deafblind newborns across the world go unrecognised and don’t get the specialist support they need, often leaving them in extreme isolation even within their families and communities. For deafblind children, these early months are a vital chance to develop any small sense of hearing or sight they may have.

Sense International’s mission is to find the children that need help as early as possible, and give them the best chance to learn to communicate, overcome isolation and thrive.