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The inclusion of persons with disabilities in EU-funded humanitarian aid operations.DG ECHO Operational Guidance

EUROPEAN COMMISSION
January 2019

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This guidance has been developed as a tool to reach the goal that all EU-funded humanitarian partners be required to take the needs of persons with disabilities into account in their projects.


It concentrates on mainstreaming the needs of persons with disabilities across all types of humanitarian interventions, hence not dealing with targeted actions specifically. As such, this guidance is a complementary tool to existing Thematic Policies, in particular to Thematic Policy n°8 on Humanitarian Protection

 

The guidance consists of three main parts. Part II presents disability mainstreaming in programming in detail and provides a series of concrete examples and illustrations. It also provides tools to collect data and measure disability inclusion. Part III of the guidance is a short document that that can be easily used in the field for either programming or monitoring.

Need to know guidance: Working with persons with disabilities in forced displacement

UNHCR
2019

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In situations of forced displacement, persons with disabilities have the same rights and basic needs as others and face the same challenges as other individuals. They also face particular protection risks such as heightened risk of violence, exploitation and abuse, as well as high levels of stigma.  Guidance is given concerning the application of an age, gender and diversity approach, to achieve protection, assistance and solutions. Example approaches are provided concerning: non discrimination; changing attitudes about disability and promoting respect for diversity; Improving identification and data collection; making all facilities physically accessible; ensuring accountability mechanisms are inclusive; preventing and responding to violence and abuse; and building links with organizations of persons with disabilities & other national and local actors.

Minimum standards for protection, gender and inclusion in emergencies

INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF RED CROSS AND RED CRESCENT SOCIETIES (IFRC)
November 2018

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The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) Minimum standards for protection, gender and inclusion in emergencies (2018) is in its second edition. The first pilot version of the IFRC Minimum standard commitments to gender and diversity in emergency programming was published in 2015. The pilot version has been tested globally by Red Cross and Red Crescent staff, volunteers and management in low-, medium- and high-scale disasters and humanitarian crises. This edition is the result of three years of testing, revision and feedback from protection, gender and inclusion (PGI) and sectoral specialists. New chapters, such as cash-based interventions, have been added as well as a stronger focus on sexual and gender-based violence and disability inclusion to align with the commitments of the IFRC and its member National Societies. This edition is accompanied by the IFRC Protection, gender and inclusion in emergencies toolkit (2018–2019).

This guidance presents Red Cross and Red Crescent staff, members and volunteers with a set of minimum standards for protection, gender and inclusion (PGI) in emergencies. It aims to ensure that the emergency programming of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and National Societies provides dignity, access, participation and safety for all people affected by disasters and crises.

It provides practical guidance on how to mainstream these four principles in all sectors, based on a consideration of gender, age, disability and other diversity factors. This includes limiting people’s exposure to the risks of violence and abuse and ensuring that emergency programmes “do no harm”.

The standards address protection, gender and inclusion concerns by providing practical ways to engage with all members of the community, respond to their differing needs and draw on their capacities in the most non-discriminatory and effective way. This helps to ensure that local perspectives guide assistance delivery. The standards also support incorporation of the seven Fundamental Principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

Children with disabilities in situations of armed conflict - a discussion paper

THOMAS, Edward
et al
November 2018

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During armed conflict, children with disabilities are caught in a vicious cycle of violence, social polarization, deteriorating services and deepening poverty. Global estimates suggest there are between 93 million and 150 million children with disabilities under the age of 15.Given that disability is often not reported due to stigma there is reason to believe actual prevalence could be much higher. Although efforts to ensure the fulfilment of their rights have improved, girls and boys with disabilities continue to remain among the most marginalized and excluded segment of the population. This is amplified during situations of armed conflict. The barriers to full participation they face on a day-to-day basis are intensified and compounded when infrastructure is destroyed, and services and systems are compromised and made inaccessible. This results in the further exclusion and marginalization of children with disabilities, and prevents them from accessing schooling, health and psychosocial support, or a means of escape from conflict.

 

When systems and services break down, children are also left more susceptible to violence. Injuries sustained by many children during armed conflict may also lead to long-term impairments. There are six grave violations of children’s rights and protection in armed conflict that are on the agenda of the United Nations (UN) Security Council; killing and maiming, recruitment and use of children, rape or other sexual violence, abduction, attacks on schools or hospitals, and denial of humanitarian access. Governments around the world have committed themselves to respect, promote, and fulfil the rights of children with disabilities, including in situations of armed conflict, and progress is being made. Efforts by a broad range of actors to implement the CRPD, CRC and other human rights instruments include the development of standards to address the rights and needs of persons with disabilities in humanitarian crises, and guidance on making humanitarian response, development and peacebuilding more inclusive. Efforts to improve the collection and use of data concerning children and adults with disabilities are also underway. Yet, as this discussion paper makes clear, much more needs to be done. Investments in disability-inclusive humanitarian action and recovery from crises will pay off, contributing towards a dividend of peace built on greater equality, tolerance and justice. 

Guidance on disability inclusion for GBV (gender based violence) partners in Lebanon: outreach, safe identification, and referral of women, children and youth with disabilities

WOMEN'S REFUGEE COMMISSION
UNICEF LEBANON
February 2018

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This guidance, and the associated toolkit, are designed to support frontline workers, community volunteers, and mobilizers and their supervisors who are working in GBV prevention and response to foster inclusion of persons with disabilities in their community activities. It includes guidance, key actions and tools to improve accessibility of existing community processes and activities relating to GBV. This resource has been developed based on the findings of a needs assessment conducted in 2017 which confirmed that women, children and youth with disabilities in Lebanon and their caregivers are facing a range of GBV-related risks.

Alternative report on the implementation of the 2030 programm in Niger

NIGER FEDERATION OF DISABLED PEOPLE (FNPH)
February 2018

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This report on the assessment of progress made in Niger in the implementation of the 2030 program on the case of disabled persons was prepared by The Niger Federation of Disabled People (FNPH). The FNPH was supported by the West African Federation of Disabled People's Associations (FOAPH) and its strategic partners such as: the International Disability Alliance (IDA), Humanity and Inclusion (HI) and CBM.

 

It is the result of participatory work drawing on consultations with relevant stakeholders (Human Rights Organizations, Organizations for Disabled People (DPOs) and development partners). It is based on the most recent data available on disability, from 2014 to 2017.

 

This report examines, in detail, the implementation of four (04) Sustainable Development Goals which include: SDGs 4, 8, 10 and 16  and focuses on the following topics:

 

  • Education – Vocational training ;         
  • Work and Employment;
  • Equality and non-discrimination;
  • Protection against all kinds of violence and abuse;
  • Access to justice in equality conditions;
  • Participation in decision-making;
  • Public access to information and protection of basic freedoms.

Disability and HIV

UNAIDS
January 2017

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This report highlights existing key evidence on the relationship between disability and HIV. It discusses the concrete steps needed for a person-centred, disability-inclusive HIV response that allows for increased participation of people with disabilities and integrates rehabilitation within the continuum of HIV care.

Protection mainstreaming toolkit field - testing version

GLOBAL PROTECTION CLUSTER
2017

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The Global Protection Cluster (GPC) Protection Mainstreaming Toolkit is designed as a companion to the GPC Protection Mainstreaming Training Package.The Training Package is the starting point to understand the concept and principles of “protection mainstreaming”. The Toolkit is designed to practically assist humanitarian workers to mainstream protection at the individual programme or project level as well as at the collective strategic and coordination level. The Toolkit targets coordination structures (e.g. Clusters, Inter-Cluster Coordination Groups, and Humanitarian Country Teams) and donors by providing the tools and necessary advice to mainstream protection into their strategies and throughout the Humanitarian Programme Cycle (HPC). It also targets operational organisations (e.g. UN, INGOs and NNGOs), with the tools to mainstream protection into their organisational procedures and programmes. Finally, the Toolkit allows humanitarian workers to monitor and evaluate the process and the impact of having mainstreamed protection on the affected population.

Changing attitudes to child disability in Africa

THE LANCET
December 2014

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This brief editorial published in the Lancet highlights the situation of disabled children in Africa with reference to the 2014 publication of The African Report on Children with Disabilities by The African Child Policy Forum

 

The Lancet, Vol 384, No. 9959

“We can also change” Piloting participatory research with persons with disabilities and older people in Bangladesh

BURNS, Danny
OSWALD, Katy
November 2014

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Sightsavers, HelpAge International, ADD International and Alzheimer’s Disease International worked together with the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) to bring the perspectives of those who live in poverty or who are highly marginalised into post-2015 policy making. The aim of the research was to understand better the experiences of social, political and economic exclusion of persons with disabilities and older people in Bangladesh from their own perspectives. Two groups (community and NGO) of peer researchers collected 70 stories from poor and/or excluded persons with disabilities and older people from each of the two sites: Bhashantek, an urban slum in Dhaka; and Cox’s Bazar, a rural area in southeast Bangladesh. From the stories collected and analysed in workshops, the peer researchers identified 13 priority areas that affect persons with disabilities and older people: accidents and disasters; livelihoods; access to education; medical treatment; family support; exclusion and mistreatment; superstition; access to services; mobility; marriage; land; rape and sexual abuse; the role of grassroots community-based organisations. Recommendations from the researchers are made in each area. The peer research programme was evaluated and guidelines for its use are provided.

Refugees with disabilities : increasing inclusion, building community : a discussion tool on improving access and inclusion for displaced persons with disabilities

WOMEN’S REFUGEE COMMISSION
2014

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This presentation is a “tool for raising awareness among community workers, volunteers and displaced people about increasing access and inclusion for persons with disabilities in refugee and displacement contexts. It can be used by staff of organisations working with refugees and displaced persons, as well as community leaders and disability associations conducting sensitisation with the wider refugee community. The tool illustrates common barriers experienced by persons with disabilities in displacement contexts, as well as positive practices or approaches to promote inclusion. Suggested questions provide a guide for facilitators of the discussion, but should be adapted according to the context and audience. The tool is intended to facilitate conversation about concerns and ideas for change at field levels, but is not a comprehensive catalogue of either barriers or solutions in these contexts”

Violence, gender and WASH : a practitioner’s toolkit

HOUSE, Sarah
et al
2014

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This online toolkit is intended to help water, sanitation and hygiene services (WASH) and associated practitioners better recognise the risks of violence linked to WASH and to encourage WASH practitioners to recognise their capacity to make WASH safer and more effective. It has been developed in response to an acknowledgement that although the lack of access to WASH is not the root cause of violence, it can lead to increased vulnerabilities to violence of varying forms.

 

The key toolkit documents are the four briefing notes and the associated checklists, however other materials in the toolsets, such as case studies, checklists, videos, training scenarios etc., are available and may be drawn on as required. This toolkit has been developed for use by WASH practitioners but will also be useful for gender based violence (GBV), gender, protection, health and education specialists working for organisations and governments that are providing access to these essential services, to help them better identify and acknowledge these risks and contribute to their reduction in practical ways.

 

Note: Documents in the toolkit can be opened or downloaded from the online links. The entire toolkit (except the videos) can be downloaded from the download options page. Once downloaded, hyperlinks will operate if the folders and documents remain in their existing positions.

Strengthening communities to integrate persons with disabilities in the HIV and AIDS response in Rwanda

DELEU, Marijke
May 2013

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"This document aims to capture some of the key lessons learned from Handicap International’s New Partnership Initiative project in Rwanda, which started in 2008 with the objective to integrate persons with disabilities in HIV and Sexual Violence (SV) prevention efforts and service provision generally. It is the result of qualitative, multi-stakeholder study about how change occurred within the project and how the experience could be modelled for adaptation or replication in Rwanda or other contexts"
SD/LL 08

Towards and AIDS-free generation : promoting community based strategies for and with children and adolescents with disabilities

MERESMAN, Sergio
July 2012

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This resource highlights that children and adolescents with disabilities are critical to achieving an AIDS-free generation. It provides information about family- and community-based responses for a disability-sensitive AIDS-free generation, and specific recommendations for working with children, adolescents and young people with disabilities in HIV programmes. Opportunities and entry points for implementation are given, as well as examples of materials developed by adolescents with disabilities and community-based organizations

International expert group meeting on combating violence against indigenous women and girls : article 22 of the United Nations declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples

UNITED NATIONS NON-GOVERNMENTAL LIAISON SERVICE (UN-NGLS)
March 2012

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This newsletter presents the main themes and issues that were presented at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues conference. The conference applied a human rights framework to the issue of gender-based violence faced by indigenous women, while contextualizing its global manifestations in the context of States’ responsibilities under international human rights law, as articulated in Article 22.2 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)
NGLS e-Roundup
International Expert Group Meeting "Combating violence against indigenous women and girls: Article 22 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples"
Geneva, Switzerland
18-20 January 2012

Breaking the silence : violence against children with disabilities in Africa

AFRICAN CHILD POLICY FORUM (ACPD)
2010

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This report highlights violence against children with disabilities in five study African countries: Cameroon, Ethiopia, Senegal, Uganda and Zambia. The report notes that there is widespread apathy and negligence at state, local and community levels, and highlights a lack of financial and medical aid, inadequate and inaccessible state facilities and systems, and insufficient community understanding. The study report documents the negative effect this has on children with disabilities and makes a number of recommendations to help improve the situation

Forgotten sisters : recognising and responding to domestic violence in the lives of women with disabilities

DOWSE, Leanne
PARKINSON, Annie
November 2007

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This report outlines the lack of recognition of disabled women in Australia. It highlights the lack of support services for disabled women faced with domestic violence and how services can better respond to their needs
Domestic Violence, Disability and Cultural Safety National Forum 2007 "Diverse and Inclusive Practice: Redrawing the Boundaries"
Brighton-Le-Sands, NSW, Australia
8-9 Nov 2007

Disabled women and domestic violence : making the links|An interim report for the women’ s aid federation of England

HAGUE, Gill
THIARA, Ravi K.
MAGOWAN, Pauline
October 2007

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This interim report presents a research project which explores disabled women’s experiences of domestic violence and investigates existing service provision available to them. It is "based on two national surveys, one of domestic violence organisations and one of disabled people’s organisations. Specialist facilities and accessible services were in short supply in both sectors. One recurrent issue was lack of secure on-going funding, which held many organisations back from developing their services as fully and inclusively they might wish. The provision of appropriate training, and improved liaison between the two sectors, would help to provide a better service for disabled women experiencing abuse"

Violence and abuse against women with disabilities in Malawi

HOEM KVAM, Marit
HELLUM BRAATHEN, Stine
November 2006

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This is a case study of violence and sexual abuse towards women with disabilities in Malawi. It is based on in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. This work examines the childhood and adult experiences of these women, and asserts that discrimination, stigma and vulnerability is worse for adult women.It claims that improvements to access and education will lead to empowerment, thus improving the overall quality of life that women with disabilities can enjoy. This work would be useful for anyone with an interest in human/ women's rights and disability

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