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Listen Include Respect: International Guidelines for Inclusive Participation

Inclusion International
June 2022

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The Listen Include Respect guidelines help organisations understand what they need to do to make sure people with intellectual disabilities are included in their work.

​They were written by Inclusion International and Down Syndrome International.

Over 1,500 people with intellectual disabilities and their families from almost 100 countries helped write them.

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) tells us that all people with disabilities have the right to “meaningful participation.”

“Meaningful participation” is what happens when people with intellectual disabilities get everything they need to be fully included, participate equally, and feel valued.

These guidelines will help organisations to make this happen.

Labour Market Assessment: Kenya 2021 refresh

INCLUSIVE FUTURES
BROWN, SIMON
OBOSI, Shikuku
August 2021

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This Labour Market Assessment for Kenya is a refresh of the initial assessments done in 2019 for the Inclusion Works programme. The assessment adopts a Markets for Poor (M4P) approach to mapping demand for and supply of labour, supporting functions and regulatory frameworks; recognising that labour markets conditions will have evolved since 2019, especially in light of COVID-19. The perspectives of jobseekers, employers, and organisations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) are also included in this analysis. The report provides insights into market changes and recommendations to enable Inclusion Works programming to adapt and be more effective in their interventions.

“This Time of Corona Has Been Hard”: People with Disabilities’ Experiences of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Kenya

ROHWERDER, Brigitte
NJUNGI, Josephine
WICKENDEN, Mary
THOMPSON, Stephen
SHAW, Jackie
June 2021

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The COVID-19 pandemic is deepening pre-existing inequalities. Emerging research suggests that people with disabilities across the world have experienced various rights violations and been disproportionality affected by the health, economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the responses to it. The aim of this research was to explore how people with disabilities, who often are excluded from research, have experienced the evolving COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya. To better understand how it has affected jobseekers with disabilities, in-depth qualitative research was conducted in Kenya as part of the Inclusion Works programme.

“The Situation has Exposed Persons with Disabilities to Double Edged Pain”: People with Disabilities’ Experiences of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Uganda

WICKENDEN, Mary
ROHWERDER, Brigitte
SHAW, Jackie
THOMPSON, Stephen
WAKOKO, Eric
June 2021

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This qualitative study was undertaken as part of the work of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) funded Inclusion Works programme which aims to improve inclusive employment for people with disabilities in four countries: Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria, Bangladesh. When the COVID-19 pandemic emerged early in 2020 the work of this consortium programme was adapted to focus on pandemic relief and research activities, while some other planned work was not possible.

“This pandemic brought a lot of sadness”: people with disabilities’ experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria

THOMPSON, Stephen
CHUBA-UZO, Shadrach
ROHWERDER, Brigitte
SHAW, Jackie
WICKENDEN, Mary
June 2021

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This qualitative study was undertaken as part of the work of the FCDO funded Inclusion Works programme which aims to improve inclusive employment for people with disabilities in four countries: Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria, Bangladesh. When the COVID-19 pandemic emerged early in 2020 the work of this consortium programme was adapted to focus on pandemic relief and research activities, while other planned worked was not possible.
The Institute of Development Studies (IDS) led a piece of qualitative research to explore the experiences and perceptions of the pandemic and related lockdowns in each country, using a narrative interview approach, which asks people to tell their stories, following up with some further questions once they have identified their priorities to talk about. 10 people with disabilities who were involved in Inclusion Works in each country were purposively selected to take part, each being invited to have two interviews with an interval of one or two months in between, in order to capture changes in their situation over time. The 10 interviewees had a range of impairments, were gender balanced and were various ages, as well as having differing living and working situations.

“Everything is Totally Uncertain Right Now”: People with Disabilities’ Experiences of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Bangladesh

SHAW, Jackie
AKTER, Fatema
ROHWERDER, Brigitte
WICKENDEN, Mary
THOMPSON, Stephen
June 2021

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The COVID-19 pandemic is deepening pre-existing inequalities. Emerging research suggests that people with disabilities across the world have experienced various rights violations and been disproportionality affected by the health, economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the responses to it. The aim of this research was to explore how people with disabilities, who often are excluded from research, have experienced the evolving COVID-19 pandemic. In order to better understand how it has affected jobseekers with disabilities, in-depth qualitative research was conducted as part of the Inclusion Works programme in Bangladesh.

Accountability for the rights of people with psychosocial disabilities: An assessment of country reports for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

EATON, Julian
CARROLL, Aleisha
SCHERER, Nathaniel
et al
June 2021

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The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) has been identified as a milestone in human rights protection, offering people with psychosocial disabilities the opportunity to hold their governments accountable for the realization of their rights. To facilitate such accountability, the country reports produced under the CRPD reporting process should adequately reflect these persons’ experiences and relevant positive or negative developments in the country. Our study used content analysis to review the extent and quality of reporting related to mental health and psychosocial disabilities in 19 country reports

 

Health and Human Rights Journal Volume 23/1, June 2021, pp. 175-189

EDF-IDA workshop on Using the UN Optional Protocols to defend the rights of women and girls with disabilities

SUAREZ, Natalia
PELAEZ NARVAEZ, Ana
May 2021

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Several international human rights treaties exist to protect their rights, such as the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the UN Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). These Conventions are complemented by agreements called Optional Protocols. They establish individual complaints mechanism for individuals or groups of individuals who have seen their rights violated in their country.

This online workshop organised on the 10th of May, 2021 jointly by the International Disability Alliance and the European Disability Forum informed participants on the role and functioning of the Optional Protocols, as tools to defend the rights of women and girls with disabilities. Speakers included representatives and legal experts from the Officer of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the International Disability Alliance, the International Women’s Right Actions Watch Asia Pacific and Validity Foundation. The workshop was introduced and moderated by Ana Pelaez Narvaez, Vice President of the European Disability Forum and member of the CEDAW Committee.

Family Planning for Women and Girls with Disabilities

Dr FRASER, Erika
CORBY, Nick
MEANEY-DAVIS, Jessie
2021

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This is an updated evidence review looking at the evidence on factors affecting access to and uptake of family planning for women and girls with disabilities in low- and middle-income countries and the evidence on good practice on increasing full free and informed contraceptive choice for women and girls with disabilities.

 

Query:

1) What is the evidence on factors affecting access to and uptake of family planning for women and girls with disabilities in low and middle income countries, highlighting examples from FP2020 commitment-making countries?

2) What is the evidence on good practice on increasing full free and informed contraceptive choice for women and girls with disabilities – from the same countries or elsewhere? 

Views and Experiences of People with Intellectual Disabilities to Improve Access to Assistive Technology: Perspectives from India

BOOT, F H
GHOSH, R
DINSMORE, J G
MACLACHLAN, M
2021

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Purpose: People with intellectual disabilities are deeply affected by health inequity, which is also reflected in their access to and use of assistive technology (AT). Including the perspectives of adults with intellectual disabilities and their caregivers, together with the views of local health professionals, suppliers of AT and policy-makers, this paper aims to provide an overview of factors influencing access to AT and its use by people with intellectual disabilities in Bangalore, a southern region of India.

 

Method: Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 15 adults with intellectual disabilities (ranging from mild to profound) and their caregivers, and with 16 providers of AT. This helped to gain insight into the current use, needs, knowledge, awareness, access, customisation, funding, follow-up, social inclusion, stigma and policies around AT and intellectual disability.

 

Results: Access to AT was facilitated by community fieldworkers and services to reach out and identify people with intellectual disabilities. Important barriers were stigma, and lack of knowledge and awareness among parents. Factorsrelated to continued use were the substantial dependence on the care system to use AT, and the importance of AT training and instructions for the user and the care system.

 

Conclusion and Implications: The barriers and facilitators related to AT for people with intellectual disabilities differ from other populations in need. The findings of this study can be used to inform and adjust country policies and frameworks whose aim is to improve access to AT and enhance the participation of people with intellectual disabilities within their communities.

Individualised Funding: A Realist Analysis to Identify the Causal Factors That Facilitate Positive Outcomes

FLEMING, Padraic
McGILLOWAY, Sinead
THOMAS, Steve
2021

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There is growing interest, internationally, in empowering people with disabilities, and the United Nations have identified individualised funding as one way in which empowerment might be achieved. ‘Individualised funding’ is an umbrella term for various publicly funded support structures that provide personalised and individualised support services for people with a disability. These aim to facilitate self-direction, empowerment, independence, and self-determination. The findings of a recent mixed-methods systematic review of studies undertaken during an approximate 25-year period suggest positive effects with respect to quality of life, client satisfaction, and safety, as well as very few adverse effects, although the evidence on cost-effectiveness was inconclusive. This paper involved a re-examination of the qualitative findings of that review by employing a realist framework to explore the interplay between key contexts and mechanisms, and how these facilitate or inhibit positive outcomes associated with individualised funding and its underlying programme theory.

Disability inclusion in climate change programming in the Middle East

KETT, Maria
MEANEY-DAVIS, Jessie
January 2021

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This document provides guidance on how to incorporate disability inclusion within climate change programming in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs), Syria, Turkey and Yemen. It is intended to inform the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s (FCDO) climate change programming in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. 

Rights of persons with disabilities : note / by the Secretary-General

DEVANDAS-AGUILAR, Catalina
November 2020

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The Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, Catalina Devandas-Aguilar, examines the importance of international cooperation to support the implementation of the rights of persons with disabilities and provides guidance to States on how to ensure that international cooperation is inclusive of and accessible to persons with disabilities.

 

In preparing the report, the Special Rapporteur analysed 40 responses to a questionnaire sent to Member States, national human rights institutions and civil society organizations, including organizations of persons with disabilities.  She also commissioned a study to assess the extent to which international cooperation was inclusive of and accessible to persons with disabilities, which included surveys and interviews with 26 bilateral and multilateral agencies and 10 private donors

Landmine Monitor 2020

INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN TO BAN LANDMINES – CLUSTER MUNITION COALITION (ICBL-CMC)
November 2020

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This is the 22nd annual Landmine Monitor report. Landmine Monitor 2020 provides a global overview of the landmine situation. Chapters on developments in specific countries and other areas are available in online Country Profiles at www.the-monitor.org/cp. Landmine Monitor covers mine ban policy, use, production, trade, and stockpiling; includes information on developments and challenges in assessing and addressing the impact of mine contamination and casualties through clearance, risk education, and victim assistance; and documents international and national support for mine action. This report focuses on calendar year 2019, with information included up to October 2020 where possible.

 

The victim assistance coordination section covers the following topics: Participation of victims and their representative organizations; A relevant government agency to coordinate victim assistance; Multi-sectoral efforts in line with the CRPD; National referral mechanisms; Centralized database with needs and challenges

Message to Covid-19 Disability Rights Monitor

TESORIERO, Paula
October 2020

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A message by the chair of the Disability Working Group at GANHRI (Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions), on the occasion of the launch of the COVID-19 Disability Rights Monitor Global Report.

The temporalities of supported decision-making by people with cognitive disability

WIESEL, Ilan
SMITH, Elizabeth
BIGBY, Christine
THEN, Shih-Ning
DOUGLAS, Jacinta
CARNEY, Terry
2020

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In many societies, people with cognitive disability have been pre- sumed to lack reasoned decision-making capacity. Consequently, substituted decision-making laws and practices have traditionally authorised some people such as parents, guardians or medical professionals, to make decisions on their behalf. Several countries are now moving towards an alternative supported decision-making paradigm whereby people with different cognitive abilities are supported to make decisions that reflect as much as possible their ‘will, preferences and rights’. In this paper we examine how geo- graphical thinking about temporalities might illuminate some of the legal, ethical and practical complexities of supported decision- making. The paper draws on qualitative data from interviews with people with intellectual disabilities or acquired brain injury, and those who support them in making decisions. We examine how temporal scales and boundaries shape the determination of decision-making capacity; how decision-makers’ ‘will and preferences’ are interpreted by supporters; and how the labour of support for decision-making is organised. We argue that further geographical engagement with supported decision-making can help significantly advance this important disability rights agenda.

Differentiation and individualisation in inclusive education: a systematic review and narrative synthesis

LINDNER, Katharina-Theresa
SCHWAB, Susanne
2020

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This study integrates research about differentiation and individualisation in inclusive education since the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2006 (United Nations, 2006). The concept of inclusive education for all learners increases the requirement for teachers to create educational spaces that encourage stimulating teaching and learning processes. Accordingly, a methodological shift from the traditional ‘one-size-fits-all’ model to individualised teaching and learning offers a starting point for educational equity. The aim of this paper is to investigate the progress of differentiated and individualised teaching practices in inclusive classroom settings considering collaboration and teamwork, instructional practices, organisational practices and social/emotional/behavioural practices (see Finkelstein, Sharma, & Furlonger, 2019. “The Inclusive Practices of Classroom Teachers: A Scoping Review and Thematic Analysis.” International Journal of Inclusive Education, 1–28). Results of a criteria-based review considering papers from 2008 to December 2018 encompass 17 articles that were included in the narrative synthesis. Results indicated that the following aspects are characteristic of inclusive education: collaboration and co-teaching, grouping, modification (of assessment, content, extent, instruction, learning environment, material, process, product and time frame), individual motivation and feedback, and personnel support of students. Implications of the findings and gaps in the research have been outlined.

Dimensions of invisibility: insights into the daily realities of persons with disabilities living in rural communities in India

GUPTA, Shivani
DE WITTE, Luc P
MEERSHOEK, Agnes
2020

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Persons with disabilities in rural India do not have the opportunity to lead a self-determined life and be included in their community as required by the convention on the rights of persons with disabilities. To investigate their experience of living everyday life and the amount of agency they are able to exercise, in-depth interviews were undertaken. The Capability Approach (CA) was used to ana- lyse the situation that was seen in terms of outcome of the interplay between internal and external factors resulting in loss of agency. The results show that the dependency they experience due to lack of adequate support to undertake activities and being completely dependent on the family places them in a vicious circle of ‘self-worthlessness’. Reducing the dependency disabled people face and chang- ing perceptions of the community towards disability may break this circle.

The social and human rights models of disability: towards a complementarity thesis

LAWSON, Anna
BECKETT, Angharad E
2020

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This article aims to reorient thinking about the relationship between the long-standing social model of disability and the rapidly emerging human rights model. In particular, it contests the influential view that the latter develops and improves upon the former (the improvement thesis) and argues instead that the two models are complementary (the complementarity thesis). The article begins with a discursive analysis of relevant documents to investigate how each of the two models has been used in the crafting and monitoring of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This highlights the increasing importance of the human rights model in this policy context. It also provides examples of the operation of the two models which inform the remainder of the discussion. We then critique the comparisons between the models which underpin the improvement thesis; and, drawing on Foucault’s technologies of power and Beckett and Campbell’s ‘oppositional device’ methodology, deepen and develop this comparative analysis. The result, we argue, is that the two models have different subjects and different functions. In the human rights context, their roles are complementary and supportive.

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