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Politically disabled: barriers and facilitating factors affecting people with disabilities in political life within the European Union

WALTZ, Mitzi
SCHIPPERS, Alice
2020

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Diversity is a current buzzword in politics, but in the EU, people with disabilities are not achieving the gains made by women and ethnic minorities. This research examined barriers and facilitating factors through a literature review and interviews with politicians and political activists in five European countries. Six categories of barriers and facilitating factors were found: networks, recruitment and mentoring, resources (money, time and energy), the “hierarchy of impairments,” accessibility of political spaces and activities, and laws and policies. Key recommendations include removing access barriers to political participation, from voting to holding office, including physical and procedural barriers in political spaces; ensuring that equalities legislation covers politicians; eliminating barriers imposed by benefits systems; promoting direct support for political activists, candidates and office-holders with disabilities, including access to necessary services and supports; encouraging parties to recruit and mentor disabled people with leadership potential; and considering quotas and job-sharing.

  • Not many disabled people are active in politics. In the EU, about 15% of people have an impairment, but only around 1% of politicians do.
  • Inclusion at school and in social groups makes it easier to get into political jobs or to try to get elected.
  • Some disabled political activists, volunteers, candidates and office-holders don’t get the support they need.
  • Political parties can help by finding disabled people, supporting them, and helping them get involved in politics.
  • Our article provides several ideas about how to make it easier for disabled people to run for office and work in politics.

Summary Report. LEAVE NO CHILD BEHIND Invest in the early years

WALKER, Jo
BABOO, Nafisa
September 2019

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A summary overview of the findings of a study led by LIGHT FOR THE WORLD with its partners, supported by the Early Childhood Program of the Open Society Foundations. The aim of the study was to uncover the trends in aid for inclusive Early Child Development (ECD) for 2017. It further identified strategic commitments to ECD, as reflected in policy documents up until 2019. The research examined donors’ spending and commitments in three key areas: early childhood development; inclusive early education and pre-primary; and disability-inclusive early childhood development investments in the sectors of health, nutrition, education and sanitation.

 

This study presents a baseline on donor investment in ECD services in low- and middle-income countries for the children who are traditionally left behind. It draws lessons from six bilateral donor countries – Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US) – as well as the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), European Union (EU) Institutions, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Bank. Donor advocacy briefs for each of these donors are provided.

 

The study focuses on donor contributions to scaling up ECD services in four African countries: Burkina Faso, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe

Human Rights

www.macao-tz.org
December 2014

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Malezi AIDS Care Awareness Organization (MACAO) is a non-profit organization reaching out to neglected Indigenous people in Ngorongoro District, Arusha Region of Northern Tanzania.  Macao founded in 2003, Macao is a humanitarian organization that provides assistance to approximately 200,000 Indigenous Maasai community in Ngorongoro district for addressing needs of water and sanitation, food security, health Care Research, Education, Research environment, Maasai Traditional Research, Human Rights and sustainable economic development by strengthening their livelihoods.  In addition to responding to major relief situations, MACAO focuses on long-term community development through over 4 Area Development Project. We welcome the donors and volunteers to join us in this programs, we are wolking in ruro villages.

Wage subsidies and hiring chances for the disabled: Some causal evidence

BAERT, Stijn
July 2014

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The effectiveness of wage subsidies as a policy instrument to integrate disabled individuals into the labour market was investigated. To identify causal effects, a field experiment was carried out in Belgium. Two applications for male graduates, identical except that one reveals a disability, were sent out to 768 vacancies in the Flemish labour market.

 

IZA Discussion Paper No. 8318

Children’s rights for all!|Implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child for children with intellectual disabilities

SISKA, Jan
LATIMIER, Camille
October 2011

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This publication provides an overview of the situation of children with intellectual disabilities in twenty two European countries, with a particular focus on five areas: protection against abuse, family support and (de-)institutionalisation, health, education, and participation of children. It recommends steps to be taken to remove barriers to their inclusion. The publication is based on a series of country reports that were prepared by national experts

Globalisation and privatisation : the impact on childcare policy and practice

VANDENBROECK, Michel
January 2006

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This paper explores the impact of globalisation and neo-liberalism policies on child care provision, with a special focus on Belgium. It provides an overview of the historical context, and shows how even in Belgium social democratic welfare state globalisation has stimulated privatisation and decentralisation of services, and forced parents to take direct responsibility for the care of their children. The paper suggests that policy makers need to balance competing demands: government responsibility versus autonomy; standardisation versus diversity; inclusion versus exclusion

Disability rights are global human rights : combining disability and development

February 2003

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These minutes of a workshop held during 8th European Regional Conference of Rehabilitation International focus on disability as a global human rights issue. The needs-based approach, which informs current development co-operation, fails to put a clear obligation on anyone to fulfil the needs and to encourage people with disabilities to participate in the development process. The workshop made an attempt to assess policy and practice of development co-operation in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, discussing their capacity to promote the rights of people with disabilities and the participation opportunities offered to them

From crèches to childcare : constructions of motherhood and inclusion/exclusion in the history of Belgian infant care

VANDENBROECK, Michel
2003

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This article by Michel Vandenbroeck examines the history of exclusion in Belgian infant care, depicting how 100 years ago day care centres provided care for the infants of women who worked in factories. Today in Belgium, women who work in factories are excluded from having infants cared for in day nurseries. The article examines how this has occurred and the place of childcare in western European welfare society

Definition of disability in Europe : a comparative analysis

MABBETT, Deborah
September 2002

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This resource provides an overview of the definitions of disability found in anti-discrimination laws and social policies of member states of the European Union. The aim is to show how different definitions of disability are relevant to different policies and the importance of specificity to avoid poorly targeted programs. This resource would be useful for anyone with an interest in legislation, advocacy and policy development. It is also available in French and German

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