The Right to Independent Living for Persons with Disabilities

A recent article reported that 13 people with intellectual disabilities would be moved from an institution in Nicosia, Cyprus and reintegrated back into the community.  The institution is set to close by May 2013.  The 8 men and 5 women had been in the institution for an average of 15 years, many since childhood.  Cyprus’ Ministry of Health concluded that the individuals did not represent a danger to themselves or to others and could be reintegrated safely into community-based care.  The reintegration programme will occur over the course of two years, transferring individuals into community-based homes with 24-hour care.

The article highlights an important human rights issue impacting persons with disabilities. Institutionalization poses significant risks of abuse and mistreatment.  A 2011 ombudsman report criticized the institution for failing to meet international human rights standards and to provide proper care.  As Cyprus’ Health Minister Androulla Agrotou rightly stated, “respect for human rights requires immediate de-institutionalisation and reintegration into society, with full respect for human dignity and inalienable rights.”[1]

Institutionalization is the wrong approach to providing care for persons with disabilities, and yet it remains fairly common throughout the world.  In many countries, persons with disabilities are placed in institutions and virtually forgotten by society.  Institutions often foster neglect, mistreatment and various forms of abuse.  Article 19 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, affirms that persons with disabilities have a right to live within the community.[2]  Of course, community-based solutions also require vigilance to protect the rights of persons with disabilities, as caregivers can also be perpetrators of abuse.  Nevertheless, community-based approaches can provide a more supportive and healthy living environment for persons with disabilities.  Persons with disabilities have a right according to international law to choose where they live and automatically institutionalizing people takes away this right.  Further, denying a person the right to independent living limits the enjoyment of other rights, such as the right to education and employment.  Human rights represents a system of interconnected rights and denying one right can have repercussions for many others.

---

[1] Maria Christofide, “People with learning disabilities to be moved from mental hospital,” Cyprus Mail, 19 January 2013, http://www.cyprus-mail.com/cyprus/people-learning-disabilities-be-moved-mental-hospital/20130119.

[2] For more on the right to community living, refer to Mental Disability Advocacy Center’s webpage on “Community Living.”

Sexual Violence against Persons with Disabilities

Recent cases from Myanmar, India, and Zimbabwe highlight the ongoing challenge of combating sexual violence against persons with disabilities.  Although certain cases may garner media attention, many acts of sexual violence against persons with disabilities go unreported worldwide.  Persons with disabilities, and particularly women and girls with disabilities, face heightened risk of sexual violence.  As Human Rights. Yes! Action and Advocacy on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities notes, “throughout the world, women with disabilities are subject to two-tiered discrimination, based on their gender and based on their disability.”[1]  These intersecting layers of marginalization make women and girls with disabilities more likely to experience violence and/or exploitation, particularly from those involved in their care, such as family members or caregivers.[2]  The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) acknowledges this “greater risk, both within and outside the home” and calls on States Parties to “take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social, educational and other measures to protect persons with disabilities.”[3]

The CRPD rightly acknowledges that legal protections alone are not sufficient for combating sexual and other forms of violence against persons with disabilities.  Laws that provide specific protections for persons with disabilities against abuse are an important first step, but often there is a lack of implementation on the ground.  The alleged rape of a twelve-year-old girl with Cerebral Palsy in Myanmar provides an example of this multifaceted problem.  First, according to disability rights groups, Myanmar lacks a strong legal framework to prevent sexual violence.  The existing law passed in 1950 does not specifically protect persons with disabilities, and although a reform bill was proposed in May 2011 it has not been submitted to the legislature.  In addition to an insufficient legal framework, reports suggest that are significant problems in enforcing the laws that do exist.[4] 

Human rights groups and disabled people’s organizations (DPOs) can be part of the solution in Myanmar and elsewhere around the world.  International and domestic organizations can serve as pressure groups to advocate for legal reforms and to monitor the implementation of laws and cases in practice.  Empowerment initiatives that promote education and employment opportunities for persons with disabilities can help to inform persons with disabilities of their rights and may reduce vulnerabilities to violence.  Ultimately, DPOs must also work toward the broader goal of gender equality to address the power imbalance that fosters gender-based violence within society.

---

[1] “Chapter 16: The Rights to Non-Discrimination and Equality for Women with Disabilities,” in Human Rights. Yes! Action and Advocacy on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Human Rights Center, 2012), 186.

[2] “Chapter 16: The Rights to Non-Discrimination and Equality for Women with Disabilities,”186, 191.

[3] “Chapter 16: The Rights to Non-Discrimination and Equality for Women with Disabilities,” 185.

[4] Yamon Phu Thit, “Activists Call for Stronger Laws to Protect Myanmar’s Disabled,” The Myanmar Times, January 21, 2013.