Genetics and bioethics are issues at the forefront of media interest. They directly affect disabled people's lives but we are not being invited to partake in the current debates and are mainly unaware of the issues. This seminar aims to change this situation and give disabled people a voice.
CANBERRA, June 8, 2000 (AAP) - The elderly and disabled use new technologies least, even though they could benefit most from them, a new report has found.
Attorney-General Daryl Williams today tabled in parliament a Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) report which found new technology could bring huge advantages to the elderly and disabled if access problems were removed.
The report into new service and information technologies said the main barriers to using the Internet and other electronic services for the disabled and elderly were cost, limited access, concerns about privacy and security, and no human touch.
by Dr. Bill Albert,
Chair of the Norfolk Coalition of Disabled People
and the International Sub Committee of
the British Council of Disabled People, 1998
The following paper draws heavily on the British Council of Organisations of Disabled People's (BCODP) discussions on the issue of genetics and disabled people. Please note that this paper is NOT BCODP policy but rather a discussion document intended to encourage debate within the movement. For more information on the issue of genetics and disabled people BCODP please refer to the BCODP web site.
Assistive devices include a variety of tools and equipment that enable disabled people to be independent. A wheelchair can enable a person who cannot walk to move around their home, or to work or school. A white cane may make it possible for a person with a visual difficulty to be mobile, and a hearing aid can enable a deaf person to use a telephone. Provision of such devices help to ensure that people with disabilities function as active members of society.
The World Programme of Action Concerning People with Disabilities, launched by the United Nations in 1983, identifies three major programmes that are central if the marginalisation and oppression of disabled people throughout the world is to be addressed. These are:
European Anti-Discrimination Council ger sin årliga utmärkelse European Citizen Award till Adolf Ratzka, Independent Living Institute för sitt långa arbete mot diskriminerng.
EU Parlamentet röstade den 2 april 2009 med 360 mot 227 röster för en föstärkning av det planerade anti-diskrimineringsdirektivet. Bl a ska direktivet uttryckligen betecknar otillgänglinga allmänna kommmunikationer och byggnader som diskrimineringsgrund. Här följer några viktiga utdrag ur texten från Europarlamentets hemsida
HSO, Handikappförbunden, valde den 13 maj den före detta riksdagskvinnan Ingrid Burman som ordförande. Organisationen består av 43 medlemsförbund som sammanlagt representerar en halv milljon medlemmar. Eftersom Ingrid Burman inte har ett funktionshinder kan man tolka HSO:s val att ingen bland HSO:s medlemmar med funktionshinder anses kapabel att vara HSO:s ordförande, att egen erfarenhet av funktionshinder räknas inte som merit. Återigen får vi stå ut med att andra för vår talan, att allmänheten får intrycket att personer med funktionshinder inte kan tala för sig själva.
