The Following is a Guest Post by Deborah Stienstra, Professor of Disability Studies at University of Manitoba
On February 10, 2012,
the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that a women with intellectual
disabilities could testify on her own behalf as the victim in a case
of sexual assault. By a majority vote, the Court agreed that she
understood what it meant to tell the truth even though she could
not articulate what truth was. She and many other women and men with
disabilities challenge society to extend our understandings of
individual human rights, personhood and autonomy. In this ruling we
are taught that courts need to recognize that the competence required
to bear witness to one’s own experience is something those often
labeled ‘not competent’ have. We are also taught about the
importance of disability rights. Disability rights take
us beyond simple assertions that individuals in their differences
need to be accommodated. While accommodation and removing barriers to
women and men with disabilities in society are important steps to
ensuring inclusion, disability rights require us to go beyond
inclusion to transformation of ourselves and our societies.
Disability takes us to
the heart of humanity and human rights. How can human rights be
available to those who cannot speak, cannot move their bodies without
supports, and need assistance for every aspect of human life? How do
societies reflect the diversity of human bodies and ways of doing
things? How do human rights move from including people with
disabilities into able-bodied societies towards transformed societies
that enable multiple ways of doing things, all of which are part of
humanity?
In a just-published
book, About Canada: Disability Rights, I argue that including
people with disabilities fully in Canadian society, with the rights
enjoyed by non-disabled Canadians, requires social transformation,
not simply “fixing” some bodies or making some adaptations. It
requires all people to recognize and redress attitudes, cultural
images and policies that make people with disabilities invisible, set
them aside in institutions, undermine or reject their contributions
and value, and justify their neglect, abuse and death. It
also calls upon each person to appreciate the possibilities of living
a rich and complex life with disabilities, the liberating benefits of
the right supports, the ways in which we all belong and the
importance of relationships and caring for all in society. It
involves the simple recognition and honouring of the dignity,
autonomy and rights of all people, including those who experience
disabilities.
When
we equate the differences of disabilities with negative or
undesirable experiences, we reduce people with disabilities to lesser
citizens. But when we recognize the diversity of humanity that
disability and impairment illustrate, we reject the fantasy that
able-bodied people are “whole,” “invulnerable” or “normal.”
Instead, we recognize a diverse and complex humanity with many forms
of bodies, including bodies with impairments. This rich version of
humanity allows us to see people with disabilities as full of
possibilities and potential.
In
asserting the diversity of humanity, people with disabilities expand
our understanding of humanity, including variations that require the
support of aids and devices or of a community. In declaring their
independence and competence, including to bear witness to their own
experiences, people with disabilities give models to all Canadians
about ensuring our voices are heard, our needs are met and our
contributions are valued and respected.
Deborah
Stienstra is Professor of Disability Studies at University of
Manitoba and author of About Canada:
Disability Rights (Fernwood, 2012).
Excellent post.
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