Young people with disabilities are among the poorest and most marginalised of the world’s youth. Estimates suggest that there are between 180 and 220 million youth with disabilities worldwide, and nearly 80 percent of them live in developing countries.
When a child is born or develops a disability, it is often seen as a tragic event by his or her family and community. In many countries, there are certain traditional beliefs associated with the causes of disability, such as curses and contagion, which results in these children and their mothers being shunned and isolated. Moreover, families tend not to prioritise the needs of children with disabilities, which is shown by higher levels of malnutrition, lower rates of immunisation, and higher rates of infection and communicable disease among children with disabilities.
All of the issues that affect young people, such as access to education, employment, health care and social services, also affect youth with disabilities, but in a far more complex way. Attitudes and discrimination linked to disability make it much more difficult for them to go to school, to find work or to participate in local activities. In many communities, both rural and urban, the environment is immensely challenging with physical and communication barriers that make it hard for them to participate in social life.
There is a significant dearth of research on the prevalence and consequences of disabilities among youth. The data that does exist shows that young people with disabilities face many more challenges than their non-disabled peers. In addition, they may also have to cope with challenges linked to gender, poverty, ethnicity or sexuality.
This publication attempts to bring the voices, experiences and observations of young people with disabilities to the forefront. The publication aims to fill some of the knowledge gaps on young people with disabilities, and raise awareness of the specific issues facing them.
How and why this publication came about?
This publication puts a spotlight of the lives, views and experiences of young people with disabilities from around the developing world. It presents a challenge to policy makers and development agencies to pay greater attention to their needs, concerns, and potential. Their voices shaped the content and priorities expressed in this publication and, wherever possible, direct experiences have been quoted or summarised.
In order to generate the information included in this publication young people with disabilities from twelve developing countries took part in a consultation exercise through which they shared their thoughts and experiences on a range of important issues. The main tool for the consultation was an open-ended questionnaire, which was developed in collaboration with a group of young people with disabilities, the Division for Social Policy and Development at the United Nations Secretariat, and the international non-governmental organisation (NGO) Leonard Cheshire Disability.
Under a variety of themes, young people with disabilities were given the chance to talk about the areas of development that are most important in their lives. These ranged from topics such as education, health care and poverty, employment, information and communications technology and participation. All 15 of the WPAY priority areas were included in the questionnaire, giving young people with disabilities the opportunity to describe how these global issues affect them personally.
The respondents were members of ‘Young Voices’, a project that supports groups of persons with disabilities aged 16–25 years who, with the support of Leonard Cheshire Disability, now campaign and advocate for their rights. The groups’ members have a range of disabilities (such as physical, hearing, visual, intellectual, and albino), are of both genders and come from a variety of different geographical locations. In this manner, the consultation process was able to capture an array of individual experiences and views.
In total, 75 young people responded with their ideas, stories, photographs and comments, all of which are linked to the themes of youth in the global economy, youth and their well-being, and youth in civil society. This publication examines their experiences, recognises their diversity and accomplishments, and provides an opportunity for them to speak directly about the challenges they face and recommend effective solutions.
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and why is it important for young people
“Through the CRPD, we can actively participate in the programmes of non-disabled people and share our ideas and opinions. There will be less discrimination and non-disabled people will pay more respect to youth with disabilities.” Dianne, Philippines
May 2008 marked a turning point in the history of disability rights, when the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) came into force. There is now fuller understanding that it is not the physical limitations of persons with disabilities, but rather the physical, institutional and attitudinal barriers generated by society that create inequalities. Today, the CPRD provides young people with disabilities considerable potential for improving the opportunities available to them, and it provides support for all their efforts in working towards full inclusion. The CRPD calls upon its States Parties to make changes, adopt new measures, including legislative action to achieve the goal of full and equal participation in life and society for persons with disabilities
The CRPD covers the whole range of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to education, work, health, justice, life, independent living, personal mobility and participation in recreational activities. It emphasises that all development should be inclusive of, and benefit people with disabilities, making it the first international human rights treaty to highlight this need clearly.