Understanding issues of people living with disabilities in South Africa

The problem of disabilities is growing all over the world. Nevertheless, some progress has been made since the year 1981 was proclaimed International Year of Disabled Persons. In 2001 people living with disabilities accounted for 5% of the South African population. Because of their disabilities or the perception society has regarding their potential, this population is mostly economically inactive. This study assesses the relationship between disabilities and the adverse socio-economic impacts. Both descriptive and logistics regression models are used to understand the problem by exploring the data of the 2006 South African General Household Survey. The overall people living with disabilities and aged 15–49 years is estimated at 1742 (961 males and 780 females), when exploring people with disabilities findings reveal that the Western Cape Province’s disabled are mostly affected by physical disabilities (40%). People living with disabilities are 3.5 times (p < 0.01) more likely to suffer from illness/injuries (flu, tuberculosis (TB) and severe cough, diarrhea, blood pressure and HIV/AIDS) than others. Therefore, the study aims to contribute to a better condition of people living with disabilities in South Africa by informing and possibly changing the public perception about them.International Bibliography of Social Science

Disabling imagery and the media An exploration of the principles for media representations of disabled people

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:q93/01732(Disabling) / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Demolishing `special needs' Fundamental principles of non-discriminatory housing

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:q96/24443 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Cashing in on independence Comparing the costs and benefits of cash &amp; services

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:q95/03853 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Access denied Human rights and disabled people

SIGLEGBUnited Kingdo

Social policy for people with dementia in England: promoting human rights?

This paper discusses whether current UK social policy promotes the human rights of people with dementia living in England. The author focuses on the role of recent legal reforms and key developments in social care policy – notably the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the 2009 National Dementia Strategy – in facilitating their human rights to liberty and self-determination, particularly a right to choose to live at home. The extent to which the National Dementia Strategy provides access to services and support which provide an alternative to institutional care is critiqued. Whilst recent legislative change has endorsed the rights of people with dementia to liberty and self-determination, it is suggested there is a lack of commitment in government policy more generally to providing access to social care to enable people with dementia to exercise these human rights

Autonomy in long-term care: a need, a right or a luxury?

Doyal and Gough’s theory of human need highlighted that personal autonomy is a universal need and human right, essential for well‐being. In applying their theory to older disabled people in the UK the author suggests that their ‘minimally autonomous’ threshold would exclude some older people in long‐term care who still have a fundamental need for autonomy or, alternatively, extant autonomy. The disability movement has highlighted that independent living is fundamental to achieving self‐determination for disabled people and debate on equality and caregiving emphasises the autonomy of carers. However, there is a lack of recognition in both academic research and government policy of autonomy as a need and right of older disabled people. The author argues that autonomy is a human right of older people living in long‐term care settings, but that social rights are necessary to facilitate their autonomy