How does access to Assistive Technology mediate recourse to Disability Justice for urban poor people? A study centring the experiences of disabled slum dwellers in Freetown, Sierra Leone

Abstract

This thesis addresses the central question of the role of Assistive Technology (AT) in mediating recourse to disability justice, centring the experiences of disabled slum dwellers in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Taking evidence from six datasets collected across four years, the study maps the local experience to the national and global picture offering a strategic reflection on the current state of work in the sector. The evidence from Sierra Leone (SL) reveals that quality AT is missing for almost all poor, disabled people. A novel finding from the research is that the lack of AT is most apparent for those who live in mainstream mixed urban settlements where disability identity is stigmatised and often hidden. Disabled people living together in an autonomously-organised settlement did – mostly - have AT, indicating further investigation into the role of collective action and autonomous organisation would be fruitful. Picking up themes emerging from the SL evidence globally, the study reveals that the AT interventions of core actors do not align with a single common operational framework. Borrowing from Amartya Sen’s seminal provocation Equality of What? (Sen, 1980), AT for what? becomes a pertinent question in the face of this dissensus. The study finds that the provision of AT within an operational framework of Disability Justice would better ensure the needs and aspirations of poor disabled people were prioritised in investment and priority setting. The thesis proposes, and tests, the potential configuration of a disability justice framework, as a basis future work can build from. Taken as a whole, the evidence presented in this study suggests that the claims for disability justice (including access to AT) of urban poor disabled people are often subjugated to background conditions, sitting behind the life-and-death claims for the basic need of life for the whole community (water, shelter, food). Therefore, any framework for disability justice must itself be linked to a broader push for justice for all poor people to be meaningful and impactful. Similarly, any broad social justice movement should place disability justice at its heart if it intends to drive for progressive change that benefits all. Finally, this study finds that AT is more than a commonplace element of the struggle for justice due to its fundamental necessity as an enabler of participation. The evidence suggests that AT can be viewed as a transitional demand of Disability Justice