Abstract
Experience has shown that the most effective national programs for enhancing the rights of a marginalized population are those that are both developed and implemented by organizations that represent those individuals. In the case of individuals ageing into, and with, a disability, there is a strangely absent alliance between disability organizations and those representing the elderly. This is strange because they have so much in common and there is a clear strategic value in their joining forces, especially in light of the powerful provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). I explore the historically salient reasons for this -misconceptions about disability and about ageing -and make suggestions -based on the model of disability found in the WHO’s International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) -that would help to address these misconceptions, and perhaps facilitate a robust alliance between advocates for the elderly and persons with disabilities. In light of this resolution, I conclude with a few additional success criteria for national strategies for rights protection.
Highlights
The best national programs protecting the rights of persons aging with disabilities Jerome Bickenbach, Leader, Disability Policy Unit, Swiss Paraplegic Research, Schweizer Paraplegiker-Forschung, Professor, Department of Health Sciences and Health Policy, University of Lucerne, Switzerland
I explore the historically salient reasons for this -misconceptions about disability and about ageing -- and make suggestions -- based on the model of disability found in the WHO’s International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) -- that would help to address these misconceptions, and perhaps facilitate a robust alliance between advocates for the elderly and persons with disabilities
Presentation available from the FICCDAT Growing Older conference site
Summary
November 2012 Publisher: Igitur publishing URL: http://www.ijic.org The best national programs protecting the rights of persons aging with disabilities Jerome Bickenbach, Leader, Disability Policy Unit, Swiss Paraplegic Research, Schweizer Paraplegiker-Forschung, Professor, Department of Health Sciences and Health Policy, University of Lucerne, Switzerland
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