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Author: ashettle

Creating Easy to Understand Content

Access to information allows us to learn new things, participate in society, make choices, and defend our human rights. But most information is not accessible for people with intellectual disabilities. People with intellectual disabilities deserve information, too. Article 9 in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) states that information needs… Continue reading Creating Easy to Understand Content

Disability Rights Materials Online

Global Disability Rights Now! is a comprehensive resource center led by a coalition of organizations funded by the U.S. Department of State that provides information, tools, and best practices to implement and enforce laws and policies to protect the rights of people with disabilities. Content is available in English, Armenian, Spanish, and Vietnamese. DREDF’s International Disability… Continue reading Disability Rights Materials Online

Inclusive Voter Education

Voter education initiatives try to reach all citizens to make the election process inclusive of everyone. Messages about elections need to be shared with people with disabilities and they also provide an opportunity to provide positive support to disability rights. The voter education efforts described below provide good examples of how governments and organizations can… Continue reading Inclusive Voter Education

Initiating Public-Private Partnerships

Partnerships connect organizations, whether they are disabled persons’ organizations (DPOs), civil society organizations (CSOs), or informal groups, with peers, governments, donors, or companies. When public, nonprofit organizations enter into a partnership with private, for-profit organizations, it is called a public-private partnership (or PPP). What is involved in a PPP? Many private, for-profit organizations donate money (in the form of… Continue reading Initiating Public-Private Partnerships

Expanding Disability Rights through Political Participation

There are many effective ways to advocate for disability rights. From signing a petition to engaging in a discussion with stakeholders, making meaningful changes to society starts with participating in public life. Political participation provides the opportunity for disability rights advocates to connect with decision-makers. Why Participate in Political Life? Building an inclusive society begins… Continue reading Expanding Disability Rights through Political Participation

Accessible Transportation

Access to public transportation is one of the biggest issues for people with disabilities in our century. Without accessible transportation, many people with disabilities simply cannot get to school or the workplace, hindering their full participation in society. Accessibility features in public transportation benefit non-disabled people too. A few examples include: A lift or ramp… Continue reading Accessible Transportation

Making Violence Prevention Programs Work for Women with Disabilities

Women and girls with disabilities are frequently at high risk for gender-based violence including domestic violence, sexual assault, rape, and coerced abortion and sterilization. Some programs have been successful in preventing, eliminating, and responding to violence, exploitation, and abuse against women and girls with disabilities. The publication, Making it Work initiative on gender and disability inclusion:… Continue reading Making Violence Prevention Programs Work for Women with Disabilities

Using the Inter-American Human Rights System

Introduction Indigenous women and girls with disabilities face marginalization, discrimination, and exclusion on the basis of their indigenous identity, their gender, and their disability status. Protecting their human rights may require both domestic advocacy (within your country) and also regional or international advocacy. In North, Central, and South America, indigenous women with disabilities can use… Continue reading Using the Inter-American Human Rights System