Disability rights movement
The disability movement is a social movement of disabled people who want to take their own interests. They also want to make society aware of disability-related needs, strengthen the self- understanding of people with disabilities and thus prevent the exclusion of people with disabilities in society over the long term. Whether full integration should be a goal of the disability movement, is controversial within the groups. In the Federal Republic of Germany, the disability movement has developed a long time in the delineation of major charities and the established disability organizations. Some were considered obstructors because they also run a variety of special facilities such as homes, the others were considered to be adjusted. A significant representatives of the disability movement was Gusti Steiner, who already organized actions against ableism in the 1970s.
Historical Context
In Western cultures, people have been marginalized with perceptual disabilities have always been and discriminated against. In the Middle Ages was a congenital disability as a work of the devil, certain superstitions remained throughout the 20th century. A native of the Greek philosopher physiognomy doctrine put forth a relationship between disability and character traits that came up again later under the influence of racial theory. Eugenic sterilization motivated women with disabilities were held again and again in recent times.
In contrast to earlier today engage disabled people themselves actively in the debate, organize and represent their concerns even if they are capable of doing. They see themselves as representatives of those who can not enter for their own interests, for example, of the unborn, who have tested positive during a prenatal diagnosis. At the beginning of the 21st century, the debate on the relationship between society on disability because of the possibilities of prenatal diagnosis is more relevant than ever.
Central themes
Central themes include self-determination and independence of people with disabilities: access to professional world, including vocational training, accessibility of public buildings, existence-securing pensions, reduction of legal and other discrimination, actively promote the integration and disabled construction.
Development in the German speaking countries
Since the 1960s, people with disabilities organize in associations, foundations, lobbies, self-help organizations and consortiums. In addition to political work, many self-help actions take place (for example, handicapped taxi ). It created specific organizations for people with specific disabilities ( blind, deaf, physically disabled, mentally disabled people, etc. ).
The actual disability movement has taken its beginning in the early 1970s in Frankfurt's community college course on "Managing the environment," the Ernst Klee and Gusti Steiner offered. "We had architectural barriers, constructional disabilities in direct confrontation with the ' predicate Disabled Hostile ' excellent, two war victims' associations, the social services, the general local health insurance and the health department of the city of Frankfurt had us being targeted. The next day we organized in the city center of Frankfurt, a wheelchair - training, during which we blocked a tram. A wheelchair user tried to enter the tram. Levels and a center bar blocking his access. Meanwhile, I rolled on the rails, introduced me to the tram and explained via a megaphone that buses, trams, subway trains were not designed for the disabled. "
Important milestones were the actions against the " UN International Year of Disabled Persons " in 1981, the cripple tribunal against human rights abuses in the welfare state in 1981, the commitment to the performances of the "euthanasia" philosopher Peter Singer in Germany in 1989 and the campaign for the introduction of anti-discrimination commandment in Article 3 paragraph of the Basic Law ( constitution ), and the fight for anti-discrimination laws.
The various organizations can be found in Germany in the German Disability Council and the Federal Working Group helping the disabled, in Switzerland in the Pro Infirmis together.
Development in the U.S.
In the U.S., the disability rights movement in the 1970s to a significant force; encourages it was of the examples of African-American civil rights movement and the second wave of the women's movement that began in the late 1960s. One of the most important developments was the Independent Living Movement, which originated in California. Another turning point was the nationwide sit-in of government buildings, the Frank Bowe had suggested. It was organized by the American Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities in 1977, found in buildings of national health authority HEW (United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare ) in San Francisco and Washington, DC place and led to changes of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Prior to the adoption of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, this was the most important law in relation to disability.