Resource Kit No.7
Civil Rights Law And Disabled People
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
The Way that the resource kit is organised
PART ONE
ARE CIVIL RIGHTS LAWS WHAT WE NEED?
DIFFERENT TYPES OF LAW
Civil rights, human rights and non-discrimination
WHY BOTHER WITH CIVIL RIGHTS LEGISLATION?
Well it worked there...
Everyone will support what we are trying to do... won't they?
PUTTING CIVIL RIGHTS ON THE AGENDA
SETTING THE AGENDA
Can you draw up your own legislation?
PART 2
WHAT MIGHT CIVIL RIGHTS LEGISLATION INCLUDE?
DECIDING WHO WILL BE PROTECTED BY THE LEGISLATION
Defining 'disabled' - the different approaches
WHAT AREAS OF LIFE SHOULD BE AFFECTED BY THE CIVIL RIGHTS LAW?
How different areas of life affect each other
Watch your language!
Does existing civil rights law offer a blueprint for disability legislation?
Adjustments - what, when and where?
PART 3
WHERE DO YOU GO FROM HERE?
SPEAKING WITH ONE VOICE
CONCLUSION
APPENDIX 1
DEFINITIONS OF 'DISABLED PERSON'
DETAILED EXAMPLES
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 - a lesson in complexity!
USA - The Americans With Disabilities Act 1990
Definitions of 'disabled person' around the world
INTRODUCTION
This is a Resource Kit for organisations of disabled people that need to know more about legislation to protect the rights of disabled people. In preparing the Resource Kit, we have tried to remember that:
· law is often talked about and used in a way that few people understand - the language and procedures of law seem to be designed to exclude people and prevent them understanding what is going on.
· law is not the most exciting subject!
So, although this Resource Kit looks at different types of law, it tries to do so in a practical way. We are aware that having a law and having access to it are often very different things. The Resource Kit also looks at some of the problems with law itself and the strange way that courts sometimes interpret it.
If your organisation is determined to work towards full and enforceable rights for disabled people, remember to look at other issues, such as:
· making sure that your organisation can deal with extra calls for information or help from disabled people, politicians and the media,
· running seminars to explain the need for civil rights law to journalists, for example.
Other resource kits published by DAA may help you to organise an effective campaign.
THE WAY THAT THE RESOURCE KIT IS ORGANISED
The Resource kit is divided into three sections:
· Part 1 looks at whether it is worth bothering with civil rights laws and some of the objections that will be raised. We also look at some of the things that organisations will have to do to make sure that they don't give politicians excuses to forget the need for civil rights law!
· Part 2 examines the areas of life that might be included in civil rights legislation for disabled people, as well as the way in which it is decided who will be protected by it and how.
· Part 3 reminds us that the need for effective representation of disabled people, in all aspects of life, does not stop when civil rights laws are passed - many people would say that it is just the beginning!
Although campaigns for full and enforceable rights for disabled people have not been easily won in any country, disabled people have already made the wider society understand the issues and won their support for legislation.
PART ONE
ARE CIVIL RIGHTS LAWS WHAT WE NEED?
DIFFERENT TYPES OF LAW
CIVIL RIGHTS, HUMAN RIGHTS AND NON-DISCRIMINATION
When people talk about stopping discrimination against a particular group in society, there are a number of phrases that are usually used, but not always in the same way. People talk about 'civil rights', 'human rights' and 'anti-discrimination legislation', but often they talk as if all these things are the same. In normal conversation, the differences between 'civil rights' and 'human rights' may not matter but, as is often the case, they mean very different things in law.
Although this is not meant to be a legal textbook, it might be worthwhile if we spend a little time thinking about what these popular phrases actually mean to lawyers, if for no other reason than to help you to be clear about what it is you would like!
The idea of human rights has an ancient history - Greek and Roman philosophers, religious leaders and legal experts have all considered those 'rights' that are owed to all humans, for no other reason than that they are human. Such 'rights' are seen as going to the very heart of what it is to be human and are traditionally treated as being 'above' law made by man[What legal scholars describe as positive law.] - the result is that, at least in legal theory, man-made law cannot reduce or remove human rights, human rights exist whether man-made laws say they do or not. This way of viewing human rights sets a standard that cannot be affected by law, they exist whatever the law may say, but as is clear all over the world, reality often fails to meet such philosophical ambitions.
Civil rights, rather than being rights that all of us should have, simply because we are human beings, deal with what individuals or groups of people can do within the law. In legal terms, civil rights can be thought of as those that are written in a country's law or code and interpreted by the courts. Although human rights are thought to exist, no matter what the law says, civil rights exist only to the extent that there are laws that create those rights.
A particularly dramatic example of the difference between human and civil rights might help; the right to life is a universal and essential human right but, if the law in my country gives permission for the state to take away my life, so long as the correct legal procedures have been followed, executing me would not be a breach of my civil rights, even though it must be a breach of my human rights.
Non-discrimination or anti-discrimination laws are specific pieces of legislation that protect the rights of certain groups of people against poor treatment based on a particular characteristic, such as their gender, religion, ethnic background or disability. For present purposes, we can say that anti-discrimination legislation would prohibit people and organisations treating us less favourably than other people, on the basis of our impairments. Rather than stating what our rights are, as disabled people, anti-discrimination legislation is more likely to describe the kinds of things that other people cannot do to disabled people - preventing use of a shop, refusing employment, or failing to remove physical barriers.
Perhaps the easiest way to think of human rights, civil rights and anti-discrimination legislation is to view them as a list, with human rights being the most important, and therefore at the top of the list, followed by civil rights and anti-discrimination legislation at the bottom.
Although discussion of the various phrases used, and their legal meanings, may seem needlessly complicated, it does hint at the size of the task facing you when drawing up laws to protect our rights. In order to ensure that the situation of disabled people is fully protected, all three areas - human rights, civil rights and anti-discrimination legislation - will have to be addressed.
The right to shop or work is meaningless without the right to life, to found a family and to self-determination.[The right to self-determination means that people can make decisions for themselves, rather than having officials make and impose decisions for them.] The right to vote or take part in the political life of a country is meaningless unless disabled people are able to gain access to the polling station or to information they need.
When working toward enforceable rights for disabled people, it will be helpful if you are clear about what sort of rights you are talking about - are your human rights already protected by the constitution, or do you need to win constitutional protection for your human rights? Are you trying to protect your civil rights or is the need for anti-discrimination legislation? The answers to these questions will help you to organise a more effective campaign.
Trying to achieve protection of disabled people's rights in all these areas - human, civil and anti-discrimination - would be an enormous task. From now on, we will refer to 'civil rights' in this Guide, as it seems to more accurately describe the sort of legal protection that most disabled people are working towards.
WHY BOTHER WITH CIVIL RIGHTS LEGISLATION?
WELL, IT WORKED THERE...
Disabled people in more and more countries are trying to persuade their government to pass civil rights law that will help to improve the way in which disabled people are treated. A growing number of reports, from all over the world, show that disabled people are excluded from even the most basic human rights that other people take for granted. But, as a group, disabled people are becoming much better at organising themselves and working toward greater inclusion for all disabled people.
Some laws that have been passed in one country have been heard about in others and the hopes and plans of thousands of disabled people around the globe are affected by it: 'they managed it there, we can do it here!' But the situation in one country-its history, culture, economy and politics-is likely to be very different from the situation in other countries. To put it another way, just because one sort of law works in the USA does not mean that it would work in Zimbabwe.
It is always helpful for disabled people in one region to know as much as possible about what is happening to disabled people in other countries, but we must remember to apply that information in a way that takes account of the local situation. Some countries have a long tradition of human and civil rights law to protect its citizens, so there is far more support for new types of law. Other places manage to achieve a great deal, but without having to rely on formal measures, like law. One is not necessarily better than the other - it is the result that matters!
EVERYONE WILL SUPPORT WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO DO... WON'T THEY?
No!
Not only might there be quite a few people who are against civil rights law, you may also be surprised by who is against it. Even among disabled people themselves, there are very different opinions about the advantages and disadvantages of passing laws intended to protect our civil rights. If your efforts to get civil rights law passed are gaining support, then all sorts of people will want to publicise how bad such laws would be for everyone - including disabled people themselves!
Starting a campaign for full and enforceable civil rights will upset a lot of people-disabled and non-disabled-and is likely to mean that your organisation will be looked at under a microscope. If you are going to be able to deal with some of the foolish things that you will be accused of, it is vital that your organisation is prepared. For example:
· Some people will suggest that you do not represent disabled people in your country - you must make sure that your organisation is democratic and that it is disabled people themselves who make the decisions, after a fair vote.
· Make sure that your organisation listens to the views of others - even those who disagree with your views - and tries to learn from them. It is better to know and understand what other people think so that you can put your arguments more clearly.
· Ensure that your organisation is run in a professional way - bills are paid on time, staff are treated properly and any funding that you have received has been spent wisely and properly accounted for. You must practice what you preach!
It doesn't matter how 'right' the case for civil rights legislation or how irrelevant these other issues might seem, if you are winning the argument some groups will sink to any level to try and stop you.
IN SOME COUNTRIES, ANY ATTEMPT TO IMPROVE CIVIL RIGHTS IS LIKELY TO ANNOY SOME POWERFUL GROUPS SO MUCH THAT DISABLED PEOPLE'S SAFETY MAY BE PUT AT RISK. IF YOU THINK THAT THIS MIGHT BE THE CASE IN YOUR COUNTRY, THE SAFETY OF DISABLED PEOPLE MUST BE YOUR GREATEST CONCERN.
PUTTING CIVIL RIGHTS ON THE AGENDA
We have already talked about 'campaigning' for civil rights legislation a number of times in this Kit, and this is precisely what you will need to do. Governments, the world over, have the difficult task of choosing, from a vast selection of competing claims, the issues on which they will legislate. The economy, environmental protection, general employment measures, sophisticated international crime - any number of issues will matter at different times.
The challenge for disabled people is to make disability an important issue.
Because of people's attitude toward, and non-disabled 'experts' ownership of, disability, creating a situation where disability is seen as important is very difficult.
Many of us know about the Americans with Disabilities Act, but few are aware of the effort that thousands of disabled Americans put into getting that law. Because of the very different opinions that disabled people have, agreeing a strategy for a civil rights campaign may be far more difficult than you think. Even before you consider the issues that should be included in that campaign, you will need to agree how the campaign is to be run. Some people think that 'direct action' - demonstrations, sit-ins and marches, are the best way to campaign. Other people are against direct action and would encourage meetings with ministers, so that they can be persuaded of the need for civil rights legislation.