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Transformative equality: Court accommodations for South African citizens with severe communication disabilities.

ABSTRACT: BackgroundPersons with disabilities are generally at greater risk of experiencing violence than their peers without a disability. Within the sphere of disability, individuals with severe communication disabilities are particularly vulnerable and have an increased risk of being a victim of abuse or violence and typically turn to their country’s criminal justice system to seek justice. Unfortunately, victims with disabilities are often denied fair and equal treatment before the court. Transformative equality should be pursued when identifying accommodations in court for persons with communication disabilities, as the aim should be to enable such individuals to participate equally in court, without barriers and discrimination.ObjectivesThis research aimed to identify court accommodations recommended by legal experts, which could assist individuals with severe communication disabilities in the South African court.MethodA qualitative design was used to conduct a discussion with a panel of legal experts.ResultsUsing Article 13 (Access to Justice) of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) as a human rights framework, four themes were identified: equality, accommodations, participation and training of professionals.ConclusionForeign and national law clearly prohibits discrimination against persons with communication disabilities because of their disability and state that they should be given fair and equal access to the court system. For transformative equality to be achieved, certain rules and laws need to be changed to include specific accommodations for persons with communication disabilities so that they may be enabled to participate effectively in court in the criminal justice system.

SUBMITTER: White RM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7203191 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BackgroundThe Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and universal design (UD) principles call for inclusive planning. Within the transportation field, this includes the development or improvement of facilities that accommodate people with disabilities. Between 10% and 20% of the African population is affected by disabilities. A lack of understanding of the needs of people with disabilities leads to isolation. Within the transportation field, isolation manifests itself as a reduction in trip-making.MethodsThis paper investigates the availability of transport policies and guidelines in 29 different African countries, focusing on the inclusion of persons with disabilities. A desktop study was conducted creating heat maps for 29 African countries, followed by the analysis of secondary data in the case study area, South Africa, demonstrating that the lack of adequate policies, guidelines, and appropriate implementation leads to a lack of accessibility, opportunities, and social isolation, measured through trip frequencies.ResultsThe data analysed revealed that many African countries omit, or only superficially include, people with disabilities in their transport policy framework. Ghana has the most inclusive People with Disabilities Act, while South Africa is most inclusive regarding their planning and design of transport facilities and services. In South Africa, 4.5% of the population did not travel at all in the 7 days before the interview, as disability or age prevented them from doing so, or due to a lack of appropriate travel services. When comparing the trip rates per week, people with disabilities travel significantly less, between 27.2% and 65.8%, than their abled counterparts.ConclusionsThe study reveals that people with disability live less integrated, more isolated lives due to the lack of acknowledgement in the transport policy framework and accommodation in infrastructure and services. The results underpin the need for disability-inclusive planning in the African context and provide recommendations for actions that mitigate the isolation challenges faced by people with disabilities. Municipalities play a crucial role in improving the quality of life for people with disabilities.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Persons with speech, language, and/or voice disabilities (collectively referred to as communication disabilities (CD)) represent 10% of the US population, yet their healthcare outcomes have not been described. Generally, research shows that persons with disabilities have poorer health and healthcare outcomes than their non-disabled peers. OBJECTIVES:To examine the health and healthcare outcomes of persons with CD compared to persons without CD. DESIGN:Retrospective cohort study of the 2012 National Health Interview Survey, which contained the first supplemental questions on CD. We compared proportional differences in outcomes; logistic and ordered logistic regression assessed the outcome measures across CD categories, controlling for demographics, non-communication disabilities, and chronic conditions. Findings are weighted to permit national inferences. PARTICIPANTS:Adults (??18 years old) were divided into 4 mutually exclusive groups: people with voice disabilities only; speech/language disabilities only; speech/language and voice disabilities; and people without CD. MAIN MEASURES:Chronic health conditions; self-rated health; access to care; unmet needs for care; healthcare utilization. KEY RESULTS:Adults with CD more frequently had ??1 chronic condition (voice 67.9%, speech/language 68.6%, speech/language and voice 79.9%, no CD 50.1%, p?<?0.001) and reported fair/poor health (voice 19.5%, speech/language 32.5%, speech/language and voice 48.3%, no CD 11.2%, p?<?0.001) compared to those without CD. Adults with CD more frequently utilized healthcare compared to those without CD. However, persons with CD endorsed greater difficulties accessing care than those without CD, including identifying a usual source of care, trouble finding a physician, and delaying or foregoing care (e.g., delayed due to availability of care: voice 26.1%, speech/language 37.2%, speech/language and voice 30.8% no CD 16.1%, p?<?0.001). CONCLUSIONS:Persons with CD are medically complex and experience greater challenges accessing healthcare than persons without CD. Healthcare providers need support and tools to provide equitable care that addresses the medical needs of persons with CD.

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Transformative equality: Court accommodations for South African citizens with severe communication disabilities.

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