Disability news, November 2024, by country
Library > November 2024
This page is organized by country, you can also see links organized by subject.
This update has 152 curated links from 46 countries and regions, organized across 42 subjects.
For discussion and reaction, see Delusions and draft-dodging.
Contents
Resources
Global
International News
Delivering Inclusive Design in Cities: A Global Action Report. “The aim of this report is to equip cities with practical but evidence-based actions to accelerate accessibility and inclusion in their physical infrastructure, buildings, services and operation.” (Nov, AT 2030)
The Cutting-Edge Hearing Aids That You May Already Own “Apple is preparing to turn its AirPods Pro 2 into easy-to-use aids for people with mild to moderate hearing loss.” (Oct, New York Times)
Disability Rights Are Technology Rights “Technological self-determination is important for every technology user, and it’s especially important for users with disabilities.”:
“Unfortunately, the same tech companies that devote substantial effort to building in assistive features often devote even more effort to ensuring that their gadgets, code and systems can’t be modified by their users.” (Oct, Electronic Frontier Foundation)
In Civil Society and Community:
True Advocacy for Dwarfism Awareness Month “Real change comes from advocacy that challenges the status quo.” (Oct, Rooted in Rights)
In Climate Crisis and Environment:
Want to tell stories at the intersection of climate change and disability justice? Tips by Áine Kelly-Costello, ideas for your next story, data and resources on climate change and disability justice (Nov, Reframing Disability)
Integrating disability rights into climate action – now! policy brief on disability-inclusive climate action. (Nov, IDA and IDDC)
Global disability movement demands seat at the “COP table”:
“The organisations explain that the UN is stalling in the creation of an official constituency of persons with disabilities, which already exists for other groups such as women and youth and for other UN frameworks.” (Sep, EDF)
In Culture, Entertainment and Media:
The art of audio description can turn dance into a moving experience for all. “Stopgap’s revelatory stage production Lived Fiction is committed to opening up dance for the whole audience” (Nov, Guardian)
Review of 'Project(ing) Human: Representations of Disability in Science Fiction'
“The collection’s real value, rather, is in its clear presentation of sci-fi as being uniquely positioned to reflect and reflect on cultural attitudes, (mis)conceptions, and desires surrounding dis/ability.” (Oct, H-Net)
Inside the world of blind musicians: how we learn music and perform with other musicians. (Oct, ABC News)
Want to tell stories at the intersection of climate change and disability justice? Tips by Áine Kelly-Costello, ideas for your next story, data and resources on climate change and disability justice (Nov, Reframing Disability)
Advertising Disability a book on how advertising shapes attitudes towards disability:
“The research presented in the book provides a much-needed examination of the ways in which disability and mental health issues are depicted in different types of advertising, including charity 'sadvertisements', direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertisements and 'pro-diversity' brand campaigns. Textual analyses of advertisements from the eighteenth century onwards reveal how advertising reinforces barriers facing disabled people, such as stigmatising attitudes, ableist beauty 'ideals', inclusionism and the unstable crutch of charity.” (Jun, Routledge)
UN Flagship Report On Disability And Development 2024 An important overview of available evidence on disability:
“The report indicates that persons with disabilities are often left behind in the efforts to achieve Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, with wide gaps persisting between persons with and without disabilities, particularly on food security, health, and access to energy and ICT. Considering COVID-19, the report assesses the different ways the pandemic impacted progress towards achieving these goals and identifies concrete steps forward that is inclusive for all.” (Nov, UNDESA)
In Digital Accessibility and Technology:
Disability Data: Improving Representation to Drive AI Innovation A collaboration between Microsoft and Be My Eyes ”to bring high-quality, disability representative data to help train AI systems.” (Oct, Microsoft)
25 Accessibility Tips to Celebrate 25 Years a nice collection of actionable tips. (Oct, WebAIM)
Sony Wants to Make VR More Accessible for Deaf Gamers (Oct, Game Rant)
In Economics and Social Protection:
Disability Inclusive Trade: “An informal inter-organizational Technical Working Group on Trade and Disability Inclusion has been established in response to the growing demand for international trade policies that address the specific challenges and opportunities faced by persons with disabilities.” (Sep, ILO)
Their mission? To mould us. The persistence of segregation in education, from its colonial roots to now. Plus a love-hate relationship with education. (Nov, Disability Debrief)
Being left behind beyond recovery: ‘crip time’ and chronic illness in neoliberal academia:
“Moving towards deadlines I’ll struggle to meet, marking time that brings career progression for others but leaves me behind. Yet compared to others with chronic illness, I know I am lucky. I can do enough to keep working in academia, was in secure employment before my illness began, and have reasonable adjustments that make work possible. Still the clock tick, tick, ticks while I struggle to gather my thoughts, or focus on what I need to do. Tick, tick, tick as I am left further behind.” (Oct, Social & Cultural Geography)
In Health:
Advancing inclusive care pathways for people with disabilities (Sep, McKinsey Health Institute)
Queer Disability through History: a book on The Queer and Disabled Movements through their Personalities. (Oct, Pen & Sword Books)
In Independent Living and Deinstitutionalization:
UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture recognises institutions as places of deprivation of liberty The Subcommittee defines the term “deprivation of liberty” as:
“any form of detention or imprisonment or the placement of a person in a public or private custodial setting which that person is not permitted to leave at will by order of any judicial, administrative or other authority.” (Oct, ENIL)
Fairer Funding More Power to Disability Justice Activists and Organisations:
“Fairer funding for organisations of persons with disabilities means them having the power to set their own priorities, lead their own work, manage their own resources, and speak with their own voice.” (Nov, ADD)
Unequal partnership Funders should support the disability movement more directly: analysis of recent research that reveals grassroots organisations of persons with disabilities are funded as “indirectly as possible”. (Nov, Disability Debrief)
Driving change: six principles for inclusive development, findings from the Inclusive Futures programme. (Sep, Inclusive Futures)
In Mental Health:
Key concepts for mad justice booklets exploring issues for the exercise of rights. (In Spanish, Redesfera)
In Mobility, Travel, Transport and Tourism:
The Era of Airlines Neglecting Disability Rights Is Coming to an End “A landmark $50 million penalty issued against a major U.S. airline for failing disabled travelers highlights years of systemic neglect and marks a pivotal moment for accessibility in air travel.” (Nov, Afar)
Compilation of CRPD Closing Observations by each article of the convention: updated. (Sep, IDA)
Voting and Disability Rights: Safeguarding persons with disabilities' right to full and effective political participation. (Oct, Harvard Law School Project on Disability)
In Relationships, Sex and Reproductive Rights:
Queer Disability through History: a book on The Queer and Disabled Movements through their Personalities. (Oct, Pen & Sword Books)
Disability Hate Crime an edited collection:
“Bringing together perspectives from academics, practitioners, campaigners, and activists, this book explores the victimology of disability hate crime”. (Sep, Routledge)
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Africa
Africa
Participatory research with youth with disabilities: Experiences from sub-Saharan Africa. (Oct, African Journal of Disability)
In Gender Equality and Women with Disabilities:
Powerful yet overlooked: African women with disabilities and the ongoing struggle for inclusion, 30 years after Beijing:
“The report reveals significant government failures in addressing the intersection of gender and disability. While global and regional frameworks exist, their implementation is weak. Of 31 gender-based violence policies analysed in the 2024 Policy review of GBV policies by [Making it Work], two-thirds neglect women with disabilities, and only 6% include targeted measures. Women with disabilities are often excluded from economic empowerment, social protection, and leadership opportunities, with policies frequently lacking disaggregated data and failing to address their specific challenges.” (Oct, Humanity & Inclusion)
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Algeria
A new law to better assist and protect people with disabilities. (In French, Oct, Algérie 360)
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Ethiopia
Healing the scars of Tigray's war Two years on, survivors of 2020-2022 conflict hope fragile peace prevails. (Nov, Aljazeera)
Photo Essay: The scars we bear “The Tigray Disabled Veterans Association in Mekele, survived the war in Tigray and is rehabilitating disabled people regardless of their role in the carnage.” (No alternate text, Nov, The Continent)
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Kenya
In Lived Experience and Opinion:
Tears Behind the Smile: 27 Years of Being Blind. Mugami Paul with a poetic retrospective:
“For 27 years, the dark's been my guide,
A world unseen, but felt inside.
I’ve learned to hear what eyes don’t find,
To trust in touch, in voice, in mind.” (Oct)
In Mobility, Travel, Transport and Tourism:
Kenyan ride-hailing company helps people with disabilities get mobile. (Oct, Africanews)
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Malawi
In Health:
Dehumanising hospitals fail mothers with impairments: “the hospital system is not set up for them, so they suffer indignity – and worse.” (Nov, The Continent)
Celebrating Mussa Chiwaula's Vision and the Journey We Shared (Oct, George Mwika Kayange)
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Sudan
How the war in Sudan has cast its shadow on people with disabilities. (In Arabic, Oct, AlJazeera)
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Uganda
“Frivolous, erroneous and obnoxious”: persons with disabilities critique the Uganda Bureau of Statistics which found in 2024 a reduced prevalence of disability of 5.7%. (Oct, New Vision)
In Health:
Exploring the barriers to healthcare access among persons with disabilities: a qualitative study in rural Luuka district, Uganda. In the words of one participant:
“I feel frustrated that even if I get to the health facility, am going to be outside because no one will push my wheelchair into the building without the ramps. When I am well dressed, I have to crawl on the floor from one place to another and get dirty in order to get treatment. That alone hinders me from going to the hospital.” (Nov, BMJ Open)
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Zambia
Albinism and Rights in Zambia: a study report exploring experiences, sociocultural conditions and access to justice:
“This study found that discrimination and stigma against persons with albinism were rife. People relate albinism to bad omens, curses and ghosts or claim that it was a result of the mother’s adulterous relations. Conversely, the body parts of persons with albinism have been regarded as a source of wealth and prosperity. These myths have aroused hate, fear or ambivalence. As a result, those with albinism are vulnerable and exposed to multiple forms of discrimination and violations of their rights, such as physical attacks, sexual violence, lack of access to education, health and employment. This study found that violence against persons with albinism was fuelled by cultural practices and misconceptions, and women were more vulnerable to attacks. This was often reflected in healthcare settings where discriminatory practices manifested against persons with albinism.” (link to pdf, Sep, Ministry of Community Development and Social Services)
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Asia
Bangladesh
In Mental Health:
State of Mental Health Rights in Bangladesh a review of legislative frameworks. (Mindful Rights)
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China
Disabled orphans bear brunt of China's overseas adoption ban. (Oct, BBC)
Over 1,500 schools launch new alliance to promote inclusive education “The alliance aims to focus on and ensure every child, especially those with special needs, has equitable and quality education” (Oct, China Daily)
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India
A Systematic Review on Inclusive Education Research: Identifying Concerns over Children with Disabilities. (Jun, Asian Journal of Education and Social Studies)
G.N. Saibaba's 2017 Prison Letter Sheds Light on the Rights of Disabled Prisoners. (Oct, The Wire)
In Justice Systems and Legal Capacity:
G.N. Saibaba's 2017 Prison Letter Sheds Light on the Rights of Disabled Prisoners. (Oct, The Wire)
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Iran
In Civil Society and Community:
Gathering to protest government not supporting disabled people. (In Persian, Nov, Khabara Online)
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Israel
Advocating for Inclusion and Accessibility The work of Access Israel, which has evacuated over 3,000 people with disabilities, elderly and their families. (Nov, Haaretz)
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Malaysia
In Justice Systems and Legal Capacity:
Finally, after 5 months, police officer who assaulted deaf driver to be charged. “It comes after protests from the disabled community and rights groups over the long delay in bringing charges despite video evidence.” (Nov, Malaysia Now)
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Mongolia
In Mobility, Travel, Transport and Tourism:
Human-centered design and using visual journey maps enable mobility and accessibility in Mongolia. Case study of a project Improving Transport Services in Ger Areas. (Oct, ADB)
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Pakistan
How Pakistan is championing inclusive data: the experience of Sightsavers and partners in advocating for disability-inclusive data. (Nov, The Data Values Digest)
In Mobility, Travel, Transport and Tourism:
Finding my fairy-tale Travel tales by Tanzila Khan, who travels with a wheelchair and a green passport:
“I imagine myself in the stories I grew up with. I’m a modern-day Ibn Battuta traveling by wheelchair and airplane rather than camel, wagon or horse. I’m Snow White and I had to stay at the cottage because the Airbnb wasn’t accessible.” (Nov, Disability Debrief)
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Palestine
What is life like for Palestinians with disabilities during Israel’s genocide? (Oct, MEMO)
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United Arab Emirates
In Mobility, Travel, Transport and Tourism:
Emirates launches more services for People with Disabilities:
“such as a virtual reality airport tour, a sign language robot, a new protective transportation device for wheelchairs, an app that provides accessible video support to the visually impaired, sensory guides to the airport for neurodivergent customers, and a chauffeur drive vehicle fitted with an electric wheelchair lift amongst others.” (Oct, Emirates)
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Yemen
Yemen was already a hard place to raise an autistic daughter. Then war started. Featuring Emtenan's pencil drawings. (Aug, CNN)
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Europe
Europe
In Digital Accessibility and Technology:
A disability-inclusive Artificial Intelligence Act: A guide to monitor implementation in your country. (Oct, EDF)
In Employment, Business and Work:
Reforming EU State Aid law to restrict subsidies to sheltered workshops. A new briefing paper. (Nov, ENIL)
Disability Inclusion in the EU: A Legal Analysis to Guide Corporate Responsibilities Under New EU Disability Inclusive Legislation. (Disability:IN)
In Mobility, Travel, Transport and Tourism:
Making waves for people with disabilities: Europe's beaches are becoming more accessible to all. (Sep, Euronews)
Disability cause lawyering at the European Court of Human Rights: lessons from strategic litigation on the right to political participation:
“This chapter suggests that, in future, disability cause lawyers seeking to advance disability rights movement goals through litigation before the ECtHR should not underestimate how, even in a post-CRPD landscape, disability biases and stigma may influence judges’ interpretation and application of relevant legal standards.” (Oct, Human Rights Strategies)
First ever European Disability Snooker Championships (Oct, WPBSA)
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Belarus
The Struggles of Disability Rights in Belarus: A Nation at a Crossroads:
“Since the crackdown on civil society in 2020, more than 1,000 organisations have been shut down, including the Office for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The dismantling of independent disability organisations has left a void, with Government-Organised Non-Governmental Organisations (GONGOs) taking their place and promoting the regime’s agenda, often at the expense of effective advocacy for disability rights.” (Oct, EDF)
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Denmark
In Digital Accessibility and Technology:
AI-powered welfare system fuels mass surveillance and risks discriminating against marginalized groups, including people with disabilities. (Nov, Amnesty International)
In Economics and Social Protection:
AI-powered welfare system fuels mass surveillance and risks discriminating against marginalized groups, including people with disabilities. (Nov, Amnesty International)
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Finland
New Helsinki museum celebrates deaf history and culture
“Founded in 1907, the Deaf Museum is one of Finland’s oldest museums. It serves both the deaf community and the general public, preserving and celebrating the contributions of deaf individuals to Finnish society. While the new exhibition space is located in Helsinki, the museum’s collections are stored in Tampere, and an online museum is available at www.kuurojenmuseo.fi.” (Oct, Helsinki Times)
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France
In Civil Society and Community:
The benefits of the President of APAJH denounced in the press. Reporting investigates the “delusions of grandeur”, remuneration and benefits of the President of the Association for Young People and Adults with Disabilities, which include multiple annual trips to Mayotte in the Indian Ocean. (Nov, Le Media Social)
In Digital Accessibility and Technology:
Discriminatory algorithm used by the social security agency must be stopped: It has been condemned by a group of 15 organisations. According to Amnesty International:
“From the outset, the risk-scoring system used by CNAF treats individuals who experience marginalization – those with disabilities, lone single parents who are mostly women, and those living in poverty – with suspicion.” (Oct, Amnesty)
In Economics and Social Protection:
“Unacceptable cut” of funding to Agefiph, the agency supporting professional integration of people with disabilities. (In French, Oct, La Croix)
Discriminatory algorithm used by the social security agency must be stopped: It has been condemned by a group of 15 organisations. According to Amnesty International:
“From the outset, the risk-scoring system used by CNAF treats individuals who experience marginalization – those with disabilities, lone single parents who are mostly women, and those living in poverty – with suspicion.” (Oct, Amnesty)
In Independent Living and Deinstitutionalization:
Their disabled daughter dies in a home for people with multiple disabilities: APF France Handicap was found guilty of negligence, and faults in the organisation of the service and training of staff. (Oct, France Bleu)
Citizen consultation to inform a new disability law (In French, Oct, Handicap.fr)
The absence of a disability ministry does not go unnoticed:
“During the Games, we were told to change the way we look at things, but these promises, which few of us believed, disappeared as soon as the spotlight went out." (In French, Sep, Huffpost)
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Germany
In Digital Accessibility and Technology:
New German accessibility law targets inclusive digital products and services by 2025: challenges and opportunities for economic operators. (Oct, DLA Piper)
New German accessibility law targets inclusive digital products and services by 2025: challenges and opportunities for economic operators. (Oct, DLA Piper)
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Iceland
In Humanitarian, Migrants and Refugees:
Iceland halts deportation of seriously ill Palestinian boy after public protests. (Sep, Middle East Monitor)
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Ireland
In Digital Accessibility and Technology:
Six out of 10 Irish businesses ‘not prepared’ for European Accessibility Act. (Oct, The Irish Times)
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Moldova
In Employment, Business and Work:
Women with Disabilities in Business a report on identification of Problems and Obstacles Faced. (Oct, Center for International Private Enterprise)
In Gender Equality and Women with Disabilities:
Women with Disabilities in Business a report on identification of Problems and Obstacles Faced. (Oct, Center for International Private Enterprise)
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Norway
In Culture, Entertainment and Media:
‘I am valued here’: the extraordinary film that recreates a disabled boy’s rich digital life. (Oct, the Guardian)
TV BRA goes live: “a rapidly growing national TV channel in Norway with and for people with intellectual disability.” (Jun, Vimond) See also on the BBC.
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Russia
Russia sees first rise in disability registrations in 11 years — but wartime injuries are only part of the story. An investigation of the possible causes. (Nov, Meduza)
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Spain
In Civil Society and Community:
Teletransportation against discrimination a demonstration in Spain inspired by Star Trek, for accessible transport. (In Spanish, Oct, Yo También)
In Mobility, Travel, Transport and Tourism:
Teletransportation against discrimination a demonstration in Spain inspired by Star Trek, for accessible transport. (In Spanish, Oct, Yo También)
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Switzerland
In Justice Systems and Legal Capacity:
A detained man with disability has been languishing, isolated, in the basement of Geneva University Hospitals for 17 months. (In French, Oct, TdG)
In Lived Experience and Opinion:
Smile, you're disabled. On the right to be unpleasant. Speaking with Emmanuelle Chaudet-Julien, who says:
“There is a fundamental need among people in the social sector, to be recognized, to be the "good Samaritan". In short, a lack of self-esteem. A savior syndrome. And to be a savior, you need a victim. And the "victim" is us.” (Oct, Couper l'Herbe Sous les Roues)
In Relationships, Sex and Reproductive Rights:
Chastity chair reporting on sexual assistance services and how the sexuality of disabled people can be reduced to that idea. (Nov, Couper l'herbe sous les roues)
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Ukraine
In Culture, Entertainment and Media:
Disability equality for Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction ”UNESCO sensitizes and guides dozens of Ukrainian media in this pivotal transformation for the country’s recovery and reconstruction process.” (Oct, UNESCO)
In Economics and Social Protection:
Top medical official in Kyiv suspected of faking disability certificates for draft-age men (Oct, Kyiv Independent)
Hundreds of Instances of Clearly Unjustified Disabilities address by President Zelenskyy on fraudulent disability status:
“There are hundreds of such instances of clearly unjustified disabilities among officials in Customs, Tax Service, Pension Fund system, and local administrations. All of this needs to be dealt with thoroughly and swiftly. The MSEC system should be abolished.” (Oct, President of Ukraine)
Ukrainian prosecutor general resigns amid scandal over draft exemptions “after corruption scheme involving false disability diagnoses for draft exemptions is uncovered”:
“In early October, it emerged that dozens of public prosecutors in the western region of Khmelnytskyi had falsely been awarded disability permits and were receiving special pensions.” (Oct, Aljazeera)
Ukraine’s top prosecutor falls on sword amid fake disabilities scam:
“Overall, some 64 state medical commissioners have been issued with ‘notes of suspicion,’ the Ukraine equivalent of criminal charges that have not yet been tried in court. Some 4,000 disability certificates were canceled after the audit, SBU head Vasyl Malyuk said Tuesday.” (Oct, Politico)
Disability Certificates Scandal: What Led to the Prosecutor General’s Resignation and What’s Next? In-depth report. (Oct, Kyiv Post)
In Independent Living and Deinstitutionalization:
Behind closed doors: children’s dreams in institutional care, a report:
“The findings in this research highlight the neglect inherent in placing children in institutions, the prioritisation of the needs of the institutions over the needs of the children themselves, as well as the clear lack of an effective system or mechanism for institutional personnel or government inspectors to gather children’s opinions or feedback. Far from listening to these children and acting upon their views, a prevailing “medical model” of disability in Ukraine – in which disability is viewed as the result of one or more physical defects - often leads to the assumption amongst staff of institutions that these children cannot communicate or that they lack significant thoughts. Similarly, the children are commonly perceived as “uneducable” and therefore rarely included in any formal education.” (Oct, EDF, Save the Children)
Deinstitutionalization in Ukraine an online portal. (Fight for Right and DI Ukraine)
In War in Ukraine:
Russia Targeted and Deported Disabled Children From Ukraine reporting on 84 disabled people, both children and adults, forcibly moved by Russia from the Oleshky Specialized Boarding School. (Oct, New Lines Magazine)
Recommendations for Mainstream Disability in Humanitarian Response in 2025 summary of collected views. (Link to pdf, Oct, National Assembly of Persons with Disabilities)
Disability equality for Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction ”UNESCO sensitizes and guides dozens of Ukrainian media in this pivotal transformation for the country’s recovery and reconstruction process.” (Oct, UNESCO)
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United Kingdom
In Communication and Language:
UK’s biggest sign-language school opens new teaching space:
“The design is intended to optimise communication and navigability, from the horseshoe layout of the classrooms and the lack of corridors to the colour palette. It also had to work well for pupils with visual impairments or mobility issues.” (Oct, Design Week)
The employment of disabled people 2024 statistical update: “the disability employment rate was 53.0% in Q2 2024, compared to 81.6% for non-disabled people.” (Nov, Gov.UK)
In Economics and Social Protection:
Plugging the “fiscal black hole” a report on how “Investing in Disabled People and Carers can solve the UK’s Economic Challenges”:
“The growing issue of economic inactivity – one of the government’s biggest challenges – stems from the lack of effective support for disabled people, those with long-term health conditions, and unpaid carers, both in getting into work and staying in employment. Our analysis estimates that this failure costs the UK Treasury £38bn each year – nearly twice the “fiscal black hole” or the unfunded spending pressures announced by the government. We consider that these costs occur from failing to close employment gaps for these groups, largely leading to lost tax revenue alongside welfare payments that could be reduced if more people who want to work were able to do so”. (Oct, Disability Policy Centre)
Hidden behind this budget is a terrible bombshell: billions in cuts for disabled people. (Nov, Guardian)
UK’s biggest sign-language school opens new teaching space:
“The design is intended to optimise communication and navigability, from the horseshoe layout of the classrooms and the lack of corridors to the colour palette. It also had to work well for pupils with visual impairments or mobility issues.” (Oct, Design Week)
Many disabled young people written off report on the transition from education to work for young disabled people:
“The report found disabled people faced continuous barriers, external to securing long-term employment, which began from when they first started nursery school.” (Oct, BBC)
In Employment, Business and Work:
The employment of disabled people 2024 statistical update: “the disability employment rate was 53.0% in Q2 2024, compared to 81.6% for non-disabled people.” (Nov, Gov.UK)
Many disabled young people written off report on the transition from education to work for young disabled people:
“The report found disabled people faced continuous barriers, external to securing long-term employment, which began from when they first started nursery school.” (Oct, BBC)
In Mobility, Travel, Transport and Tourism:
Paralympian leads effort to improve travel for disabled people. The Aviation Accessibility Task and Finish Group, announced by the government, will work to make flying accessible for all "from booking to baggage claim". (Nov, BBC)
A group of disability rights campaigners urge MPs to back assisted dying bill, “in solidarity with terminally ill people who want to have the option of an assisted death”. (Oct, Guardian)
Elections watchdog criticises political parties for failing on accessible manifestos. (Nov, Disability News Service)
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North America
Canada
In Lived Experience and Opinion:
There's better fuel than rage discussion of anger in disability community:
“Anger was an endless well when I was younger, but I now actually get an influx of symptoms—in my case, pain—when I sink too far into its depths. With social media being one of the primary ways disabled community members communicate—myself included—the sheer weight of depressing events on sites like Facebook and Twitter can add to the pile of anger people are connecting in their proverbial corner(s). When anger becomes the default, like an emotional version of a Newton’s cradle, the force at the other end of the line that loses momentum is our ability to assume good in other people. Most commonly, at least in my life, that means processing micro and macro aggressions.” (Oct, CRPL)
In Mobility, Travel, Transport and Tourism:
Porter breaks its own rules by kicking deaf woman and her service dog off a flight “Porter says ‘miscommunication’ between pilot and flight attendant led to incident” (Oct, CBC)
The Cautionary Tale of Canada’s Euthanasia Regime: An Interview with Alexander Raikin. “In an ordinary country, in an ordinary time, this would be considered a national crisis”. (Oct, The European Conservative)
MAiD and marginalized people: Coroner’s reports shed light on assisted death in Ontario.
“People in the lowest 20 per cent of the population with the worst housing instability made up 48.3 per cent of Track 2 MAiD recipients [those whose death is not reasonably foreseeable], compared to 34.3 per cent of Track 1 recipients [those whose death is reasonably foreseeable].” (Oct, The Conversation)
Disability advocates launch legal challenge to Canada’s law:
“The groups allege that the “track two” provision added to the law in 2021, which describes eligibility criteria for people who are suffering but not faced with imminent death, is discriminatory to people with disabilities and has resulted in premature deaths.” (Oct, BMJ)
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Cuba
In Communication and Language:
Sign language in Cuba: a new law to regulate the recognition and use of Cuban sign language. (In Spanish, Nov, Cuba Debate)
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Honduras
In Civil Society and Community:
Protest camp pressuring for municipal policy to benefit disabled people in El Progress, Yoro. (In Spanish, Oct, Criterio) See also on El Heraldo.
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Mexico
In Independent Living and Deinstitutionalization:
Mexico’s Care System Should Promote, Support Independence:
“The proposed bill in Mexico disregards the autonomy and rights of people with disabilities and older people by creating long term residences - that is, institutions, which violate their right to choose how and with whom to live” (Oct, Human Rights Watch)
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United States
Style over stigma: Designer Destiny Pinto turns medical devices, such as ostomy bags and hearing aids, into fashion accessories. (Oct, Washington Post)
Noland Arbaugh’s Life as the First Neuralink Recipient. (Sep, New Mobility)
In Communication and Language:
The Braille Encyclopedia: Brief Essays on Altered Sight. “Told in the form of imagined alphabetical encyclopedia entries, this meditation on progressive vision loss examines and illuminates Cohn’s at first halting then avid embrace of braille as part of relearning to read and write as an adult.” (Oct, Rose Metal Press)
In Culture, Entertainment and Media:
I’m Co-Founding a Feminist Media Collective: Here’s Why Disability Will Be All Over It from the Start. Launching the Flytrap. (Nov, Disability Visibility Project)
Style over stigma: Designer Destiny Pinto turns medical devices, such as ostomy bags and hearing aids, into fashion accessories. (Oct, Washington Post)
The Number of People With Disabilities Is Growing and They Are Voting In Greater Numbers:
“the Rutgers Program for Disability Research projects 40.2 million people with disabilities will be eligible to vote in November, a 5.1% increase since 2020 due to an aging population and medical advances.” (Oct, Rutgers University)
Counting disability in the National Health Interview Survey and its consequence: Comparing the American Community Survey to the Washington Group disability measures:
“We find that when compared to their predecessor, the American Community Survey disability questions, the Washington Group questions accounted for less than half of disabled people, primarily counting disabled people with more than one disability status, but not counting many disabled people with only one disability status.” (Apr, Disability and Health Journal)
In Digital Accessibility and Technology:
Why America is obsessed with subtitles A survey of 1,260 people shows 50% use subtitles most of the time. (Aug, Preply)
In Economics and Social Protection:
Equity for Whom? An Introduction to Private Equity’s Impacts on the Disability Community:
“Private equity poses a serious and urgent threat to people with disabilities, particularly those with multiple marginalized identities. People who rely on HCBS, autism services, accessible transportation, fertility assistance, affordable housing, or power wheelchair/scooter repairs, and people who are incarcerated in prison, jail, or living in institutions such as a nursing home, residential treatment facility, or intermediate care facility, have likely been deeply impacted by private equity over the past decade. For this reason, it’s imperative that the disability community oppose this profiteering and exploitation, and resist private equity’s encroachment.” (Oct, DREDF)
People with blindness and low vision are squeezed by high costs of living:
“We calculated that people with blindness or low vision spend, on average, 27% of their household income on expenses related to their disability – about $7,000 per year. [...] The people who took this survey and were earning less than $25,000 per year said they spent about 40% of their income on costs related to their disability, on average, compared with 16% for those with higher incomes.” (Oct, The Conversation)
The False Radicalism of Corporate Disability Literature. scathing critiques. (Oct, Lithub)
When disabled kids are left behind in school shooting drills “School emergency planning often fails to account for disabilities, with traumatic consequences for children and their parents.” (Nov, The Washington Post)
More kids than ever need special education , but burnout has caused a teacher shortage. “Going into the current school year, more than half of U.S. public schools anticipate being short-staffed in special education” (Oct, The Conversation)
In Employment, Business and Work:
No, we don’t all have the same 24 hours in a day: On chronic pain and freelancing in an unreliable body. (Nov, Disability Visibility Project)
Disability Status and Work Employment Trends in the US, 2024, based on LinkedIn profiles:
“Overall, while disparities in several employment outcomes between people with and without disabilities persist, the gaps are shrinking with younger generations.” (Link to pdf, Oct, LinkedIn)
In Health:
Genetic Discrimination Is Coming for Us All “Insurers are refusing to cover Americans whose DNA reveals health risks. It’s perfectly legal.” (Nov, The Atlantic)
Review of 'Ordinary Lives: Recovering Deaf Social History through the American Census' (Oct, H-Disability)
Writing Mad Lives in the Age of the Asylum
“Using the writing of former asylum inmates, as well as other sources, Writing Mad Lives in the Age of the Asylum reveals a history of madness and the asylum that has remained hidden by a focus on doctors, diagnoses, and other interventions into mad people’s lives.” (Oct, Oxford University Press)
Renegades “documentary series showcases the lives and cultural contributions of little-known historical figures with disabilities.” (PBS)
Disability Rights as Foreign Policy a speech by Secretary Antony J. Blinken. (Nov, US Department of State)
Nothing Without Us: USAID Disability Policy 2024 “Any issue affecting humanity is necessarily of relevance to persons with disabilities.” (USAID)
In Lived Experience and Opinion:
No, we don’t all have the same 24 hours in a day: On chronic pain and freelancing in an unreliable body. (Nov, Disability Visibility Project)
Too Much in Jeopardy a poetic reaction to Trump's election. (Nov, The Listening World)
The False Radicalism of Corporate Disability Literature. scathing critiques. (Oct, Lithub)
The Braille Encyclopedia: Brief Essays on Altered Sight. “Told in the form of imagined alphabetical encyclopedia entries, this meditation on progressive vision loss examines and illuminates Cohn’s at first halting then avid embrace of braille as part of relearning to read and write as an adult.” (Oct, Rose Metal Press)
In Mobility, Travel, Transport and Tourism:
In New York, Cabbies Say Cost to Move to Wheelchair-Accessible Cars Is Too High. “Drivers rallied outside of a Taxi & Limousine Commission hearing on Thursday as the city tries to figure out how to comply with a judge’s order enforcing a decade-old settlement.” (Oct, The City)
FAA to define safety criteria for wheelchairs in the cabin. (Oct, Runway Girl Network)
Delta Air Lines, DOT update plans for adaptive wheelchair seats on future flights (Oct, USA Today)
Long Lines, Closed Polls, and Water Bans— But Disabled Voters Are Turning Out. “Standing for hours to vote has unique impacts on disabled and chronically ill people.” (Nov, Mother Jones)
What It’s Like to Be a Poll Worker With a Disability “The county calls me back every time, so I must be doing something right.” (Nov, Mother Jones)
Commitment to Our Community Post-Election:
“The results of this election remind us that our progress remains vulnerable without vigilance, action, cross-movement and cross-disability solidarity, and community care and organizing. This is and will continue to be the fight of and for our lives. In times like these, we reflect on our history and our resolve. We are not alone, and we’ve fought before. We must tend to each other and our mission.” (Nov, DREDF)
Too Much in Jeopardy a poetic reaction to Trump's election. (Nov, The Listening World)
Accessing Democracy “a documentary short that follows Monica Wiley, a Black woman with a spinal cord injury, as she travels the East Coast ahead of the 2024 generational election, interviewing voters with disabilities.” (Oct, National Disability Rights Network)
The Number of People With Disabilities Is Growing and They Are Voting In Greater Numbers:
“the Rutgers Program for Disability Research projects 40.2 million people with disabilities will be eligible to vote in November, a 5.1% increase since 2020 due to an aging population and medical advances.” (Oct, Rutgers University)
Fight beside us – or get out of our way.
“61 million adults in the United States have a disability. This election cycle, there are 40 million eligible disabled voters. We’re one of the country’s largest and most powerful voting blocs. But we’ve been left out of the political conversation for far too long.” (Oct, New Disabled South)
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Oceania
Australia
“A childcare operator was given the power to allocate more than half a billion dollars in federal funding set aside from 2016 to 2023 for children with disabilities, without any public record of how the money was spent.” (Nov, ABC)
Hannah's son was put in a box at school. She's one of many parents calling out the practice:
“The widespread use of 'restrictive practices' in Australian schools is leaving children with disability traumatised and their parents exasperated. Some teachers are also appalled by what they've seen.” (Oct, SBS News)
In Humanitarian, Migrants and Refugees:
Tackling the barriers that face migrant children with disability a report reveals “the obstacles facing migrant and refugee children with disability and their carers, and the way they impact their wellbeing.” (Oct, Flinders University)
In Independent Living and Deinstitutionalization:
Better, safer, more sustainable: How to reform NDIS housing and support. About 43,500 are living in group homes, “with average costs per resident of more than $350,000”:
“There are better and cheaper alternatives to group homes, but they are not widely available, in part because NDIS policies are too rigid and its funding too inflexible. Other countries, including the UK, the US, and Canada, have successfully reformed disability housing and introduced new living arrangements which offer people greater choice and a more individualised approach.” (Sep, Grattan Institute)
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New Zealand
New Zealand PM says sorry for 'horrific' care home abuse “The historic apology, delivered in parliament, comes after a report found that 200,000 children and vulnerable adults had suffered abuse while in state and faith-based care between 1950 and 2019.” (Nov, BBC)
In Independent Living and Deinstitutionalization:
New Zealand PM says sorry for 'horrific' care home abuse “The historic apology, delivered in parliament, comes after a report found that 200,000 children and vulnerable adults had suffered abuse while in state and faith-based care between 1950 and 2019.” (Nov, BBC)
In Lived Experience and Opinion:
How self-diagnosis is helping autistic women make sense of their worlds. “After being gaslit by medical professionals for not fitting their neat autistic boxes, Amy Clements went down the path of self-diagnosis and speaks to others travelling the same road.” (Nov, D*List)
Why you’ll need to hold your own hand when I’m sick “Ruby Solly makes the case for radical honesty in friendships with disabled people, and why sometimes you need to give people permission to leave.” (Sep, D*List)
In Mobility, Travel, Transport and Tourism:
Is it an aisle chair or a kinky chaise? Ranking airport wheelchairs: “From the Buttcheek Express to the classic Stock Image Wheelchair”. (Oct, D*List)
‘Smashing the guys from Oz’: “It was a nail-biter at the first ever international Physical Disability Rugby League game in Tāmaki Makaurau.” (Nov, D*List)
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Pacific
Key Actions for Inclusive Sports in the Pacific with a focus on women with disabilities. (Nov, Asian Development Blog)
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South America
Bolivia
In Employment, Business and Work:
Disability, work and competition: “I had to create my own job”. The experience of Felisa Ali and the results of a labour market survey. (Nov, Opinión)
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Brazil
Discrimination and vulnerabilities: dialogues in the context of people with disabilities and elderly people bringing together research from different disciplines. (In Portuguese, Oct, Flávia Piva Almeida Leite et al)
In Health:
Access to primary healthcare services among adults with disabilities in Brazil:
“Participants expressed a solid understanding of their healthcare needs and existing obstacles. However, individuals with hearing and visual impairments experience challenges because of communication barriers. In Pernambuco, the Community Health Agent was often the initial point of contact for primary care services. Public transportation lacked accessibility, from buses to driver attitudes, posing difficulties for people with disabilities. More accessible transportation and improved urban infrastructure could enhance service access. High medication costs were reported due to limited healthcare unit availability. Communication accessibility issues, inadequate audio-visual resources and equipment were also identified as barriers. Attitudinal barriers among healthcare professionals and subpar home visit services further hinder access.” (Oct, Revista de Saúde Pública)
Research recovers history of education for people with visual impairment in Brazil. (In Portuguese, Oct, UFMG)
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Paraguay
In Civil Society and Community:
Disabled people chain themselves together to demand state pensions: asking for a benefit of 25% of the minimum wage to those “who really need it”. (In Spanish, Nov, ABC)
In Economics and Social Protection:
Disabled people chain themselves together to demand state pensions: asking for a benefit of 25% of the minimum wage to those “who really need it”. (In Spanish, Nov, ABC)
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