Accessibility and Design

Overview

India

Centre overhauls accessibility mandate for disabled people, but uncertainty due to overlapping rules. “As multiple ministries work on specific rules, compliance and overlaps will be a challenge.” (Jun, Scroll.in)

United States

The Future of Design Is Designing for Disability Accessibility should not be a grudging afterthought. With planning, it can lead to elegant, beautiful, and engaging art. “Accessibility should include something beyond accommodation and into a source of inspiration, a driver of creativity, and even something playful and fun.” (Aug, The Nation)

Accessibility lawsuits bring slow wins for disabled city residents “Lawsuits over inaccessible sidewalks, transit, libraries, and other public infrastructure are costing cities millions. But for disabled people of color, they may be the only route to equity” (Jul, Prism)

How to Make Your Home Accessible Tap into the resources available from states, nonprofits, developers and housing groups to make spaces work for families of all abilities. (Jul, The New York Times)

Housing

United Kingdom

Disability campaigners lose legal fight over Grenfell recommendation “Campaigners have lost their High Court battle with the government over its decision not to implement evacuation plans for disabled high-rise residents.” (Jul, BBC)

United States

How to Make Your Home Accessible Tap into the resources available from states, nonprofits, developers and housing groups to make spaces work for families of all abilities. (Jul, The New York Times)

Disabled people of color continue to fight for accessible housing Housing insecurity compounds intersecting marginalizations for disabled people of color. Affordable, comprehensively accessible housing can help (Jul, Prism)

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Ageing

Ireland

Disability Identity in Older Age? Exploring Social Processes that Influence Disability Identification with Ageing (Jun, Disability Studies Quarterly)

New Zealand

Riding the silver tsunami as a disabled New Zealander

“We are living longer than previous disabled generations. As activists, we worked for change then and still do now. Yet support systems for elders are unprepared for us.” (Aug, The Spinoff)

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Assistive Technology

International News

How sovereign funds could empower the future of assistive technology and disability AI (Aug, World Economic Forum)

Repair strategies for assistive technology in low resource settings “The results of this analysis demonstrate the paramount importance of community-based repair of devices, and how despite this importance, repair is often overlooked in the planning and design of assistive products and services.” (Jul, Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology)

How the wheelchair opened up the world to millions of people Wheelchairs have existed since the invention of the wheel. But technological advances have revolutionized the way that people use them. (Jul, National Geographic)

Integrating rehab and assistive technology into health systems. How can rehabilitation and health system stakeholders agree on priorities for integrating rehabilitation and AT into health systems? Shared prioritization and planning local actions. (Jun, ReLAB-HS)

Envision Adds ChatGPT AI Sight Assistance To Its Smart Glasses For The Blind (Apr, Forbes)

China

Young people in Guangzhou commute in electric wheelchairs as e-bikes face tighter rules. ‘The electric wheelchair “saves effort and is flexible, and you can ‘drive’ directly to your destination without having to find a parking space”’ (Jul, The Straits Times)

India

Maiden wheelchair insurance a step towards transforming disability sector (Aug, The Tribune)

United Kingdom

Assistive Technology Changes Lives: an assessment of AT need and capacity in England:

“There was a notable lack of joined up thinking, and missed opportunity for holistic AT delivery that considered the whole individual, across their life-course and diverse needs. Many people were found to be waiting months - and even years - to access essential AT products, while discussions over who would fund what prevailed.” (Jun, Global Disability Innovation Hub)

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Black Lives Matter and Racial justice

International News

UN Forum Acknowledges People With Disabilities of African Descent in Recommendations (Aug, Minority Rights Group)

Thailand

Pushing for rights: Senah Deesa-eh at the UN

“Malay Muslims with disabilities face the compounded effects of being from an ethno-religious and linguistic minority and face wide-ranging violations of rights from health to political participation. Malay Muslim women with disabilities are made particularly vulnerable, owing to multiple and intersecting discrimination on the basis of gender, ethnicity, language, religion, and disability” (May, Minority Rights Group International)

United Kingdom

Racism worsened Covid health outcomes for Black Disabled people “The Commission’s findings highlighted a number of issues including the difficulties faced by members of this community in accessing public health information, the government’s lack of engagement with Black Disabled people who the report says also experienced discrimination when accessing social services.” (Jul, The Voice)

United States

Accessibility lawsuits bring slow wins for disabled city residents “Lawsuits over inaccessible sidewalks, transit, libraries, and other public infrastructure are costing cities millions. But for disabled people of color, they may be the only route to equity” (Jul, Prism)

Disabled people of color continue to fight for accessible housing Housing insecurity compounds intersecting marginalizations for disabled people of color. Affordable, comprehensively accessible housing can help (Jul, Prism)

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COVID-19

Impact

International News

Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on access to healthcare among people with disabilities: evidence from six low- and middle-income countries. “Key barriers to accessing healthcare during the pandemic included changes in availability of services due to systems restructuring, difficulty affording care due to the economic impacts of the pandemic, fear of contracting coronavirus, and a lack of human support to enable care-seeking.” (Aug, International Journal for Equity in Health)

United Kingdom

Racism worsened Covid health outcomes for Black Disabled people “The Commission’s findings highlighted a number of issues including the difficulties faced by members of this community in accessing public health information, the government’s lack of engagement with Black Disabled people who the report says also experienced discrimination when accessing social services.” (Jul, The Voice)

Response

Australia

How COVID-19 public communications is letting down our most vulnerable. (Jul)

Living with COVID-19

International News

‘No one is talking about it’: the cruelty of long Covid in the global south.

“When people die, that gets into the media. But chronic, disabling conditions do not – and maybe that’s the cruelty of being in a less developed country.” (Jul, the Guardian)

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Civil Society and Community

International News

Focus on Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) around the world, an evidence digest. (Link to pdf, Jun)

Disability Pride Flag: Origin, Colors and Significance (May, Good Housekeeping)

The 2023 D-30 Disability Impact List “honors the unique accomplishments of our most impactful community members globally through a nomination and selection process.” (Jan, Diversability)

Denmark

Interview with Ask Løvbjerg Abildgaard, Views of life interview with the President of Dansk Blindesamfund, on the current situation of visually impaired people in Denmark. (Aug, ORF)

India

Disabled Persons Protest Non-Revision of Pensions Since 2011 (Jul, Peoples Democracy)

Manipur violence: Differently abled person stages protest demanding peace and stability in state. “During the protest, protestors held placards that read Do not kill civilians, we are disabled, We want peace, Save our life, Do not burn our house, Long live Manipur among others.” (Jun, India Today)

Nigeria

Persons with disabilities protest non-inclusion in Delta employment (Aug, Daily Post)

Foursquare Church: walking the disability inclusion talk

“It is a challenge to the church. One asks: Does the church recognize that “all things” implied in Romans 8:28 includes Disability? And if she does, the very salient question arises: what measures are in place to show it? How far have we studied to show ourselves approved in this matter? How well are we dividing the word of Truth? How well are we embracing Disability inclusion in our churches?” (Jul, Church Times)

A Closely Knitted Community Creating Safe Space for Deaf Persons in Lagos (Video feature, Jul, BO News Service)

South Korea

Leader of disability rights protests referred to prosecution on illegal demonstration charges: “Park Kyoung-seok, the 63-year-old co-leader of the Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination, was referred to the prosecution by police on Thursday on charges of illegally occupying roads and obstructing subway services during 38 protest rallies across Seoul during the two year period until January.” (Jul, The Korea Herald)

United States

Newly disabled people aren’t given a ‘how-to’ guide. Disability doulas are closing those gaps: “The community care practice, pioneered by queer women of color, reorients newly disabled people to a different life – a necessity that has grown during the pandemic era.” (Jul, The 19th)

The Road to “Beyond Tokenism” on the roles of people with intellectual disabilities in leadership positions on committees and boards of organizations. (Jul, Samuel Centre for Social Connectedness)

After 504: Training the Citizen-Enforcers of Disability Rights
| Disability Studies Quarterly (Jun, Disabilities Studies Quarterly)

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Climate Crisis and Environment

International News

Beyond Vulnerability: The Rights and Agency of People with Disabilities in the Climate Crisis. A series of blog posts exploring different dimensions of the climate crisis and disability. (Aug, Bill of Health)

Climate Change and Disability the Debrief's resource guide and original reporting. (Aug, Disability Debrief)

Connecting disability to the climate beat tips from the Debrief's own Áine Kelly-Costello. (Jul, Unbias the News)

Society Leaves Disabled Communities Sweltering As temperatures break records across the globe, disabled people face unique risks and challenges. (Jul, Atmos)

Discussion on the rights of persons with disabilities in the context of climate change (Jul, OHCHR)

Examining the Climate Change-Migration Nexus from a Disability Lens (Jul, Bill of Health)

Climate Migration and Disability Part 1: What we Know (Jul, Sustain Our Abilities)

Climate and Disability Activism: Bridging two important worlds Discussion with the Debrief's own Áine Kelly-Costello (Jul, The Martyn Sibley Show)

Bangladesh

Disability-Inclusive Climate Action in Bangladesh: gaps and challenges. (Jul, Bill of Health)

Jamaica

Empower the Disabled Community to become Climate Resilient: Jamaican Disability Advocates. ”We need to use the most limiting concerns of people with disabilities as the blueprint to tailor the approach in empowering all,” (Aug, Channel5Belize.com)

Nigeria

Narrative Change Around Disability & Climate Change: Insights and Recommendations from Stakeholders and Community Members in the Niger Delta (Jul)

Samoa

A Sustainable Future discussion on preparation for disasters and climate change. (Jul, Disability Justice Project)

Spain

Another Hot Summer for People with Disabilities Authorities Should Reduce Emissions, Adapt to Climate Change (Aug, Human Rights Watch)

United Kingdom

How is sign language adapting to climate change? 200 environmental science terms that have their own new official signs in British Sign Language (BSL). (Aug, BBC)

United States

Rituals for Climate Change: a book on A Crip Struggle for Ecojustice: “offers an often-overlooked perspective on climate-grief, interdependence, and resilience. Disabled people know how to adapt to a world that is ever changing without considering them” (Aug, Punctum Books)

Climate Crisis Makes Us Recognize Our Limits;

“Disability has forced me to reckon more forthrightly with the limits of my flesh, to confront the truth that bodies and minds cannot do it all. It has helped me learn to embrace rest, to resist the voices that clamor for more, always more. But disability has also taught me to push back against injustice, to fight hard against the structural barriers that stand in disabled people’s way. Both of these insights are powerful tools for confronting climate change.” (Jul, Truthout)

Activists with disabilities want to lead the climate fight despite barriers in their way “Disability and the disability community, we lead with joy and love. And that is such a huge thing that I feel like is often missing from the climate conversation,” (Jul, 19th News)

Temperature Regulation Tips for Wheelchair Users How to Stay Safe and Comfortable (Jul)

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Communication and Language

Overview

International News

How can we enhance inclusivity in warnings? 5 elements of ensuring early warnings of disasters inclusive. (Jul, Prevention Web)

Comics beyond sight A highly visual case for blind access – beautifully illustrated questions about how to make visual design of comics accessible. (Jun, MIT Technology Reviews)

United States

I Lost My Ability to Speak After Surgery. Here’s What the the Passy Muir® Valve Means to Me.

“The worlds of speech and silence intersect and overlap. Silence isn’t static or limiting. Silence is not an empty void. Silence has a landscape of its own. Silence has its own dimension, a space that enables another way of thinking and being. There is dignity in all forms of communicating.” (Jul, Teen Vogue)

DeafBlind people are creating a new language a video feature on protactile, “a language of touch”. (Has audio-description and ASL, Jul, PBS)

Sign Languages

United Kingdom

How is sign language adapting to climate change? 200 environmental science terms that have their own new official signs in British Sign Language (BSL). (Aug, BBC)

Stormzy Interpreter On Making Grime Accessible (Aug, Dig!)

United States

Deaf rappers who lay down rhymes in sign languages are changing what it means for music to be heard. Dip-hop “signals an independent style grounded in both hip-hop and Deaf culture.” (Jul, The Conversation)

Braille

Malaysia

English-BM braille dictionary in the works “The country’s first ever English-Bahasa Malaysia braille dictionary is in the pipeline.” (Aug, The Star)

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Conflict and Peace

International News

The transformative role of persons with disabilities in peacebuilding processes.

“In this report, the Special Rapporteur highlights the agency of persons with disabilities in rebuilding broken societies in post-conflict contexts. Using concepts such as moral repair and transitional justice, he points to the need to include the voices of persons with disabilities in peacebuilding processes.” (Aug, Gerard Quinn)

Persons with disabilities in armed conflict interview to “take stock of the legal protections (and lack thereof) for persons with disabilities in armed conflicts and reflect on how to move the legal and policy debates forward in the next few years.” (Jul, Humanitarian Law & Policy)

Alexander Breitegger on the Red Cross and civilians with disabilities in armed conflicts. Interview. (Jun, Gerard Quinn)

Palestine

People with Disabilities in Gaza Languish after Israeli Airstrikes (Aug, Human Rights Watch)

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Culture, Entertainment and Media

Overview

International News

It's a cultural fight: Debrief feature with Christian Tasso on using photography to challenge perceptions of difference. (Sep, Disability Debrief)

Lego to sell bricks coded with braille to help vision-impaired children read (Aug, the Guardian)

Poem-a-Day Guest Editor John Lee Clark discusses selections “from the worlds of disability”. (Jul)

Comics beyond sight A highly visual case for blind access – beautifully illustrated questions about how to make visual design of comics accessible. (Jun, MIT Technology Reviews)

Australia

Communicating about Disability in Australia Insights, Challenges and Opportunities. (Jun, Frameworks)

China

This one-woman show by a disabled woman has made my dream come true. “I have always dreamed that one day, someone can bring the most real disabled people, the most real lives, the most real feelings and the most real needs of disabled people to the stage for all the public to see.” (In Chinese, quote via Google Translate, Jun, The Paper)

Japan

Disabled author wins prestigious Japanese literary award Saou Ichikawa, who has a physical disability, won the prestigious Akutagawa literary award her work about a disabled woman's anger and desires. (Jul, Kyodo News)

Saudi Arabia

Virtual artspace opens new worlds for disabled artists (Aug, Arab News)

Spain

On the Front Line of a War Over Bullfighting Traditions Opponents of Spain’s comic shows at bullfights by people with dwarfism say they are banned by a new law. But performers say the show must go on. (Jul, New York Times)

United Kingdom

Inside Britain’s only all-wheelchair dance troupe a feature on Propel. (Video, Aug, NBC News)

United States

Comedian Nina G. Is Challenging Stereotypes Of People With Disabilities — One Joke At A Time. (Jul, Huffpost)

Disabled Creatives in Comics: Interview with Tee Franklin (Jul, Disability Visibility Project)

Dean Strauss Illustrates Disabled Life in Bright, Beautiful Ways “I got into art out of spite.” (Jul, Shuttershock)

Deaf rappers who lay down rhymes in sign languages are changing what it means for music to be heard. Dip-hop “signals an independent style grounded in both hip-hop and Deaf culture.” (Jul, The Conversation)

TV and Film

International News

Hugh Grant is an Oompa-Loompa now. “Hugh Grant’s casting as an Oompa-Loompa in ‘Wonka’ feels to some like the latest in a long line of slights against dwarf actors” (Aug, Washington Post)

It’s time to reconsider how dwarfism is represented in the entertainment industry

“People with dwarfism are not novelties or figures of fun. Yet their place in entertainment has been culturally constructed as if they are. Actors with dwarfism need to step out of their comfort zone and push for more roles that break away from those purely reliant on height.” (Aug, LSE)

‘I don’t like people feeling sorry for us’: inside the world of TV’s disabled dating shows. (Aug, the Guardian)

Barbie's wheelchair vs my actual wheelchair a critical comparison by Katie Pennick. (Jul, Twitter thread)

Wheelchair Barbie Is a Lesson in the Power of Showing Up Where People Don't Think You Belong (Jul, Teen Vogue)

I'm a Barbie girl in an inaccessible world parody song (Jul, ItsAliceElla, TikTok)

Interview with Keely Cat-Wells on disability in movies entertainment and across popular culture. (Jun, Gerard Quinn)

New Zealand

Applying the Fries Test in Aotearoa “Does a work have more than one disabled character? Do the disabled characters have their own narrative purpose other than the education and profit of a non-disabled character? Is the character’s disability just a part of them, or are they eradicated either by curing or killing them?” (Aug, Arts Access Aotearoa)

United Kingdom

Name Me Lawand review empathic and inspiring portrait of deaf Iraqi refugee boy. (Jul, the Guardian)

Disney hasn't gone 'woke' by replacing Snow White's seven dwarves – they’re just treating people like me with respect. (Jul, Metro.co.uk)

United States

If Hollywood gets worse for workers, it will get worse for disabled workers first (Jul, Los Angeles Times)

Behind the Lens Wheelchair Users Tell Their Stories in Acclaimed Documentaries (Jul, New Mobility)

Zambia

‘Can You See Us’ True Story: How a Zambian Singer With Albinism Inspired the Drama on Netflix (Aug, Decider)

Media

International News

Connecting disability to the climate beat tips from the Debrief's own Áine Kelly-Costello. (Jul, Unbias the News)

Liberia

Disabled Community Encourages Media Institutions to Highlight Issues Affecting Them including by forming a Journalist Network for Disability Reporting. “Please stand by us, as our success is intertwined with yours. Our journey towards success relies on your advocacy.” (Aug, FPA)

United Kingdom

How To Report On Disability Responsibly In Journalism “How we tell stories about disabled experiences matters. Bad reporting directly affects how non-disabled people treat us in the real world, from people in our daily lives to politicians writing policy.” (Jun, Journo Resources)

United States

Disabled Authors Deserve, and Demand, More “I believe in the power of storytelling and the perspectives, skills, and expertise of disabled people. In the future, I hope the publishing industry will finally reflect and welcome all of us.” (Jul, Publshers Weekly)

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Data and Research

Overview

International News

Inclusive data and Sightsavers: an ongoing journey. (Jul, Sightsavers)

Who is disabled? On whether the functional definition of disability targets the same individuals as the subjective definition:

“Being categorized as disabled according to one assessment tool does not necessarily mean that an individual will be categorized as disabled when using another assessment tool. Two studies found that there was only about 47% overlap between individuals that score as disabled using a subjective measure and those that are disabled according to the Washington Group question set.” (May, Frontiers In Sustainability)

Africa

Children with Disabilities in Eastern and Southern Africa: A statistical overview of their well-being (Jul, UNICEF)

India

Exclusion of questions on disability data from the upcoming National Family Health Survey. “In a plea challenging the exclusion of disability-related questions from the sixth instalment of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS), the Calcutta High Court has issued notice to the respondents to file an affidavit to satisfy the prayers raised by the petitioners against the exclusion.” (Jul, The Leaflet)

United States

8 facts about Americans with disabilities based on government data and recent surveys. (Jul, Pew Research Center)

Research

International News

Crip Authorship: Disability as Method a book “presenting the multidisciplinary methods brought into being by disability studies and activism. Mara Mills and Rebecca Sanchez have convened leading scholars, artists, and activists to explore the ways disability shapes authorship, transforming cultural production, aesthetics, and media.” (Aug, NYU Press)

Principles and process: The ethics of disability-inclusive development research (Jul, Bond)

New dialogues between medical sociology and disability studies
Journal special issue (Jul, Sociology of Health & Illness)

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Digital Accessibility and Technology

Overview

Bangladesh

Bangladesh adopts digital accessibility guideline After months of dedicated efforts, ICT Division has officially approved the ‘Digital Service and Web Designing Guideline for Inclusive Accessibility 2022.’ (Jul, The Business Post)

Qatar

Mada Center enhancing digital accessibility for persons with disabilities (Aug, The Peninsula)

Artificial Intelligence

International News

Artificial Intelligence Incident Database indexes harms caused by deployment of artificial intelligence systems, and has many items related to disability. (Aug, AIID)

AI is acting ‘pro-anorexia’ and tech companies aren’t stopping it “Disturbing fake images and dangerous chatbot advice: New research shows how ChatGPT, Bard, Stable Diffusion and more could fuel one of the most deadly mental illnesses” (Aug, Washington Post)

How sovereign funds could empower the future of assistive technology and disability AI (Aug, World Economic Forum)

Adventures with BeMyAI (Aug, Tink)

Visual description via AI, the promise and the problem

“ When it works well, it can take your breath away. When it fails, it can make things up with such confidence that you may be convinced it’s telling the truth when it isn’t. Those of us with no vision may not be able to determine the accuracy of certain descriptions without verification from a sighted person we trust.” (Jun)

Envision Adds ChatGPT AI Sight Assistance To Its Smart Glasses For The Blind (Apr, Forbes)

Social Media

International News

Threads launch fails to prioritize accessibility Users question lack of basic accessibility features in Meta's new Twitter competitor, Threads. (Jul)

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Disaster Risk Reduction and Crisis Response

International News

How can we enhance inclusivity in warnings? 5 elements of ensuring early warnings of disasters inclusive. (Jul, Prevention Web)

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Economics and Social Protection

Overview

Philippines

Disability-Related Costs of Children with Disabilities in the Philippines “Using an asset index as the indicator of living standards, a child with a disability is estimated to require between 40% and 80% extra expenditure to reach the same living standard of other children. However, the size of extra costs is substantially higher when the measure of the standard of living relies on a broader set of deprivations.” (Jul, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health)

Financial Inclusion

Africa

Economic empowerment improves disability inclusion: evidence from projects in Rwanda and Uganda working with Village Savings and Loans Associations. (Jul, CBM UK)

Kenya

Financial inclusion for persons with disabilities in Kenya evidence for improving financial inclusion. (Jul, Sightsavers)

Social Protection

International News

Estimating the Extra Disability Expenditures for the Design of Inclusive Social Protection Policies. “The Goods and Services Required approach, it is argued, is better than the often used Standard of Living Approach, and has implications for policy design.” (Jul)

Australia

Clinic associated with cult that teaches that people with disability are experiencing 'karma' receives thousands in NDIS funds. (Aug, ABC News)

Disability assessments and the algorithmic veil: lessons from the abandoned ‘independent assessments’ proposal for the National Disability Insurance Scheme. “This article concludes by asking what a rights-based disability assessment looks like, while critically examining the limits of a narrow focus on disability assessment methodology.” (Jun, Australian Journal of Human Rights)

Europe

EU’s disability card needs to go beyond good intentions. “Services and advantages differ locally, making the card hard to use, groups argue.” (Jul, Politico)

Sri Lanka

Chaotic Social Security Reform Denies People’s Rights “Aswesuma” Program Applies Complex and Arbitrary Targeting, Leaving Millions in Limbo (Aug, Human Rights Watch)

United Kingdom

The commodification of social security medical assessments —academic analysis and practitioner experience. (Aug, Public Money and Management)

What would a fair disability benefits assessment look like? “It is apparent that the current disability benefits process isn’t working, so we asked the experts what a fair system would look like, and whether that could exist at all.” (Jul, Big Issue)

United States

New bill aims to help low-income people with disabilities save money “The legislation would create a federal dollar-for-dollar match of up to $2,000 for new and existing ABLE accounts for individuals who earn $28,000 or less per year.” (Jul, CNBC)

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Education and Childhood

Overview

International News

Approaches to Deliver Inclusive Education in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. “The review examines in what ways (and the extent to which) different approaches have been operationalized and contextualized to enable the inclusion of children with disabilities in mainstream education systems, focusing specifically on primary schooling.” (Jul, World Bank)

Notions around a “Successful Woman with Disabilities”: Exploring voices of girls in Nepal, Malawi and Uganda. “Success for both girls with and without disabilities encompassed not just financial independence and accumulation of material wealth but also personal characteristics such as kindness and human connection.” (Jul, Inclusive Education Initiative)

Africa

Children with Disabilities in Eastern and Southern Africa: A statistical overview of their well-being (Jul, UNICEF)

Australia

‘A form of discrimination’: Australia’s school system accused of failing neurodiverse kids. (Aug, the Guardian)

Germany

German far right’s Höcke wants to kick disabled kids out of regular schools (Aug, Politico)

India

Could Inclusive Education for Kids With Disabilities Transform Indian Classrooms? (Jul, The Better India)

Lebanon

The Paper Plane animated video on inclusive education (In Arabic, with English subtitles, Jan, Walid Sarrouh)

Moldova

Turned Away From Teaching, Disabled Moldovan 'Astonished' By Discrimination. “Told she could not become a teacher because she was born without one hand and forearm, but she has never given up on her dream.” (Video feature, subtitles in English, Jul, Radio Free Europe)

Saudi Arabia

Quality of Life Among Family Caregivers of Disabled Children “Variations in QoL were observed among caregivers, indicating significant challenges for some individuals.” (Jul, Cureus)

Yemen

The children of a forgotten war stories of children living with injuries from the war. "Buy me a gun,” says Amir, “I will load a bullet in my gun and fire at those who took my leg.” (Jul, BBC)

Zambia

A study of inclusive education provision ”Limited curriculum reform remains one of the main impediments to the implementation of the inclusive policy for children with SEN in Zambia.” (Jul, African Journal of Disability)

Higher Education

India

Inclusion should be a matter of policy Because people with disabilities should not be dependent on the kindness of others even for basic needs. An essay on adaptations needed in law school. (Jul, The Hindu)

Nigeria

Disability exclusion in Nigeria’s Students Loans Act (Jun, Nigerian Tribune)

United States

The Problem With Disabling How colleges—and the law—are impairing student education and resilience through too many accommodations. [This article is shared for information, not because I agree with it.] (Jul, Discourse)

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Employment, Business and Work

International News

Working from home has worked for people with disability. The back-to-the-office push could wind back gains. (Jul, The Conversation)

Disability as a Source of Competitive Advantage “Employees consistently told us that working with disabled people fostered a more collaborative culture. ” (Jun, Harvard Business Review)

Africa

Light For the World and Mastercard Foundation Partner to Enable Youth Employment for Young Africans with Disabilities. (Aug, LFTW)

Canada

What is the pay gap between persons with and without disabilities?

“The 2019 CIS revealed that persons with disabilities aged 16 years and older had an average annual income of about $11,500 less than persons without disabilities ($43,400 and $55,200, respectively). This results in a 21.4% pay gap between persons with and without disabilities, or persons with disabilities earned 79 cents to every dollar earned by persons without disabilities.” (Jun, Statistics Canada)

From the Standpoint of Employees with Disabilities: An Analysis of Workplace Accommodation Processes in the Non-Profit Sector. “The use of medical documentation creates a culture of distrust, and barriers to inclusion and a sense of belonging.” (Apr, Canadian Journal of Disability Studies)

Europe

Companies in the EU will have to report on disability inclusion “and other marginalised groups, due to the new EU Directive on Corporate Sustainability Reporting (CSRD).” (Jun, EDF)

Kenya

Raising the Voices of Women with Disabilities Profile of Roselyne Olewe, “a leading voice in the fight for the labour rights of persons with disabilities in Kenya.” (Jul, All Africa)

Middle East and North Africa

Regional Conference for Arab States on Inclusive Employment Representatives shared latest good corporate practices and lessons learned on the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the Arab States. (Jun, ILO)

Nigeria

Persons with disabilities protest non-inclusion in Delta employment (Aug, Daily Post)

South Africa

Barriers to the employability of people with disabilities in the public service (Jul, African Journal of Disability)

United Kingdom

4% of large charities report their disability pay gaps, research finds (Aug, Civil Society)

Do disability passports really work? “Passports will not help employees – and may present more barriers – if wider approaches to disability and adjustments are poor. The passports themselves are no substitute for sound adjustments processes or good manager attitudes to disabled employees. [...] When done as a “box ticking exercise”, as some employees and managers reported they were, passports risk being ineffective or even harmful.” (Jul, Business Disability Forum)

Slow Workers: Labelling and Labouring in Britain, c. 1909–1955

“Intellectually disabled people adopted precarious strategies of ‘getting by’ and while they commonly experienced low wages, could also sustain degrees of community inclusion at the margins of the economy.” (Jul, Social History of Medicine)

Great Big Workplace Adjustments Survey 2023 Results

“Disabled employees are still waiting too long for the adjustments they need to reduce or remove the barriers they experience in their jobs: 1 in 8 employees have to wait more than a year for them. Employees also have to push for adjustments, or even fund them, themselves. Only ten percent of people told us it was easy to get the adjustments they needed.” (Jun, BDF)

United States

How the Gig Economy impacts People with Disabilities Participating in the gig economy is a mixed bag and not even always available to people with disabilities (Aug, Access * Ability)

Noise, light in stores can be harsh. Some businesses are offering special hours and events for people with sensory processing disorder that makes sights, sounds and smells feel overwhelming (Aug, Washington Post)

Amazon Got a Perfect Score on Disability Inclusion—From a Group It Helps Fund – Mother Jones —From a Group It Helps Fund:

“Disability:IN released its annual “Best Places to Work” Disability Equality Index, which grades how well companies prioritize and accommodate disabled employees. One company that earned a perfect score: Amazon, which has been accused of disability discrimination by state agencies and current and former staff.” (Jul, Mother Jones)

2023 Disability Equality Index Report (Jul, Disability:IN)

Are Advocates for Corporate Disability Inclusion Anti-Worker? (Mar, American Prospect)

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Gender Equality and Women with Disabilities

International News

Reaching women and girls with disabilities Practical steps and lessons learned. (Jul, Inclusive Futures)

Where is a woman's place? Multimedia feature, where six women share how they’ve defied discrimination and negative attitudes to define their own place in society. (Jul)

First anger, then action: why you should sign the Feminist Accessibility Protocol. (Jul, Sightsavers)

Ensuring girls and women are not left behind learning series evidence brief. See also eight ways to make sure women and girls with disabilities are not left behind. (Jul, LFTW)

Notions around a “Successful Woman with Disabilities”: Exploring voices of girls in Nepal, Malawi and Uganda. “Success for both girls with and without disabilities encompassed not just financial independence and accumulation of material wealth but also personal characteristics such as kindness and human connection.” (Jul, Inclusive Education Initiative)

Asia-Pacific

Disability, Sexuality, and Gender in Asia an introduction to Asian disability activism and the experience of women and LGBTIQ people with disabilities. (Open access, Aug, Routledge)

Fiji

LGBTQI + People with Disabilities Should Not Be Left Behind “Isoa Nabainivalu from Fiji is Creating a Safe Space For Members of His Organization to Feel Comfortable About Their Sexual Orientation and Identity” (Jun, Disability Justice Project)

Kenya

Women with disability in leadership profiles of women with disabilities. (Aug, Kenya Network of Women and Girls with Disabilities)

Healthcare barriers that women with disabilities face (Aug, Nation)

Raising the Voices of Women with Disabilities Profile of Roselyne Olewe, “a leading voice in the fight for the labour rights of persons with disabilities in Kenya.” (Jul, All Africa)

United States

Michigan Transphobic Attack Leaves Trans Disabled Man Injured “Andrew Blake-Newton reported a group of people in a van shot him with pellet gun bullets and hurled transphobic slurs at him.” (Jul, Huffpost)

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Health

Overview

International News

Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on access to healthcare among people with disabilities: evidence from six low- and middle-income countries. “Key barriers to accessing healthcare during the pandemic included changes in availability of services due to systems restructuring, difficulty affording care due to the economic impacts of the pandemic, fear of contracting coronavirus, and a lack of human support to enable care-seeking.” (Aug, International Journal for Equity in Health)

New dialogues between medical sociology and disability studies
Journal special issue (Jul, Sociology of Health & Illness)

All-Inclusive Healthcare Increasing accessibility is key to ensuring that all people, including those who are blind or visually impaired, are not excluded from health services (Jul, The Ophthalmologist)

Germany

Demands for more inclusion in the health and care system (In German, Aug, EU-Schwerbehinderung)

India

Exclusion of questions on disability data from the upcoming National Family Health Survey. “In a plea challenging the exclusion of disability-related questions from the sixth instalment of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS), the Calcutta High Court has issued notice to the respondents to file an affidavit to satisfy the prayers raised by the petitioners against the exclusion.” (Jul, The Leaflet)

Kenya

Healthcare barriers that women with disabilities face (Aug, Nation)

South Africa

Women with disabilities need better access to maternal, sexual and reproductive health services “Focusing specifically on their experiences of maternal health services, disabled women in the same study reported that nurses expressed visible surprise, and sometimes anger, that these women were sexually active.” (Aug, Daily Maverick)

Rehabilitation

International News

Guide for rehabilitation workforce evaluation “a suite of resources that can be applied in countries to provide information to support planning and advocacy at the national or subnational level.” (Jun, WHO)

Integrating rehab and assistive technology into health systems. How can rehabilitation and health system stakeholders agree on priorities for integrating rehabilitation and AT into health systems? Shared prioritization and planning local actions. (Jun, ReLAB-HS)

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History and Memorial

Overview

International News

The Mütter and More: Why We Need to be Critical of Medical Museums as Spaces for Disability Histories. (Jul, Disability Visibility Project)

How the wheelchair opened up the world to millions of people Wheelchairs have existed since the invention of the wheel. But technological advances have revolutionized the way that people use them. (Jul, National Geographic)

Japan

Postwar Disability History of Japan key moments in the legislation of disability. (Aug, Wei Yu Wayne Tan)

Shinya Tateiwa, Sociologist who Researched People with Disabilities Dies, Aged 62. (Aug, Barrier Free Japan) See some of his articles on Arsvi.

Blind in Early Modern Japan: Disability, Medicine, and Identity a review of a book studying blindness in Japan from 1600 to 1868, including attention on a unique “guild” that created a social category of blind people:

“Tan reveals a dynamic environment in which some men were drawn in to the activities and influence of the guild (which continually attempted to assert its authority through innovative means, such as the making of “model” blind people and “ideal” behaviours, when membership numbers began to decline and new professions, such as acupuncture and massage, began to overtake Heike music as the dominant vocation), and the ways in which other men, and in many instances women who were excluded from the guild on account of their gender, developed their own groups that provided much-needed kinship-style support.” (Jul, LSE)

New Zealand

The horrors of Kimberley “For over 50 years, the Kimberley Centre in Levin billed itself as a home away from home for hundreds of vulnerable New Zealanders. Behind the facade was a site of unspeakable abuse.” (Jul, The Spinoff)

United Kingdom

Slow Workers: Labelling and Labouring in Britain, c. 1909–1955

“Intellectually disabled people adopted precarious strategies of ‘getting by’ and while they commonly experienced low wages, could also sustain degrees of community inclusion at the margins of the economy.” (Jul, Social History of Medicine)

United States

Gouverneur Morris, writer of Constitution’s ‘We the People,’ was disabled (Aug, Washington Post)

$2.3m grant will fund Denver monument to historic disability rights protest “The Mile High City will create a new monument to a 1978 protest that was a landmark for the disability rights movement” (Jul, The Art Newspaper)

After 504: Training the Citizen-Enforcers of Disability Rights
| Disability Studies Quarterly (Jun, Disabilities Studies Quarterly)

Remembering Judy Heumann

International News

Heumann nature: a short video on the life and legacy of disability rights activist Judy Heumann (Jul, Ford Foundation)

Canada

Montrealers honour disability rights activist with 'Judy Promenade' It was the first of three 'Judy Promenades' this summer in the city. (Jul, CBC)

United States

The Impact of Judy Heumann’s Legacy Within the Disability Community (Jul, Women Enabled International)

"Lift Me Up" A Tribute to Judy Heumann (Jul, Lachi Music)

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Humanitarian, Migrants and Refugees

Overview

International News

People with disabilities must be included in humanitarian action interview with Karen Alexander (Aug, CBM Australia)

East Africa

Gap Analysis on Disability Inclusive Humanitarian Action in Eastern Africa “While some organisations are making efforts to include the inclusion of persons with disabilities in their programming, challenges remain, such as a lack of inclusion of the insights of persons with disabilities, insufficient disaggregation of data and inadequate budget allocation.” (Jul, CBM UK)

Ethiopia

The state of disability inclusion in refugee and IDP settings a report on the extent disability inclusion is mainstreamed in humanitarian response. (Aug, UNHCR)

Humanitarian cash transfers “changing the lives of persons with disabilities affected by emergencies” (Jul, UNICEF)

Empowering Dreams supporting children with disabilities affected by conflict. (Jul, UNICEF)

United Kingdom

Name Me Lawand review empathic and inspiring portrait of deaf Iraqi refugee boy. (Jul, the Guardian)

Migration

International News

Examining the Climate Change-Migration Nexus from a Disability Lens (Jul, Bill of Health)

Climate Migration and Disability Part 1: What we Know (Jul, Sustain Our Abilities)

Argentina

A study shows violence faced by women migrants with disabilities: eight out of ten report facing violence or harassment. (In Spanish, Jul, CTA)

New Zealand

Calls to scrap discriminatory immigration health requirements (Aug, Stuff)

Why does NZ make it so hard for disabled people to move here? By the Debrief's own Áine Kelly-Costello. “We need Aotearoa's disability communities to rally behind scrapping eugenic migration rules.” (Jul, D*List)

Panama

In deadly Darién Gap, pregnant women and disabled people are increasingly vulnerable. (Jun, Doctors without Borders)

United Kingdom

Concerns raised over living conditions for family of asylum seekers from Sudan living with two disabled children in one room at Belfast hotel. (Aug, The Irish News)

UK Turns its Back on Asylum Seekers with Disabilities “More than 50 asylum seekers, most of whom have disabilities, are being warehoused in a former care home in Essex, England, without access to adequate support and services.” (Jul, Human Rights Watch)

United States

Immigrants with Disabilities Face Barriers in Immigration Court “as they navigate deportation proceedings in U.S. immigration courts, where they must gather and submit evidence, testify, and present their case, often without a lawyer.” (Jul, Human Rights First)

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Independent Living and Deinstitutionalization

Overview

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina Should Stop Institutionalizing People with Disabilities Changing Perceptions and Ensuring Support Services in Communities. (Aug, Human Rights Watch)

Netherlands

As Cases Soar, ‘Dementia Villages’ Look Like the Future of Home Care “A new generation of treatment facilities is aiming to integrate dementia patients with the communities around them, blurring lines between home and hospital.” (Jul)

New Zealand

The joy of disabled mutual care “the ways that disabled people care for each other, from families to couples to community as a whole.” (Aug, D*List)

Spain

Strategic framework for deinstitutionalization. (In Spanish, Jul, Government of Spain) See also some critique of it from the Foro de Vida Independiente y Divertad.

United Kingdom

On independent living, the focus of policy should be the destination.

“The problem with ‘deinstitutionalisation’ as a goal is that it elevates a departure point over a destination and process over outcome. The destination and outcome isn’t disabled people not living in what we class as being ‘institutional care’, it is disabled people living independently & being included in the community on an equal basis with others.” (Jun, Making Rights Make Sense)

United States

Florida kept disabled kids in institutions. A judge is sending them home. “The ruling could have sweeping implications for thousands of disabled people across the country who rely on state-provided home health-care services” (Jul, Washington Post)

How electronic visit verification discriminates against disabled Americans. “The Vast Surveillance Network That Traps Thousands of Disabled Medicaid Recipients” (Jul, Slate)

Conditions in Institutions

New Zealand

The horrors of Kimberley “For over 50 years, the Kimberley Centre in Levin billed itself as a home away from home for hundreds of vulnerable New Zealanders. Behind the facade was a site of unspeakable abuse.” (Jul, The Spinoff)

Romania

Romania horrified by inhumane abuse in care centres for disabled “an investigation revealed that a well-established criminal network involving state officials and private individuals ran “Nazi camps-style” care centres for disabled people who were left to starve without food or care.” (Jul, Euractiv)

Regarding abuses in institutions for disabled people in Romania a statement from the European Network on Independent Living. “This is the result of a continued refusal by the Romanian Government to move away from institutional care and develop services that will allow children, disabled and older people to live in their own homes in the community, with adequate independent living support.” (Jul, ENIL)

Spain

Faeces on the face and ice water baths the torture of young people with disabilities in a residence in La Palma, and a director of the residence imprisoned. (In Spanish, Jul, SER)

Ukraine

The Rights of Persons with Disabilities who are Institutionalised in Wartime Research findings. (Jul, Kharkiv Institute for Social Research) See also a blog from EDF.

United Kingdom

Inside the "barbaric" mental health units holding autistic adults and children. “Nearly 2,000 adults and hundreds of children with learning disabilities or autism are being held in mental health units, with an average stay of more than five years, despite repeated abuse scandals.” (Jul, Politics Home)

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Indigenous People and Minority Communities

New Zealand

Cha'nel Kaa-Luke and her dreams for indigenous Deaf communities: research on indigenous Deaf people should show "how to better engage with our communities on terms that suit us". (Jun, D*List)

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International Cooperation

International News

Reaching women and girls with disabilities Practical steps and lessons learned. (Jul, Inclusive Futures)

UNPRPD Annual Report 2022 UN Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities' Annual Report. (Jun)

Focus on Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) around the world, an evidence digest. (Link to pdf, Jun)

Asia-Pacific

Disability Inclusion in Asia and the Pacific: A Regional Overview 2023 of the World Food Programme’s efforts towards disability inclusion (Jul, WFP)

Cambodia

Something is better than nothing “The first thing I noticed about these wheelchairs was that they were adult sized. But, in communication with the founder, she was insistent that the recipients of these wheelchairs had to be children, since the volunteers found working with children more gratifying.” (Aug, Redundant Charities)

United Kingdom

15 years of advancing disability rights: the UK’s international development progress and a path forwards. “Global crises alongside cuts to Official Development Assistance (ODA) continue to disproportionately impact people with disabilities”. (Jul, Bond)

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Justice Systems and Legal Capacity

International News

Transitional Justice and Inclusiveness: Where Does Disability Fit In? “What this article specifically accentuates is the need for inclusive storytelling spaces within transitional justice processes and it highlights in this regard the unexplored significance of multi-sensory storytelling.” (May, University of Birmingham)

Australia

Australian Teen Locked in Solitary Confinement for 500 Days. “Imagine being locked alone in a tiny cell for over 20 hours a day and for more than 500 days over a 744-day period. That is how Michael (not his real name), an Aboriginal teenager with an intellectual disability, spent most of his time in pretrial detention in the Townsville youth prison in Queensland, Australia.” (Jul, Human Rights Watch)

Mexico

Interview with Deciding is my Right a coalition of organizations that advocated for a law establishing full legal capacity. Asked why they focussed on all individuals, not just persons with disabilities:

“We need to see the bigger picture: The recognition of legal status and legal capacity is a human right, it is universal, and it should not be attached to specific groups. Every person, simply by virtue of being a person, has the right to exercise such capacity, to make decisions autonomously. If support is needed, support can certainly be provided. But the decision rests with the person. There is no reason to replace it with substitute decision-making.” (Jul, Human Rights Watch)

United States

Prisoners with dementia “One image has especially haunted me: that of a prisoner who, as a result of cognitive impairment, no longer remembers his crimes — but is still being punished for them.” (Aug, New York Times)

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Lived Experience and Opinion

International News

Eddie Ndopu on How Disability Helped Him Rethink Excellence

“The honest truth is that the more barriers that I have been able to break down as a person with a disability, the more barriers have awaited me on the other side.” (Aug, Time)

Are Blind ‘Superpowers’ Another Caricature? A medical screening program in India reinforces belief in blind "superpowers." What does the science say? (Jul, TD)

Argentina

Borges Dealt With His Anxiety About Going Blind by Learning a New Language. Andrew Leland on His Own Weakening Vision, Braille, and Making a Commitment to Read with Visual Aids. (Jul, Lithub)

India

Interview with Nu Misra, community leader, disability and queer rights advocate “I believe we don't just walk into revolutions, but also wheel, limp, hop, crawl into one or initiate one for ourselves. There is power in a movement with disability. A way of survival, of thinking and of doing with disability.” (Jul, UN Women)

Mexico

Disability is living life in a more creative way. Profile of of Odila Agustín, who “decided to use her voice and personal experience to remove fears and increase inclusion at Procter & Gamble.” (In Spanish, Jun, Yo También)

New Zealand

#DynamicDisability: How a hashtag changed our lives discovering language to describe fluctuating disabilities helped Melissa Irving find herself and her people. (Jul, D*List)

North Korea

What is life like for disabled people in North Korea? - The Korea Times Escapees from North Korea talk to the situation of disabled people there. (Aug, The Korea Times)

Samoa

From Stage to Society Terubeimoa (Ruby) Nabetari Takes Center Stage in Driving Meaningful Social Change in Kiribati (Jul, Disability Justice Project)

United Kingdom

‘I cried with anger’: the trials and torment when travelling with blindness. “‘Help’ ranges from being accused of faking it to being offered a wheelchair. That’s why society needs to be educated about the nuances of sight loss.” (Aug, the Guardian)

Not Getting Better: Polly Atkin talking about her book, Some of Us Just Fall (Aug, Lighthouse)

Ellie Simmonds on finding her birth mother: ‘During this journey I cried so much’ (Jul, the Guardian)

Rosie Jones on death threats, anxiety and anger:

“Rosie Jones always wears earphones when she’s out alone. She jokes it is for pleasurable reasons – “a chance to listen to Steps” – but it is actually to block out something much more menacing: when strangers see her walk down the street with her movement affected by cerebral palsy, they shout abuse at her.” (Jul, the Guardian)

‘Disabled is still seen as the worst thing a person can be’: Why Disability Pride Month is a vital celebration of what it means to be disabled (Jul, Glamour)

United States

How adaptive gardening shifted my self-perception as a disabled woman (Aug, Washington Post)

The Accessibility Profession Can Be Stressful, Exhausting, and Frustrating (Aug, Access * Ability)

Welcome to the Disabled Future ”I am aware of the way my body serves as a warning”: a comic illustration of the disabled future. (Aug, The Nib)

I Have a Choice to Make About My Blindness

“I could pull out my phone and try to use its magnification or text-to-speech capabilities to read the menu, or ask my family for help. There’s a powerful tension between the independence facilitated by assistive technologies, and the possibility of interdependence that can emerge from the exchange between disabled and non-disabled people. This tension has never been more pronounced than today, when advances in technology stand to usher in an unprecedented era of independence for disabled users.” (Aug, New York Times)

What Does It Mean to be Blind? A Writer Chronicles the Loss of His Vision. In “The Country of the Blind,” Andrew Leland explores the history, the culture and the experiences of blind people. (Jul, New York Times)

Beyond Dining in the Dark: What It’s Actually Like to Eat Out When You’re Blind. “The biggest problem for a blind diner has very little to do with any mechanical or logistical difficulty of blindness, and instead centers on the condescending, exclusionary, or simply ignorant attitudes and behaviors of sighted people.” (Jul, Eater)

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Mental Health

International News

Not all mental health apps are helpful. Experts explain the risks, and how to choose one wisely (Aug, The Conversation)

Australia

In mental health units, women are drugged up, dehydrated and retraumatised. “Some say they're leaving facilities in a worse condition than when they arrived, having reported sexual assault or discrimination. Many report being administered high dosages of medication without any support on release, while some say they were even denied adequate water.” (Jul, ABC News)

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Mobility, Travel, Transport and Tourism

Overview

Australia

Study shines light on impact of beach accessibility (Jun, University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland)

China

Young people in Guangzhou commute in electric wheelchairs as e-bikes face tighter rules. ‘The electric wheelchair “saves effort and is flexible, and you can ‘drive’ directly to your destination without having to find a parking space”’ (Jul, The Straits Times)

Europe

The revised Regulation on Rail Passenger Rights enters into force – What’s new for persons with disabilities? (Jul, EDF)

France

One year before Paralympics, Paris trying to make city more accessible to those with disabilities (Aug, AP)

Mexico

It is not a car “The Citroën Ami electric microcar has had a lot of recognition, and has now joined forces with PIMAS to become a vehicle for people with limited abilities” (In Spanish, Jun, Cero a 100)

New Zealand

Putting a blind-friendly transport system on the political agenda. Editorial by the Debrief's own Áine Kelly-Costello. (Jun, Blind Citizens NZ)

Peru

Enhanced Accessibility at Machu Picchu: New Section Opens for People with Disabilities. (Jun, Market Research Telecast)

Romania

Romania’s inaccessible public transport is causing loss of life a woman died after assisting her wheelchair-using daughter in the tram. (Aug, EDF)

South Africa

The world's first luxury wheelchair-accessible safari (Aug, CN Traveller)

United Arab Emirates

Dubai makes night swimming beaches accessible “Municipality has provided dedicated services, offering floating chairs, and special ramps for an inclusive environment” (Jul, Khaleeji Times)

United States

Ford Patent Filed For Accessible Scooter “The scooter outlined in this patent would feature a base that can be adapted to connect to the frame of a wheelchair, locking securely into place” (Jun, Ford Authority)

Air Travel

International News

United is adding Braille signage to its planes “So far, about a dozen planes have been equipped with the signage, which conveys information about rows, seat numbers and lavatories. The rest of the United-operated fleet, which doesn’t include regional jets, are expected to be updated by the end of 2026.” (Jul, Washington Post)

Europe

Disabled passengers push for EU to reform ‘nightmare’ air travel Travelers complain that EU rules aren’t well-suited to dealing with the challenges of disabled people. (Aug, Politico)

Israel

Wizz Air forced a Ukrainian veteran to leave the flight from Tel Aviv to Warsaw, because of his prosthetic leg. (Jul, Ukrainian News)

United Kingdom

New report highlights accessibility issues with airline websites “Key findings from the report highlight that there is overall room for improvement across the board, with a lack of consistent, ongoing consumer research from airlines.” (Aug, Civil Aviation Authority)

Disabled flyers angry at airline 'double charging'. “Nearly 30 carriers contacted by the BBC said passengers with mobility problems must purchase a full-price ticket for a personal care assistant (PA).” (Jul, BBC)

Heathrow failed to meet minimum accessibility standards, a regulator ratings of UK airports. (Jul, the Guardian)

United States

The Best and Worst US Airlines for Handling Wheelchairs in 2022 percentages of mishandled wheelchairs ranges from Allegiant's 0.4% to Spirit's 5.8%. (Aug)

United Airlines Settles Lawsuit After Wheelchair User Sustains Brain Injury “Nathaniel Foster was a power chair user and college student when he sustained a catastrophic brain injury while deplaning on an aisle chair. His family alleged that United Airlines negligence was to blame and settled with the airline for $30 million.” (Aug, New Mobility)

Airlines tried to stop fake service animals. It kept blind people off flights. “New Department of Transportation rules have made flying more difficult, and at times, inaccessible to blind passengers” (Aug, Washington Post)

Airlines Will Be Required to Make Bathrooms More Accessible Single-aisle planes will face new rules from the U.S. Department of Transportation—but they won’t go into effect for more than a decade (Aug, Smithsonian)

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Policy and Rights

International News

Disability Policy Worldwide database of policies around the world. (Jan, World Policy Analysis Center)

Australia

Use of forced restraint and restrictive practices against people with disability violates international human rights. A report highlights concerns about their expanding use in “disability, mental health, education, aged care, justice and other sectors.” (Jul, University of Melbourne)

Mauritania

Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Commend Mauritania’s Legislative Efforts to Protect Persons with Disabilities, Ask Questions on Measures to Support Women with Disabilities and Access to Disability Cards (Aug)

Mongolia

Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Commend Mongolia on Initiatives Promoting Sign Language, Ask Questions on Accessibility Measures and the Legal Capacity of Persons with Disabilities. (Aug, OHCHR)

Netherlands

Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide in people with intellectual disabilities and/or autism spectrum disorders: investigation of 39 Dutch case reports (2012–2021). “Reasons for the EAS request included social isolation and loneliness (77%), lack of resilience or coping strategies (56%), lack of flexibility (rigid thinking or difficulty adapting to change) (44%) and oversensitivity to stimuli (26%).” (May, BJPsych Open)

Rwanda

Personal barriers to participation in chosen instrumental activities of daily living among community-dwelling persons with schizophrenia in Rwanda. (Jun, African Journal of Disability)

United States

33 Years and Still So Much Work Must be Done: A Reflection on the ADA at 33 (Jul, Center for Racial and Disability Justice)

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Politics and Elections

Cambodia

High-ranking ministerial post for disabled man Cambodia has appointed a visually impaired man as an undersecretary of state of the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation. (Jul, Khmer Times)

Germany

German far right’s Höcke wants to kick disabled kids out of regular schools (Aug, Politico)

South Korea

Representative Kim Ye-Ji Interview. Disability is my political identity. (In Korean, Jul, The Indigo)

United States

New Organization Aims To Make Running For Office Accessible To Disabled Candidates “Disability Victory, is one of a new generation of disability campaigns — founded and run by people with disabilities, focused on activism, and intersectional across the full range of constituencies and marginalized communities.” (Jul, Forbes)

Zimbabwe

Concern over ability of the disabled to vote in Zimbabwe (Aug, Caj News)

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Relationships, Sex and Reproductive Rights

Australia

Parents with disability face discrimination in child protection systems a report finds that “parents with disability are over-represented as subjects of child protection allegations, investigations and proceedings.” (Jul, Disability Royal Commission)

India

Persons With Disabilities And The Idea Of Love “It is not uncommon for persons with disabilities to be haunted by questions of love due to the attitude of others” (Aug, Outlook)

South Africa

Women with disabilities need better access to maternal, sexual and reproductive health services “Focusing specifically on their experiences of maternal health services, disabled women in the same study reported that nurses expressed visible surprise, and sometimes anger, that these women were sexually active.” (Aug, Daily Maverick)

Tanzania

Sexual and reproductive health and rights through the lens of belonging: Intersectional perspectives on disability, gender, and adolescence in Tanzania. (Jul, JYX Digital Repository)

United Kingdom

Dating as a disabled woman made me miserable, so I'm building a life without romantic love (Aug, iNews)

Zimbabwe

Chivis’ Story of Hope: To the future, with love “We can detect abuse and fall in love.” Support groups raise Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights awareness in communities where persons with disabilities are abused and shunned. (Jun, UNICEF)

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Space Exploration

International News

Space4People with Disabilities “At the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), we believe that space can contribute in many important ways to achieving disability inclusion and can have transformational effects for persons with disabilities.” (Sep, UNOOSA)

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Sport and Paralympics

France

One year before Paralympics, Paris trying to make city more accessible to those with disabilities (Aug, AP)

South Sudan

Why South Sudan Has Become A Focal Point For Blind Soccer Players. South Sudan has been running its first Blind Premier League competition for just over a month. (Jul, Forbes)

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Violence and Harassment

United States

Michigan Transphobic Attack Leaves Trans Disabled Man Injured “Andrew Blake-Newton reported a group of people in a van shot him with pellet gun bullets and hurled transphobic slurs at him.” (Jul, Huffpost)

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War in Ukraine

Situation in Ukraine

Ukraine

Ukrainian soldiers who were blinded in combat face the new battle of navigating the world again. (Aug, AP)

The Rights of Persons with Disabilities who are Institutionalised in Wartime Research findings. (Jul, Kharkiv Institute for Social Research) See also a blog from EDF.

Attacks on disabled people and facilities

Ukraine

‘Mom, I went to hell’ A disabled Ukrainian man was nearly tortured to death in occupied Melitopol. Now he’s back in Russian captivity. (Aug)

Russians deported elderly, disabled Ukrainians “Russian invaders transported elderly citizens and representatives of vulnerable categories from Ukraine to the territory of the Russian Federation, where they were deprived of citizenship, forced to become blood donors, and did not provide assistance after unsuccessful medical procedures.” (Jul, UKRinform)

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Water and Sanitation (WASH)

International News

Adapting Menstrual Health Interventions for People with Intellectual Disabilities in Emergencies (Jul, Frontiers of Sanitation)

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