Experiences of discrimination: Reality for people with disabilities
Section in the magazine LEBENSSTARK of the Muscle Society
Saphir Ben Dakon wrote an article on the topic of discrimination in the specialist knowledge section. The illustration of discrimination was based on the example of the use of language in the support class initiative in the canton of Zurich. The text and an accompanying PDF can be found below.
EXPERIENCES OF DISCRIMINATION: REALITY FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
Little is done in Switzerland to protect people from discrimination. Why? The debate about
protection is highly discriminatory and often only aims to - further - exclude
people with disabilities.
I have always heard that people with disabilities must be protected from discrimination. Very little is actually done in terms of protection against discrimination. However, you can only protect yourself against discrimination to a limited extent. Although it takes place in the reality of one's own life, it is systemically anchored in society and its institutions such as schools, municipalities or hospitals.
Protection as a pretext for discrimination
Discrimination against people with disabilities is known as ableism. This uses a fictitious "normal standard" to legitimize exclusion. Discrimination does not simply occur in a vacuum; discrimination is active and occurs in all areas of life. It often even happens with the justification of wanting to protect people with disabilities. This mechanism can be observed in the current debate about the support class initiative.
Whitewashing exclusion
The catchy slogan "Support instead of overwhelm. For a school with a future" promotes the initiative, which aims to
from excessive demands by placing them in remedial classes. Allegedly, the aim is to meet their needs. It is obvious why this argument is ableist. The solution for the overburdened system is to teach children with disabilities separately so that the other children "do not fall by the wayside" and "the experiment of school integration" is not carried out "on the backs of everyone". Children with disabilities are portrayed as a disruptive factor: You would think that without them, the challenges of the school system would be all but solved. Of course, they are not.
Biased language
The choice of words gives the impression that non-disabled people are at a disadvantage. The experiences of disabled and non-disabled children with regard to disabilities and discrimination are falsely equated. It also plays on non-disabled people's fear of people with disabilities by claiming that people with disabilities would prevent those without disabilities from exercising their rights simply by being in the same room.
Deliberate omission?
Not a single word is said about the fact that the inclusive education system is a requirement of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and must therefore be implemented by Switzerland. There is also no mention of the specific systemic adjustments that need to be
that need to be made in order for a truly inclusive school to function. In short: the school of the future should take place without the equal participation of children with disabilities.
How can we protect ourselves?
People with disabilities are often told that experiences of discrimination are the result of their own actions. This is obviously wrong. Nevertheless, the prerequisite for self-determination is action. So what can we do? It is possible to work on our resilience - on our defenses. To do this, it makes sense to surround ourselves with people who are sensitive to discrimination. We can fight for a bit of self-determination by networking and campaigning for the implementation of the UNCRPD. These proposals may not offer us comprehensive protection against experiences of discrimination, but they do increase the chance that we can deal with them in our - self-chosen and self-determined - way. A transitional solution until society as a whole actively counteracts discrimination.
About the author
SAPHIR BEN DAKON is an inclusion and communication expert from Zurich. With her company, she supports organizations in the implementation of inclusion processes. Saphir holds a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Corporate Communications and a Master of Science (MSc) in Business Administration. As Vice President of Agile, the Swiss umbrella organization of self-help and self-advocacy organizations for people with disabilities, she
organizations of people with disabilities, she is particularly committed to the topics of work, education, empowerment and participation. She focuses on the intersection of disability, gender and migration histories.
