Insights of people with disabilities regarding barriers to equality and inclusion

Abstract

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) aims to guarantee the rights and conditions essential to the full participation of people with disabilities. Israel signed the convention in 2007 and ratified it in 2012. In this study we examined the barriers to full participation from the experience of people with disabilities in Israel. Sixty-one semi-structured interviews and nine focus groups were conducted during 9/2018–12/2019. We analysed the data using direct content analyses. A total of ten CRPD articles were relevant to the barriers found in the study. Stigmas, bureaucracy, and inaccessibility are issues that affect, sometimes dramatically, decisions and behaviors of people with disabilities in Israel in daily life as well as in the significant stages of life. The findings show the importance of integrating the experiences of people with disabilities into research and policy while reaching out to them with information on their rights.

Point of interest

• This study explores the barriers that impede the inclusion of individuals with disabilities in Israel.

• Through their narratives, individuals with disabilities reflect on attitudes, biases, bureaucracy, and inaccessibility that prevent them from participating fully in society.

• It is valuable to integrate the experiences of people with disabilities into research and policy.

• Policymakers must reach out to people with disabilities with information about their rights and facilitate their efforts to achieve them.

Keywords:

• Participation
• inclusion
• stigma
• bureaucracy
• accessibility

Acknowledgment

The authors would like to thank our colleagues for their support: Neta Dagan, Yotam Tolub, Yakira Avrch, Alona Eisenberg, Naama Lerner, Sharon Primor, Ragda awad, Tsivia Wajsberg, Milka Mozes, Vered Bar, Idit Saragusti.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.