PART 4:
LEARNING ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 3:
Learning Exercises for Part 2
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
ACCESSIBILITY
EXERCISE 2.1:
Getting Started in Thinking About Accessibility
Objective: To identify barriers to accessibility
Time: 45 minutes
Materials: Paper and pens; chart paper and markers
1. Brainstorm:
Ask participants to break into small groups. Ask each group to discuss what they think “accessibility” means for persons with disabilities. Next, ask each group to identify barriers to accessibility in their community. Remind them to think about different disability groups as they discuss the following questions:
· What are the main barriers that persons with disabilities face in accessing information?
· What are the main barriers that persons with disabilities face in communicating?
· What are the main barriers that persons with disabilities face in accessing the built environment (for example, buildings)?
· What are the main legal barriers that persons with disabilities face in accessing their rights?
2. Analyze:
Ask each group to list out three examples of accessibility for persons with disabilities that they can think of in their local community.
3. Report:
Ask each spokesperson to report on the barriers to accessibility their group discussed. Compile a list of the barriers that are reported. Ask a spokesperson for each group to report on the three examples of accessibility in their community. Compile a list of all the examples.
4. Discuss:
Review and discuss the two lists with participants. Ask participants to discuss if there are any items mentioned on both lists (for instance, a ramp is listed as an example of accessibility in the community and the lack of a ramp is mentioned as one of the main barriers to the built environment). Ask participants to develop a strategy for removing the access barriers they identified. Is there an easy, short-term solution? If not, what immediate measures can be put into place to begin to address the issue?
EXERCISE 2.2:
What Does It Mean to Enjoy Accessibility?
Objective: To understand what it means to enjoy accessibility
Time: 30 minutes
Materials: Chart paper and markers or blackboard and chalk; Post-It Notes; paper and pens
1. Brainstorm:
Ask participants to brainstorm some typical life activities that most people in your community do (for example, going shopping, going to work, going to school, talking to friends, taking public transportation, eating in a restaurant, attending a religious service, or attending a social, cultural, or sporting event). Repeat these aloud and list them on chart paper.
Next ask participants to name different types of disabilities that individuals may have in their communities, including persons with physical, sensory, learning, intellectual, psychosocial, and multiple disabilities. Repeat these aloud and record each on a separate Post-It Note.
Note to Facilitator: Adapt this exercise to accommodate participants with disabilities. For example, some participants may need assistance in writing the role and others may need to have the role they draw read to them.
2. Imagine:
Take all the Post-It Notes naming disabilities and drop them into a container. Ask each participant to select a note from the container.
Give each participant a paper and pencil. Ask them to do the following:
(a) Write “Your friend is …” at the top of the page.
(b) Add more description including an imagined sex and age for the suggested person (for example, “Your friend is a middle-aged man who uses a wheelchair”; “Your friend is a twenty-year-old woman who is bipolar”; “Your friend is a teenage girl with Down’s Syndrome”; “Your friend is a man of seventy who is deaf and dyslexic”). They might also add something about the person’s environment (for example, “your friend works on a farm,” “your friend lives in an institution,” or “your friend has six children”).
(c) When it is complete, fold the paper.
Collect the slips of descriptions and place them in an open container.
3. Analyze:
Divide participants into pairs or small groups. Ask each person in the group to choose two activities from the list (more than one person may have the same activity) and announce to the others what they are.
Then ask everyone to draw one of the descriptive slips from the container. Give these instructions:
(a) The slip you drew is your friend’s identity for the rest of the exercise. “Introduce” your friend to the group and restate the two activities you have chosen.
(b) Speaking one at a time, describe what you think it would be like for your friend to participate in the activities you chose.
(c) What barriers to access might your friend encounter? Consider:
· Physical barriers;
· Informational barriers;
· Institutional barriers; and
· Attitudinal barriers.
(d) What would it take for your friend to be able to participate? What accessibility features would your friend need?
Note to Facilitator: You may need to remind participants of the differences in kinds of barriers and illustrate each.
3. Report:
Ask each participant to describe their scenario and what activities they discussed. Then ask each to name the accessibility features that would be required in order for the identified friend to be able to participate in their activities. List these needs on a chart like the one below and retain it for use in Exercise 2.2. Be sure to ask for informational, institutional, attitudinal, and physical barriers.
PHYSICAL BARRIER
INFORMATION BARRIER
ATTITUDE BARRIER
INSTITUTIONAL BARRIER
ACCESSIBILITY FEATURE NEEDED
4. Discuss:
· Did the definition of accessibility differ depending upon the person under discussion, or does it stay the same for all people?
· How would you define accessibility so that it fits all these cases?
· How does having accessibility make a difference in the lives of individual persons with disabilities? In the life of the community?
· How does not having accessibility make a difference in the lives of individual persons with disabilities? In the life of the community?
EXERCISE 2.3:
Understanding Barriers to Accessibility
Objective: To identify barriers to accessibility faced by persons with disabilities
Time: 30 minutes
Materials: List of life activities generated in Exercise 2.2
1. Discuss:
Using the list of needed accessibility features generated in Exercise 2.2, ask participants to assess to what extent these accommodations are available in this community. Record responses on a chart like that below.
Note to Facilitator: If participants don’t know the answer, write a question and discuss where information could be obtained.
FEATURENEVER
AVAILABLESOMEWHAT
AVAILABLE
AVAILABLEUSUALLY
AVAILABLE
ALWAYS
AVAILABLE
2. Discuss:
· What accessibility features are most available in the community? Why do you think this is the case?
· What accessibility features are least available? Why?
· Are persons with certain disabilities provided with more accessibility features than others? Which ones? Why?
· Are persons with certain disabilities provided with fewer accessibility features than others? Which ones? Why?
Note to Facilitator: In asking why some accessibility features are more generally available than others, always seek to establish whether advocacy by persons with disabilities has brought about some of these accessibility features.
3. Evaluate:
· What accessibility features are most needed in your community? Be sure to think broadly about all the different persons with disabilities who might need accessibility features, so that no groups of people are left out.
· What can be done to see that these needs are met?
EXERCISE 2.4:
Understanding Accessibility
Objective: To review and understand the accessibility provisions of the CRPD
Time: 45 minutes
Materials: Chart paper and markers or blackboard and chalk; copies of CRPD Article 9, Accessibility
1. Review:
Divide the participants into small groups. Ask each group to work together to paraphrase Article 9, Accessibility, in common language and give some examples of how it could be enjoyed and make a difference for persons with disabilities in their community. Given the length of Article 9, you may want to ask different groups to address specific sections, especially if you feel that particular sections have already been addressed through previous exercises.
2. Paraphrase:
Read Article 9 aloud, pausing at each comma or natural section to ask different groups for their paraphrase. Discuss the meaning of the section until everyone can agree on a paraphrase.
Write the final paraphrase of Article 9 on chart paper and read it aloud.
3. Give examples:
Ask for examples of how accessibility could be enjoyed and make a difference for persons with disabilities.
4. Discuss:
How can Article 9 of the CRPD be used to set national disability rights agendas and formulate platforms of action for submission to political parties or government decision-makers? What would it mean in your country?
THE RIGHT TO PARTICIPATION IN POLITICAL AND PUBLIC LIFE
What Rights to Participation in Decision Making Does the CRPD Affirm?
Objective: To review and understand the rights to participation and public life affirmed by the CRPD
Time: 30 minutes
Materials: Chart paper and markers or blackboard and chalk; copies of CRPD Article 29
1. Review:
Divide participants into small groups and assign each group different parts of Article 29, Participation in political and public life, such as Articles 29(a)(i) and 29(b). Ask each group to work together to:
· Paraphrase their assigned section in common, clearly understandable language; and
· Give some examples of how that right could be enjoyed and make a difference for persons with disabilities.
2. Paraphrase/Give Examples:
Read each section of Article 29 aloud and ask the assigned group to give their paraphrase. Discuss the meaning of the section until everyone can agree on a paraphrase. Write the final paraphrase of each section Article 29 on chart paper and read it aloud.
After each section, ask for examples of how that right could be implemented and make a difference for persons with disabilities.
3. Discuss:
How can Article 29 of the CRPD be used to set national disability rights agendas and formulate platforms of action for submission to political parties or government decision makers?
EXERCISE 3.2:
Voting Access for Persons with Disabilities
Objective: To consider how voting processes can ensure the participation of persons with disabilities
Time: 45 minutes
Materials: Chart paper and markers or blackboard and chalk
1. Discuss:
Divide participants into small discussion groups. Ask each group to discuss the following questions, encouraging them to consider these questions as they may apply to persons with different kinds of disabilities (for example, physical, sensory, intellectual, psychosocial):
· What barriers do you think might exist in exercising rights to political participation in your community (for example, in voting, in holding public office, in accessing information)?
· If you do not know of any barriers to voting, how and where could you find out?
· What has been your own experience or observation relating to barriers faced by persons with disabilities in voting?
2. Report:
Ask each group to summarize their discussion and role-play a situation identified in their discussion. Record the situations of barriers as they are mentioned.
3. Discuss:
Emphasize to the group that discrimination is often based on mistaken ideas and stereotypes that one group holds about another.
· How would you confront perceptions about persons with psychosocial disabilities in voting?
· How could you increase the visibility of persons with disabilities in an election process?
· How could you ensure that election observers think about accessibility issues in their monitoring role?
· What steps could you take to reach citizens with disabilities in voter awareness programmes?
Alternative: As a whole group, draw together suggestions into an Election Access Tips Document covering some or all of the following actions to improve accessibility in voter registration: voter education, places of registration and voting, ballot casting, and voter observation. Use in disability rights advocacy and distribute to national election commissions, NGOs active in elections work and voter observation, and international democracy and governance groups engaged in voter education, election administration, and observation.
EXERCISE 3.3:
Voter Observation and Monitoring
Objective: To consider how persons with disabilities and their allies can monitor and evaluate election procedures
Time: 45 minutes
Materials: Chart paper and markers or blackboard and chalk
1. Explain:
Emphasize to the group that persons with disabilities can play a significant role in election observation, ensuring the transparency of an election and identifying barriers to voting. Election observers observe and monitor the balloting process and the counting of results. Observation includes, among other things:
· The location of polling stations and their accessibility to the population, which includes:
o The opening and closing of polling stations at stated times;
o The arrangement of voting booths; and
o The orderly movement of voters.
· The presence of well-trained and competent officials who are knowledgeable about the procedures and responsive to requests for assistance.
· An established procedure for identification and verification of voters’ secrecy in the act of balloting, such as:
o The marking of ballot papers out of the sight of officials and observers; and
o Provision for secret balloting for voters who are blind.
· The security of the ballot box and integrity of the counting process and results, such as:
o Ensuring that ballot boxes are empty before voting begins, and secure and sealed when polling stations are closed and during any transit procedure; and
o Ensuring that votes are tallied in a process that inspires confidence.
2. Discuss/Draft:
Divide participants into small discussion groups. Ask each group to discuss these questions:
· How can a disability dimension be included in election observation?
· What steps can be taken to ensure that election observers are aware of election access issues?
· How can election observation results be used to improve election access in future elections?
Ask each group to design their own voter observation forms and/or procedures with questions relating to election access for persons with disabilities.
3. Report/Discuss:
Ask a spokesperson from each group to summarize the group’s discussion conclusions and present the group’s draft election observation form. Record ideas on chart paper as they are mentioned.
4. Take Action:
Use the tool you have created to participate in election observation, help train observers, and report on your election observation.
EXERCISE 3.4:
Inclusive and Accessible Civic and Voter Education
Objective: To consider how persons with disabilities can be effectively included in civic education and voter education outreach campaigns
Time: 45 minutes
Materials: Chart paper and markers or blackboard and chalk.
1. Explain:
Emphasize to the group that persons with disabilities are important participants in civic education and voter education campaigns, and thus steps must be taken to ensure they are not excluded.
2. Discuss/Draft:
Divide participants into small discussion groups. Ask each group to discuss these questions:
· How can a disability dimension be included in civic education programmes and in voter education?
· What steps can be taken to ensure that civic educators and election educators are aware of election access issues?
Ask each group to each design their own disability-inclusive civic education and/or voter education action plan to:
· Reach persons with all kinds of disabilities; and
· Educate the general public so that they understand that persons with disabilities have political rights.
Consider:
· Design of civic education materials (for instance, materials used in schools): How might they be adapted in order to be more inclusive?
· Design of voter education materials: How might you modify materials to ensure they are accessible to persons with disabilities?
· Voter education workshop planning:
o How might you ensure that persons with disabilities can participate in and have access to voter education in their communities by designing for inclusion?
o What access issues will you need to plan for in-workshop design?
· Who might be an appropriate partner or ally in your efforts to be inclusive of persons with disabilities in civic education or voter education?
3. Report/Discuss:
Ask a spokesperson from each group to summarize their discussion conclusions and present their draft civic education plans or voter education campaign plan of action. Record ideas on chart paper as they are mentioned.
4. Take Action:
Use the action plan you have created to help ensure that civic education programmes and voter education are inclusive, train civic and voter educators in the disability community, and report on your activities.
Tips for Awareness-Raising through Civic and Voter Education
Training:
· Consultation between election officials and disabled people’s organizations (DPOs) to ensure that disability access issues are integrated into voter education.
Materials Development & Dissemination:
Create materials that provide tips and information on election access for persons with disabilities so that all those involved in electoral processes can become familiar with the removal of barriers to the participation of persons with disabilities.
Design and disseminate posters and other collateral materials highlighting the right of citizens with disabilities to vote, including rights in relation to assisted voting.
Civic education and voter education materials should be made available in accessible formats and should include the voice and/or image of persons with disabilities.
Radio and Television Media:
Develop and disseminate video tapes of televised messages and audio tapes of radio messages to TV and radio stations to encourage voters with disabilities to register and vote and to encourage families and friends to assist voters with disabilities in accessing registration and polling centres;
Include persons with disabilities in televised voter education public service announcements.
Create a Working Group on Electoral Access to brief media representatives on the importance of voter access, including representatives of the print, televised, and radio media.
Other Forms of Voter Outreach:
· Use of community theatre in which persons with disabilities take part in performances in the voter education process, including the use of sign language or production of “silent theatre” to reach persons who are deaf.
