How have Disability Rights Progressed in the 20th Century?

Question 1

Disability:

Answer 1

• a physical or mental impairment that has substantial and long-term adverse effect on your ability to carry our normal day to day activities
• definition very broad and covers a whole range of impairments including: HIV, AIDs,, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s, amputation etc.

Question 2

Ideas Towards Disabilities in the 20th C: Eugenics

Answer 2

a social theory that aims to cut out traits that lead to suffering, by limiting people with the traits from reproducing

Question 3

Ideas Towards Disabilities in the 20th C: Sterilisation

Answer 3

surgery to make a person unable to reproduce

Question 4

Ideas Towards Disabilities in the 20th C:

Answer 4

• a lot of early 20th C ideas about disability influenced by eugenics
• the British Eugenics Society (founded in 1907) argued that offering medical and social services to disabled people “will lead to degeneration of the human race”
• idea gained lot of support of politicians like Winston Churchill advocated for the segregation of “feel aided” people
• an American magazine cover from 1934 containing an article about sterilisation of disable people “defectives”
• sterilisation in America continued until 1960s and 1970s

Question 5

1940s Nazi Attitudes to Disability: Involuntary Euthanasia

Answer 5

intentionally ending someone’s life in order to relieve pain and suffering g without their consent

Question 6

1940s Nazi Attitudes to Disability:

Answer 6

• dea of eugenics taken up by Nazis in Germany in 1930s
• began program, of mass murder using involuntary euthanasia against people with disabilities - Operation T4
• T4 resulted in murder of approx. 300,000 people and forced sterilisation pf approx. 400,000 more
• included murder of at least 5000 disabled children were sent to “Special Children’s Wards” for “treatment”
• a “Charitable Ambulance” used as a part of T4 to transport disabled children to gas chambers

Question 7

Britain’s Attitudes to Disability:

Answer 7

• early 20th C people with disabilities were generally segregated from rest of society in institutions or rural colonies
• children entitled to go to school but those with disabilities were sent to specialist schools for the “crippled and incurable”
• were mostly trained for low skilled work as it was assumed that they would never find a job
• people with disabilities in Britain were in treated as disposable whose lives weren’t worth living and the treatment they received didn’t help them rather it damaged them further
  
  • no intention of treatment for them
  • element of indifference towards disabled people, treated as objects rather than as human beings

Question 8

Britain’s Change in Attitudes from 1940s towards Disability:

Answer 8

• many of changes to attitudes and laws regarding people with disabilities happened in late 1940s, this is because:
  
  • didn’t want to be compared to Nazis
  • soldiers returned had lost limbs and had PTSD
  • care and prospects for people with disabilities greatly improved following WW2 as many service men and women had been left with disabilities from their work during the war
  • as a result, the gov put in place provisions to assist people with disabilities to gain employment

Question 9

Who was Ludwig Guttmann and what did he do?

Answer 9

• Jewish doctor fleeing from Nazi Germany in late 1930s, started Paralympic movement
• had seen dehumanisation of eugenics to Jews in Germany and worried it was happening to disabled people
• Guttmann east Stoke Mandeville Hospital revolutionised treatment of disabled life, improved quality of life + life expectancy e.g. by turning over a body to reduce risk of infections
• made them take part in sports to improve mental + physical health = gives them self-dignity
• Guttmann started Paralympic movement and providing more opportunities for disabled people

Question 10

The Campaign for Equality in Britain:

Answer 10

• in early 1990s, 100s of protesters, including many disabled people, took to the streets demanding new legislation
• protest escalated throughout 1990s from marches to more radical action e.g. protesters handcuffing themselves to buses leading to arrests being made
• group rejected idea of charity and charitable actions, didn’t want pity - too on slogan of “piss on pity”
• campaigns showed they were “proud, angry and strong” - Barbara Lisiscki
  
  • goes against stereotypes

Question 11

Disability Discrimination Act 1995:

Answer 11

• 8th November 1995 DDA passed
• designed to “make it unlawful to discriminate against disabled persons in connection with employment, the provision of goods, facilities and services or the disposal or management of premise; and to establish a National Disability Council’.
  
  • didn’t provide facilities necessary for them and so it didn’t fully enable them with the access it had given them
  • quite significant