Human rights are important to all people. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities outlines the rights of people with disability and sets an international standard for all countries to aspire to.
In agreeing to the Convention, all levels of government agreed to work towards all people with disability enjoying equal human rights and freedoms.
The human rights model of disability focuses on the equal rights that all people have. This model presents disability inclusion as a vision we should all aspire to. The human rights model recognises an individual’s experience of disability as being unique to them and as contributing to their sense of identity.1 The human rights model also acknowledges intersecting and overlapping forms of discrimination and how these contribute to a person’s experiences.
Inclusive Victoria recognises that both the human rights and social models are interconnected. They are useful tools for understanding and addressing barriers to community inclusion. We recognise that ways of understanding disability are always changing. We acknowledge that disability is perceived in culturally specific ways and cannot be separated from the legacies of intergenerational trauma and complex disadvantage. We will continue to be guided by people with disability about how these changes can improve our work.
References
[1] Degener T 2016, ‘A human rights model of disability’. In: Routledge handbook of disability law and human rights, Routledge, London.
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