Source: Ageism and Ableism: Two of the Great Challenges for Our World | LinkedIn
By Allan. S. Gutterman
The World Health Organization (“WHO”) has reported that approximately 16% of the global population, over 1.3 billion people worldwide, have some form of disability, and that an additional 190 million people (3.8% of people over 15 years of age) experience serious difficulties in functioning normally daily.[1] According to WHO and the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the number of people with disabilities is increasing dramatically due to increases in chronic (i.e., noncommunicable) diseases and aging of the population, and rates of disability are higher in developing countries.[2] The Special Rapporteur has explained that the incidence of disability increases significantly as persons get older due to the increased prevalence of chronic diseases and physical and cognitive impairments, which in interaction with various barriers may result in disabilities, and has also noted that many persons who became disabled in their younger years are now able to live longer due to technological and medical advancements and socioeconomic developments.[3] It has also been observed that the number of people with disabilities has grown in recent decades due to war and other forms of violence, inadequate medical care, and natural and other disasters.[4] It is clear that “[t]he existence of a disability cuts across issues of race, gender and even class and level of education … [and that] … [t]omorrow, anyone may be the victim of an unforeseen accident that leaves them permanently disabled”.[5]
Using the same data relied upon by WHO, but a different methodology, other researchers found a similar global figure of 14% as of 2014 and also found a higher percentage of disabilities: in low- and middle-income countries than in high-income countries; among persons aged 65 and over (39%) than among working age adults (12%); and among women (18.5%) than among men (12.1%).[6] Notably, the variation based on gender was more pronounced with aging as 44.2% of women aged 65 and over were disabled as opposed to 33.9% of the men in same age group.[7] In 2017 UN Global Compact and the International Labour Organization reported that roughly one-third of all persons between the ages of 50 and 64 had “impairments” within the meaning of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (“CRPD”) discussed below, this number increases to 50% for people over the age of 65 and grows considerably for those beyond the age of 70 and 75 and the number of people with disabilities in the population is also affected by factors such as the presence of and exposure to conflict in the country and the number of returning military veterans.[8] According to a UN report on the world social situation as of 2018 “more than 46 per cent of older persons worldwide have an impairment (250 million experience moderate to severe impairments), and older persons represent the majority of the overall population of persons with disabilities”.[9]
While the number of persons with disabilities is large, their experiences are diverse and “not all people with disabilities are equally disadvantaged”.[10] In fact, a comprehensive guide on disability inclusion published in 2015 based on the evidence that was available at that time highlighted the then-current situation of people with disabilities and how the lives of persons with disabilities are likely impacted by both intersecting inequalities and personal factors[11]:
- Disability does not necessarily imply limited well-being and poverty; however, growing evidence confirms that disability and poverty are highly correlated, and that disability is both a cause and consequence of poverty and disability and poverty reinforce each other in ways that contribute to increased vulnerability and inclusion[12]
- People with disabilities in low- and middle-income countries are poorer than their non-disabled peers in terms of access to education, healthcare, employment, income, justice, social support and civic involvement and encounter significant barriers in their day-to-day lives with respect to access to transportation, infrastructure and digital technology
- People with disabilities are disproportionately affected by conflicts and disasters, often unable to access humanitarian responses, yet they are often excluded from disaster management and risk reduction processes
- Children and adults with disabilities are at higher risk of physical, sexual and other forms of violence
- The losses in productivity and human potential due to the exclusion of people with disabilities has significant economic and social costs and evidence indicates that disability inclusion could lead to increased earnings and labor productivity, increased tax revenues, improved individual and family well-being and wide societal benefits[13]
- Attention needs to be paid to the specific and unique experiences of subgroups of persons with disabilities, rather than assuming that all disabled persons are the same (e.g., women with disabilities often experience double discrimination that extends to all areas of their lives and older people with disabilities are disproportionately poor)[14]
The report included a comprehensive list of barriers to disability inclusion including attitudinal barriers (e.g., stereotypes, prejudices, other forms of paternalistic and patronizing treatment, discrimination, fear, bullying and low expectations of people with disabilities); institutional barriers (i.e., laws, policies, strategies or practices that discriminate against people with disabilities including lack of enforcement and political support for policies); “internalized” barriers (i.e., due to stigma and stereotyping, disabled persons refrain from pro-active behavior in expressing their opinions and claiming their rights); lack of participation including lack of consultation and involvement of people with disabilities in decision making; inadequate data, statistics and evidence on what works; and inaccurate concerns over the costs and difficulties of disability inclusion (e.g., concerns that disability inclusion is too difficult and requires specialist knowledge or require special programs that would unduly burden existing resources).[15]
In the US, selected data from various sources on disabled persons and their day-to-day lives includes the following[16]:
- According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 61 million, or 26% of, adult Americans have some form of disability, with most common disabilities being mobility with serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs (13.7%), cognition with serious difficulty concentrating, remembering or making decisions (10.8%) and independent living with difficulty doing errands alone (6.8%).[17]
- 2 in 5 adults over the age of 65 have a disability, which makes it the largest disabled age group in the US (half of all persons with a disability are age 65 and over). 1 in 4 women have a disability and women are somewhat more likely to have a disability than men, partly reflecting the greater life expectancy of women.[18] Disability tends to be higher among Black and Whites than among Hispanics and Asians, and 2 in 5 non-Hispanic American Indians/Alaska Natives have a disability.[19]
- Adults living with disabilities are more likely to be obese, smoke, have heart disease and diabetes than adults without a disability and significant number of disabled persons face serious health care access barriers including lack of a usual health care provider, unmet health care needs due to cost and failure to have routine health check-ups on a regular basis (at least once a year).[20]
- According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (“BLS”), 19.3% of Americans with a disability were employed in 2019 (compared to 66.3% of persons without a disability), and 22.5% of men and 16.5% of women with a disability had a job. 7.6% of disabled persons aged 65 and over were employed, compared to 43.5% of disabled persons between 25 to 34 years old.[21]
- According to the BLS, the unemployment rates for disabled women and men for 2019 year were 7.3% and 7.4%, respectively. Unemployment rates were highest among 16–19-year-olds (21.7%) and lowest among 65+ years old (4.3%). 11.8% of the unemployed individuals with a disability were Black and African Americans, Hispanic or Latino (8.6%), Asian (6.7%), and white (6.6%).[22]
- The Covid-19 pandemic took a toll on employment of disabled persons, with data showing that about 1 million workers with disabilities (1 in 5 of the workers with disabilities) lost their job between March 2020 and the summer of 2021 (the general average for healthy workers was 1 in 7).[23]
- According to a report in The Washington Post, only 21% of the 252,599 complaints filed with the government during the seven years beginning in 2010 regarding disability-related discrimination in the workplace resulted in some relief.[24]
- As of 2020, 89.6% of people with disabilities had health insurance, compared to 86.9% of people with no disabilities; however, only 46% of people with disabilities had private health insurance, compared to 75.8% of people with no disabilities.[25]
- According to the Social Security Administration, almost half of the persons receiving OASDI benefits in 2019 were between 65 and 74, 24% were between 75 and 84 and 9% were older than 85.[26]
It has been reported that close to half of all persons over the age of 65 in the European Union (“EU”) have some form of disability, putting them at increased risk of neglect, loss of supports, abuse and poverty.[27] In its Green Paper on Ageing released in January 2021, the European Commission noted: “Older people with disabilities can face particular problems. Working-age people who develop a disability often benefit from labour market-related support to compensate for loss of income and extra expenditure. While this is insufficient in many cases, people acquiring a disability after retirement are often ineligible for these benefits.” McKenna explained that “[o]lder people with disabilities face greater difficulties in accessing AT [Assistive Technology] as persons with disabilities over the age of 65 within the EU often lose access to state disability benefits and entitlements, mobility allowances, medical rehabilitation support services, personal care assistance, as well as funding and grants for the provision of AT such as adjusted cars amongst other essential supports”.[28] McKenna also pointed out that caregivers for older persons with disabilities have few supports and rights than their counterparts who provide care for younger disabled persons. According to McKenna, the EU has failed to adopt the human rights-based approach recommended in Section 93 of the Report of the Independent Expert on the Enjoyment of all Human Rights by Older Persons: To ensure universal access, States should integrate assistive technology in health and social protection schemes, making it available at affordable prices and offering financial assistance to those who need it. Conditions of access must not be based on age alone.”
In its November 2020 contribution to the call for public consultation on the EU Disability Rights Strategy for the coming decade, AGE Platform Europe noted that “[i]t … [was] … crucial that the next Disability Strategy addresses the intersectionality between disability and ageing, as well as that of ageism and ableism, across different domains, such as accessibility, participation, equality, employment, education and training, social protection, health and external action”.[29] AGE Platform Europe called on the EU “to continue efforts for the adoption of a horizontal non-discrimination directive covering discrimination on the basis of age and disability–among other grounds–beyond the field of employment” and make additional efforts “to adequately address the intersection of ageing and disability”.[30] Other recommendations from AGE Platform Europe included reforms to States’ policies to ensure the availability of sustainable, adequate, accessible and person-centered health care and support services for people with disabilities of all ages across the EU; equal consultation with older persons with disabilities, through their representative organizations, on the development and implementation of disability policies and programs; and improvements to the statistics and data collection processes on aging and disability.[31]
According to WHO: “Disability is part of the human condition. Almost everyone will be temporarily or permanently impaired at some point in life, and those who survive to old age will experience increasing difficulties in functioning. Most extended families have a disabled member, and many non-disabled people take responsibility for supporting and caring for their relatives and friends with disabilities”.[32] In 2011 WHO noted that “[r]esponses to disability have changed since the 1970s, prompted largely by the self-organization of people with disabilities, and by the growing tendency to see disability as a human rights issue”.[33] As a result, the historical solution of segregating disabled persons into residential institutions and special schools has given way to policies supporting community and educational inclusion. At the same time, the focus on medical solutions to the impairments found among disabled persons began to shift toward addressing the environmental, as well as physical factors, which cause persons to be handicapped in their efforts to achieve equality in society. In other words, the role of social and physical barriers in disability has been recognized and the greater weight has been given to the social model of disability which views people as “being disabled by society rather than by their bodies”.[34]
WHO called out the importance of recognizing the “diversity of disability” and remembering that “[t]he disability experience resulting from the interaction of health conditions, personal factors and environmental factors varies greatly”, which means that stereotypical views of disabled persons as “wheelchair users … [and] … blind people and deaf people” need to be set aside.[35] In fact, according to WHO, disabled persons are impacted by health conditions that “can be visible or invisible; temporary or long term; static, episodic, or degenerating; painful or inconsequential” and many people with disabilities do not consider themselves to be “unhealthy”.[36] WHO also pointed out that “[p]ersons with disabilities have diverse personal factors with differences in gender, age, socioeconomic status, sexuality, ethnicity, or cultural heritage” and that each person with a disability “has his or her personal preferences and responses to disability”.[37] WHO cataloged some of the ways that people with disabilities are unequally disadvantaged: women must cope with the combined disadvantages of disability and gender, and may be less likely to marry than non-disabled women; there is evidence that people with mental health conditions or intellectual impairments are often more disadvantaged than people who are burdened with physical or sensory impairments; severity of impairment is positively correlated to disadvantage in various contexts including poorer rural areas and the workplace; and, not surprisingly, higher wealth and socioeconomic status each help to overcome limitations on activities and restrictions on participation.[38]
WHO has also argued that “[d]isability is a development issue, because of its bidirectional link to poverty: disability may increase the risk of poverty, and poverty may increase the risk of disability”.[39] According to WHO, there is “[a] growing body of evidence from across the world [that] indicates that people with disabilities and their families are more likely to experience economic and social disadvantage than those without disability” and “[t]he onset of disability may lead to the worsening of social and economic wellbeing and poverty through a multitude of channels including the adverse impact on education, employment, earnings, and increased expenditures relating to disability”.[40] The response has been a push for “disability inclusive development”, which has been described as seeking “to ensure the full participation of people with disabilities as empowered self-advocates in development processes and emergency responses and works to address the barriers which hinder their access and participation”.[41]
WHO expressed concern that “[d]espite the widely acknowledged interconnection between disability and poverty, efforts to promote development and poverty reduction have not always adequately included disability”, noting that disability was not explicitly mentioned in the eight Millennium Development Goals (“MDGs”), or the 21 targets, or the 60 indicators for achieving those goals.[42] Calling for the involvement of people with disabilities in development efforts, WHO was clear in its conviction that disability was a development issue and that “it will be hard to improve the lives of the most disadvantaged people in the world without addressing the specific needs of persons with disabilities”.[43] The shortcomings relating to disability inclusion in the MDGs led to pressure from disabled people’s organizations and NGOs to specifically address disability in the Sustainable Development Goals (“SDGs”). Ultimately, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development included eleven explicit references to people with disabilities in five of the 17 SDGs relating to education, growth, and employment, reducing inequality, safe and inclusive human settlements, and data collection and monitoring of the SDGs.[44]
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