What Is Advocacy?
The word advocacy is a term used in reference to someone standing up and speaking for the rights, needs and opinions of others.
We tend to take advocacy for granted, but we do it every day. For example you may have purchased an electrical item. You take it home and plug it in the power point and it doesn't work. You know the electrical item has a warranty, so you take it back to where you purchased it from and request either a replacement or a refund. You are actually advocating or standing up for your rights as a consumer.
Historical Advocates For The Rights of Others
Through out history we have examples of people who were effective advocates speaking on behalf of and for the rights of others:
- Emmeline Pankhurst - 1880's advocating the right for women to vote in England (UK)
- Martin Luther King, Jr. - 1960's advocating the rights for black people in America
- Nelson Mandela – 1960's advocating the end of apartheid in South Africa
Advocacy for people with disabilities covers several areas, mostly:
- Self Advocacy
- Individual Advocacy
- Systemic Advocacy
This is when an individual or a group stand up and speak up for their rights.
Individual Advocacy
This relates to a person who stands up and speaks for or on behalf of a person with a disability if they have communication difficulties or lack the confidence to speak for themselves.
Systemic Advocacy
Relates to lobbying governments for change in legislation, social justice and inclusion in the community for people with disabilities.
As a result of systemic advocacy, laws have been put in place internationally, nationally and interstate to protect the rights of people with disabilities.
I came across a video that is called The Power of 504. This was a protest not against war, abortion or gay rights. It was a protest for people with disabilities in 1977.
504 was a law in the United States of America (US) as follows:
No otherwise qualified individual with a disability in the United States, as defined in section 705(20) of this title, shall, solely by reason of her or his disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance or under any program or activity conducted by any Executive agency or by the United States Postal Service.
Secretary Joseph Califano delayed the signing process of this law which ignited a protest by people with disabilities and their carers. Here is a portion of the video which is part of an 18 minute DVD.
Video Description: Award-winning 18-minute documentary video, which captures the drama and emotions of the historic civil rights demonstration of people with disabilities in 1977, resulting in the signing of the 504 Regulations, the first Federal Civil Rights Law protecting people with disabilities. Includes contemporary news footage and news interviews with participants and demonstration leaders. Available in open caption, audio descriptive and standard formats.
The Power of 504 (open caption) part 1
The Power of 504 (open caption) part 2
This video shows the power and influence of advocacy and the power of using media to create change for the betterment of peoples rights and social justice.
References:
Advocacy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advocacy
Emmeline Pankhurst
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmeline_Pankhurst
Martin Luther King, Jr.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr.
Nelson Mandela
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Mandela
Self Advocacy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-advocacy
Individual Advocacy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Individual_and_group_rights
Systemic Advocacy
http://www.fahcsia.gov.au/sa/disability/pubs/policy/Documents/national_disability_advocacy/sec6.htm
http://www.angelfire.com/ia/tbinterchange/advo.html
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_504_of_the_Rehabilitation_Act
The Power of 504 (open caption) part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMC5UuiIQkI
The Power of 504 (open caption) part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vOM0-IOrKg
Disability rights movement
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disability_rights_movement
No comments:
Post a Comment