Conclusion
People with disabilities participating in this study reported a range of positive and negative experiences in exercising their rights. Although the instances of denial of human rights tend to outnumber positive experiences, the fact that the latter were also identified may signal that, despite ongoing disparities, positive change is also underway for persons with disabilities in Vancouver area.
Among the eight domains of life considered in this study - Social participation; Privacy and family life; Education; Work; Information and communication; Access to justice; Income security and services; and Health, habilitation and rehabilitation services - Social participation emerged as the domain with the highest number of reports, which denotes its importance for the well-being of persons with disabilities. Income security & support services came next, followed by Work domain. Across all these domains, the reported experiences emphasized the denial or violation of human rights principles more often than advancement of human rights and freedoms, reflecting a disadvantaged citizenship status for people with disabilities at the areas monitored. However, the domain of family life revealed more positive experiences of inclusion and human dignity than negative ones.
Gender was found to affect human rights experiences of participants in the areas of Privacy and Family life; Health, Habilitation and Rehabilitation; Education and Access to justice, with women more prone to discuss the first three areas while men were more vocal about the last one. However, no gender differences were found in relation to Social participation, Work and Income security & Support services, inferring the central role of these domains in people`s lives, regardless their sex. Similarly, no significant pattern emerged in relation to human rights principles examined.
Age was also found to impact people`s experiences in three domains – Work, Family Life and Access to Justice. Younger participants reported more in relation to Work and Family Life, while older participants voiced experiences around Access to Justice, a domain otherwise not discussed at all by the youngest interviewees. Except autonomy, little differences were found across age groups in what concerns the human rights principles.
Regarding the responses to situations of abuse and discrimination, most participants reported taking formal action, which reflects a high level of activism and proactivity related to the high level of education of participants in this study.