1) India has shifted from a charity-based to a human rights-based approach in supporting persons with disabilities through various acts and policies over the decades since the 1940s.
2) Key milestones include signing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2006 and passing the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act in 2016 to protect rights and ensure access.
3) The Act guarantees a disability identity card, reservations in education and jobs, free education, and financial support for persons with disabilities.
2. Shift from
Charity-based
to HR-based
Approach
Before 1940
•Focus on
custodial
aspects
•Indian
Lunatic
Asylum Act
1858,
Indian
Lunacy Act
(ILA) 1912
1948
•HR-based
approach
after India
signed
UDHR in
UN General
Assembly
1978
•Mental
Health Bill
submitted
to
Parliament
3. 1992
•India signs
Proclamation on the
Full Participation
and Equality of
People with
Disabilities in the
Asian and Pacific
region
1995
•India enacts
Persons with
Disabilities (EQUAL
OPPORTUNITIES,
PROTECTION OF
RIGHTS, AND FULL
PARTICIPATION)
Act
2006
•India ratifies UN
Convention on
Rights of People
with Disability
(UNCRPD)
4. 2008
UNCRPD approved by Parliament
2010
MHA & Mental Health Program
reviewed in national consultation
2011
Mental Health Care Bill proposed
5. FR
2012
• Separate Department of Disability Affairs carved
out of Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
2014
• Renamed as Department of Empowerment of
Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan)
2016
• Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act passed
6. - UN’s Convention on th e R ig hts of Person s with
Disab ilities an d O ption al Protocol, 2 0 0 8
Persons with disabilities include those who have long-
term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory
impairments which in interaction with various barriers
may hinder their full and effective participation in
society on an equal basis with others.
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Types
1. Born with disability
2. Acquires disability during
their lifetime
8. • Communication
• Language
• Discrimination of the basis of
disability
• Reasonable accommodation
• Universal design
A s d efin ed in A rtic le 2 of th e UNCR PD
Key Definitions
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9. “Reaffirming the universality, indivisibility, interdependence and
interrelatedness of all human rights and fundamental freedoms
and the need for persons with disabilities to be guaranteed their
full enjoyment without discrimination,”
Preamble, UNCRPD
11. PWD vs PMI
Disability is a result of an interaction of
impairments with attitudinal and
environmental barriers which hinders full
and active participation in the society on
an equal basis.
Mental illnesses (especially major
depression, alcohol dependence,
schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder,
OCD) – 5/10 leading causes of disability
12. FR
Challenges for working with PMI
• Mental illness cannot be seen & is difficult to diagnose with medical
equipment
• Mental illnesses are often fluctuating, episodic and dynamic in nature
• PMI may find it hard to communicate the challenges they face in daily life
• Important to provide early and adequate treatment to reduce disability
• Challenges in using Indian mental disability assessment scale
• Challenges in certifying temporary vs permanent disability
• Challenges in certifying mental retardation, autism & LD
• Providing reservations in educational institutions and employment
13. The four components are:
I. Self-care
• Maintenance of personal hygiene &
physical health
• Eating habits
• Maintenance of personal belongings &
living space
II. Interpersonal activities
• Behaviour with others, social skills -
friendship, showing physical expressions
• Ability to regulate verbal and physical
aggression
IDEAS Scale
13
14. IDEAS Scale
Developed by the Rehabilitation Committee of the Indian
Psychiatric Society in 2002
III. Communication & Understanding
- understanding spoken messages and
written and non-verbal messages
eg. avoid talking to people, visiting
others, able to maintain conversation,
understanding body language
IV. Work
- employment, housework, educational
performance
15. FR
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What the 2016 Act Guarantees
Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016
• Primary responsibility rests with the
State governments.
• Disability ID for over 40% of any
disability as certified by a medical
authority.
• Reservation in higher education,
government jobs, reservation in
allocation of land, poverty alleviation
schemes etc. for those with
benchmark disabilities and high
support needs.
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• Free education for every child
with benchmark disability
between the age group of 6 - 18
years
• Inclusive education by
government funded educational
institutions and government
recognized institutions
• Grant of guardianship by District
Court under which there will be
joint decision
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17. FR
• Creation of National and State
Fund created to provide financial
support to the persons with
disabilities
• Penalties for offences committed
against persons with disabilities
and also in violation of the law
• Punishment between six months
to five years and fine - insulting
or intimidating a person with
disability, or sexually exploits a
woman or child with disability
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18. FR
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Other Key Measures
• Prime Minister's Accessible India Campaign, stress has been
given to ensure accessibility in public buildings (both
Government and private)
• The Rehabilitation Council of India Act, 1992
• The National Trust for the Welfare of Persons with Autism,
Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities
Act, 1999
• Establishment of National Institute of Mental Health
Rehabilitation to address psycho-social disability
• Establishment of Centre for Disability Sports
• Distribution of aids and assistive devices
19. Role of Disability
Social Worker
• Help patient identify symptoms &
comprehend diagnosis
• Support them in lifestyle adjustments
• Ensure safe & stable housing, find
employment
• Connect PWDs with support groups to help
them manage their disability
• Assess their client’s strengths and needs
and help them build right support systems
• Creates individualised plan to support
disabled person
• Advocates for their clients to get them
resources or ensure services
• Conducts regular follow-ups for outpatient
PWDs
- No universal definition for disability, some are more obvious than others, some are invisible but still debilitating
India signed & ratified the convention in 2008 in pursuance of Article 35 of the convention, Submitted its First Country Report in Nov 2015
December 3 - International Day of Persons with Disabilities
Case 1: caused by lack of good and accessible medical facilities for pregnant women, leading to medical complications for mother & unborn child, pregnant mother working until late term
(Correlation between disability and poverty - 69% of disabled population stay in rural areas)
Case 2: acquired disability in accidents, wars, violence, etc., mostly preventable except natural disasters
Communication: includes languages, display of text, Braille, tactile communication, large print, accessible multimedia as well as written, audio, plain-language, human-reader and augmentative and alternative modes, means and formats of communication, including accessible information and communication technology
Language: includes spoken and signed languages and other forms of non-spoken languages
Discrimination: any distinction, exclusion or restriction on the basis of disability which has the purpose or effect of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal basis with others, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field
Reasonable accommodation: necessary and appropriate modification and adjustments not imposing a disproportionate or undue
burden, where needed in a particular case, to ensure to persons with disabilities the enjoyment or exercise on an equal basis with others of all human rights and
fundamental freedoms
Universal design: design of products, environments, programmes and services to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design. “Universal design” shall not exclude assistive devices for particular groups of persons with disabilities where this is needed.
The mandate given to Rehab Council of India is to regulate and monitor services given to persons with disability,to standardise syllabi and to maintain a Central Rehabilitation Register of all qualified professionals and personnel working in the field of Rehabilitation and Special Education.The Act also prescribes punitive action against unqualified persons delivering services to persons with disability.
