Ableism
Ableism is discrimination and social prejudice against physically or mentally disabled people. Ableism characterizes people as they are defined by their disabilities and also classifies disabled people as being inferior to non-disabled people. On this basis, people are assigned or denied certain perceived abilities, skills, or character orientations. Ableism perpetuates false ideas about individuals and groups with disabilities.
There are stereotypes which are either associated with disability in general, or they are associated with specific impairments or chronic health conditions. These stereotypes, in turn, serve as a justification for discriminatory practices, and reinforce discriminatory attitudes and behaviors toward people who are disabled. Labeling affects people when it limits their options for action or changes their identity.
In ableist societies, the lives of disabled people are considered less worth living, or disabled people less valuable, even sometimes expendable. The eugenics movement of the early 20th century is considered an expression of widespread ableism.
Ableism can be further understood by reading literature which is written and published by those who experience disability and ableism first-hand. Disability studies is an academic discipline which is also beneficial when non-disabled people pursue it in order to gain a better understanding of ableism.
Discrimination on the basis of mental disorders or cognitive impairments is known as sanism.
Etymology
Originating from with influence of and -ism ; first recorded in 1981.History
Canada
Ableism in Canada refers to a set of discourses, behaviors, and structures that express feelings of anxiety, fear, hostility, and antipathy towards people with disabilities in Canada.The specific types of discrimination that have occurred or are still occurring in Canada include the inability to access important facilities such as infrastructure within the transport network, restrictive immigration policies, involuntary sterilization to stop people with disabilities from having offspring, barriers to employment opportunities, wages that are insufficient to maintain a minimal standard of living, and institutionalization of people with disabilities in substandard conditions.
Austerity measures implemented by the government of Canada have also at times been referred to as ableist, such as funding cuts that put people with disabilities at risk of living in abusive arrangements.
Nazi Germany
In July 1933, Adolf Hitler, along with the Nazi Government, implemented the Law for the Prevention of Progeny with Hereditary Diseased Offspring. Essentially, this law implemented sterilization practices for all people who had what were considered hereditary disabilities. For example, disabilities such as mental illness, blindness and deafness were all considered hereditary diseases; therefore, people with these disabilities were sterilized. The law also created propaganda against people with disabilities; people with disabilities were displayed as unimportant towards progressing the Aryan race.In 1939 Hitler signed the secret euthanasia program decree Aktion T4, which authorized the killing of selected patients diagnosed with chronic neurological and psychiatric disorders. This program killed about 70,000 disabled people before it was officially halted by Hitler in 1941 under public pressure, and it was unofficially continued out of the public eye, killing a total of 200,000 or more by the end of Hitler's rule in 1945.
United Kingdom
In the UK, disability discrimination became unlawful as a result of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, and the Disability Discrimination Act 2005. These were later superseded, retaining the substantive law, by the Equality Act 2010. The Equality Act 2010 brought together protections against multiple areas of discriminatory behavior.Under the Equality Act 2010, there are prohibitions addressing several forms of discrimination including direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, harassment, victimisation, discrimination arising from disability, and failure to make reasonable adjustments.
Part 2, chapter 1, section 6, of the Equality Act 2010 states that "A person has a disability if P has a physical or mental impairment, and the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on P's ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities."
United States
Much like many minority groups, disabled Americans were often segregated and denied certain rights for a majority of American history. In the 1800s, a shift from a religious view to a more scientific view took place. Public stigma began to change after World War II when many Americans returned home with disabilities. In the 1960s, following the civil rights movement in America, the world began the disabled rights movement. The movement was intended to give all individuals with disabilities equal rights and opportunities. Until the 1970s, ableism in the United States was often codified into law. For example, in many jurisdictions, so-called "ugly laws" barred people from appearing in public if they had diseases or disfigurements that were considered unsightly.Japan
Society and culture in Japan are influenced by the culture of conformity represented by the character Wa. Central to Wa is the integration of individuals into a harmonic system that treats societies not as a collection of individuals, but as a singular entity. Individuals are expected to conform to this concept for the benefit of society, even if it means sacrificing individuality. As a result, disability in Japan is seen as a break in conformity and therefore faces challenges in terms of acceptance into Japan's homogenous culture. For example, children in Japanese elementary schools are subject to the concept of mimamori; the practice of watching over children protectively while granting them autonomy in their actions, specifically interactions with other children and their physical activities. This approach to education leaves children with disabilities subject to peers who are more socially adept than them, with no attempt made by teachers to interfere because of mimamoriOn July 26, 2016, 26-year-old former care-home worker Satoshi Uematsu drove to the Tsukui Yamayuri-en care facility in Sagamihara, Japan, and killed 19 residents and injured 25 others, all of whom possessed disabilities. Uematsu later drove to the Tsukui police station, where he was detained by law enforcement. Uematsu's motivations for the attack were later released to the public by police in a letter he had written to the speaker of the lower house of parliament, where Uematsu wished for the euthanization of disabled people if unable to contribute to society. Although not representative of Japan's attitude towards disabled people, Uematsu's stabbings are an example of how strong attitudes toward conformity in Japan are towards disabled people.
Despite these attitudes, Japan has taken legislative action in the past two decades delineating the definitions and protections for disabled people. In 2012, Japan ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities which laid the groundwork for an official definition of disability and equitable treatment in Japan. In 2013, Japan added two core principles of the UN convention into law, prohibition of discrimination and reasonable accommodation. Japan's addition of reasonable accommodation was based on the U.S. model of reasonable accommodation, which furthered efforts for equity for disabled people by adapting environments and situations for individual needs. On April 2024, Japan's amendments for the Act for Eliminating Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities took effect, mandating that all government, public, and private companies must provide reasonable accommodation for those with disabilities.
UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
In May 2012, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was ratified. The document establishes the inadmissibility of discrimination on the basis of disability, including in employment. In addition, the amendments create a legal basis for significantly expanding opportunities to protect the rights of persons with disabilities, including in the administrative procedure and in court. The law defined specific obligations that all owners of facilities and service providers must fulfill to create conditions for disabled people equal to the rest.Workplace
In 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act was put in place to prohibit private employers, state and local government, employment agencies and labor unions from discrimination against qualified disabled people in job applications, when hiring, firing, advancement in workplace, compensation, training, and on other terms, conditions and privileges of employment. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission plays a part in fighting against ableism by being responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person's race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetic information.Similarly in the UK, the Equality Act 2010 was put in place and provides legislation that there should be no workplace discrimination. Under the act, all employers have a duty to make reasonable adjustments for their disabled employees to help them overcome any disadvantages resulting from the impairment. Failure to carry out reasonable adjustment amounts to disability discrimination.
Employers and managers are often concerned about the potential cost associated with providing accommodations to employees with disabilities. However, many accommodations have a cost of $0, and accommodation costs may be offset by the savings associated with employing people with disabilities. Moreover, organizational interventions that support workplace inclusion of the most vulnerable, such as autistic individuals, are likely to benefit all employees.
Idiosyncratic deals, individually negotiated work arrangements, can also serve as an important work accommodation for persons with disabilities. I-deals can create the conditions for long-term employment for people with disabilities by creating jobs that fit each employee's abilities, interests, and career aspirations. Agents can represent people with disabilities and help them negotiate their unique employment terms, but successful i-deals require resources and flexibility on the part of the employer.