The right to be treated equally.

Persons with intellectual disabilities have the right to equal opportunities and to be free from discrimination and violence. 52% of people with disabilities feel discriminated against. They are also more likely to experience violence and abuse in their home and in institutions. This leads to further social exclusion.

Family of people with intellectual disabilities can also experience discrimination. This is called discrimination by association.

The right to equality

People with intellectual disabilities are often discriminated against and experience social exclusion. Discrimination can be segregation in education, denial of employment opportunities, inaccessibility or physical, psychological and social harm.

People with intellectual disabilities face discrimination in housing, education, employment, healthcare and many other services. These services are often not accessible for people with intellectual disabilities.

This results in the violation of their right to equality and non-discrimination, as recognized in Article 5 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities(UN CRPD).

Discrimination is also the lack of accessibility and the denial of reasonable accommodation. Accessibility and non-discrimination are necessary so that people with intellectual disabilities are able to fully participate in society on an equal basis.

Discrimination by association

Not only people with intellectual disabilities face discrimination themselves, also their family members can face discrimination. This is called: “discrimination by association”. Family members are often denied equal opportunities in many European countries. For example, parents with a child with a disability who depends on care find it more difficult to work.

Families meet obstacles to equal opportunities in the following areas:

  • Education
  • Work
  • Transportation
  • Housing
  • Social security

Three changes would help family members balancing their work, care responsibilities and life:

  • Legal provisions such as credit-time, parental holidays, the extension of paternity and maternity leave
  • Encouraging employers to take into account the challenges of family members having a care responsibility
  • Increasing the number and the quality of respite care and family support services.

What is Inclusion Europe working on?

Inclusion Europe continues to advocate for the rights and interests of people with intellectual disabilities and their family members at European level.

Inclusion Europe wrote a Position Paper on the EU Equality in Employment directive. The paper focussed on issues brought up by our member organisations on discrimination in employment.

For the European Disability Strategy 2010-2020, Inclusion Europe strongly advocated for an ambitious strategy for the post-2020 period.