| CODE | DBS5012 | ||||||
| TITLE | Rights Based Approach to Disability | ||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Disability Studies | ||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit will focus on the rights-based approach to disability, that is to see disabled people as holders of rights and to consider disabling barriers from a rights perspective. The study-unit will thus be based on the human rights model of disability, with the main focus being on legislation and attendant policies. There will be three main strands of legislation for consideration in this study-unit: anti-discrimination disability legislation; other laws that give rights to disabled persons; and the mainstreaming of disability issues in laws that are not directly about disability. The development of these laws will be presented in the framework of the disability rights movement, and relevant historical and current developments in various countries. The study-unit will thus start from the first laws enacted in the United States and many European countries that provided for welfare benefits for soldiers returning from the First World War, and subsequent legislation that afforded more rights for disabled people. The focus will then turn to the developments that were informed by the realisation that the improvement of the situation of disabled people necessitated changes in society. The first soft legislation by the United Nations will be outlined with a discussion of how this led to the enactment of the first anti-discrimination disability law, the Americans with Disability Act in 1990, which in turn led to many other countries adopting similar legislation. The study-unit will then focus on the local context with analyses of national and international laws that are implemented in Malta, including the Equal Opportunities (Persons with Disability) Act (Cap. 413), the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability, and relevant European legislation. The rights of disabled persons in Malta as they are upheld in other legislation will also be discussed, together with the relevant European and national policy documents. Study-Unit Aims: Thee aim of this study-unit is to enable the students to obtain a firm grasp of disability as a rights-based issue, taking into account relevant historical developments and national and international legislation and policies. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - identify different types of legislation and how they affirm the rights of persons with disability; - discuss the various disabling factors that have motivated the enactment of anti-discrimination legislation and the extent to which those factors still impinge on disabled people鈥檚 lives; - explain the processes through which disability legislation is implemented and the rights enshrined within it upheld, including through the formulation and implementation of policies. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - analyse disability legislation from the perspective of the human rights model of disability; - analyse legislation which is not directly about disability and how it has been mainstreamed to include disability issues; - appraise the extent to which the rights of disabled people in Malta are upheld according to existing legislation; - examine a particular situation of a disabled person to identify the disabling barriers encountered and ways in which disability legislation can help address these barriers. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 - ADA - 42 U.S. Code Chapter 126. - Disability Discrimination Act (1995). London: HMSO. Available from https://www.ohchr.org/en/udhr/documents/udhr_translations/eng.pdf. - Equal Opportunities (Disabled people) Act. (2000) Chapter 413. (Malta) Available from http://www.justiceservices.gov.mt/DownloadDocument.aspx?app=lom&itemid=8879&l=1. - United Nations. (2006). Convention on the Rights of Disabled people. Resolution 61/106. New York : United Nations. - Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948). Available from https://www.un.org/disabilities/documents/convention/convoptprot-e.pdf Supplementary Readings: - Barnes, C. & Mercer, G. (2003). Disability (Key Concepts). Cambridge: Polity Press. - Barton, L. (2001). Disability, Politics & the Struggle for Change. London: David Fulton Publishers. - Boyce W. et al. (2001). A Seat at the Table. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press. - Council of Europe. (1996). Revised European Social Charter. CE: Strasbourg. - Council of Europe. (2000). Council of the European Union Directive establishing a General Framework for Equal Treatment in Employment and Occupation. Council Directive 2000/78/EC. - Doyle, B.J.(2008). Disability discrimination: law and practice. 6th Edition.Jordan Publishing (GB). - Lawson, A. (2008). Disability and Equality Law in Britain : The Role of Reasonable Adjustment. Portland, Oregon:Hart Publishing. - National Commission Disabled people. (2009). National Policy for Employment. [Available online] - Scotch, R.K. (2001). From Goodwill to Civil Rights : Transforming Federal Disability Policy Philadelphia:Temple University Press. - Shah S. & Priestley M. (2010). Disability and Social Change : Private Lives and Public Policies |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||
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| LECTURER/S | Amy Joan Camilleri Zahra |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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