The blog, What is prejudice? suggests that discrimination is a common link between stigma and prejudice, and that research should focus more on discrimination. The blog Discrimination and the Law in Uganda notes that when stigma, prejudice and stereotypes are acted upon, the actions become discrimination. What is the best way to study discrimination?
The 2016 review Scoping review of instruments measuring attitudes toward disability identifies several tools for measuring people's attitudes to disability with the hope that such tools will help identify the reasons for discrimination. The abstract says:
Background: Negative attitudes toward disability cause difficulties in integrating persons with disabilities (PWDs) into society and limit their access to health care, education, employment, and leisure. Being aware of societal attitudes toward disability may help explain discrimination against PWDs and draw attention to the solutions needed to address these. Good measures of attitudes are vital for this purpose...The introduction to the paper gets to the heart of the matter. It is necessary to understand people's motives to understand how they act:
Results: Thirty-one instruments were included in the study. Five measured attitudes toward communication disability, 7 toward intellectual disability, 4 toward mental illness, and 15 toward disability in general. Target respondents ranged from children to adults, and included respondents from different occupations and cultural backgrounds. Twenty-three were found to have adequate overall utility, while 8 have poor overall utility.
Conclusion: Several instruments are available in literature and all may be used for their intended purposes as long as their limitations are considered. Many still require further validation to ascertain their validity and responsiveness to change.
PWDs, especially in developing countries, still face difficulties in achieving full social participation. Their failure to fully participate in social roles often results in a cycle of marginalization e it leads to poverty, deterioration of health, and further decrease in the ability to take part in social roles.In the final analysis these tools identify attitudes to disability:
Social factors like negative attitudes toward disability augment physical barriers to the integration of PWDs in society. PWDs tend to be denied their rights to education, occupation, and domestic life because they are viewed negatively. The full rightful acceptance of PWDs is unlikely as long as negative attitudes persist. Conversely, when attitudes are supportive of PWDs, they encourage acceptance by family, neighbors, and potential employers.
Social barriers need to be addressed to allow PWDs to exercise their rights and to improve their quality of life. There is a need for awareness about how people with and without disability think and feel about disability because this may help in explaining the discrimination against PWDs. It may also aid in drawing attention to the measures that should be taken to eliminate social barriers. One way to understand the social constructions of disability is to measure the attitudes of the society and of PWDs themselves toward it.
Researchers, clinicians, and other personnel who aim to understand societal attitudes toward disability need tools that are valid and easy to use. There are several tools available which may be used for their intended purposes. There are those which may be used for measuring attitudes toward intellectual disability, communication disability, or disability in general. There are those which are designed to measure attitudes of the general population, PWDs, adults, children, health professionals, and students. Based on available data, several of the identified tools may be used for their intended purposes as long as their limitations are considered. Validity studies are still needed to further ascertain their psychometric properties and overall utility. It is also necessary to establish their responsiveness to change if these tools are to be used to monitor changes in attitudes. There is also a need to culturally adapt and validate these instruments if they are to be used in another population since attitudes are highly influenced by societal and cultural factors such as norms and social standards. Moreover, establishing the cross-cultural validity of these instruments may allow comparisons between cultures or population groups.In summary, there is no certain way to measure discrimination. However it is possible to attempt to make predictions of how a person will act and in their act discriminate. It is not possible to directly study discrimination. However attitudes that may lead to discrimination can be studies.
As a youngster, she was often at her father’s side, discussing current affairs and the evening news. Her father would ask her to give him a recap of the evening news, and she wouldn’t miss out on this opportunity to show her knowledge, especially in a world that often ignored the visually impaired.
Florence Ndagire became the first visually impaired lawyer in Uganda, a country that though modern in many ways, does not often create educational curricula and materials for the visually impaired. She broke through several barriers and serves as a role model for many, including those with disabilities. She is currently on the Board of Directors of the National Union of Women with Disabilities Uganda and also as the Chair of the Regional Civil Society Advisory Group for East Africa, which provides guidance to UN Women.
In one of her nightly news sessions with her father, she listened to an interview with former Chief Justice, Francis Ayume, who spoke about human rights so passionately that it inspired her to become a lawyer. She decided to champion human rights for all people, especially those with disabilities. This decision shaped Ndagire’s life and brought challenges including being ridiculed for her sightlessness. Her mother was accused of being ‘cursed’ and bringing misfortune to the clan for bringing her into this world. Her parents’ unwavering support got Ndagire through those tough years. They raised her with the same encouragement they gave to their other children, all of whom were born with their sight.
Ndagire received a government scholarship to study law. The only visually impaired law student out of 450 students, she became frustrated with the lack of materials the university gave her, and could not afford the expensive equipment she so desperately needed to begin her long journey to become the human rights advocate she knew she could be. Eventually, a missionary group bought her a laptop that could read out written materials, which helped bridge the learning gap between Ndagire and other students.
Working throughout law school despite her education being sponsored by a local priest, she provided cleaning services for the local church and bided her time until she could graduate and start her path towards justice and equality for all in 2008.
She is a role model for many, even outside of her legal work. Ndagire climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in 2010 to raise funds for children with disabilities through a local charity, and managed to climb up to 3,850 metres, 850 metres above the point where many stop due to mountain sickness, brought on by high altitude. Defying public perception of the visually impaired, Florence Ndagire continues to push boundaries, including how to improve the rights of people with disabilities.
How do you think being visually impaired has impacted you? I went to an integrated school as a child – one with children with and without special needs. It was a boarding school, but I learned how to be independent there. Once I got to law school, I didn’t let anything stop me. I was the Minister for Disability at my law school, and graduated and competed with other students. I represented Uganda in the inaugural African Youth Forum in Entebbe, Uganda in 2010, and that compelled me to keep rushing towards my dreams.
There are, unfortunately, many things I can’t do on my own, such as crossing the street or reading a newspaper. But my sense of hearing and smell compensate for this! But I have never allowed my blindness to make me feel inferior. Both my mother and father also never made me feel different from my siblings. Now I am a mother of two children under the age of five, and that has its own day-to-day struggles, but I am managing it with the supportive help of my husband.
Did you work for law firms after you graduated from law school? Yes, I tried working for law firms after graduating, but it was not easy. My goal was to fight for human rights in whatever capacity I could. In 2009, I got a job as an advocacy officer with the Uganda Society for Disabled Children and in 2012, I moved to Light for Blind [an NGO] where I currently work. I was also granted a fellowship at the Open Society Foundation in the U.K. to study the legal system further.
What do you consider the greatest barrier to success for people with disabilities? Attitude! Attitude! And this is not just for persons with disabilities, this is for all. I always tell people that they must do what they need to do if they are to succeed. The moment you start thinking that you cannot do something because of whatever reason, this is when you start encountering self-imposed barriers. My parents were very empowering and they did not treat me in a special way and this helped me to consider myself as able to do what my siblings could do. However, there is a need for policies to be put in place that take care of the interests of people with special needs. For instance, if I did not get the support I got from Mill Hill Missionaries, I might not have been able to do my law degree.
What would your message be for women and girls today? Again, attitude! Attitude! You must believe that you can do something in order to do it. There is no room for self-imposed barriers here!The tools reviewed in Scoping review of instruments measuring attitudes toward disability identify attitudes which can be used to predict whether someone might discriminate. Attitudes can be good or bad, but they do not measure discrimination. The point is made in the blog Discrimination and the Law in Uganda, it is only when a prejudice, stigma or a stereotype is acted on that discrimination arises. Florence Ndagire overcame discrimination through her inner strength, determination and resourcefulness. Attitude is one way to combat discrimination. Can we know if a person will discriminate? Research looks at attitude to determine how likely it is that a person will discriminate. Attitude will be the subject of the next blog post.
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