Discrimination against People with Disability

Introduction 

Discrimination is a part of life for many people, and people with disability face discrimination in their everyday lives. Discrimination against people with disability is based on their physical disabilities. The modern society has made strides to accommodate people with disabilities. The treatment is a lot different in comparison to how they were treated in the past. The purpose of this research is to examine how people with disability are treated in the UAE, including their living conditions, and if they are satisfied with the treatment, they get every day. The study is significant as people with disabilities matter; they are equally crucial as non-disabled members of society. The research paper will conclude with recommendations on how to treat people with disabilities better to make their lives easier. 

Literature Review 

Discrimination against people with disability is a widely studied topic. Researchers have explored the different forms of discrimination, effects, and how to end discrimination. In the book, “The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving,” Evison (2012) explores the everyday challenges for people with disability. The society is built to accommodate non-disabled people. The ableist society makes it hard for people with disability to function in public and private places. For example, accessing public amenities is hard for people with disability because most of these places do not have the resources to support people with disability. Societies are putting in place measures to meet the needs of people with disability. The Ministry of Community Development in the UAE is working on creating a comprehensive framework to protect people with disabilities from abuse and to provide them with equal opportunities in the community (Prentis, 2018). The ministry helps people with disability to access jobs, social security, and to involve them in social and political activities in the society. 

According to Salzman (2012), the six forms of discrimination include direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, and failure to make reasonable adjustments, discrimination arising from disability, harassment, and victimization. Direct discrimination happens when a person with a disability is treated worse or different than the other person. People with disability are often sidelined when it comes to employment, education, or social places. Indirect discrimination is rampant as organizations are not putting in place. Fredman (2017) explores the systemic barriers in the workplace and employment systems that continue to shape the negative perspective and treatment of people with disability. Most employers do not have experience with people with disability, and they do not give them a chance because of the lack of knowledge of how to support them. 

Discrimination on people with disabilities affects their lives negatively. Discrimination affects all the different aspects of life, including social issues and career. People with disability do not have equal opportunities to access social amenities; thus, they do not put themselves out there. According to Ross & Bateman (2018), only 40% of adults with disabilities in their prime working age of 25-54 are employed in comparison to 79% of all prime-age adults. Given the high rate of unemployment, many people with disability cannot participate fully in society, live independently, or attain economic self-sufficiency. Discrimination is also responsible for the gaps in education, whereby approximately 26.6% of people with disabilities from the age of 25-64 do not finish high school education (Ross & Bateman, 2018). About 43.1% of people with disabilities between the ages of 25-64 do not have a college education. Indirect forms of discrimination, harassment, and victimization are responsible for the statistics. 

The literature documents the effects of discrimination on the lives of people with disability. Discrimination has excluded them from mainstream society, and yet they are qualified. Failure to include people with disability inspired this research to examine the state of people with disability, including their everyday challenges. 

Methodology 

The study will first review different studies on the topic to identify themes and patterns about the research topic. The literature review will help in identifying the relevance of the research subject. Past researchers have explored different issues on people with disability. Thus, the literature review will identify that gaps in research that will be addressed in this study. 

The primary research methodology for the study is survey. A sample of 36 participants will be taking part in the survey to provide fundamental information about disability discrimination. The sample will include individuals with various forms of physical and mental disability as well as caregivers with children with disability. Another survey will be conducted among 15 local employers in the area to identify the employment statistics for people with disability. The employers will give their perspectives on the employment status of people with disability. The study will be conducted from July 2019- October 2019. The results of the survey will be analyzed using graphs, tables, charts to identify patterns. Other variables will be analyzed through the identification of themes and patterns to come up with the key findings. The findings of the study will be presented in a logical manner. 

Expected Findings 

The research will give a clear picture of the issue of discrimination, including the causes, various forms of discrimination, and its effects. The study will provide the real image on the state of people with disability in UAE, including workplace discrimination, discrimination in the education sector, and the lack of inclusion. The results will further show discrimination by age, gender, type of disability, and specific issues. For example, the cases of discrimination among young people in school differ from workplace discrimination. There is a need to identify the particular patterns of discrimination to guide the recommendations. 

Since the study will involve employers, employers will give their concerns regarding employing people with disability. The analysis will identify reasons as to why employees do not employ people with disability as well as the policies, technology, and the systems in place to support people employees with disability. 

The results of the study will add to the current literature on discrimination. The results will also inform the creation of the recommendations on how to end discrimination against people with disability in society. UAE has to create a culture that is against all forms of discrimination against people with disabilities. The culture will be created through public awareness, encouraging inclusion, and shaming discriminatory practices. UAE must also come up with comprehensive policies to enforce the inclusion of people with disabilities in the education and employment sector. The policies should be accompanied by punitive measures to hold employers accountable and responsible for the wellbeing of persons with disabilities. Employing people with disabilities is the first step as employers must put in place the right infrastructure to support them. 

References 

Evison, J. (2012). Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving . Algonquin Books; 1st edition. 

Fredman, S. (2017). Disability equality: A challenge to the existing anti-discrimination paradigm? In  Disability and Equality Law  (pp. 123-142). Routledge. 

Prentis, J. (2018, July 24). UAE 'relentlessly' focused on supporting disabled people. The National. Retrieved from: https://www.thenational.ae/uae/government/uae-relentlessly- focused-on-supporting-disabled-people-1.753667 

Ross, M. & Bateman, N. (2018, July. 25). Only four out of ten working-age adults with disabilities are employed. Brookings Institute. Retrieved from: https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2018/07/25/only-four-out-of-ten-working- age-adults-with-disabilities-are-employed/ 

Salzman, L. (2017). Using Domestic Law to Move toward a Recognition of Universal Legal Capacity for Persons with Disabilities.  Cardozo L. Rev. ,  39 , 521.