Social Lives
Author: Mohamed Maalim – PhD Researcher, of the ALL Institute, Department of Psychology, Maynooth University
The Zero Discrimination day is celebrated annually on the 1st day of March, to reflect on our rich human diversity and the need for equal opportunity to enjoy fundamental human rights, and to fight against discrimination in all its forms and manifestations. This year, above all previous, the ongoing global COVID-19 Pandemic with all its disruptive nature and the misfortune it has brought and caused, has also offered humanity a glimpse of its ‘non-discrimination’ attribute. The advent of COVID-19 reinforced upon us that we are all equal as humans in our susceptibility, our fear and concern for self and others, and indeed in our hope of getting back to as ‘normal life’ as possible or whatever that ‘normal’ means.
Additionally, with Covid-19, we have adopted a common enemy enforcing upon us an almost military-type operation to fight back. The nations of the world in an unprecedented fashion formed ‘NATO’ type alliances and collaborative networks with the ‘Big Tech’ and ‘Big Pharma’ in a concerted effort to develop digital contact tracing and tracking apps‘ and vaccines, respectively. Individual governments assumed the role of commanding officers alongside senior health personnel, frontline healthcare workers, and other so called ‘essential’ workers as the foot soldiers of the operation, while the general public’s hearts and minds were won by calls to stay at home to suppress the virus.
Similarly, our struggle for the elimination of all forms of discrimination and the promotion of equal opportunity could be strengthened by our rich diversity and, in my opinion, could be enriched by the lesson imposed upon us by the pandemic. We have discovered our resilience is directly related to our sense of social cohesion, social inclusion, tolerance, and collaboration. Furthermore, the restrictions imposed due to the pandemic demonstrate the fact that our collective participation and full enjoyment of life are directly related to our sense of awareness and protection of each other.
The value for promoting equality and confronting discrimination has been incorporated in various United Nations charters and conventions over the years setting a foundation for international human rights law. Indeed, here in Ireland, the Equal Status Acts 2000-2015 provides the legislative backbone in the prohibition of discrimination particularly in the provision of goods and services across nine grounds. These grounds are gender, marital status, family status, age disability, sexual orientation, race, religion, and membership of the Traveller community. Additionally, the Employment equality Act 1998-2015 outlaws discrimination in the workplace.
Anti-discrimination laws are out of the remit of my research, but it is important to recall that non-discrimination is mandated by the law. However, and most importantly in my opinion, the Zero Discrimination aspiration must go beyond charters, conventions, and national legislative backgrounds and be seen to be part of the fundamental human principles engrained in our DNA. To win the hearts and minds of each one of us, combating discrimination should be pitched as a win-win fight of benefit to the individual, a precursor to productivity at an organization’s/business level, and a core element of the society’s functioning.
I had the opportunity as part of my ongoing Ph.D. research[i], to study the Assistive Technology Passport, to gain an insight into the lived experiences of some people with disabilities in their participation in social, economic, education and leisure pursuits. One major overriding message that resonated among all the people I chatted with was the need for an opportunity to equally participate in all facets of life. The aspiration to participate equally in society was almost immediately accompanied by the fear of discrimination. Promotion of equality and non-discrimination is an obligation under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) that requires immediate realization. The CPRD expounds equality to include addressing the socio-economic gap, recognizes the fight against prejudice and stigma, and reaffirms equal participation is related to the accommodation of diversity, aimed at promoting inclusion in recognition of human dignity.
During the discussion with the participants, it was clear that legislation alone is not enough to battle discrimination but rather, the whole societal approach on how we view ‘others’ and the willpower required to park our preconceived biases is equally important. For instance, one parent talked about the desire to enrol their child into a local school which is in high demand for places and inherently oversubscribed. The parent, due to the fear of discrimination, is prepared to withhold and not to disclose her child’s disability until the enrolment is confirmed.
“I suppose I would have concerns around getting him into schools because you know where we live there is a shortage of boys schools, so I won’t be putting anything on the application form about his difficulties because I feel that if I do that, he might not get in”.
Another participant reiterated the importance of recognizing human diversity as part of our makeup and the call for society to change its perspective on persons with disabilities from being on the fringes to taking their places at the core of the community.
“I…am part of greater society …in the same way as there are different races or creeds or whatever it is. People have different abilities and that’s all just a great patchwork of life”.
“If we want to have an inclusive society, then we need to look at [people with disabilities]as part of society, not a problem that needs to be fixed”.
We were also called to challenge the narrative of systemic discrimination implying people with disabilities require charity and welfare. To combat discrimination, we must ensure equal participation is promoted through the provision of reasonable accommodation. Reasonable accommodation measures should be viewed as a measure that harnesses the productivity of, for example, an employee with a disability to the benefit of the organization.
“When you’re applying for work and you’re going to[the employer] if you need support; reasonable accommodations …to which you are legally entitled. What you need is …to be very, very clear on what you want and why you want it and how will help and ensure that you are a more productive employee and how this will be a benefit to the employer”
I conclude this discussion by acknowledging the importance of international and national legal frameworks for combatting discrimination. However, we are all individually responsible in our thoughts and action to ensure our world gravitates towards Zero Discrimination.
[i] Obtained ethical clearance for the research