People with intellectual disabilities should not be hurt or treated badly because of their disability. In Eastern Africa, organisations got together for a meeting. They talked about how to make sure |
More than 30 representatives of human rights and development NGOs, families of people with intellectual disabilities, self-advocates and human rights lawyers gathered together at the roundtable discussion on access to justices for persons with disabilities who were victims of a crime. This event was held on 11 September in Nairobi in Kenya and was hosted by Inclusion Africa and Inclusion International together with Open Society Initiative for Eastern Africa (OSIEA).
Lack of knowledge, inability to report an abuse, outdated laws and failure to provide proper procedure in a case were highlighted as the main obstacles encountered by people with intellectual disabilities in Eastern Africa when seeking justice. Participants in the consultation shared their experience of these difficulties and expressed their concern about violence and impunity.
Based on the evidence and examples from participants, the roundtable brainstormed on the options for people with disabilities to effectively respond to situations of abuse or crime and preventing such violations on people with intellectual disabilities to happen. Moreover, participants expressed that this discussion is only a first step in the process on how to equip organisations in the region with tools to protect people with intellectual disabilities from violence and reinforce effective justice system. The Eastern African coalition will set up its agenda on the discussions’ outcomes to assure the continuation of activities on access to justice for people with intellectual disabilities.