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10 years ago, a law was passed in France.
The law said people with disabilities should get equal rights. Some organisations wanted to see if this really happened The people they asked said that they knew about the law They thought more things could be done |
To mark the 10th anniversary of the 2005 Act on Equal Rights and Opportunities for people with disabilities, the French Institute for Public Opinion, together with a group of organisations working for disabled persons, among which Inclusion Europe member Unapei, has released a report on the “limited progress” that the Act has brought about, and the problems people with disabilities still face in France.
Researchers found that ten years after passing the said law, while all actors involved agree on that the integration of people with disabilities in French society is of utmost importance, the law has failed to meet objectives in both changing mentalities, and in bringing about the implementation of concrete actions.
While 70% of participants surveyed said they had heard about the Act, the number was much higher among persons with disabilities themselves, where 89% of respondents were aware about the existence of the law, and 59% were certain they knew exactly what it was about. Among elected officials, however, the numbers were lower, with 50% answering that they were aware of the content of the Act, although 71% had some information on how the law was applied in their particular sector or department.
While there was no question that all the surveyed groups (the general public, people with disabilities and elected officials) believed that the law was necessary, legitimate and should constitute a priority, only a little over half of the respondents believed the law had any concrete effects. This is symptomatic of the general attitudes in France, where 80% of those surveyed believed the government should do more when it comes to disability.
To read the whole report (in French), please click here.
