Migrants with disabilities at risk to face double discrimination

The Italian Ministry of Education has said that 26 626 students in Italy are migrants with disabilities. That is a high number, and they all risk being discriminated for being foreign and/or for having disabilities.  To avoid these people from being discriminated and excluded from society, the government has created a strategy. The first thing that they will do, is to gather as much information as possible about the lives and living situation of the migrants with disabilities. In that way, the government will find out what their needs are. Without information, there is no proof of their needs and therefore there are no solutions. Also, the Italian government will find out what organizations in Italy can help to improve the rights of these people. The results will be presented during a conference in Rome the 9th of June.

Data from the Italian Ministry of Education has shown that 802,785 students in Italian schools are foreigners. No less than 26 626 of them are foreign students with disabilities, a particularly vulnerable group at risk of double discrimination within Italian society.

In order to avoid situations of intolerance towards this particular group, la Federazione Italiana per il Superamento dell’Handicap , a Federation created to deal with issues linked to disabilities, has started to develop a strategy into effectively safeguarding the rights of migrants with disabilities.

The initiative has been set up in cooperation with partner organizations specialized in the matter, as well as with a regional network consisting of associations such as ANCI and the Municipality of Lamezia Terme.

The goal of the strategy is to map the living conditions of foreigners with disabilities in Italy, but also to gather information and data by collecting personal stories of the target group. In this way, it should be possible to estimate the degree of discrimination and exclusion from society these people are facing, which can than lead to possible solutions. The strategy also aims to identify existing institutions that can actively contribute into safeguarding the rights of migrants with disabilities.

Collecting information on the matter is crucial, since without knowledge on issues concerning migrants with disabilities, there is no recognition of their special needs and therefore no initiative to address the challenges.

The first research results will be presented in Rome on the 9th of June, during the conference ‘Migration and disability: invisibles in emergency’. Afterwards, representatives of the Italian government, Members of Parliament as well as related associations will be invited for a discussion.

To read the original article, click here. (Only available in Italian)
To register for the conference, click here. (Only available in Italian, although the conference itself will be subtitled in English)