Article 8: Awareness-Raising
Even when persons with disabilities reach adulthood, the general public still regards them as a child or an incapacitated person who is in need of protection, often restricting their participation in social life on the grounds of safety, and resulting in their lack of confidence in enjoying equal rights. Lack of awareness of all types of disabilities is also the source of bullying, mockery and discrimination, for example, children with epilepsy being mocked by their schoolmates when suffering from a seizure in the school.
Discriminatory descriptions and wordings are still commonly used in existing regulations and laws. For instance, article 26 of Enforcement Rules of the Prison Serving Act and article 7 of Enforcement Rules for Statute of Progressive Execution of Penalty used phrases such as “crippled” and “retarded” to refer to persons with disabilities. The MOJ should take the initiative to eradicate discriminatory wordings in laws by screening the contents and phrasings of all regulations referring Persons with Disabilities.
Despite the fact that National Communications Commission (NCC) have the power to impose disciplinary sanctions on media outlets reporting in a discriminatory manner, as well as the establishment by national media companies of a Self-Discipline Committee, the media still lacks the correct understanding and sensitivities in accordance to their journalistic ethics relative to disabilities issues. Reports often link adverse events to some kind of ‘suspected’ mental or physical disabilities without the proper verification process being carried out first. For example, the media often overstate the risks posed to the society by drivers who have a physical disability, or that exaggerating persons with disabilities as ‘emotionally unstable’, ‘dangerous’, ‘ticking time bomb’ in the reporting of criminal events.
The Government need to adequately address:
How can the public education system, especially in the compulsory education sector, other than specialized education program in higher education, do to raise awareness and understanding of the general public on issues relating to persons with disabilities and their rights.
Is there any in-depth education and advocacy for different types of Persons with Disabilities in the government's awareness-raising programs targeted for media institutions and employers, especially about persons with mental disabilities, and how is its proportion?
If the dissemination of content involves discrimination and stigma, the government should declare whether the National Communications Commission (NCC) and other mechanisms have been involved to implement disciplinary actions, and whether it has published these rulings identified and also comment on their effectiveness, including whether the punished media was subject to correction of its report.