Disability Rights Monitoring

Jewelles Smith (left) and Chloe Krause monitor disability rights violations in Vancouver.  (Sam Bradd)

An Inside Perspective from DRPI Canada Monitors in Vancouver

By Jewelles Smith, MA, and Chloe Krause

In May 2009, eight people with disabilities, and their project coordinator, completed training to become disability rights monitors in order to interview other people with disabilities about their personal experiences of human rights violations.

The training was provided by Disability Rights Promotion International Canada (DRPI Canada) in collaboration with its local partner, the British Columbia Coalition of People with Disabilities (BCCPD). After the training, the monitors went into the field and interviewed 48 people with disabilities in three regions of British Columbia: Vancouver, Lower Mainland and the Okanagan.

Now, almost a full year later, two of the monitors reflect on their experience throughout the project:

It is important that disability rights monitoring be driven by people with disabilities themselves. Who better to empathize with the stories told by people with disabilities than other people with disabilities? Certainly, by having people with disabilities conduct the interviews, the interviewees were put more at ease. Quite often, interviewers with invisible disabilities were asked to identify their disability before a participant was able to begin answering questions.

Participating in a project of this nature has its rewards and challenges. Having a partner throughout the interview process was certainly beneficial, especially when interviews were particularly difficult. It is truly an amazing experience to be part of a team and to watch one’s partner gain experience and confidence in their interview techniques and style.

Listening to the hardships and discrimination that so many peers are experiencing was difficult. Another challenge occurred when participants were unable to open up to the interview questions.

Despite these difficulties, many of the participants seemed to benefit from the interviews. Very often, interviewees expressed relief at finally being told that someone wanted to hear their stories.

Remaining neutral about topics, accepting the participant’s right to disclosure and silence, and allowing for the interviewees to have their own interpretation of their experience was an integral part of the process.

These interviews with members of the disability community drew attention to the frustrating experiences that so many endure. As monitors, we heard repeatedly about the subtle discrimination that exists. There were similarities in the narratives shared with various monitors. Many interviewees said how difficult it was for them to speak up and to speak out against discrimination. Many were also concerned that if they did speak up, they could appear to be a troublemaker, or that someone in authority could deny an accommodation request, as a form of backlash, if they knew there was a previous complaint against them.

One of the most troubling observations that the monitors made was how many individuals would deny that they experienced barriers at all—they simply did not go to places where they might encounter difficulty or discrimination, and having adjusted to a much restricted life, these interviewees did not see the imposed restriction as part of the discrimination process.

As monitors, we hope that this work can address much needed systemic change. With the recent ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on March 11, 2010, it is imperative that organizations continue to monitor the experiences of persons with disabilities in Canada and around the world.