by Elise

TRIANGLE in ASEAN, a program of the International Labour Organization in Southeast Asia, brought together Ha Tinh Department of Labour-Invalid and Social Affairs (Vietnam); Children and Women Forum for Persons with Disabilities (Cambodia); Employers’ Confederation of Thailand, and Migrant Worker Resource Centre in Myanmar (Burma) to become more in line with the UN’s principle of “leave no one behind.” People living with disabilities and people of all genders should be able to migrate without barriers. The reality, however, is that there are barriers in policies and by migrant recruitment agencies and employers in destination countries. There are often no labor protections for migrants living with disabilities or gender minorities who often have no voice in decision-making processes regarding labor or migration governance. In March through September, Australia and Canada supported capacity-building training. One of the goals was for migration pathways to be fully accessible and for coalition building regarding solidarity.

***

Rachel de Souza, Children’s Commissioner for England, has called for a formal urgent review of how, from 2014 to 2017, autistic and other vulnerable children with learning disabilities and severe mental disorders, were restrained, struck and put in windowless so-called “calming rooms” for up to six hours. CCTV footage from Whitefield School in Walthamstow, led to her call. It showed that at Whitefield, and other schools, children were forced into the corners of “calming rooms” using rugby training-style pads and other physical force. Often children were not fed, left to sit in their own vomit and found to have been self-harming. Despite Whitefield changing leadership and stopping those practices in 2017, no one was ever charged.

WHY was the urgent review called for in 2021, four years after the abuse? Why the wait to seek staff who could actually meet the needs of the children? Why wait to strengthen guidance on the use of force and seclusion? Shockingly, the government’s current sole guidance remains the vague directive for disruptive students to be removed from classrooms for a “limited” duration into “suitable” facilities. The National Autistic Society says there are more than 200,000 school-age autistic children in England. At least the children who experienced these practices and their families are receiving therapeutic support.

***

Resolution 19-02—a Disabled Student Bill of Rights—was unanimously passed by the Student Government Undergraduate Senate per the demand of student leaders of American University and the Disabled Student Union (DSU). Student leaders and the DSU increased pressure on the administration to comply with the Resolution, including by hiring a Coordinator for the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to organize and facilitate accommodations and grievance services. By law, all universities and colleges with 15 or more employees must have at least one coordinator for the ADA. For now, American University must respond to this interpretation and show willingness to work with the student government. The demands are for complete physical accessibility of the campus via elevators, lifts, door activators, ramps and other means; disability rights trainings for all faculty; an independent Disability Accommodations Office for accommodations requests and related grievances within one week of their filing; healthcare; housing; and academic accessibility.