Comment: Appraising Employment Accommodation Rights for Visually Impaired Teachers in Ethiopia: Overview of Selected Cities
The stride of countries towards the implementation of international conceptions, standards and programmes is creating a fertile ground for persons with disability in their efforts to become part of the productive section of the population. Ethiopia’s Proclamation No. 568/2008 embraces the social-constructionist model, a conception of disability that strives towards the reduction of hurdles on the participation of disabled persons. Ethiopia has also ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability (CRPD) thereby endorsing accommodation in the employment rights of disabled persons. Arguably, Ethiopia did not go far enough in implementing the right of accommodation for visually impaired teachers in the high schools that are referred to in this comment, i.e., in Addis Ababa, Hawassa, Soddo and Arba Minch. This is attributable to the level of awareness of the employers about this right and the lack of finance to install some technological apparatus in this respect. Ethiopia should thus work hard to realize its commitment in the Convention by addressing the needs of Ethiopian teachers with visual impairment. Key words : Disability, visually impaired, medical model, quota model, social model, discrimination, Ethiopia
The Neglected and Forgotten Sexual Partner of the Physically Disabled
66 A PHYSICAL disability is never AA, experienced exclusively by the individual and therefore it is im portant to identify the concerns of the parents as well so that issues become understandable by the entire family system."1 These thoughts of Cole's apply as well to mates of those who are physically disabled, for they have needs and concerns that result from their partners' disabilities. When em incident occurs that causes one of the partners in a relationship to become physically disabled, this fact is often neglected or forgotten during the crisis and the rehabilitation period, which is unfortunate. The partner may experience a range of reactions to the disability, including fear, anxiety, pity, shame, anger, helplessness, hopelessness, loneliness, depression, worry, and sadness. A feeling of relief may also occur in some instances be cause the partner has had a desire to end the relationship or to change his or her role in some way. This feeling of relief is often quickly followed by guilt. Whatever emotions are involved, the immediate problems may appear in surmountable. Lack of information and exclusion from the treatment process add to the overwhelmed feel ing of the partner. Therefore, the ablebodied partner is also at risk. The exclusion of the ablebodied partner during the rehabilitative pro cess is common and is particularly evident in activities pertaining to sociosexual interaction. The partner may be coerced by the disabled mate to repress sexual, social, and emo tional needs. Newman, for example, says that
Coronial Practice, Indigeneity and Suicide
All available data suggest that, like many other Indigenous peoples, Australian Aborigines are significantly more likely to kill themselves than are non-Aboriginal Australians. This statistical disparity is normally positioned an objective, ontological and undeniable social fact, a fact best explained as a function of endemic community disadvantage and disenfranchisement. This research explores the possibility that higher-than-normal Aboriginal suicide rates may also be a function of coronial decision-making practices. Based upon in-depth interviews with 32 coroners from across Australia, the following conclusions emerged from the data. First, coroners have differing perceptions of Indigenous capacity, and are less likely to have concerns about intent when the suicide is committed by an Indigenous person. Second, coroners have identified divergent scripts of Indigenous suicide, particularly its spontaneity and public location, and this supports rather than challenges, a finding of suicide. Third, the coronial perception of Indigenous life is a factor which influences a suicide determination for Indigenous deaths. Finally, the low level of Indigenous engagement with the coronial system, and the unlikelihood of a challenge to the finding of suicide by Indigenous families, means that a coronial determination of suicide is more likely.