How does the concept of citizenship contribute to our understanding of the experience of disabled people?

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The concept of citizenship is essentially a contested one and can be difficult to define therefore the concept of citizenship will need to be explored.  Disabled people will then be located within Marshall’s model as they are often neglected from citizenship discussions.  The experience of segregation, discrimination and oppression is argued to deny disabled people full citizenship rights.  The negative experiences of disabled people can however be related to the dominance of the medical model in policy and practice which will be discussed.  The social model brings a powerful challenge to this and seeks to eliminate the barriers to disabled people’s full participation in society.  The resulting Independent Living Movement then uses the concept of citizenship as a tool to argue for equal rights and empowers disabled people to have choice and control over their lives.  Problems can arise however due to disparity in the way professionals and disabled people view independence and will be discussed.  The Direct Payments Act (1986) will be analysed as it makes Independent Living possible for disabled people and the Care Standards Act (2000) highlights the tensions between the construction of disabled people as ‘vulnerable’ and their independence which will be explored.  A conclusion will then be drawn.    

The concept of citizenship has become a tool to analyse a variety of difficulties in society such as disability (Blomberg, 2003).  Citizenship however is a contested concept and difficult to define.  An important starting point when considering contemporary citizenship is the work of T.H. Marshall, who argues that citizenship rights act as a counter balance to the inequalities caused as a result of the capitalist market.  Central to Marshall’s theory are three spheres of rights, civil, political and social.  Civil rights are concerned with individual liberty and freedom of speech.  Political rights relate to the right to vote and to be a member of a body with political power.  Social rights are the broadest in scope and encompass many areas from the right to a decent mode of economic welfare to living a life in accordance to the prevailing standards of that particular society (Marshall, 1960 cited in Dwyer, 2004).

Although Marshall’s model of citizenship is highly criticised due to the omittance of disabled people alongside other marginalised groups from his theory, it remains particularly relevant as it can be used to measure the experience of disabled people in the three spheres of rights against the ideal created by society, albeit the “able bodied, white, heterosexual, middle class male of working age” (Oliver, 1996: Lister, 1998).  

To offer a more current definition, according to Lewis (1998 cited in Dwyer, 2004), citizenship encompasses the relationship between citizen and state which subsequently raises questions about who is included and who is excluded in society.  In belonging to a particular community grants access to state welfare and services for citizens.  From this analysis it is possible to see how the concept of citizenship can help us to understand the experience of disabled people, whether they are able to participate fully in society and have access to state welfare and services.  

When considering the concept of citizenship and disability, it is important to discuss the experience of disabled people.  Oliver (1996) points out that although disabled people are accorded civil and political rights as outline by Marshall; they experience difficulty due to in accessible buildings, problems with transport, a lack of accessible information and difficulty accessing the correct support services to be able to participate fully.  It is when analysing the experience of disabled people with regard to their social rights such as decent housing, employment, leisure activities, support services and full participation in society that their citizenship status appears to be especially compromised.

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Glasby (2007) highlights a variety of issues which cause disabled people’s social rights to be compromised.  Disabled people are less likely to be employed than non disabled people.  Where disabled people are employed there income is significantly less than non disabled people.  In education, disabled people are less likely to have basic qualifications and are unlikely to progress onto higher education.  Housing, access to the built environment and transport also prove to be a significant barrier to the participation of disabled people in society.  The segregation of disabled people into day care services and specialist services also perpetuates their ...

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