Access to Justice for Persons with Disabilities: International Perspective and Indian Reality

Abstract

Disability exists in the human condition. It is a society where prejudice and oppression are directed against an individual’s disability. Persons with disabilities have traditionally been seen as needing protection, charity, and social welfare. Because of their handicap, they face and confront prejudice that is unequal. They are viewed as having less functional bodies or dependents and are not welcomed in the mainstream. Social, cultural, and attitudinal barriers that prevent them from fully participating in society and from exercising equal rights and opportunities have a negative impact on their life. Many disabled people are forced to live meaningless lives because they do not receive the proper medical, psychological, legal, and social support. They have also been marginalized in society, either as a result of discrimination that is overt or covert, or because of the lower status that is attributed to them by customs and traditions. For these people, discrimination, marginalization, and segregation are the norm rather than the exception[1], and the worst kind of discrimination that they perceive as their grievance is that others do not understand.[2]