Campaigning for full civil and human rights for Disabled People

‘Rights not charity’

Under the slogan of the British movement of Disabled People, SCIL joined the campaign for Rights Not Charity.  SCIL supports Disabled People’s right to comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation (ADL) which will outlaw the restriction of opportunities Disabled People face daily.  Opportunities that non-Disabled People take for granted.  We are not satisfied with current legislation which falls short of securing Disabled People’s rights and will continue the campaign until we are satisfied with the legislation in place.

Environmental barriers which deny physical access to buildings, public transport, information and services; attitudinal barriers which perpetuate negative images and stereotypes of Disabled People; organisational barriers arising from the way major institutions (the family, education, employment, local government, health and social care services etc.) are structured and operate through policies and practices which fail to offer equal opportunities to Disabled People in spite of the Disability Discrimination Act and the Disability Equality Duty.

Strength in unity

The Disabled People’s movement can only be strong if Disabled People unite together and fight for what we all want: full civil and human rights. So why not get involved, let your voice be heard.

Contact SCIL if you would like to be involved in campaigning.

Freedom Drives – Strasbourg September 2003, 2005, 2007 & 2009

In September every other year, Disabled People from all over Europe gather in Strasbourg to take part in the Disabled People’s Freedom Drive. SCIL is committed to sending delegations to these events.

The purpose of these events are to raise awareness of Independent Living at the European Parliament level; taking the message to the politicians,. Approximately 400 people attended the 2009 event all over Europe. In particular Ireland, UK, Norway, Sweden, Austria, Spain, France, Italy and elsewhere. The Freedom Drive lasts three days covering three main areas of work:

On the first day we lobby our UK MEPs (who we arrange to meet before we left the UK); meeting and talking to as many UK European Parliamentarians as we could .

Day two sees the Freedom Drive march and a rally outside the Parliament building to draw attention to our independent living demands. We also attend a meeting with the Parliamentary Disability “Inter-Group” which is their main policy making discussion group. We make speeches and try to help the MEP;s to understand our issues and to accept that Disabled People can and should be enabled to make their own decisions in life, just like everyone else.

On the third day we visit the European Court of Human Rights. We want to raise awareness of Independent Living issues and discuss the opportunities for Human Rights Legislation.

What do we get out of the Freedom Drive? Networking with our brothers and sisters from all over Europe, seeing old friends and making new ones. Drawing strength from that as individuals and as groups. We also gain a better understanding of how the legal and political system works and raised awareness of our issues with people who have the power to make the changes that all Disabled People need.

For each one of us from SCIL it is about reminding ourselves what it is that we are trying to achieve in our work. Sometimes the daily grind makes us lose sight of the ultimate purpose of our organisation. It is an inspiring experience, where e restate and share our common goals. The whole SCIL group comes home inspired and motivated.

The biggest thing about the Freedom Drive Movement is that we are inspired and motivated by the experience; talking to each other, learning from each other and realising that we share a lot in common. We can work together. For SCIL we work fantastically as a team, every member contributes well, filling in gaps left by others.

SCIL should be proud, more and more these days we are leading the way in Disability Politics.  Strength in Unity