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Freedom of movement and freedom of expression are basic human rights that many people with learning difficulties are missing out on
Campaigns
Campaigning for the rights of people with learning difficulties
People with learning difficulties are not given the same rights as other people even in today’s society. We are often left out and our voices not heard.
Traditionally people with learning difficulties were kept apart form the rest of society, locked away in large institutions. Anyone who was in one of these places has stories to tell of the abuses that went on behind the closed doors. Many people lost touch with their family and lost their independence.
In the early 1990s the government started shutting down the big institutions and moving people out to live in the community.
Today some groups of carers still advocate for a return to special, segregated communities, which means places where people with learning difficulties can be kept apart from everyone else so they can be ‘looked after’ and stopped from getting into trouble. It costs less money to house people all together instead of paying to support individuals to live independently. Just as all the big hospitals are finally being shut down, private hospitals are being opened up.
People with learning difficulties still get left out of society, even though more of us than before now live in the community. There is a lot of ignorance about who we are and what our needs are.
Why is it so important to campaign? >>
