Full page photo print - Harvard Law School Project on Disability

AWARENESS OF SELF
Self-knowledge and effective communication are key to becoming strong self-advocates.
Persons with disabilities need to know their own strengths and needs, and have the ability to
effectively communicate those needs when advocating for their rights. Like any skill, advocacy
must be practiced and, as a result, it improves with time. Practice explaining what you need in
order to access your community and enjoy your rights.
ACTION
Awareness does not create change. ACTION does!
You now have the knowledge and are building the skills to advocate successfully for your
rights. Commitment is essential to taking action. Start with small attainable steps. Participation
in disability organizations can help. It can provide an important environment to practice
advocacy skills and promote a sense of belonging, identity, and connection to others who
share similar life experiences.
Advocacy can be used for many purposes: for personal needs, for the needs of others with
disabilities, or for the needs of the disability community as a whole. Advocacy can take place at
many levels too: locally, nationally, and internationally. Examples of advocacy actions include:
Educational Action
• Educating ourselves: gathering the information we need to understand the issue and
analyzing what we have learned;
• Educating others: drawing the attention of allies and the general public to an issue that
needs to be addressed and showing how we want to create change;
• Changing attitudes: addressing stereotypes and misconceptions about a particular
issue and about people with disabilities generally.
Political Action
• Addressing policy-makers: influencing them to consult with and include the concerns
of people with disabilities when making public policies;
• Addressing law-makers: lobbying for supports and fulfillment of the human rights of
people with disabilities;
• Addressing public officials: pressuring for enforcement of laws and policies that
respect and protect the human rights of people with disabilities;
• Social and community service providers: effectively communicating for service
delivery. For example: navigating the service delivery system through communication
with bankers, grocers, social workers, and/or medical professionals.
Legal Action
• Creating new law: participating in advocacy for new laws on disability rights and taking
part in the drafting of such laws. For example: advocating for comprehensive disability
rights legislation consistent with international law, including the CRPD.
• Repealing negative law: taking action to repeal laws that stand in the way of the
enjoyment of disability rights. For example: advocating to repeal discriminatory marriage
laws that bar people with disabilities from exercising their right to marry.
PART 3: ADVOCACY! TAKING ACTION FOR THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES 231