Ten years of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in the Netherlands: barriers in employment, healthcare and social participation persist.
To mark the tenth anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in the Netherlands, the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights investigated the position of people with a disability. The findings make for uncomfortable reading.
Education: completing a degree is not a given
25% of those who pursued or are pursuing a degree experienced that their institution did not make sufficient adjustments to allow them to complete their studies. Finishing an education is not something you can take for granted.
Employment: a degree that does not always open doors
Only 43% of people with a disability are employed. By comparison, the figure for the Dutch working population as a whole is 73%. Employers are reluctant to hire.
27% of people with a disability do not experience equal opportunities in the labour market.
The less financially secure someone is, the stronger the feeling that they are not part of society.
These are not isolated facts. Together, they expose a painful cycle in which unnecessary barriers are placed in people’s way.
- You have the ability to study, but do not always receive the support you need.
The result: you drop out, or you graduate with far more effort than should have been necessary. Not because you are less capable, but because the system was not designed with you in mind. - Once you have your degree, you face fewer opportunities in the labour market. This is not down to your skills or your qualifications: it is down to the prejudice many employers carry. Most see your disability first. Not the creativity, knowledge and perseverance that got you through your studies.
The result: a potentially difficult financial starting position. - And once you have found a job, getting there is its own challenge: 55% of people with a physical disability struggle to use public transport.
The result: unnecessary energy spent on travel, energy that cannot go into your work.
Ten years after the Convention, these are the results. Change begins with awareness. Impact starts with action.
Government bodies should step up and remove barriers in policy and legislation.
Educational institutions should step up and make the adjustments students need to graduate.
Transport providers should step up and ensure people can travel independently.
And employers should start to think in possibilities, not limitations.
Inclusion is not found in a report. It is found in the action you take today.