U N

The charity approach treats persons with disabilities as passive objects of kind acts or of welfare payments rather than as empowered individuals with rights to participate in political and cultural life and in their development. What characterizes this approach is that persons with disabilities are not considered able to provide for themselves because of their impairment. Consequently, society provides for them. No environmental conditions are considered under this approach; disability is an individual problem. From this perspective, persons with disabilities are the target of pity and they depend on the goodwill of society. In addition, persons with disabilities depend on duty bearers: charity houses, homes, foundations, churches, to which society delegates policies on disability and responsibility towards persons with disabilities. Under this model, persons with disabilities are disempowered, not in control of their lives and have little or no participation. They are considered a burden on society. Because charity comes from goodwill, the quality of “care” is not necessarily consistent or even important. • If society’s responses to disability are limited to care and assistance for persons with disabilities through charity and welfare programmes, opportunities for advancement are very limited. The risk—as with the medical approach—is that persons with disabilities will remain at the margins of society. This approach does not support their participation. If persons with disabilities continue to be considered as “unfortunate”, requiring compassion, depending on contributions and assistance and on the goodwill of others, their opportunities for empowerment become very limited. The charity approach increases the distance between persons with disabilities and society rather than promoting equality and inclusion.

- THE CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES (United Nations)