Privilege and Oppression within the PWD Community
The fact that disability is not an homogenous category also means that we need to pay attention to the diversity of experiences among PwD.
For instance, many study have shown that the people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are one of the most oppressed sub-groups. For instance, a study published in 2015 found that only 22% of adults with IDD in Ontario were shown to have had an annual health examination in a 2-year period, despite recommendation for an annual comprehensive health check.
Another study found that while 10.6% of people without disabilities reported experience of discrimination over a 12-month period, double that number (19.4%) of people with non-cognitive disability reported similar experiences. The rate more than triples (34.9%) among people with cognitive (including intellectual) disability.
About 45% of Canada's homeless population identity as disabled and there is a disproportionate representation of people with intellectual disability withing this population.
In fact, unemployment rate, poverty level, school nonattendance rate and level of physical and sexual abuse are all significantly higher among PwD relative to the general population levels, and even higher among people with severe disabilities including IDD.
And studies have continued to show that while significant amount of specialized support exist for PwD across Canada, these support services have been inadequate in meeting the needs of PwD, particularly those with intellectual disability.
Persons with intellectual disabilities, especially women had been forcibly sterilized, with pockets of cases still reported in Canada as recently as 2017. Force sterilization is currently under investigation by the Canadian Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights.
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