Social Justice | Illustrating Disability

Written By Amanda Hendrie

On a blue background, the blog title “Illustrating Social Justice” is in the center. On the bottom left corner, inside a navy blob says “disability experience.” To view the visual Instagram post based on this blog post, click the image or here.

World Day of Social Justice is an international day that is observed annually on February 20th aiming to promote social justice with the need to deal with issues such as poverty, social exclusion, human rights, and social protections. The disability community is consistently excluded from society on many fronts due to the inaccessible and unjust system that we live in. In part of efforts to observe World Day of Social Justice, let's explore the issues in which social justice is attempting to resolve through the lens of persons with disabilities. 

But first, what is social justice?

The Human Rights Careers provides a clear distinction between justice and social justice, “Justice is the concept of fairness. Social justice is fairness as it manifests in society” (Human Rights Careers). Social justice looks into fairness into the areas of life that we as humans interact with and need on a regular basis to exist in the society we live in. It can include healthcare, employment, education, housing, and so much more. The idea is to evolve as a society where human rights are taken into consideration and people can thrive in society by living the quality of life that is deserved. 

The United Nations explains that “(s)ocial justice makes societies and economies function better and reduces poverty, inequalities and social tensions (UN Social Justice Day). There needs to be an understanding of the interconnection of society and their respective economies that dictates how decisions are made that creates these injustices that exist, reducing peoples’ quality of life. 

Typically, the interconnection and relationship of society and economy follow the types of questions below. 

  • What are society's values? 

  • What is the society willing to do in order to achieve it? 

  • Do the policies and decision-making align with those values? 

  • Do citizens' mindsets and values align with the overall values and goals of social justice? 

  • How quick does the government(s) make decisions and actions to uphold social justice values? 

These questions usually reveal why a specific society has not reached or attained the vision and standard of social justice that we are striving for. You can have the values of social justice but not be willing to accept the trade-offs in order to obtain the society aligned with social justice. Maybe the process of governments and decision-making is also a factor in the quality and speed of creating and enacting those key policies to achieve a socially just society. 

Living in a society where social justice values of equity, inclusion, and meaningful participation benefits all of us. It requires uplifting everyone to a place where their basic needs are covered and experiencing a good quality of life that fits their and the community’s needs and wants. 

Now social justice is covered, how is social justice connected to disability?

People with disabilities are often stigmatized and made-marginalized in society. In all areas of life, there is discrimination surrounding accessibility and barriers preventing them from being full participants in society. A few examples would be

  • Education due to the lack of inclusive, accessible, and quality level of education that fits their needs and abilities to succeed in the workplace and society as a whole.

  • Recreation due to the lack of options that is adaptable for many disabilities to enjoy an activity and fuel their physical activity, creative activity, and mental health.

  • Employment can be due to the discrimination and lack of awareness of accessibility accommodations, assumptions of the abilities of persons with disabilities, and the unemployment rate of persons with disabilities in comparison to people without disabilities.

  • Leisure can be impacted by being unable to have leisure time (or “productive” leisure time) whether it is needing to constantly work to survive, the extra time it takes to do basic living tasks, lack of accessible activities for leisure, or inability to differentiate leisure time due to isolation.

  • Healthcare can be due to inaccessible healthcare spaces, attitudes and stigmas of disability of needing to be “fixed”, insurance premiums for being disabled, blaming the diagnosis for all the health issues, and also, biased or no diagnosis due to research and stigma.

  • Housing is mainly due to the lack of accessible and affordable housing options and the increased cost of housing.

There are so many areas in life where injustices are occurring to persons with disabilities due to the history of euthanization, segregation, and lack of accessibility legislation driven by the idea that persons with disabilities is not a person worth living, that disabilities are bad, living with a disability is hard, and people with disabilities should not be seen.

How do you see the injustice?

There are many ways in which there are social injustices toward persons with disabilities. And there is even some data to state those claims (even if there are also gaps in data). We are going to dive into some of the key data and considerations that show the injustices of persons with disabilities in Canada. 

Let’s start with the poverty rate. First we need to understand how the rates are determined. In Canada, we based who is in poverty and not in poverty based on the poverty line which is determined by the costs of the theoretical basket of goods that Canadians would need in order to survive. It is also measured wit Low Income Measure after tax which is what the Canadian Income Survey is based on. With the poverty line, we can determine who is in poverty based on their income. Below are the poverty rates of persons with disabilities, and persons without disabilities. 

Percentage of Persons with Disabilities that are Low-Income/In Poverty

2019 : 13.7%

2020: 8.5%

2021: 10.6%

Percentage of Persons without Disabilities that are Low-Income/In Poverty

2019: 7.8%

2020: 4.3%

2021: 5.7%

Statistics Canada. Table 11-10-0090-01  Poverty and low-income statistics by disability status DOI: https://doi.org/10.25318/1110009001-eng


We should consider that it is for what is considered basic needs to the majority, not including a persons with disabilities basic needs of potential medications, devices, services, and dietary needs to survive with their disability. It is also important to note that the pandemic benefits are to be considered during this timeframe. This means that there are people still struggling to live that are considered above the poverty line since their basic survival, livable needs are not considered.

You may be thinking, well there are programs for persons with disabilities such as income assistance to consider those needs. Yes, but with restrictions so not every person with disabilities can access the support. 

Income assistance and benefits have restrictions in a few ways. It can be restricted due to type and severity of the disability, income, and whether the disability is permanent. It seems logical, if the disability does not severely impact your ability to work and be employed, then the program is not for you. But income paints an interesting picture. 

To start, income assistance are mainly below the poverty line with restrictions on how much you can earn before the assistance gets stripped away. In a cost of living crisis, this is serious. Below are income assistance from each province and territory that is highlighted in the Disability Poverty In Canada: A 2023 Report Card. 

Disability Income Assistance in Canada

(Includes basic social assistance, additional social assistance, federal and provincial child benefits and tax credits in 2021)

Province/territory | Total disability assistance income, 2021 | Monthly disability assistance income, 2021

Alberta | $11,195/$21,164 | $932.92/$1,763.67 (Different programs qualify for different amounts)

British Columbia | $17,880 | $1,490.02

Manitoba | $13,685 | $1,140.43

New Brunswick | $10,298 | $858.13

Newfoundland and Labrador | $18,226 | $1,518.80

Northwest Territories | $32,353 | $2,696.04

Nova Scotia | $11,559 | $963.25

Nunavut | $12,577 | $1,048.11

Ontario | $15,449 | $1,287.44

Prince Edward Island | $15,674 | $1,306.15

Disability Without Poverty, Campaign 2000, Disability Poverty In Canada: A 2023 Report Card, https://www.disabilitywithoutpoverty.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/DWP-Report-Card-23-FINAL_compressed.pdf

Only Northwest Territories has the income assistance above the low income measure but it is important to consider that it is a territory and mainly rural which has a higher cost of living. It is also critical to consider that the pandemic benefits were $2,000 a month and many of the assistance does not meet that thershold of what was determined the amount of income needed for basic needs.

Income is not only determined by employment. Having a spouse or common-law partner will impact assistance as well leaving persons with disabilities to have to make decisions that they should never have to make. It even affects the potential idea to move to a different province that has a lower income assistance with a higher cost of living. Even with the income assistance, it still may not cover someone’s medical needs, especially if it does not cover their basic living expenses that everyone has to consider such as housing, food, and clothing. 

Let’s consider the people who want and are able to work in the workforce. Well, the employment rates are quite different between the demographics. 

Employment rate of persons with disabilities

Employed: 59.3%

Unemployed: 5.4%

Not in Labour Force: 35.3%

Employment rate of persons without disabilities

Employed: 80.1%

Unemployed: 4.7%

Not in Labour Force: 15.2%

Statistics Canada. Table 13-10-0377-01 Labour force status of persons with and without disabilities aged 25 to 64 years, by age group and sex, Canada, provinces and territories DOI: https://doi.org/10.25318/1310037701-eng

There are many factors that influence the path to employment and maintaining empoyment. For persons with disabilities, the existence of accommodations and the duty to accommodate is a crucial point of whether they are able to stay and succeed in that environment. While there are discrimination laws, it does not diminish how difficult it is to obtain accommodations even when it is obligated to do so. 

The barriers go from the built environment to communications and information technologies with the core of the issue being stemmed from stigma and attitudes. It can start from inaccessible education to unable to access the hiring process to the assumptions decision makers make in the process to lack of accommodations for working if the person gets hired. 

This means that persons with disabilities have to make several decisions, do more research, and question when in the process to disclose disability before even applying. I haven’t even gone into the unnecessary “requirements” in job descriptions in relation to ability, the lack of consideration of someone’s access needs for working both internally and externally such as conferences and trainings.

Nonprofit organizations have so many programs related to employment because productivity is so important in our society. There is much awareness and education towards employers to improve their processes and create inclusive employment while also educating on the rights of persons with disabilities. 

Even with all these supports, persons with disabilities tend to be self-employed, creating their own businesses to earn income and not have to deal with the discrimination of employment for persons with disabilities. However, this is not an option for everyone. 

Just like anyone, persons with disabilities want to be part of the community, productive members of society. Employment is one avenue of participation and is considered the ideal approach of being a productive member of society. However, participation in society is not just paid work, unpaid work is crucial to society’s function as well. Volunteering, recreation, and leisure are all important to communities’ well-being and social connection and are usually maintained by people who are willing to put in their time and energy with little to no pay. For people with disabilities who may not be able to do traditional employment, employment programs, and self-employment, volunteering in their community allows people to still be involved and productive.

Isolation is an issue among the disability community due to the barriers in the community. The COVID-19 pandemic has made it worse as it threatens the health and safety of persons with disabilities to a greater degree. Now, with the approach being “the pandemic is over,” persons with disabilities have to take more steps to protect themselves. If you do not have a disability, you can likely take the risk of COVID-19 but not everyone can. Finding ways to balance health and safety, which includes preserving energy wasted when dealing with barriers, and doing what is needed can be difficult. 

The stigma and attitudes towards people with disabilities are the main barriers to society. The ableism of “having a disability is the worst thing in the world” is still embedded and shared in our society. This is including the internalized ableism that people with disabilities carry that is learned behaviour from our society. Viewing the disability as the problem instead of the environment that is not accessible to a large portion of our population and their attitudes towards disability.

The main issue is not having the disability for most people, it is having to interact with people who are not willing to be accessible or accommodating due to the preconceived notions of extra work, costs and not worth their time. Having to interact with environments that do not fit their needs to exist in the space. Not being considered valuable members of society deserving of respect, equitable access to needs, and participating in society that most people take for granted. 

When talking about persons with disabilities’ experiences, it is important to understand the intersectionality that is heavily present that influences people’s decisions. Every person is unique from the spectrum of disability, to have multiple disabilities, to location, to income, and different identities that is shaping the person for who they are. All of these factors can affect their access to support and services as well as community belonging. 

It is also important to consider where key ideals that persons without disabilities value may not be important to some people with disabilities. In society, there is a high value for independence which may not be a choice that someone else wants or needs. Interdependence meaning living with the support of other people is valuable for some people to live their best quality of life. The idea of productivity also has the same concept. The idea of being productive all the time does not always align with someone who may need all the energy they have to do their basic needs. Whether they have to pay more to ensure that basic needs are met or be paid less to ensure that they can survive and live their life are decisions people with disabilities make out of necessity because value of money is currently placed on productivity of doing paid work. 

Work to improve persons with disabilities lives through social justice and disability justice is ongoing. Without the leadership and momentum of the members of the disability community, the work that has been done would not exist. The legislation that is currently being worked on in the federal level and some provinces exist because of persons with disabilities efforts towards access awareness. 

Disability Community Approaches to Justice

Even when hitting key milestones from legislation to a small change in the community stems from awareness campaigns from the community. From Access Awareness Weeks to specific days to local to national campaigns, persons with disabilities are leading the way for access awareness and justice for improving the social and economic factors that influence someone’s quality of life.  

And the work is continuing, with the Canada Disability Benefit to bring access awareness into every mainstream conversation to ensure that persons with disabilities do not get lost in the complicated process of policies and decision-making. 

So, how can you contribute to improving the quality of life of persons with disabilities from a social justice perspective?

Well, we need to start and continue challenging pre-convince notions of ability and health. The idea of healthy is upheld by the ideal human ability, to be in peak condition. That is not reality. The human body will eventually show the hard truth whether it is natural due to environment and age or if it is sudden. Having a disability should not be viewed as a bad thing. In fact, having a disability will likely give a new lens of what life can look like.  

Asking yourself, what ableism, including internal ableism, do you still hold? Due to how society framed and stigmatized persons with disabilities solely for existing, ableism exists for those who do not have any lived experience of having a disability and those to have a disability. Each lived experience of having a disability is unique and should be listened to with open minds and hearts of their personal experience. There may be common ground within the disability experience but it is likely that someone’s barriers and needs are vastly different than someone else showcasing the need to be adaptable and flexible. 

Reimagine what society’s standards look like to you and recognize that the differences are a choice and a necessity for some people. The standards are ideals that are socially constructed from what is considered optimal from a specific point of view. It does not mean that everyone has and should aim for those standards. From deconstructing productivity to interdependence that is valuable for some persons with disabilities, just because someone wants and thrives in a specific path does not mean that everyone needs to follow.

Reflect on this question, what are you doing, even unintentionally, that is creating or upholding barriers? There are many things, both big and small, that never would be considered because the person making decisions does not live the experience. While you will not fully know someone’s experience, you can listen, learn, and improve. The Nothing About Us Without Us explains the value of listening to persons with disabilities on the barriers and gaps that are highlighted by the community. 

Join disability movements and efforts to increase accessibility and inclusion. There are many ways to be involved from being part of the conversation, listening to persons with disabilities’ experiences, to actively calling out the barriers to change the process. Everyone has a role in access awareness and disability inclusion, just make sure you do not exclude persons with disabilities experiences in the process.

Amanda

Resources Used in This Blog

Amanda Hendrie
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