Disability Oppression And Disabilities

By 2011, more than 1 billion people around the world were living with a kind of disability wrapping 15% of the world’s population (WHO, 2011). For so long disability was identified under the “individual model”; as a consequence of an impairment “lack or defectiveness in any part of the body”, that leaves the one suffering from it with long term functional limitations. Recently this conceptual understanding has been questioned shedding the light on the social barriers and norms that label impaired people as disabled and restricts them from their social rights and activities. In fact, the society’s organization is increasing the occurrence of abuse at higher incidence for disabled people compared to the rest of the population and by that are considered as “vulnerable”. The following article written by Hollomotz (2012) “Disability, Oppression and Violence: Towards a Sociological Explanation” will be discussed and analysed throughout this paper to understand better the different social forces that face people with learning difficulties and leave them disabled.

Andrea Hollomotz was a social worker student when she first went to a sexual health agency and she dealt with people with learning difficulties to inform them about sexual relationships. In this process one of the participants shared with her how she was sexually violated by her uncle. According to Hollomotz (2011) the young woman did not want anyone to know about this incident nor press charges; she only