The global challengeof citizenship for all

Dr Simon Duffy Auckland, 2016

We live in an increasingly strange & crazily interconnected world

Ursula Le Guin

Honour can exist anywhere, Love can exist anywhere, But justice can exist only among peoplewho found their relationships upon it

• Love is the most important force in society, but it cannot be forced, bullied or incentivised.

• Family is vital to life and development, but families cannot be organised, managed or engineered.

• We long to belong to an inclusive community, but communities inherit the flaws of their members.

• But we can always think and act as a citizen, even when most have forgotten what citizenship means.

Since World War II there has been significant international progress in advancing citizenship for people with disabilities…

• Deinstitutionalisation and inclusion

• Disability rights and anti-discrimination

• Self-direction and personalisation

Countries where self-directed support is happening

• Progress on self-direction has been slow and fragmentary, but it’s very real

• Some groups are still excluded, but its scope continues to expand

• The argument is increasingly less theoretical and increasingly empirical

Location N ChangeEngland - 6 Sites Phase I Report 60 -18.0%England - 17 Sites Phase II Report 128 -9.0%England - 13 Sites IBSEN Report 203 -6.0%England - Northamptonshire 17 -18.7%England - City of London 10 -30.0%England - Worcestershire 73 -17.0%England - Southwark 85 -29.8%Scotland - Glasgow 12 -44.0%USA - Denver - Disabled Children - -34.0%USA - Florida - Disabled Children - -30.0%

We must beware the drift of ideas rooted in rights and citizenship into the emptiness of consumerism

Origin of “Consumer” early 15c., "one who squanders or wastes," agent noun from consume. In economic sense, "one who uses up goods or articles" (opposite of producer) from 1745.

• It is also possible to see self-direction as one element of a wider challenge

• Reforming and modernising the welfare state to support citizenship and community

• Shifting resources upstream, a broader version of de-institutionalisation - for everybody

I hope what follows describes only a UK problem. Sadly, I fear that, I may be wrong.

However progress has not only been slow, but there are worrying signs of things going in reverse. In the UK, while self-direction and personalisation are the official policy:

• Austerity is leading to severe cuts in disability support and income security systems.

• Other policies, which are supposed to help people into work have led to stigma, mental illness and suicide.

• Policies of euthanasia and eugenics are becoming increasingly accepted as inevitable.

In total, across England as a whole, the WCA disability reassessment process during this period was associated with an additional 590 suicides (95% CI 220 to 950), 279,000 additional cases of self-reported mental health problems (95% CI 57,000 to 500,000) and the prescribing of an additional 725,000 antidepressant items (95% CI 406 000 to 1 045 000).

Barr B, et al. J Epidemiol Community Health 2015;0:1–7. doi:10.1136/jech-2015-206209

The Committee is seriously concerned about the disproportionate adverse impact that austerity measures, introduced since 2010, are having on the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights by disadvantaged and marginalised individuals and groups. The Committee is concerned that the State party has not undertaken a comprehensive assessment of the cumulative impact of such measures on the realisation of economic, social and cultural rights, in a way that is recognised by civil society and national independent monitoring mechanisms (art. 2, para. 1).

UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights:Concluding observations on the sixth periodic report of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 24 June 2016

UN declares UK Government fails to respect human rights

…there is reliable evidence that the threshold of grave or systematic violations of the rights of persons with disabilities has been met in the State party… The core elements of the rights to independent living and being included in the community, an adequate standard of living and social protection and their right to employment have been affected… freedom of choice and control over their daily activities restricted, the extra cost of disability has been set aside and income protection has been curtailed as a result of benefit cuts, while the expected policy goal of achieving decent and stable employment is far from being attained

UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities:Inquiry concerning the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland carried out by the Committee under article 6 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention 6th October 2016

UN declares UK Government fails to respect disability rights

Other groups face similar injustices

• Migrants, refugees and asylum seekers find themselves directly excluded from citizenship

• People in poverty, people with chronic illnesses and mental illness are increasingly stigmatised and managed

• We can all become detached, disenchanted and or excluded from community and political life

The Scotsman reported on 3rd February 2012:

High-earning migrants and promising student entrepreneurs will find it easier to work in Britain as the coalition aims to ensure only “the right people are coming here,” the Immigration Minister has said. Damian Green, a Conservative MP, said middle managers, unskilled labourers and benefit seekers would be kept out as the coalition seeks only migrants who “add to the quality of life in Britain.”

If only ‘those’ kind of people add to the quality of life in Britain - what about the rest of us?

“Today we frankly recognise that democracy can be no more than an aspiration, and have rule not so much by the people as by the cleverest people; not an aristocracy of birth, not a plutocracy of wealth, but a true meritocracy of talent.” [1958]

Yesterday’s satire feels like today’s tragedy

When people lose their way Charities flourish and self-righteousness grows. When we value cleverness and business acumen We unleash hypocrisy and trickery. When families fall apart Family values are the order of the day. As societies fall apart They fill up with loyal patriots.

Lao Tzu - Tao Te Ching

So, let’s turn the tables and go back through the looking glass

Let’s welcome each other into full citizenship

• Advance a richer concept of what citizenship demands

• Challenge ourselves to act to achieve citizenship for all

• Work together to reverse injustice

This is the ‘stuff’ of citizenship by which we protect our status as equals1. Finding our sense of purpose

2. Having the freedom to pursue it

3. Having enough money to be free

4. Having a home where we belong

5. Getting help from other people

6. Making life in community

7. Finding, sharing and giving love

• Danish citizens saved nearly all Danish Jews and refugee Jews from the gas chambers.

• After first hiding them from the Nazis they then manned fishing boats and help them escape to neutral Sweden.

• This is true citizenship

We do not need to accept the current distortions:

• We can reclaim the language of citizenship

• Our values give us strength to outmanoeuvre the elitists, the greedy and the angry - the haters

• Reject anger, fear and hate and act from love

This strategy can be powerful

• Making citizenship central to our arguments

• Assume the validity of our models (demand evidence from those who want to remove power)

• Sharing new ideas and innovations freely

• Assuming our capacity to realise change without permission

1. Get connected

2. Get informed

3. Learn from others

4. Share with others

5. Change the world

• It is time to “gird our loins” again [girding up your loins meant to tie up long, loose clothes so that they were more practical when you were working or travelling.]

• Learn from the earlier battles, but don’t re-live them

• Be prepared to question old assumptions

• Make common cause with those who face similar challenges

• Get organised and act with courage

For those of us who value citizenship this beautiful world of diverse people

and complex communities is a profound source

of strength and joy

www.cforwr.org

@citizen_network@CforWR @simonjduffy

fb.me/centreforwelfarereform fb.me/citizennetwork

e simon@centreforwelfarereform.org

www.citizen-network.org