Introduction
In this module, we will examine the concept of double (or multiple) discrimination, what are the main situations of discrimination and the barriers that migrants with disabilities might face.
The relevance and innovativeness of this topic mainly comes from the exponential increase in migratory flows, which also include people with disabilities, requiring the rethinking of services. The expression “double” (or “multiple”) discrimination is used to refer to the marginalization “against one person on the basis of more than one ground”. (2008, P. Uccellari)
Discrimination can be based on many aspects: gender, sexuality, age, ethnicity, disability and any aspect of one person’s identity.
The concept of discrimination arises not only and not so much from the presence of a difference, but from denying of differences, as if everyone can feel free to be what they are exclusively by eliminating their natural peculiarities.
Learning Outcomes
The learners will be able to understand what double discrimination means and to recognize it, as well as to analyse the barriers migrants with disabilities meet in different environments (mainly educational and work context). The learners will also get more familiar with the connected legal framework.
The learners will know that not only disability can be a cause of discrimination, but gender, sexuality, age, ethnicity and any aspect of our identity can have several consequences in lives’ path.
To the learners will be given food for thought in order to start an autonomous research connected with the topic.
Requirements
The learners don’t need to already have particular knowledge or skills. Of course, the more they already know about disability and migration, the more they will feel comfortable in this particular topic. The suggestion is to first go through the previous modules (the first one “discrimination”, the second “immigration” and the third “disability”).
Content
Food for Thought
- Is it possible to quantify the presence of people with disabilities who immigrated to your country in adult age? Is it possible to specify the disability and quantify people for each disability?
- Where do migrants with disability ask for services when they arrive in your country? Do they interact with a migration centre or a centre that offers services for the disabilities? How do they recognize themselves: as migrants, as people with disability or as a “mixture”? How much does the culture influence their identity?
- What are the services for foreign people with disability in your country? And in which direction could it be possible to improve the organisation of services in your country in order to expand the set of opportunities for migrants with disabilities?
- What kind of language do deaf migrants possess? What language, and with what kind of competences, can they learn when in the host country?
Experiences
Here are some examples of best practice that could be replicated in other countries:
Suggested Reading & Resources
Downloadable materials:
Articles:
Module in a Nutshell
- People with disabilities have to face many physical, economic and cultural barriers every day. They are at a high risk of being discriminated since not everyone accepts “differences” or sees a richness in them. Coming from a migratory context is a characteristic that makes the person even more subjected to discrimination and isolation because more factors of difference are added.
- Migrants and refugees face an important linguistical barrier, too. Languages are connected with important cultural heritage and the objective in order to fully understand their situation is to know their background and how to organize communication.
- Deaf migrants that arrived in the host country in adult age have to deal with the “choice” of the language in relation to many factors: the family (made up of deaf or hearing members); the method with which they were educated (sign language or oral language); their level of schooling in their country of origin; the legal framework in their country regarding school, disability and inclusion.
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When we talk about migrants with disabilities, we also talk about double discrimination: it means the discrimination based on both disability and the origin from a foreign country. But we have to talk about multiple discrimination when several factors (disability, origins, gender) make the person a victim of isolation from the society in the different environments (school, work place, hobbies…). For instance, a woman with disability from a foreign country is at a higher risk of discrimination from society because of gender characteristics.
Assessment activity
Social experiment awareness: this activity wants to make the participant aware of the meaning of “discrimination”.
The activity is made in a group. The trainer prepares as many sheets as there are participants: on each sheet, randomly caught from a bag, an identity is described, for example “You are a Chinese child that lives in Paris. Your family is a really traditional family”. All the participants stand on a line, the trainer reads some sentences (rights). The participants with those identities that can enjoy this right or can agree to this statement can take a step forward.
This video can clarify the exercise: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2hvibGdg4w
We suggest first to do the activity and then to make a focus group, a peer-to-peer discussion lead by the trainer.
✏️ click link to go to exercices
References