Study-Unit Description

Study-Unit Description


CODE DBS1007

 
TITLE Safeguarding Disabled People’s Rights

 
UM LEVEL 01 - Year 1 in Modular Undergraduate Course

 
MQF LEVEL 5

 
ECTS CREDITS 6

 
DEPARTMENT Disability Studies

 
DESCRIPTION This study-unit will focus on providing course participants with the necessary material and literature about disability issues and disability legislation. The study-unit will initially focus on the history of the struggles of disabled people in their fight for human rights, especially in Europe and the United States. The study-unit will then focus on international and domestic legislation, namely the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Equal Opportunities (Persons with Disability) Act 2000 respectively. Reference will also be made to other domestic legislation which refer to disability rights, such as the Condominium Act 2001, the Education Act 1991, the Social Security Act 1987 and the Persons with Disability (Employment) Act 1969. Reference will also be made to the European Directive 2000/78/EC which aims to combat discrimination on grounds of disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief and age in the workplace.

Students will be asked to reflect on their own experiences.

The topics to be discussed during the lectures will include the following:
- The struggles of the disability movement in their fight for human rights
- The relevance of the social model of disability for disabled people's rights
- Issues of discrimination and anti-discrimination
- The Equal Opportunities (Persons with Disability) Act 2000
- The Condominium Act 2001
- The Education Act 1991
- The Social Security Act 1987
- The Persons with Disability (Employment) Act 1969
- The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability.
- The European Directive 2000/78/EC
- Case-law from Maltese Courts and the European Court of Human Rights.

Study-Unit Aims:

- To make the students aware of the history of disabled people's struggle for human rights.
- To enable students to appreciate the importance of safeguarding disabled people's rights.
- To expose students to different international and local disability legislation and its application.
- To make the students aware of disabled people's rights.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Knowledge & Understanding:

By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:
- Explain the history of the disabled people's struggle for human rights.
- Explain the human rights model of disability.
- Describe the difference between different types of rights and between rights and obligations.
- Analyse different pieces of legislation tackled during the course of the unit.
- Reflect on their direct or indirect personal experiences of discrimination on the grounds of disability.

2. Skills:

By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:
- Identify cases of discrimination on the grounds of disability.
- Analyze a particular scenario and explain which disabled people’s rights are being breached.
- Explain which cases constitute discrimination on the basis of disability, and distinguish between different types of discrimination encountered, in a given scenario.

Main Text/s and any supplementary readings:

Main Texts:

Giddens, A., & Sutton, P. W. (Ed.). (2010). Sociology: Introductory Readings (3rd ed.). Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.

Union of the Physically Impaired Against Segregation. (1976). Union of the Physically Impaired Against Segregation. Retried from http://www.google.com.mt/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCEQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdisability-studies.leeds.ac.uk%2Ffiles%2Flibrary%2FUPIAS-UPIAS.pdf&ei=mb59VIKlMcPpaKnIgugI&usg=AFQjCNFycqpH-azpQr6eVm2NLrLl6E4Qdw&sig2=yiZViqef0qUzdCxf-9BhiQ&bvm=bv.80642063,d.d2s

KNPD, (2007). Rights not charity: Guidelines towards an inclusive society and a positive difference in the lives of Maltese and Gozitan disabled people. KNPD: Malta. Retrieved from: http://knpd.org/pubs/pdf/dritijietmhuxkarita_e.pdf

Equal Opportunities (Persons with Disability) Act 2000.
The Condominium Act 2001.
The Education Act 1991.
The Social Security Act 1987.
The Persons with Disability (Employment) Act 1969.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability.
European Directive 2000/78/EC.

 
STUDY-UNIT TYPE Lecture & Independent Online Learning

 
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Component/s Sept. Asst Session Weighting
Assignment Yes 100%

 
LECTURER/S Anne-Marie Callus (Co-ord.)
Amy Joan Camilleri Zahra

 

 
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints.
Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice.
It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years.

https://www.um.edu.mt/course/studyunit