When she is not out with her dog for a walk or a swim, or running, cycling, swimming or at the gym, Dr Claire Azzopardi Lane is busy exercising her mind. Whether she’s in class or out on the streets stressing her point, she’s been trying to improve current understandings of disability, being very vocal about the rights of these individuals.
In light of her new role as Deputy Dean of the Faculty for Social Wellbeing, Newspoint caught up with Dr Azzopardi Lane, to pick her brain on her latest research, and her academic plans going forward.
Are people with disabilities considered vulnerable? Has COVID-19 contributed to this inaccurate perception?
I believe that people with disability are not intrinsically vulnerable but rather that situations of vulnerability arise from the environment, negative attitudes and practices. As with non-disabled persons, some disabled persons may be more at risk of being in situations of vulnerability than others. So, depending on whether there are additional health, contextual or situational issues, disabled persons could potentially be more at risk than others who do not have these issues.
COVID-19 posed a huge challenge to individuals with disabilities through prolonged isolation. This might have spurred them to use social media even more frequently than usual. Would you consider this to be a good or a bad thing?
Social media as a way of interaction and communication can be a positive contribution to anyone’s life. In times of the pandemic, many have found social media as their only means of networking and support. Although not all platforms have the same dynamics, there are those that contribute to hate speech, false information and derogatory beliefs. Such platforms highlight the negative aspects of social media, which are equally common to both non-disabled and disabled persons.
Parents of children with disability have publicly expressed their frustration at the lack of guidance ahead of the reopening of schools. Thinking it might be more challenging to meet the needs of disabled students, is it feasible to cater for their needs at this point in time?
Whatever the individual needs of disabled students, their right to education prevails. Therefore, no matter how challenging to the service providers, including our university, it is the service providers’ duty to make sure there are no shortcomings to the right to education of students with any form of impairment.
What are your latest findings in your research about sexuality and persons with disability?
The findings in the last ten years have shown there is a small shift by persons with disability towards more autonomy and self-advocacy. While from professionals and parents, there is an increase in awareness and education, however, the stark reality of many disabled persons, especially those with an intellectual disability, is over-protection and isolation, a lack of formal and informal sex education and a dearth of platforms where to build friendships and relationships and where to express their sexuality in a safe manner.
How long have you been part of FSW? And what do you hope to bring to the table as the new Deputy Dean?
I have been part of this Faculty for six years now. As Deputy Dean I hope to support the Dean in reaching the aims of his Manifesto, mostly when it comes to consolidating community engagement and activism and developing collaboration, as well as addressing gender balance and minority issues.
Who should study disability?
The area of disability intersects with many other areas. You could have persons working in the field of education for instance, who want to learn more about disability so that they can make their professional setting more inclusive. You could have allied health professionals, such as physiotherapists, speech and language pathologists or occupational therapists who want to explore disability from a social perspective rather than from the medical perspective they have been exposed to during their previous training. This will help them improve their professional careers and the services they deliver.
We often have students who want to learn more about disability rights and equal opportunities, these could already be working in the field of disability, in professions related to disability service provision through state services or NGO’s.
We offer a variety of courses at different levels, from Masters or Certificate and Diploma courses to short Continuous Professional Development Courses (CPD’s). This year we also introduced an undergrad degree, the BA in Disability Studies and Psychology. We at times have disabled students or family members of disabled persons reading our courses. As the Department of Disability Studies, we do our utmost to support disabled students and find great satisfaction in their achievements.