By Hsin-Yi Lo “Children everywhere have: the right to survival; to develop to the fullest; to protection from harmful influences, abuse and exploitation; and to participate fully in family, cultural and social life. The four core principles of the Convention are non-discrimination; devotion to the best interests of the child; the right to life, survival […]
Right Now’s John Alizzi spoke with Monique Hardinge and Simone King, students at Melbourne Law School who have recently taken part in the credit bearing ‘Street Law’ initiative. Right Now: It would be great if you could start by explaining a little bit about ‘Street Law’. [Monique Hardinge]: Street Law is a subject that involves students […]
Reviews by Sonia Nair and Jessica Szwarcbord. Multiculturalism and euthanasia are two hotly debated topics, and the subjects of our two reviews this week – Tim Soutphommasane’s book Don’t Go Back To Where You Came From, and the recent, fiery Intelligence Squared Debate on the question of euthanasia. Book: Do’t Go Back To Where You Came […]
By Shae Courtney. Whilst it is true that More Economically Developed Countries (MEDCs), such as Australia, enjoy on balance a standard of living that is the envy of Less Economically Developed Countries (LEDCs), this standard can often mask the internal problems in developed nations. A recent study, conducted by The University of New South Wales […]
By Ellena Savage. A version of this article previously appeared on the Tharunka website, and was the winner of Tharunka Non-Fiction Writing Competition. It is May, 2009. A cold, clear night; frost will set over the tips of lawns before dawn. I wait at a bar for my new boyfriend, Ishmail, an attractive Eritrean-Australian I met though […]
By Karen Akehurst. PART II The basis of criminal law is intent and this is where the law often betrays people with intellectual disability. It was our common experience to find that a person had either been deliberately set up to commit an offence by someone else, or to find that they were indeed guilty […]
By Karen Akehurst PART I Very few people develop greater insight into the machinations of the Australian criminal justice system than the invisible support worker. My experience as Co-ordinator for a specialist legal support service for people with intellectual disabilities in the NSW criminal justice system was like watching a real life game of snakes […]
By Dr Peter Wigg. I have recently returned to Melbourne after fifteen months on a reconstructive surgery program for victims of armed conflict in the Middle East. Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), for whom I worked, has hired hospital and accommodation space in Amman in Jordan, and brings patients there on short-term visas from Iraq, Yemen, […]
By Dr Scott Hollier. This article is part of our October focus on Disability Rights. The Australian Government has been working hard over the past two years to ensure that all federal and most state government websites meet the minimal Level “A” requirement of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 by the end of this […]
This article is a guest post from the Chairperson of our Board, Lizzie O’Shea. The Apollo Theatre in Harlem was jammed full of people for the recent US Presidential candidate debate. A community forum preceded the televised event, with local activists of all persuasions. Insightful questions were thrown to the panel from the floor and […]
By Professor Bernadette McSherry. This article is part of our October focus on Disability Rights. Read more about this topic here. People with severe mental and intellectual disabilities have traditionally had decisions made for them about where they should live, what medical treatment they should have and how their money should be spent. The era of institutionalisation […]
By Blair Morris. This article is part of our October theme on disability rights. To read more on this topic, click here. Medicating people with disabilities and elderly people is a contentious issue, particularly in situations that involve aggression. Some experts argue that medication can have a calming effect, and may help to “normalise” the individual. […]
