Disability Justice Project Launch – 3rd November 2016

Time: 5.00pm – 6.00pm
Date: Thursday, 3 November 2016
Venue: Matrix Chambers, Griffin Building, Gray’s Inn Road, London WC1R 5LN

On the 3^rd of November Inclusion London is launching its new Disability Justice Project to enable Deaf and Disabled people and their organisations to better fight for our right to independent living and access to goods and services.

The project will build the capacity of Deaf and Disabled People’s Organisations (DDPOs) in London to use the law to challenge systematic discrimination we face as Disabled people.  It will build strong and effective partnerships between DDPOs and the legal community and increase the potential for strategic litigation to advance Disabled people’s rights.

Although Disabled people are protected from discrimination by the Equality Act 2010 and the Human Rights Act 1998, we still face systematic discrimination and experience breaches of our rights on a daily basis.  Moreover due to significant cuts to public services and local authority budgets many of us struggle to get the support we need to live a normal life and be included in the community and recent changes to Legal Aid made it much harder for Disabled people to start a legal challenge.

The Disability Justice Project is aimed at raising awareness of the law among Disabled people and our organisations and improving the implementation of the Equality Act, the Human Rights Act and the Care Act through legal challenge.  The project has established a bank of barristers who agreed to give pro bono advice.

Tracey Lazard, CEO of inclusion London said:

“Rights mean nothing when you can’t enforce them.  That’s why we are launching this project.  It will ensure DDPOs and Disabled people understand the law and know how to challenge injustice and discrimination.  Too often local authorities and providers of goods and services get away with breaching our rights.  This project will enable and empower a greater number of Disabled people to challenge this.  This is a unique opportunity for DDPOs and lawyers to work together as partners and develop a strategic approach to protecting and upholding our rights.”

Louise Whitfield, Partner at Deighton Pierce Glynn and the legal advisor to the project said:

“We hope this project will raise the profile of disability rights work among lawyers and increase the number of specialists in the field.  It will help us understand the barriers Disabled people face from an equality and human rights perspective and put Disability rights firmly within the human rights agenda. This project will give lawyers the opportunity to learn about the realities of Disabled people’s lives and use their expertise to influence the implementation of the existing legislation with a wide-reaching and positive impact on the lives of many Disabled people.”

 

For more information, please contact

Svetlana Kotova Svetlana.kotova@inclusionlondon.org.uk or 020 7237 3181

 

Notes

Inclusion London is a London-wide Deaf and Disabled people’s organisation. We promote equality for the capital’s 1.2 million Deaf and Disabled people and provide capacity-building support to London’s Deaf and Disabled people’s organisations.