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05 August 2006: No 46/06

NOMINATIONS FOR DISABILITY EQUITY UNIT OF THE YEAR

The DOD has a strong moral and constitutional commitment in respect of the equalisation of opportunities for people with disabilities.

People with disabilities do not feel disabled because of their physical and/or mental impairments but because of the barriers society chooses to put up to establish differences between the disabled and abled people.

Only when the barriers that promote unfair discrimination towards people with disabilities have been removed and reasonable accommodation to their needs have been made, will people with disabilities be able to reach their full potential and to contribute equally alongside fellow DOD officials.

Different barriers exist, which hamper the equality of people with disabilities in the workplace.

These barriers fall into three broad categories, namely environmental, institutional and attitudinal barriers.

Environmental barriers are those structural barriers within the built environment which include inaccessible buildings and working environments.

Institutional barriers include expulsion, exclusions and segregation from key social institutions including education, employment, health, law, recreation, etc.

These barriers include aspects such as budgets, overall apathy on disability issues, commitment of resources, as well as policies.

Attitudinal barriers are demonstrated when abled people view and treat the disabled with prejudice, and in varying degrees, regard them as incapable,

inadequate, pathetic, unhealthy, dependent on charity, costly for society, inferior or unemployable.

In order to motivate units to remove these barriers that impact negatively on people with disabilities, it was decided to identify a “Disability Equity Unit of the Year.”

In order to establish the “Disability Equity Unit of the Year”, units will be assessed according to the barrier free access which they provide to people with disabilities.

Members are therefore requested to nominate units/sections/divisions for this award by not later than 30 August 2006.

Nomination forms are available at the respective DOD Disability Services representatives:

SAMHS: Col Mokoena, tel: (012) 671-5282, fax: (012) 671-5228.

SA Army: Lt Col Combrinck, tel: (012) 355-1617, fax: (012) 355-1513.

SA Navy: Cmdr Ely, tel: (012) 339-4187, fax: (012) 339-4467.

SAAF: Lt Col Coetzee, tel: (012) 312-1019, fax: (012) 312-2124

The Disability Equity Unit of the Year Award function will be hosted on 30 November 2006.