Disability-Free Life Association (ESYD) published the report, “Persons with Disabilities Access to Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic” with the support of Etkiniz.
Below you can read the executive summary of the report, originally published in Turkish:
Despite having the same rights and freedoms with other individuals, persons with disabilities face various obstacles to enjoying their rights and freedoms. Various practices and treatments concerning the fundamental human rights of persons with disabilities result in discriminatory behaviour against persons with disabilities. Public agencies do not fully realise their obligations to protect, respect and fulfil their duties for persons with disabilities to ensure they benefit from fundamental human rights and have access to basic services. In addition, due to both the public agencies’ and local authorities’ reluctance to generate needs and rights-oriented, sustainable policies by adopting participatory mechanisms, persons with disabilities are not able to benefit from services on equal terms with other individuals. For these reasons, persons with disabilities are “alienated” from society as they cannot fully and effectively participate in public life.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, which emerged in the Wuhan province of China, and was declared a pandemic by WHO on March 12th 2020, Turkey implemented various restrictions and measures to combat the pandemic and reduce its effects. Said restrictions and measures were observed to lead to additional negative effects on persons with disabilities. A monitoring and reporting study should be carried out to properly reveal these negative effects. Otherwise, any conclusions drawn will inevitable be based on lacking data, presumptions and abstractions.
This monitoring study aims to reveal the needs of persons with disabilities in Izmir which arose during the COVID-19 pandemic in addition to identifying their needs with regards to the right to life, accessibility, housing, health and participation and to detect violence against women with disabilities. The conditions of adult persons with disabilities of different age groups, education and social status, sex and gender were examined in terms of maintaining daily life, benefiting from the rights to life, healthcare, accessibility, housing and participation and violence against women with disabilities in the period between March 11th 2020, the date when the first COVID-19 case was announced in Turkey, and June 1st 2020.
Social protection, which was already a significant in every aspect of the life of persons with disabilities, has become even more crucial with the emergence of the pandemic. Measures taken by the majority of social protection mechanisms against the COVID-19 pandemic could support persons with disabilities from multiple aspects. Extraordinary circumstances such as the pandemic require specific planning for daily life to proceed by introducing regulations and taking measures. The pandemic experience has revealed the lack of a nation-wide and local envisioned planning in Turkey that would address possible problems during such crisis periods.
This study uses four tools to determine the problems experienced by persons with disabilities living in Izmir in accessing their rights during the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures taken to overcome this problem. Research applications were filed with relevant public organisations that directly deal with these problem areas. Research applications were filed with the Governorate of Izmir, Izmir Provincial Directorate of Family, Labour and Social Services, Provincial Directorate of Health, Provincial Directorate of Security and Provincial Directorate of the Turkish Employment Agency (İŞKUR). In addition, research applications were filed with the Metropolitan Municipality of İzmir and district municipalities of Konak, Buca, Gaziemir and Karşıyaka, which are traditionally recognised as Izmir’s central districts.
Another tool used in the monitoring study is survey data collection. The survey study was carried out by contacting 101 adult persons with disabilities with different age groups, sex, gender and education and social status over the phone. In addition, news reports published by local media organs in Izmir were examined and the studies and reports prepared by CSOs on this subject were analysed.
The study indicates that local branches of public agencies and municipalities do not have planning and continuous support in place that prioritise persons with disabilities. It was observed that no decisions or measures were taken for persons with disabilities or physically disabled persons to benefit from health services which cover their needs or to access quality healthcare services during the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Although emergency hotlines such as the 199 hotline began operating to facilitate various services during the COVID-19 pandemic and other emergency hotlines continued to operate, these hotlines are not accessible for all disability groups. Moreover, it was observed that persons with disabilities have concerns about not being able to obtain sufficient information during the process, contacting the virus and not being able to maintain self-care. Maintaining the continuity of services for persons with disabilities, such as healthcare and rehabilitation, during extraordinary circumstances such as the pandemic is of vital importance for these individuals.
Finally, it was observed that both public agencies and local authorities insufficiently realise responsibilities arising from international and national legislation. There is a need for urgent and practical solutions to be implemented by public agencies and local authorities within their responsibilities for protecting, respecting and fulfilling duties to overcome discriminatory practices against persons with disabilities and to ensure their active participation in public life.