The Importance of Advocacy
The word “advocacy” comes from the Latin ”advocare” and literally means “to call out for support”. Advocacy is acting, speaking, or writing to promote, protect and defend the human rights of individuals. In this blog I discuss advocacy for women with disabilities. This is something that is very close to me as I am one of these women. I also have placed a focus on self-advocacy. The base principle of self-advocacy is to be seen and heard as an individual, not as a disability, a number or a color. To be heard as a person who knows what is right for themselves. Self-advocacy is a process of taking power away from institutions and giving it back to the person to whom the power belongs. I think self-advocacy is definitely a way of life and a movement, and is possible when individuals are informed. Being informed means knowing your rights and the legislation that you are fighting against. It also means being able to see the bigger picture of what your actions will put into motion. Your actions have the power to change things in your life and the lives of others around you. This is so important to remember because the task of self-advocacy can be extremely difficult as you are faced with opposition. When you remember the reasons why you are advocating, it becomes easier to overcome these barriers.
Something I
want to mention is that my experiences are unique to me and as such I am only
able to speak for myself. Self-advocacy for me is also a way to share others
voices by opening a space for them. By sharing my own story, I feel I am
showing other women like me that they are not alone. Hopefully, I can become a
source of strength for them. I have been lucky to grow up with many strong and
wonderful women who have been examples of advocating for what is right.
The topic of
advocacy can contain so many different perspectives that people have, and I am
just one of many. I know how important this topic is and the level of
dedication you need to advocate. Self-advocating can be made harder because of
the backlash you can receive from the government or even people around you.
This can be hard to deal with. I want to say that it is not something to be
treated lightly, it can take a long time to find the strength to self-advocate,
but it is worth it every time.
I also want
to highlight that it can be a lonely journey to self-advocate. When you have a
specific issue with something or someone you may feel like there are no other
people that you can turn to for help or advice. I want to emphasize that no
matter what you may think, there is always someone who wants to hear your story
and help. Unfortunately finding this person can be the hardest part.
The Women
with Disabilities Australia Organization (WWDA) has a human rights toolkit
online that contains information about the human rights issues facing women and
girls with disability. The toolkit also has ideas for women who want to get
involved in working towards change. I have included a link to the toolkit below
for those who are interested in learning more. The website also has an
abundance of free content for researching and educating yourself around the
rights of women with disabilities. I
highly recommend checking it out!
https://wwda.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/WWDA-Human-Rights-Toolkit-Final-Reduced-Filesize.pdf
While it can
be daunting to think of all the steps you need to take in order to
self-advocate, it is helpful to remember the big picture. Remember the reason
why you self-advocate - so you can have the same freedoms and opportunities
that others have, the freedom to make the meaningful decisions in your own
life. I am just one voice of many who have been silenced in spaces where I have
the right to speak. Specifically, I can remember times in school when I would
have people question the credibility of my intelligence. Especially when it
came to my grades and assignments. I would have to prove that it was me who
wrote my assignments and who put the ideas into them. In these instances, my
voice was silenced. Teachers who questioned the credibility of my work would go
through other means rather than speak to me directly. This was infuriating.
My
experience with advocacy has been a long journey. I have only been able to
participate in many of the things I wanted to by standing up for myself in the
face of opposition. I was able to do this because of my support network and my
family that helped me to know my rights and what I deserved. I could not have
stood for myself if I didn’t have their encouragement. Looking back, I see how
lucky I was. I know other people in similar positions to me don’t always have
that opportunity or they don’t even know they can speak for themselves.
I have also
had many opportunities to be invited to speak about my own personal experiences
and this is just one way in which I am able to self-advocate. I have been
getting involved with an organization called CYDA. This organization is
focused on highlighting the rights of young people with disabilities. I am
looking forward to working with them further into the future on their upcoming
projects. Getting involved with organizations like CYDA has been such a
wonderful opportunity to meet people like me, with disabilities who want to
contribute their experiences to society. We want to let our experiences speak
on the current laws and thinking around disability. I think that by sharing our
voices and experiences we have potential to make the positive changes we want
to see in the world and especially within our own communities. We do this daily
by sharing our experiences with our friends and families around us. I have
always loved sharing my experiences with those around me and now I have a
bigger platform in which to share. Being involved with a great organization
like CYDA I know my stories have an impact and contribute to the foundation of
the community.
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