Community Perception of Rights of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) in Kenya

Abstract

Kenya as a country has ratified and enacted international and regional conventions, statements and policies in relation to the rights of PWDs. They include: Children’s Act 2001; the Disability Act revised, 2006; the 2009 Special Needs Education Policy; the 2010 Constitution of Kenya; and the Vision 2030 Policy Paper. These are very progressive and responsive provisions in promoting and protecting the rights and freedoms of persons with disabilities. All these frameworks recognize the importance of inclusion of PWDs in all socio-economic activities; however, the question remains as whether these are recognized and implemented at community levels. This paper is derived from an action research project carried out in Siaya county, Kenya. Action Research is fundamentally qualitative, hence data used derived from mainly focus group discussions with community members, community leadership and the PWDs themselves. The study revealed that owing to negative perceptions of PWDs by community members, due to stigmatization resulting to discrimination and isolation, they are hardly included in community based socio-economic activities inter alia of education, employment, decision making.