International Forum on Independent Living

Workshop 5： Direct Party Movement and Advocacy

Mr. Seiichi Kitano, Momoyama Gakuin University

1. Advocacy and empowerment of direct parties
   1. Definition of Advocacy
      Advocacy (defending rights) is one methodin assisting individual, group and community efforts to empower themselves, including:
      • (1)Assistance in clarifying the rights of an individual (group, community) that is obstructed or threatened,
      • (2)Assistance in confronting such factors that obstruct the rights and,
      • (3)The comprehensive methodology and techniques used to assist in enhancing the individual's capacity to solve such problems and utilize help,concerning in particular issues related to social and legal rights
2. Definition of Empowerment
   1. Empowerment, in case of individuals, refers to the process of
      • (1)Defining the identity, rights and goal of an individual that are obstructed or threatened, and
      • (2)Enhancing the individual's problem-solving power necessary to confront psychological, social, legal and political obstructions, and
      • (3)Promoting the ability to utilize various assistance.
   2. Three basic conditions for practical application of advocacy
      • (1)The individual must have full recognition of the obstruction of its rights and the awareness to confront such obstructions.
      • (2)The act of the individual that gives rise to some obstruction and opposition must have a certain right to it.
      • (3)A system that can assist from the viewpoint of the individual concerned.
   3. Private (individual) advocacy and social (system) advocacy
   4. Rights-defending system for service providing agencies
3. Present state of Direct Party and Direct Party movement
   1. The four aspects of Direct Party (movement)
   2. Development of consumer control and self-supportive life centers
4. Violation of human rights of people with disability
   1. Three patterns of violating human rights of people with disability
   2. Classification by relevance to the occurrence of human rights violation, focusing on authority and power
5. Various issues surrounding self-supportive life assistance and guardian assistance
   1. Patterns of assistance in human services
   2. Two images of people with disabilities and disputes on rights in the area of guardian-like assistance
      • (1)Image of a self-supportive person with disability and functional-rights theory To assist in giving the right to choose to the individual, the independent subject of its life, by respecting the potential of the individual as much as possible, and if that is difficult, still work to provide alternatives.
      • (2)Image of people with disability subject to protection and passive-rights theory To protect the individual from infringement of personal rights and guard its life and property rights by intervention and assistance of a third party.
6. Global development of advocacy
   1. Development of Advocacy activities in Europe and America
   2. Advocacy system in California, USA
   3. Advocacy system in British Columbia, Canada
   
   
7. Movement of Rights for people with disability and present legislation in Japan; issues and future directions
8. Changing the image of people with disability and Direct Party movement for people with disability
9. Direct Party movement for people with disability : internal cooperation and solidarity with other movements supporting human rights

Title : International Forum on Independent Living
Publisher : Japan Council on Independent Living Centers
Date : 1998/10/20
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