The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution in 1992 to designate December 3 each year as the "International Day of Persons with Disabilities" (International Day of Persons with Disabilities) to promote social understanding of disability issues , promote the public to strengthen support for persons with disabilities, and build an inclusive and barrier-free society.
This year happens to be the 30th anniversary of the "International Day of Rehabilitation", and many organizations have launched activities, including the Free Ride Boat Day and Theme Park Fun Day, etc., hoping to promote the integration of people with disabilities into society.
However, for the disabled and chronically ill, every trip is an obstacle race, and it is not easy to fully participate in society.
Text: Zhu Minjian, Chairman of the Equal Opportunities Commission
The United Nations designated December 3 each year as the "International Day of Rehabilitation" (also known as the "International Day of Persons with Disabilities") to promote social understanding of disability issues.
(United Nations website)
Difficulty for people with disabilities to travel
In recent days, autumn has been breezy and the epidemic has stabilized. It is believed that many citizens have taken the opportunity to carry out outdoor activities.
For most people, it is normal to take public transportation from home to the countryside for outings and excursions. However, for people with disabilities, it may be difficult to move around even near their homes.
In fact, the roads in Hong Kong are narrow and crowded, and many streets and buildings, especially those in the old districts, lack barrier-free facilities, making it difficult for people with disabilities to walk.
In December last year, I participated in the "Barrier-free Walkers" activity organized by the Hong Kong Society for Rehabilitation, and once again had the opportunity to experience the difficulties of people with disabilities traveling.
"Barrier-Free Walkers" is a large-scale education and fundraising event organized by the Society for Rehabilitation every year. It aims to let the public experience the life challenges faced by people with disabilities and chronically ill patients, so as to promote the establishment of a caring and inclusive society from all walks of life.
I still remember that on the day of the event, I formed a team with other guests. Some of the team members needed to ride wheelchairs, some wore weight-bearing straps on their arms, or wore eye masks to experience visual impairment and physical disabilities.
"Barrier-Free Walkers" is a large-scale education and fundraising event organized by the Society for Rehabilitation every year. It allows the public to experience the life challenges faced by the disabled and chronically ill, thereby promoting the establishment of a caring and inclusive society from all walks of life.
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We walked from Chater Road in Central to Admiralty, during which we had to complete different tasks.
The so-called "everything is not difficult to know", during the short journey that day, we encountered various challenges, such as uneven roads that made it difficult for wheelchairs to maneuver, stones on the sidewalks that made it impossible for wheelchairs to get on and off, and finding no one. Obstacle passages should be detoured, and the distance should be chosen.
However, for the difficulties and restrictions that people with disabilities face in daily travel, these situations are just as common as "routine". Although helpless, it is not surprising.
Social participation of people with disabilities is low
What makes it difficult for people with disabilities to go out is not only physical barriers such as the environment and facilities, but also unfriendly attitudes and even discrimination from outsiders.
Many people with disabilities have encountered impolite treatment when walking on the street. For example, when a wheelchair is walking on a narrow and crowded road, they will be complained about "blocking the street"; Be careful, some passers-by may even say "don't go out when you are sick".
Whether it is hardware or software deficiencies, the social participation of people with disabilities is low.
The Hong Kong Society for Rehabilitation conducted a "Research on Social Participation and Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities" in 2021 and found that most of the interviewed persons with disabilities and chronic diseases seldom or never participated in community activities.
The study also found that persons with disabilities feel marginalized by society, with only 37.4% of the interviewed persons with disabilities agreeing that they are part of the community.
EOC handles complaints about access
The EOC has handled many complaints about access in the past.
Under the Disability Discrimination Ordinance (Cap. 487), it is unlawful to discriminate against persons with disabilities in providing access to premises to which members of the public are entitled to enter or use, unless such access would cause unsuitable Emotional difficulties.
The EOC received a complaint in 2021. The complainant lived in a residential building built in the 1980s, and there was no barrier-free access for wheelchair users.
After mediation by the EOC, the owners' corporation is willing to make improvement measures, agreeing to install stair climbers, provide modified wheelchairs, custom-made portable ramps, and carry out stair modification works to overcome the geographical constraints of the building .
Another case involved the entrance of a bank branch, which was inaccessible to wheelchair users due to several stairs in front of the branch.
After learning about the situation, the EOC took the initiative to follow up and contacted the relevant bank. Finally, the bank agreed to install a stair climber so that wheelchair users can enter and exit without barriers and use banking services.
In June this year, the EOC received another complaint about access. An elderly woman entrusted her son to lodge a complaint on behalf of her son, alleging that the village where her son lived lacked barrier-free access.
The mother-in-law is a wheelchair user. Her son lives in a village in the New Territories. There is only one main road for villagers and vehicles to enter and exit the village.
Because the mother-in-law goes to stay at her son's house from time to time, she often uses this village road.
However, some deceleration road arches were built on the road, with different heights and across the entire village road.
Since the village road is shared by people and vehicles, there is no pedestrian walkway. When entering and leaving the village road, wheelchair users can only cross the road arch.
The mother-in-law's son had complained to 1823 but failed, so he lodged a complaint with the EOC in accordance with the Disability Discrimination Ordinance, hoping that the relevant parties could take improvement measures.
After receiving the complaint, the EOC contacted the Lands Department and the Home Affairs Department respectively, and learned that the relevant departments had tried to deal with the problem of the village road, but due to villagers' objection to the removal of the road arch, the result remained the same.
Although faced with various problems, the EOC still tried to mediate and discuss feasible solutions with both parties.
After understanding the difficulties faced by the complainants, the Lands Department actively followed up.
Finally, the District Lands Office and the Civil Affairs Office joined hands and completed the removal of the existing road arches on the village road in October 2022, resurfacing the relevant road sections and resetting the road arches for wheelchair users to take care of road use safety of patients and wheelchair users.
The complainant expressed satisfaction with the project and the case was satisfactorily resolved.
The EOC is pleased to see that different government departments can cooperate with each other this time. Based on the well-being of citizens, the work policy of "results as goals" has been implemented, and the problem of barriers in places has been alleviated in a short period of time, benefiting people with disabilities.
It is urgent to build barrier-free facilities
In fact, whether it is a rural area or an urban area, with the rapid aging of the population in Hong Kong, it is imperative to build barrier-free passages and facilities.
The EOC believes that the authorities must formulate an overall barrier-free strategy and establish a high-level central coordination mechanism to improve barrier-free facilities and passages in Hong Kong.
The EOC agrees with many voices that the authorities should update the "Design Manual 2008". After all, over the past decade or so, construction technology has continued to advance, and the social development of Hong Kong has also progressed rapidly. Coupled with the changes in population structure, it is necessary for the authorities to review the current situation. Whether the barrier design standards are in line with the timeliness and the actual needs of the citizens.
For example, the number of electric wheelchair users has increased in recent years, and the authorities should consider expanding the current access standards.
Furthermore, the "Design Manual 2008", as a guideline for promoting the accessibility of public and private built environments, focuses more on barrier-free passages and does not fully adopt the principles of "universal design".
"Universal design" is also known as universal design and all-round design. The advantage is that it does not need to be modified or specially designed to meet the needs of individual groups. The concept of inclusiveness is incorporated at the beginning of the design to meet the needs of different people and make society more accessible. It can be used by different people.
Universal Design has been widely adopted in Europe, America and even Asia such as Japan, and the EOC has actively promoted this concept in recent years.
With the rapid aging of the population in Hong Kong, it is imperative to build barrier-free passages and facilities.
The EOC believes that the authorities must formulate an overall barrier-free strategy and establish a high-level central coordination mechanism to improve barrier-free facilities and passages in Hong Kong.
(Picture of the EOC)
The EOC believes that the government should start to formulate an all-round "Accessibility Design Manual" that adopts universal design concepts for reference by practitioners in the construction industry, developers and business operators.
The new design manual should formulate practical guidelines and technical standards for the implementation of universal design in Hong Kong, covering the built environment, public open space and public passages, as well as transportation facilities, so as to promote the adoption of universal design in government premises and even private buildings; Redevelopment projects should also adopt universal design.
We must understand that a barrier-free social environment is not just for certain groups, but for all groups, including children, the disabled and sick, the elderly, breastfeeding women, parents with baby carriages, etc. .
As stated in the preamble of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, "disability" is not an inherent characteristic of a person, but the result of public attitudes and the surrounding environment.
To remove barriers for people with disabilities and build a truly inclusive and barrier-free society, in addition to providing hardware facilities, we must also change our inherent thinking patterns, break down the barriers and boundaries between "disabled" and "healthy", and eliminate tangible and intangible barriers obstacle.
Only in this way can all people in society live and travel unhindered and fully participate in society.
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