從幾則時事議題以追索身障人士之於移動障礙的人文思索

Looking at Several Current Affairs Issues to Explore the Humanistic Thinking of People with Disabilities on Mobility Impairments
Professor Wang Shun-Min.
Institute of Social Welfare,
Chinese Culture University
Key word: Mobility Impairment (barrier)
The Protection of the Rights of Persons and Disabilities
Visually Impaired
Limited Social Environment and Social Attitude
There are several current events related to mobility barrier that have shown in Taiwanese society recently, and there is a need for further exploration of the underlying humanistic thinking.
First, families with disabilities still need to hire foreign caregivers on their own, or family members must sacrifice their lives or jobs to devote themselves to full-time care. This situation is contrary to the case encountered by Ministry of Health and Welfare regarding the revised draft law for Protecting the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and does not include provisions related to the special clause on independent living, related to increase the number of community services, and related to increase personal assistances, etc. The law on The Protection of the Rights of Persons and Disabilities should have processes help remove mobility barriers. Otherwise, for the more than 500,000 people with disabilities over the age of 65, they may have to live in nursing homes and be deprived of rights and interests of the elderly and the rights of disabled. So, it is important the draft must include clause related to independent living.
Furthermore, transportation is an important medium for the Protection of the Rights of Persons and Disabilities. There are two types of barriers on disabled people: physical environment and social attitudes. First of all, unfriendly environment is the number one reason that they do not have willing to go outside. For example: the store owners should raise the height by themselves due to poor drainage or raise the height to maintain the width of the stores, or the building must be raised due to Feng Shui factors. As result, street arcades across Taiwan commonly have high and low insertions, and even the incredible phenomenon of height difference reaching 30 or 40 centimeters. In addition, for people with different disabilities, the time required across the road is too short, or there is no equipment, such as pressing a bell, to extend the time. This also forces the physically disadvantaged population, including the elderly, disabled women and children to walk dangerously on streets or roads, or even in the opposite direction. Then, insufficient space in the disabled toilets or lack of disabled toilets in the buildings make it difficult for people with disabilities to decide to go out. The transformation project of removing mobility barriers in the physical environment is, after all, from a matter of no concern oneself to a poor man’s tale cannot be hear. In the end, we can only resort to self-indulgence and compromise.
Moreover, unfriendly social attitude is also the reason that disabled people do not want to go out or participate in society. For example, the impatience of station attendants and passengers towards people with disabilities in news incidents. Sometimes, they also face that the drivers’ impatience when taking the public buses or private taxi. People with different disabilities also face many difficulties when seeking jobs or bullying in the workplace in orally or physically. Most of disabled people do not have jobs because no friendly environment to work in which cause most of them receive unemployment benefits to keep alive. It leads them to loss of self-confidence and confusion about self-identity that causes vicious cycle. We need to put ourselves in our place with sympathy instead of compassionate compassion.
Although the New Taipei City Government has introduced smart audio signals with the sound of cuckoos or crickets at important entrances to the city roads and provide a little bit friendly environment for the visually impaired. The government also provides guide crossings lines for visually impaired people to cross the roads more safely. One of the news such as the performing arts have also begun to pay attention to the cultural equality that the disabled not only have the right to listen to art, but also allow performers to enjoy the applause of the audience. Another news about the celebration on September 23rd as International Sign Language in Taiwan. The other news is that a barrier-free sea-friendly achievements Carnival will be held at Heping Island Geopark in Keelung. These activities although include social participation, health promotion, physical and mental relaxation and leisure equality’s multiple meanings.
Overall, from the draft of The Protection of the Rights of Persons and Disabilities should include clause related to independent living, unfriendly physical environment and social attitude cause disabled people unwilling to go out or participate in society to encourage disabled people to join social events that has shown we need to advocate a change in social values. Everyone is at risk of having a disability, instead of treating people with disabilities as a special category. Removing mobility barriers requires serious inspection and review. After all, our society lacks supporting processes to remove mobility barriers is related to the life needs of people with disabilities for medical treatment, schooling, employment, and life supporting.
假日學分班 簡孟麗 9/25/2024 19:30

這個新聞讓我想到之前在身障機構服務時，如果是屬於智能障礙者，可以自行行動，便可以有時段出機構活動，例如到超商、或參與活動，但屬於肢體障礙或重度個案就無法常出去，最大原因是外出有非常多可能造成危險的環境，很多地方沒有無障礙空間，辦理外出活動限制也非常多，例如無障礙廁所、無障礙樓梯等。
我印象深刻有一句話，現在的社會是由「正常人」而設計。
如果今天是由身障人士來設計社會環境，那變成我們所謂正常人需要「無障礙」空間