Global Perspective: Disability Sport in International Law
The unique ability of sports to transcend linguistic, cultural and social barriers makes it an excellent platform for strategies of inclusion and adaptation. Furthermore, the universal popularity of sport and its physical, social and economic development benefits, make it an ideal tool for fostering the inclusion and well-being of persons with disabilities.
Persons with disabilities often face societal barriers and disability evokes negative perceptions and discrimination in many societies. As a result of the stigma associated with disability, persons with disabilities are generally excluded from education, employment and community life which deprives them of opportunities essential to their social development, health and well-being.
Around the world, people have recognized that access to sports by people with disabilities provides benefits both to the individual and society. A resolution adopted by the United Nations General Assembly identified “Sport as a means to promote education, health, development, and peace.”
Specific to people with disabilities, in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Article 30, Section 5 says that State Parties will “take appropriate measures:
- To ensure that persons with disabilities have an opportunity to organize, develop and participate in disability-specific sporting and recreational activities and, to this end, encourage the provision, on an equal basis with others, of appropriate instruction, training and resources;
- To ensure that children with disabilities have equal access with other children to participation in play, recreation and leisure and sporting activities, including those activities in the school system;”
This was seen as so instrumental to the promotion of education, health, development and peace, that the UN created the International Disability in Sport Working Group. India is a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and therefore bound by its direction.
Disability Sport in Nations around the World
Throughout the 20th century, disability groups have traditionally organized sports opportunities for people with disabilities by sport. For example, national and international sports federations were created to focus on generalized types of disability identity groupings ranging from sensory disabilities (e.g., deaf and hearing impaired, blind and visually impaired) to mobility disabilities (e.g., spinal injury, amputees, and neurological related disabilities) to intellectual disabilities.
The oldest international sport governing body for people with disabilities is the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (CISS) which held the International Silent Games in Paris in 1924. The next international body was the International Stoke Mandeville Wheelchair Sports Federation (ISMWSF). This organization had held international games since 1952 and served as the organizing body for the first Summer Paralympic Games held in Rome in 1960.
Other disability sport organizations that followed, such as, the International Blind Sports Association (IBSA), Cerebral Palsy International Sports & Recreation Association (CPISRA) and the International Sport Organization for the Disabled (IOSD) have focused on mobility-related disabilities and led to the creation of the International Paralympic Committee in 1989.
Globalized Special Olympics began in 1968 with the first International Special Olympics in Chicago.
During the late 1980s, national and international sporting events for athletes with disabilities began to be less about cultural games as part of a rehabilitation perspective and more about emerging elite competition. The International Paralympic Committee was created in 1989 and took control of all aspects of international competition for athletes with a disability, with the exception of deaf and hearing-impaired athletes and athletes with an intellectual disability.
The ten years between 1999 and 2009 have witnessed arguably bigger leaps in the resources, professionalism, legal challenges, and advances in sports technology with regard to sit-skis, prosthetics, sport wheelchairs and related devices than the previous ninety years combined. Athletes with a disability, have qualified and competed in both Olympic and Paralympic Games (e.g., Runyon, Natalie duToit, and Partyzk). Casey Martin sued and won his right as a professional golfer to compete on the PGA Tour using a motorized cart. Tatyana McFadden, a Paralympic athlete, sued and won the right to practice with and compete for her high school track team. Scot Hollonbeck, a professional wheelchair racer, and others sued the USOC over equity and distributive justice issues. Finally, Oscar Pistorius, a double-leg amputee sprinter, won his administrative appeal in the international Court for Arbitration in Sport (CAS) for the right to compete at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
Today, the idea of people with a disability being able to participate in sport and physical activity is not so uncommon. In many developed countries, opportunities exist from the grassroots to elite levels for people with a disability to showcase their abilities in sport and physical activity.
But this is not the case in all parts of the world. Nevertheless, in many developed countries and in developing countries like India also, there has been a progressive and positive change in quality of life for people with disabilities and their interest in participation in sport.
Hearing impairment
Formal international competition in deaf sport began with the 1924 Paris Silent Games, organized by the Comité International des Sports des Sourds, CISS (The International Committee of Sports for the Deaf). These games evolved into the modern Deaflympics, governed by the CISS, which maintains separate games for deaf athletes based on their numbers, their special communication needs on the sports field, and the social interaction that is a vital part of sports.
Some of the sports played by the Hearing impaired:
- Basketball – Players use sign language to communicate with each other including the refs.
- Athletics
- Discus throw
- Javelin throw
- Cycling
- Shooting
Visually Impaired
Indian Blind Sports Association trains a large number of athletes. They also reach out and create awareness among the masses by way of organizing coaching camps and seminars on blind sports.
Some of the Sports played by the visually impaired:
- Goalball- a Paralympic sport for blind athletes using a ball with bells.
- 5-a-side football (blind football)- one of the versions of Paralympic Football is a 5-a-side game for blind or visually impaired Athletes.
- Torball- a team sport for the visually impaired with an inflated ball with bells inside. The aim is to throw the ball through the opponent’s goal line.
- Blind Cricket- a modified version of cricket for blind athletes with a larger ball with bells inside.
- Showdown- a game for blind and visually impaired people similar to air hockey.
- Swish- a version of table tennis for blind athletes.
Intellectual disability
Sports for persons with intellectual disabilities began to be organized in the 1960s through the Special Olympics movement. This grew out of a series of summer camps organized by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, beginning in 1962. Internationally, Special Olympics seeks to create greater awareness around the importance of sports for people with intellectual disabilities and multiple disabilities. In 1968 the first international Special Olympics were held, in Chicago. More eye-level attention to athletic achievement – that’s what major events like the Special Olympics World Games are designed to promote.
Today, Special Olympics provide training and competition in a variety of sports for persons with intellectual disabilities. The global games are regularly held every two years, alternating between winter and summer sports.
Physical disability
Organized sport for persons with physical disabilities existed as early as 1911, when the “Cripples Olympiad” was held in the U.S.A. One of the successful athletes was Walter William Francis, a Welshman, who won both the running and wrestling championships. Sport for rehabilitation grew into recreational sport and then into competitive sport. The pioneer of this approach was Sir Ludwig Guttmann of the Stoke Mandeville Hospital in England. In 1948, while the Olympic Games were being held in London, he organized a sports competition for wheelchair athletes at Stoke Mandeville. This was the origin of the Stoke Mandeville Games, from which evolved both the IWAS World Games and the Paralympic Games.
A wide range of sports have been adapted to be played by people with various disabilities, as well as several that are unique just to disabled athletes, such as goalball. Within each movement, different sports are practiced at different levels; for example, not all sports in the Paralympic movement are part of the Paralympic Games. In addition, many sports are practiced by persons with a disability outside the formal sports movements.
Paralympic Movement
In November 2007, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) General Assembly passed the IPC Classification Code and International Standards (“the Code”), a universal code for classification that implements policies and procedures across all sports within the Paralympic movement.
The Paralympic Movement adopted the definitions for the eligible impairment types as described in the World Health Organization International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (2001, WHO, Geneva) Each Paralympic Sport must clearly define what impairment groups they provide sports opportunities for.
This is described in the Classification Rules of each sport. While some sports include athletes of all impairment types (eg. Athletics and Swimming), other sports are limited to one impairment type (eg. Goalball) or a selection of impairment types (eg. Cycling).
Paralympic Sport incorporates opportunities for a wide range of athletes with physical impairment, which are outlined in further detail below. The presence of an eligible impairment is a prerequisite but not the sole criterion of entry into a particular Paralympic Sport. It is not sufficient simply to have one of the below impairment types; the athlete must also meet the minimal eligibility criteria as set out by the specific sporting body. Specific and objective testing is used to determine whether a person’s impairment results in sufficient activity limitation to perform the core elements of the relevant sport.
Adaptive sports have formed in various ways around the world, largely dependent on popular sports of the region and the ability to form support systems around those sports. Adapted sports help society learn about disability. They also can help remove some of the stigma associated with having a disability.
In places with snow and mountains, adaptive skiing is popular while adaptive track and field has found participants around the world. In the United States, wheelchair basketball is the most popular adaptive team sport in the country, with sled hockey competing for this spot in some places.
In India, blind cricket has found strong interest, with the Indian team winning the World Cup in December 2012. India’s splendid show at the Tokyo Paralympics has also inspired many people with disabilities to get into sports.
However, the fact remains that the attitude of a considerably large section of the society towards impaired population in general, and athletes in particular, is apathetic to say the least. The government has been doing its part in enabling sports infrastructure and facilities for disabled sportspersons, but it may never be enough.
Benefits
Sport can play a key role in the lives and communities of people with disabilities, the same as it can for people without a disability. There is a wealth of evidence to support participation in sports and physical activity for people with a disability concerning trends, barriers and benefits of participation. Over the past three decades, numerous studies have revealed that sports participation results in improved functional status and quality of life among people with selected disabilities. Scientific research has been conducted across disability groups that reveal participation in sports leads to improved levels of physical health and well-being.
It has also been shown to improve physical fitness and general mood in psychiatric patients with depressive and anxiety disorders. Additionally, it has been linked to improvements in self-confidence, social awareness and self-esteem and can contribute to empowerment of people with disabilities.
India Perspective
Estimating the number of people with disabilities worldwide at 1 billion, or 15 percent of the world’s population, the report from the WHO and World Bank confirms that disability is a major issue on a global scale. The causes of disability are evolving, mainly due to longer life expectancy, a higher prevalence of chronic illnesses, and also an increase in armed violence and natural disasters.
According to the Census 2001, there is 28% in Movement, 49% Seeing 6% Hearing, 7%, Speech and 10% Mental Disability in India who constitute 2.13% of the total population. 75% of persons with disabilities live in rural areas, 49% of the disabled population is literate and only 34% are employed.
In India, state policy (particularly in the form of the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995, and the National Policy for Persons with Disabilities, 2006) is supportive of the need for individuals with disabilities to participate in sports, recreational and leisure activities, and includes provisions designed to both encourage development of special recreation centers and ensure accessibility to all public places.
According to Article 16, Right of Children with Disabilities to Leisure, Culture and Sports, all children with disabilities have a right to play and participate in sports, recreation and cultural activities on an equal basis with other children; Appropriate governments and establishments shall provide for disability and age appropriate opportunities for children with disabilities to participate in sports and have access to playgrounds along with other children ensuring that children with disabilities have access to cultural materials in an accessible format and access to cultural activities, performance and services along with other children.
Right to Support and Accessibility, Article 43, further mentions that every child has a right to access all school buildings, sports recreation and library facilities on an equal basis with others and it shall be the duty of appropriate governments and establishments to render the aforementioned facilities accessible to children with disabilities.
Right to Participation in Sports, Games and Athletics, Article 74, explains that the Central Government shall establish a National Body for Disability Sports to promote the sports of persons with disabilities which enforce all National and State Sports bodies to accord due recognition to the right of all persons with disabilities to participate in sports and shall make due provision for the inclusion of persons with disabilities in all their schemes and programs for the promotion and development of sporting talent.
Adequate funding should be given to enhance potential, talent, capacity and ability of the disabled, development of state of art sports facilities for training, and redesigning Infrastructure facilities and technology should be developed with multi-sensory essentials and features in all sporting activities for inclusion and participation of persons with disabilities. Participants in international and national sporting events for persons with disabilities shall be allocated resources, sponsorships, awards and jobs.
The Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995 was proposed to be replaced by a new legislation in the light of the experience gained in the implementation of the Act, developments that have taken place in the disability sector over the years, and also the commitments under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).
Sport can have a positive impact on the lives of people with disabilities but many face challenges to getting involved in sport. This is also explained in Article 30, Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities about participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport “With a view to enabling persons with disabilities to participate on an equal basis with others in recreational, leisure and sporting activities, States Parties shall take appropriate measures.
It is further mentioned that to encourage and promote the participation and to create opportunity, it is essential to organize and develop disability-specific sporting and recreational activities, it is needed to have appropriate instruction, training and resources with equal access to tourism venues and sporting activities as compared to other children for participation in play, recreation and leisure.
Existing Problems in the Disability Sports
- Taking the gender perspective into account, the participation of disabled women is meager compared to males. Furthermore, they face various intersectional problems in society.
- They have to work hard in order to take part in sports activities.
- Societies’ attitudes towards them have hardly changed. Even parents and other family members consider them as people who cannot achieve anything, especially in sports.
- They often lack appropriate facilities and activities to bring out their talents.
- Besides, they always have to deal with the lack of support from state governments and other private sponsors.
- There are instances where differently-abled people encounter abuse and discrimination based on race and a lack of sympathy and understanding from society.
- They also face the absence of confidence concerning appearance, communication and ability.
- Also, compared to others in the sports field, they face difficulty accessing the required information training, support and opportunities.
Disability and Sports in India
Sports for person with disabilities hinge on the basis of providing equitable and fair categories, based on ability and disability, in order to provide level playing fields.
Various organizations in India identify disabled sports persons and impart basic training for differently abled people. They are working at the grassroots levels to promote and develop sporting talent. It also prepares them to participate in state, national, and international sports events.
The Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) is the body responsible for selecting athletes to represent India at the Paralympic Games and other international athletic meets and for managing the Indian teams at the events.
Founded in 1992 as the Physically Handicapped Sports Federation of India, the PCI’s main aim is to promote and develop opportunities for disabled athletes and ensure their contribution to various sports activities. Additionally, the organization also has affiliations with the particular State units of India.
All India Sports Council of the Deaf (AISCD)
The AISCD is the national apex body that mainly works in the domain of deaf sports, which was established in 1965 and actively worked under the Department of Youth Affairs and Sports. Its main objective is to promote and develop opportunities for deaf sports persons. Moreover, the organization conducts awareness programs nationwide to foster skills and abilities in various adaptive and integrated games. They also put effort into participating in Deaflympics.
AISCD holds affiliations with the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, the International Committee of Sports for the deaf/ Deaflympics, the Asia-Pacific Deaf Sports Confederation and the International Chess Committee of the Deaf.
Cerebral Palsy Sports Federation
Cerebral Palsy Sports Federation of India was an apex body in India to promote sports for persons with cerebral palsy and other neurological conditions. It provides them with a platform and opportunities to showcase their sporting abilities. The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has acknowledged Cerebral Palsy Sports Federation in India as a National Sports Federation (NSF).
Scheme of Sports and Games for the Disabled
This is a central sector scheme introduced by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in 2009. The objective of this sport is to broad-basing participative sports among the disabled. The scheme includes grant for sports coaching and purchase of consumable and non-consumable sports equipment for schools, grant for the training of coaches and grant for holding district, state and national level competitions.
Special Olympics Bharat
Special Olympics Bharat is a National Sports Federation, recognized by the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs, Government of India. The federation trains both male and female athletes in 25 summer and winter disciplines. The federation has 850000 athletes registered through 35 state chapters. The team representing India at the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games brought back 243 (78 Gold, 73 Silver and 92 Bronze) medals for the country.
Divyaang Myithri Sports Academy (DMSA), is a Bangalore-based organization promoting wheelchair sports in a big way. Though the academy focuses primarily on wheelchair cricket, they welcome all kinds of sports with open arms. DMSA also boasts of some of the best national wheelchair cricketers from India.
Wheelchair Kabbadi evolved during one of the practice sessions of wheelchair cricket. Since most of the players were ardent Kabbadi fans, they decided to try it out.
We know that there is nothing that a wheelchair user cannot do. Wheelchair Kabaddi was done on a trial-and-error basis. But all of us enjoyed playing the game. Now, we are working on different dimensions to improve it. We are also proud that we are going to be the first NGO to introduce wheelchair Kabaddi in India. We have a lot of support from people around us. So, things are only going to get better- Shivaprasad, Co-founder, of Divyaang Myithri Sports Academy.
Achievements & Performance
- Handicapped sports are also included in prestigious ARJUNA AWARDS since 1995.
- There were more than 150 players from 14 countries participated in APC Badminton Cup which was held in December 2008.
- In IWAS World Games more than 680 athletes from 43 countries took part and India stood 2nd in Medal Tally with a total of 110 medals which was hosted in the year 2009 at Bangalore.
- Gold Medal with the World Record at the 2004 Athens Paralympics Games.
- At the 8th FESPIC Games held at Busan, Korea in 2002, India had the first-ever big medal haul in a recognized international event with 3 Gold, 9 silver and 10 Bronze medals.
Inspirational individuals
Devender Jhajaria– Javelin thrower. He is the first Indian Paralympic athlete to win two gold medals at the Paralympics, in the year 2004 and 2016. The one-armed Indian Paralympic athlete was honoured with the Padma Shri in 2012.
Deepa Malik– Shot put. She is the first female Indian Paralympics. She has 54 national medals and 13 international medals in shot put, javelin throw, and other sports. For her swimming performance, she won the Arjuna Award in 2012.
Amit Kumar– Club thrower. He has won a gold and two silver medals.
Farman Basha– Powelighter At a very young age, he became polio-afflicted but despite all of his difficulties, he continued to put in efforts and finally he set a new national record in 49 kg powerlifting by winning a gold medal. He won three Paralympics in the last 16 years and was honoured with the Arjuna Award.
Pooja Rani– Archery. In 2016 she won her first medal at the National Para Archery Tournament; she secured 5th place at the World Ranking Tournament in the Czech Republic and she represented India in the Paralympics.
Disability sports played in India
Although participation in sports for individuals with a disability has increased over the years, the number of athletes participating, particularly in competitive sports continues to lag behind that of their able-bodied counterparts.
Almost any sport in which able-bodied athletes can participate in can be modified for participation by individuals with a disability.
- Archery
- Badminton
- Boccia (bowling game) – is open to athletes with cerebral palsy and other severe physical disabilities (eg muscular dystrophy) who compete from a wheelchair
- Cerebral Palsy Games
- Chess
- Cricket
- Football
- Goalball
- Judo
- Volleyball
- Table Tennis
- Triathlon
- Basketball
- Tennis
Conclusion
India has become a country that has witnessed the world’s attention in disability sports over the years. They have been under several barriers which prevent them from entering the forefront of society. It includes transportation systems, and public buildings continue to be not accessible for disabled people. But, this issue has not been addressed consistently by the government.
The situation on the ground remains mixed. Persons with physical disabilities are unable to enjoy leisure activities on an equal basis with others as long as transportation systems and public buildings continue to lack barrier-free access, a problem which has not been addressed on a consistent basis by the Government.
However, organizations and establishments like the Wheelchair Sports Federation of India, the Indian Blind Sports Association, and the Special Olympics Bharat do provide opportunities for physically and mentally differently-abled athletes to participate in sporting activities. Unfortunately, there remains no institution available to coach elite differently-abled athletes in India, leaving a gap in attainment of the goals outlined in State policy. In order for persons with disabilities to be able to participate in leisure activities at the level described in government policies, stricter enforcement of these laws is needed.
Sports for the disabled in India have a long way to go. The real onus of promoting disabled sports in India lies with the society, the community, through citizen-led initiatives. Unless a majority of us start treating disabled sports persons at an even keel, it would be difficult to imagine a future where India dominates the world in disabled sports as it does in so many of other sports right now. There are multiple ways to contribute and be a part of this journey, just celebrating their successes and providing encouragement not being the least of all.
Several international and national organizations exist to support and promote them. Therefore, there is a need to review and enforce the existing laws to accommodate disabled persons. Policies and programs must be introduced from the grassroots levels to empower them. Thus, it will enable us to bring those people to the forefront.
References
https://factly.in/review-what-is-the-status-of-differently-abled-sports-persons-in-india/
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