The future of equality and human rights in Britain--opportunities and risks for disabled people

The Government plans to introduce a new Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR), covering disability, race, gender, sexual orientation, religion/belief and age. This presents both opportunities and risks for the achievement of disability equality. This paper analyses implications and proposes a long term disability rights agenda, geared to mainstreaming disability equality into the CEHR and major policy developments across Government. It suggests that the widest involvement of disabled people, policy makers and academics in the field of disability will be necessary to achieve this. The DRC will be very active in this work.     

Views,events, and debates

Welcome to Gender & Development's Views, events, and debates section. We'd like to invite readers to respond to any of the views expressed in this section, to contact us with reports of events, and to suggest debates on issues relevant to the journal's concern: to inspire and strengthen development initiatives which support the goals of gender equality and women's empowerment.

We'd also like to invite you to send us your feedback on Gender & Development, and suggestions for future issues, to: gadeditor@oxfam.org.uk     

Creating Continuous Conversation: Social Workers and Learning Organizations

This article presents some findings on one aspect of a qualitative study of the continuing education of social workers in New Zealand. Social workers interviewed were aware of the contemporary discourses of lifelong learning and in particular, the concept of learning organizations. Analysis reveals that while practitioners are positive about the ideals of the learning organization; this is tempered by practical considerations and constraints which reflect the critique of the learning organization found in the literature. When asked to define their hopes for post‐qualifying learning, participants identified intellectual refreshment, critical reflection and acknowledging successful work as priorities. Social workers clearly want ‘learning workplaces’ and as educators we need to support their development. Top‐down models may not provide the answer and small‐scale local initiatives which engender critical, reflective and inquiring ‘continuous conversations’ may serve practitioners better.     

Three Voices: Reflections on Homophobia and Heterosexism in Social Work Education

This article reviews recent developments in interprofessional learning in health and social care with a view to identifying the strengths and weaknesses of current initiatives in this area. As the emphasis increases on interprofessional working as a central pillar of intervention across the social work and health professions, corresponding moves have been made to incorporate parallel learning objectives in curriculum guidance issued by accrediting bodies such as the General Social Care Council and the General Medical Council. It is important, however, not to take the assumed benefits of this development as a ‘given’, or to oversimplify the task of turning high‐level aspirations into practically achievable and pedagogically effective learning experiences. This article therefore gives an account of one attempt to deliver realistic and worthwhile practice‐based interprofessional learning opportunities. The development, implementation and evaluation phases of this initiative are considered in order to draw out the key messages as to the strengths and potential shortcomings of this model, and the positive messages for good practice we believe we can offer.     

The Accuracy of Age-specific Population Estimates for Small Areas in Britain

Population estimates play an important role in the allocation of resources at many levels of government and commerce but little is known about the accuracy of age-specific population estimates. Such knowledge is crucial, as resource allocation is often targeted at populations of particular age, and decisions need to be based on the reliability of the estimates. This paper presents a multi-level statistical analysis of the accuracy of age-specific population estimates made for British local authorities in 1991. The aim of this work is to identify the factors that influence accuracy, and to investigate how these influences interact. Our analyses show that the following area characteristics are key factors: true population size; intercensal population change; and percentages of unemployed residents, armed forces residents, and students. In addition, we find that the overall type of method used to calculate estimates is important, and that its effect varies both with area characteristics and with age-group. Local census methods are found to be generally superior, but a low-cost apportionment method, if implemented well, may be as effective.     

The connections between disability and child abuse: A review of the research evidence

Two possible connections between disability and abuse are explored: that disability can be the outcome of abuse, and that children with disabilities are differentially vulnerable to abuse. Evidence supporting both propositions is presented and assessed. Major problems in research and research methods are highlighted: the differing definitions of disability and abuse, the reliance on data drawn from clinical samples and case files, and failure to develop innovative methods which would enable direct participation of children and adults with a range of disabilities. The paper concludes that our current knowledge base is inadequate to either distinguish between the two connections or provide clear guidance on a range of concerns within the child protection field.     

Negotiating the boundaries of intimacy: the personal lives of asexual people

This paper uses findings from research diaries to explore the use of practices of intimacy among asexual people. While much of the literature to date has focused on the supposedly transformative and political nature of uniquely asexual practices of intimacy, our findings suggest something different. Rather than seeking to transform the nature of intimate relationships, asexual people make pragmatic adjustments and engage in negotiations to achieve the forms of physical and emotional intimacy they seek. We discuss this in relation to three areas: friendships, sex as a practice of intimacy, and exclusion from intimacy. Our findings suggest the importance of not only considering the social context in which asexual people practise intimacy, but also how the practices in which they engage may be shared with non‐asexual people.