here may not yet be a cure for chronic pain but there is room for ‘accompanying’ people with pain along their journeys. Persistent pain makes demands on language inextricably bound up with the demands of moving beyond our individual experience to empathise with that of another. It raises ethical challenges in its management unlike those associate…
In 2017 I was riding a bus in Los Angeles that was barreling down Sunset Boulevard when I came across a curious bus bench billboard. The billboard was an image of a young, white girl with Down syndrome. Her light brown hair was braided and pulled back. This drew my attention to her youthful face, painted in its entirety as an American flag. She was holding a paint br…
In the contemporary context of social rights and activist movements such as those associated with combatting sexual harassment, gun and knife crime or climate change, we can observe a typical pattern of public responses. These movements offer voices to those who are marginalised, and indeed provide the confidence needed for many people to stand up for specific issues. This, …
Indonesia recently passed Law No 8 /2016. This law follows the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities in 2011 and commits the Indonesian government to the eradication of discrimination against people with disabilities and to actively work to support and provide services to this segment of the population. It also espouses the principle that public programs be…