What are human rights?
Human rights are a set of principles that relate to equality and fairness. These principles are based on things that people around the world have agreed are essential to live a good life free from fear, discrimination and harassment. Some examples include the right to:
- Life
- Health
- Be free from torture or other cruel or inhuman treatment
- Privacy
- Be treated equally before the law
- Marry and start a family
- Work
- An education.
These rights apply to all citizens equally, regardless of:
- Disability
- Sex or gender
- Cultural background, ethnicity or skin colour
- Sexual orientation
- Personal opinion
- Religious beliefs
- Social status (12).
(12) Verick, M. Prepared for Focus ACT (2015) Australians with Disability: Changing Attitudes to their Rights, Abilities and Lifestyle
Contents
- Introduction
- What are human rights?
- Introducing the human rights model of disability
- How the social model paved the way for the human rights model
- How does the human rights model differ from the social model?
- Why are the medical and charitable models of disability inconsistent with human rights?
- How do the four models compare in practice?
- References