About the Forum
York Disability Rights Forum is led by disabled people and works to promote equal access to human rights for all those with disabilities who live or work in York.
The Forum aims to be a collective voice, to raise awareness of issues affecting disabled people in York and create positive changes.
Why a York Disability Rights Forum?
When York Independent Living Network began winding down in December 2019, arrangements were made with York: Human Rights City to set up a human rights forum of disabled people and their allies.
“We believe that we need to bring together a wide and diverse group of disabled people, draw on human rights thinking and take action to achieve greater inclusion.”
York Independent Living Network
Who is the Forum for?
York Disability Rights Forum is open to people over the age of 18 who live or work in York and identify as disabled or as having a disability. We also welcome allies to work with us.
Note: York Disability Rights Forum is not a party political group and we do not have any affiliation with any political party.
What does the Forum do?
In general, it’s important to us that we:
- Are disabled people-led, activist, accessible and inclusive.
- Are underpinned by the Social Model of Disability.
- Uphold a human rights-based approach.
- Provide a space for disabled people and their allies to come together, both face-to-face and through other routes.
- Decide what issues are a priority locally and what actions can be taken collectively.
To ensure we act on your priorities, we hold an Annual Survey in September. Sign up for the newsletter or follow us on social media to be kept up to date!
2020-2021 Annual Review
What is the Social Model of Disability?
The Forum operates using the Social Model of Disability – this recognises that people are disabled by the way that society is organised, and seeks to remove barriers to inclusion.
Left-handedness is a clear example of the social model of disability. The left-handed person would be at no disadvantage if so many things were not made for right-handed people.
Another example is eye sight. Today, people who don’t have 20:20 vision use glasses or contact lenses but before these were common, people with poor vision would have been disabled by their vision impairment.
How can I join?
There are different ways of joining the Forum so you can choose the level of involvement you want to have.
- Join the Steering Group
- Share your skills as a volunteer
- Join a working group to focus on a particular topic
How can we work together?
Are you part of a local disability organisation? Do you want to work with the Forum? Get in touch and we’ll have a chat about how we can support each other.
Are you a local business? Want to ask York’s disabled community how to make your products and services more disability friendly? We’ll help you reach out. Get in touch!