Advocacy and Human Rights - Case Study Example

Advocacy and Human Rights Name Institution Date Option: Simon uses a wheelchair and cannot get into his local video store because of a step at the front door. Advocacy and Human Rights Introduction Advocacy is important in ensuring that the people who are in need are able to gain all human rights they deserve (Freeman, 2011). The vulnerable in the society are usually at a risk of being denied their human rights and hence the need for advocacy. There are various forms of advocacy and each form is important in making sure that the people with special needs are empowered through the protection of their human rights. Self advocacy is one of the most important forms of advocacy as it leads to the empowerment of the individuals (Donnelly, 2013). Some of the human factors have negative impacts on the lives of the people with special needs. The disabled are a group of people with special needs and they require some support to enable them live their lives normally. Most of the aspects do not consider the needs of the disabled people. Simon uses a wheelchair and cannot get into his local video store because of a step at the front door. Simon therefore requires some help in form of advocacy in order to ensure that he is able to access the video store. The paper thus discusses an advocacy plan for Simon for the purposes of enabling him to access his video store. Discussion Objectives of the advocacy plan To empower Simon with regards to the concepts of human rights and advocacy. To enable Simon to access his video shop despite his disability. To sensitize the community with regards to the issues of human rights for the people with disability. To ensure that the community members understand the needs of the disabled people like Simon. Advocacy plan Step 1: Building strategic alliances This step is important and it involves creating awareness with regards to the problems and issues facing the disabled people (Ife, 2012). Building a strategic alliance is important in ensuring that the support is obtained from different stakeholders and hence providing assistance to Simon. This is considering that advocacy requires the support of different stakeholders. It is important in terms of enlightening the members of the society on the roles that they should play in order to ensure that the rights of the people with disabilities are protected. This first step will involve enlightening the community members around the video store of the challenges that Simon is facing. The management will be informed of the challenges and the rights of the people with disabilities like Simon. This will be carried out for the purposes of ensuring that the problems facing Simon are understood clearly. The strategic alliance will also be for the purposes of obtaining support from the community members and the business people who are working at the movie store. This is considering that it is always important to have a support base for the program. Wining the support of the owner of the business will be useful as it will simplify the process and ensure that measures are put in place to solve the challenge that Simon is facing. A strategic alliance is useful in ensuring that the goals and objectives of the plan are met. Step 2: Community education Community education will be carried out after potential allies have been found. It is important for the community members to understand the concepts of human rights and advocacy as it will go a long way in helping the people with disabilities (Mutua, 2011). The main purpose of involving the community is to ensure that a permanent solution is obtained with regards to the problems that Simon is facing. It is will be important for the community to understand the challenges that Simon is facing and hence ensuring that he obtains the necessary support from the members of the community. Community education will be carried out through the use of pamphlets, video materials and at the community theater. This will be useful in enabling the members of the community to understand the problems that Simon is facing. This is also considering that Simon has a right to access the video shop just like any other individual. Community education workshops will also be organized for the purposes of ensuring that the members of the community fully understand the problems that Simon is undergoing. The business community will also be involved in the process as they are influential in terms of the business issues. Posters will also spread in the market for the purposes of creating awareness with regards to the issues facing Simon. Step 3: Political action Political action mainly involves engaging the people for the purposes of influencing the public opinions. It also involves engaging the political leaders and different levels of government for the purpose of ensuring that the opinions can be influenced (Beitz, 2011). Political action is important in the case of Simon as it will be useful in ensuring that the government and the leaders are aware of his plight which is a representation of the plight faced by the people with disabilities. The political action will also be useful in ensuring that policies are put in place for the purposes of addressing the needs of the people with disability. The political action can influence the political leaders to pass a legislation that will enable the modification of the buildings to enable the people with disabilities like Simon to use the wheel chair when accessing the buildings. It is also important to note that the presence of legislation will ensure that problem facing Simon is addressed. Political action will also be useful in ensuring that strong alliances are build and hence impacting positively on the process of advocating for the rights of Simon to access the movie store. Engaging in political action is one of the methods that are useful in terms of strengthening the advocacy process. Step 4: Legal Action and policy The legal action will involve reviewing the legislations with regards to the people with disability and their human rights. The legislations will be reviewed in order to determine what the law says in relation to the people with disabilities and specifically those who are using the wheel chairs (Furner, 2010). This is for the purposes of addressing the challenge that Simon is facing as he is using a wheel chair. The review of the legislation is important for the purposes of petitioning the authorities to recognize the human rights of the people using wheelchairs and the difficulties that they are faced with when accessing the buildings that have steps. The legal action will be useful in ensuring that the government considers passing a law that will ensure that all the building can be accessed by the people with disabilities who are using wheelchairs. The presence of legislation will ensure that Simon is able to access the movie shop with a wheel chair. The state and Federal human rights legislations together with the anti-discrimination legislation will be reviewed in order to ensure that a strong petition is presented to the authorities. It is also important to note that the legal action is likely to receive support from the people with disabilities throughout the country. It is also important to note that the services of legal experts will be sought during the process. Step 5: Direct Action Direct action is a course that is a course of action that ensures that immediate outcome is obtained (Burris, 2010). A direct action will be taken for the purposes of ensuring that Simon is able to access his movie store. This will be the last step when waiting for the results of the legal action. The direct action will involve working with the owner of the building to construct an alternative to the stairs that can be accessed by Simon who is using a wheel chair. The community will be mobilized to make contributions for the purposes of obtaining funds for the construction process. The direct action is important as the legal and political action may take a long period of time before the intended outcome is realized (Wettstein, 2010). Although funds will be required for the process of implementing the direct action, it will be useful in solving the challenges that Simon is facing. The owner of the movie store will be widely consulted and involved in all the processes. This is for the purposes of ensuring that the direct action is successful. It is also important to note that the success of the direct action will encourage Simon to visit the movie store on a frequent basis and hence benefiting the store. This is because Simon will be a regular customer at the store which is good for business. All the necessary permits will be obtained so as to ensure that the direct action is within the legal framework. Conclusion In conclusion, it is evident that Simon is facing a challenge that has a negative impact on his human rights. The advocacy plan is important for the purpose of ensuring that he is able to obtain the assistance that he needs in order to fully enjoy his human rights. The advocacy plan will be carried out on a step by step basis in order to ensure that it is successful. Different stakeholders will also be involved in the advocacy process for the purposes of ensuring that it gains support. It is evident that both the political and legal action will be required in order to ensure that the challenge that is facing Simon is legally addressed. The use of legal action will also be important in ensuring that the rights of Simon are recognized and protected by the law. It is also evident that a direct action will require the efforts of different stakeholders. References Donnelly, J. (2013). Universal human rights in theory and practice. Cornell University Press. Ife, J. (2012). Human rights and social work: Towards rights-based practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Mutua, M. (2011). Human rights: A political and cultural critique. Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press. Beitz, C. R. (2011). The idea of human rights. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Furner, M. O. (2010). Advocacy and Objectivity: A Crisis in the Professionalization of American Political Science, 1865-1905. Transaction Publishers. Burris, A. (2010). Community-based participatory research: a capacity-building approach for policy advocacy aimed at eliminating health disparities. Journal Information, 100(11). Wettstein, F. (2010). The duty to protect: Corporate complicity, political responsibility, and human rights advocacy. Journal of Business Ethics, 96(1), 33-47. Freeman, M. (2011). Human rights: an interdisciplinary approach. Polity. Read More