Human Rights and Persons with Intellectual Disabilities: Historical, Pedagogical, and Philosophical Considerations

Persons with intellectual disabilities are more likely to experience victimization and have their rights infringed upon than are people without such disabilities. While legislative and policy interventions have afforded a certain degree of protection against such rights violations, people with intellectual disabilities continue to experience restrictions of their basic human rights. This article describes the development of a Human Rights Project being developed in Canada and aimed at promoting human rights awareness in individuals with intellectual disabilities. Following a brief history of the project, we focus on its current phase: the development of a multimedia human rights training CD. We address the empirical and pedagogical foundations for the use of simulated instruction, aspects of the project that reflect its participative orientation, and the use of dramaturgical methods for training persons with intellectual disabilities to be actors in the video scenarios that appear on the training CD. We conclude by highlighting the importance of a systemic approach to human rights training, as well as the implications of such an approach for understanding the relationally and situationally emergent nature of human rights knowledge.