Disability and Social Policy: An Evaluation of the Colombian Legislation on Disability

This thesis studies the evolution of disability policy in Colombia from 1980 to 2002 based on national laws and regulations. The study evaluates legislation through the Comparative Disability Policy Framework proposed by Silverstein (2000) in order to determine whether the Colombian laws promote and apply an integrated national policy to benefit people with disabilities. In addition the extent to which general and disability-specific policies and programs in Colombia reflect the new paradigm of disability and the goals of disability policy (equality in opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency) are considered. The analysis indicates that the number of laws is not an accurate indicator of the adequacy of disability policy. Legislation in Colombia only fulfills some of the goals of disability policy. There is no legislation intended for the independent living of people with disabilities and most statutes only recognize civil rights for people with disabilities but fail to specify the actions and mechanisms needed to put those rights in practice. Required is greater advocacy by the disabled community focused on improving the design and implementation of public policy to challenge disability attitudes in favor of a meaningful integration of this community in mainstream society.