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Realising the rights of persons with disabilities in service provision: views of social workers in non-governmental organisations
Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2025.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | en_ZA |
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Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
2025
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| _version_ | 1867613921880309760 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Potgieter, Loandrie |
| author2 | Strydom, Marianne |
| author_browse | Potgieter, Loandrie Strydom, Marianne |
| author_facet | Strydom, Marianne Potgieter, Loandrie |
| author_sort | Potgieter, Loandrie |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | Stellenbosch University |
| description | Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2025. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/132496 |
| institution | Stellenbosch University (South Africa) |
| language | en_ZA |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:43:50.076Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| publisherStr | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| spelling | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/132496 Realising the rights of persons with disabilities in service provision: views of social workers in non-governmental organisations Potgieter, Loandrie Strydom, Marianne Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Social Work. People with disabilities -- Services for People with disabilities -- Civil rights Social work with people with disabilities -- Social conditions Social workers -- Attitudes Non‑governmental organizations -- Social services Human rights -- Social aspects Discrimination against people with disabilities Non-governmental organizations People with disabilities -- Legal status, laws, etc. UCTD Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2025. Potgieter, L. 2025. Realising the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Service Provision: Views of Social Workers in Non-Governmental Organisations. Unpublished masters thesis. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University [online]. Available: https://scholar.sun.ac.za/items/755e4a6c-9e2a-4d96-bcaa-6c1162bc7bdb ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Despite the recognition of the right to equality for persons with disabilities (PWDs) in South African legislation nearly 30 years ago, the full and equal enjoyment of rights for PWDs remains a distant goal. The persistent discrimination and disadvantages that PWDs face, including disability stigma, inaccessible infrastructure, a lack of community-based resources, and socioeconomic issues, continue to hinder their participation and enjoyment of community-based lives, adding to their disempowerment and isolation. A rights-based approach to disability, enshrined in policy and legislation, such as the international Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and national White Paper on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (WPRPD), seeks to realise the rights of PWDs. The rights-based approach emphasises the dignity, equality, and participation of PWDs, as well as holistic service delivery. Holistic service delivery refers to a comprehensive approach that addresses all aspects of a PWD's life, including their physical, emotional, and social needs. The rights-based approach also emphasises that the South African government is accountable for realising the rights of PWDs. With a rights-based approach as its theoretical underpinning and an exploratory and descriptive design, this qualitative study explored the views of 20 purposively selected social workers in non-governmental organisations to establish their views on realising the rights of PWDs through service provision, identify obstacles to realising such rights, and recommend ways to improve service provision. A pilot study and member-checking, among other things, added to the study's trustworthiness. Aligned with the WPRPD, social workers identified and described the services they provide to realise the rights of PWDs based on four of the nine pillars of the WPRPD. These services are advocacy to increase community awareness to realise PWDs' right to equal access and participation (pillar 1), services to families to strengthen and support families to realise PWDs’ right to sustainable community integration (pillar 3), rendering psycho-education and counselling services to realise PWDs’ right to empowerment (pillar 4), and supporting PWDs to access learnerships and job opportunities in the open labour market to decrease their economic vulnerability and realise their right to work (pillar 5). Participants also identified obstacles that severely limited service delivery to PWDs and perpetuated their inequality. These included a lack of resources in communities and NGOs and the South African government's unwillingness to accept accountability for rendering services and providing support to PWDs. It was concluded that a rights-based approach is needed to make meaningful progress towards realising the rights of PWDs. This approach should be characterised by coordinated efforts from all societal stakeholders to holistically address the needs of PWDs and their families. In the collaborative ethos endorsed by the WPRPD, this study recommends that the obstacles to realising the rights of PWDs be addressed by insisting that the South African government and other community stakeholders take ownership of and provide more support to NGOs by continuing and expanding the provision of social services to PWDs to enable them to realise their rights as determined in the South African Constitution. AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Bykans 30 jaar nadat die reg op gelykheid vir persone met gestremdhede (PMGe) in Suid-Afrikaanse wetgewing erken is word daar steeds teen PMGe gediskrimineer en kan PMGe nog nie hierdie regte ten volle benut of geniet nie. Stigma teen persone met gestremhede, ontoeganklike infrastruktuur, ’n gebrek aan gemeenskapsgebaseerde hulpbronne en sosio-ekonomiese probleme, is faktore wat PMGe daarvan weerhou om gemeenskapsgebaseerde lewens te geniet en wat grootliks tot hul ontmagtiging en gevoel van isolasie bydra. ’n Regte-gebaseerde benadering tot gestremdheid, verskans in beleid en wetgewing soos die internasionale Konvensie oor die Regte van Persone met Gestremdhede en die nasionale Witskrif oor die Regte van Persone met Gestremdhede (WRPG), poog om die regte van PMGe te verwesenlik. Hierdie regte-gebaseerde benadering beklemtoon dat die staat tot ’n meerdere mate verantwoordelik is vir holistiese dienslewering ter bevordering van PMGe se waardigheid, gelykheid en deelname aan gemeenskapsaktiwiteite. Met ’n regte-gebaseerde benadering as teoretiese onderbou en ’n verkennende en beskrywende ontwerp, het hierdie kwalitatiewe studie die waarnemings van 20 doelbewus-geselekteerde maatskaplike werkers in nie-regeringsorganisasies ondersoek om hul sienings oor die verwesenliking van die regte van PMGe deur diensverskaffing vas te stel, struikelblokke in die uitleef van hul regte te identifiseer, en aanbevelings te maak oor maniere waarop diensverskaffing aan PMGe verbeter kan word. ’n Loodsstudie en kontrolering van deelnemers dra onder meer tot hierdie studie se betroubaarheid by. In ooreenstemming met vier van die WRPG se pilare, het maatskaplike werkers die dienste wat hulle verskaf ter verwesenliking van PMGe se regte, geïdentifiseer en beskryf. Die dienste is om bewustheid oor gestremdhede in gemeenskappe te bevorder, om PMGe se reg op gelyke toegang en deelname te verwesenlik (pilaar 1), om gesinne op te bou en te ondersteun om sodoende PMGe se reg op volhoubare gemeenskapsintegrasie te verwesenlik (pilaar 3), om psigo-opvoeding en beradingsdienste aan PMGe te verskaf en hulle so te bemagtig (pilaar 4), en om ondersteuningdienste aan PMGe te bied om toegang tot klerkskap- en werksgeleenthede in die arbeidsmark te bekom en hulle ekonomiese kwesbaarheid te verminder en reg op werk te bevorder (pilaar 5). Deelnemers het voorts struikelblokke in dienslewering aan PMGe wat tot die voortsetting van hul ongelyke behandeling lei, geïdentifiseer. Hierdie struikleblokke is ’n gebrek aan hulpbronne in gemeenskappe en by NROs, asook die regering se onvermoë en onwilligheid om aanspreeklikheid vir die lewering van nodige ondersteuningsdienste aan PMGe te aanvaar. Die studie kom tot die gevolgtrekking dat ’n regte-gebaseerde benadering nodig is om betekenisvolle vordering te maak vir die verwesenliking van PMGe se regte. Hierdie benadering moet gekenmerk word deur gekoördineerde pogings van alle maatskaplike belanghebbendes om op ’n holistiese wyse die behoeftes van PMGe en hul gesinne aan te spreek. In die samewerkende etos wat deur die WRPG onderskryf word, beveel die studie aan dat die struikelblokke aangespreek moet word ter verwesenliking PMGe se regte, dat die Suid-Afrikaanse regering en ander eienaarskap moet neem van hul rol in die bevordering van PMGe se regte, en dat meer ondersteuning aan NROs verskaf moet word om hulle in staat te stel om ondersteuingsdienste te lewer en uit te brei, welke stappe sal bydra daartoe dat PMGe hul regte kan uitleef soos bepaal in die Suid-Afrikaanse Grondwet. Masters 2025-06-10T06:54:49Z 2025-06-10T06:54:49Z 2025-03 Thesis https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/132496 en_ZA Stellenbosch University 222 pages application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| spellingShingle | People with disabilities -- Services for People with disabilities -- Civil rights Social work with people with disabilities -- Social conditions Social workers -- Attitudes Non‑governmental organizations -- Social services Human rights -- Social aspects Discrimination against people with disabilities Non-governmental organizations People with disabilities -- Legal status, laws, etc. UCTD Potgieter, Loandrie Realising the rights of persons with disabilities in service provision: views of social workers in non-governmental organisations |
| title | Realising the rights of persons with disabilities in service provision: views of social workers in non-governmental organisations
|
| title_full | Realising the rights of persons with disabilities in service provision: views of social workers in non-governmental organisations
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| title_fullStr | Realising the rights of persons with disabilities in service provision: views of social workers in non-governmental organisations
|
| title_full_unstemmed | Realising the rights of persons with disabilities in service provision: views of social workers in non-governmental organisations
|
| title_short | Realising the rights of persons with disabilities in service provision: views of social workers in non-governmental organisations
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| title_sort | realising the rights of persons with disabilities in service provision views of social workers in non governmental organisations |
| topic | People with disabilities -- Services for People with disabilities -- Civil rights Social work with people with disabilities -- Social conditions Social workers -- Attitudes Non‑governmental organizations -- Social services Human rights -- Social aspects Discrimination against people with disabilities Non-governmental organizations People with disabilities -- Legal status, laws, etc. UCTD |
| url | https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/132496 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT potgieterloandrie realisingtherightsofpersonswithdisabilitiesinserviceprovisionviewsofsocialworkersinnongovernmentalorganisations |