More than half of the surveyed citizens, 55,2 percent, believe that persons with disabilities (PWD) are a socially isolated group whose rights are the least respected, according to a survey by the Center for Monitoring and Research (CeMI).
The results of the survey on citizens' perception of the rights and position of PWD for the needs of the Association of Young People with Handicap (UMHCG) were presented today at a press conference, and were conducted by CeMI on a sample of 1.014 respondents.
The executive director of UMHCG, Marina Vujačić, said that the focus of the project is dedicated to the area of accessibility and employment of PWDs, as well as citizens' perception of the position and respect of these persons.
"The general findings of the research showed that PWDs are perceived as a social group exposed to marginalization according to the attitudes of more than half of the citizens, that is, that 55,2 percent believe that PWDs are a socially isolated group whose rights are the least respected," said Vujačić.
She said that this confirms the opinion of the majority of citizens (53,6 percent) that PWDs enjoy the smallest set of rights compared to the general population.
According to her, citizens believe that PWDs have fewer rights than other citizens, which, as she stated, indicates poor implementation of the law, but also the lack of legislation that would better regulate the rights and position of PWDs.
Vujacic said that 75,7 percent of citizens believe that PWDs do not have the same needs as other citizens. "This finding indicates the need for greater interaction of PWDs with the public, as well as educating the public about the rights and position of PWDs."
The UMHCG's position on this issue, as claimed by Vujačić, is that greater and more frequent representation of PWDs in the media contributed to an increase in the percentage of citizens who consider PWDs to have special needs.
She said that every third respondent in the immediate or extended family or environment has a person with a certain type of disability, which indirectly speaks about the size of the population and the possibility of mobilizing support when advocating for a better position of PWDs in Montenegrin society.
According to Vujacic, 71,1 percent of respondents believe that PWDs deserve the same respect as other citizens, who, she said, expressed the view that PWDs should be treated in the same way as other citizens.
According to her, 46,8 percent of respondents believe that PWDs are discriminated against on a daily basis, 28,5 percent believe that they are sometimes discriminated against, and 18 percent believe that they are never discriminated against.
Vujačić said that employment and work in the open market is cited as the area for the greatest discrimination of PWDs.
"These data speak in favor of the fact that the media has repeatedly promoted the story of the employment of PWDs, labor market conditions and the general status of PWDs when it comes to employment and work in the open market," she stated.
As Vujačić said, research shows that as many as 28,2 percent of respondents are not aware that, according to the law on the construction of buildings, all public buildings in Montenegro must be accessible to PWDs.
"Although we generally have frequent campaigns about architectural barriers, it is not yet clear enough or acceptable to the citizens because the state often tries to spread information about the cost of solving that problem," she said.
Vujačić said that 14,8 percent of citizens know about a specific case of discrimination against PWDs, while 57,7 percent believe that the family is crucial in the struggle for the realization of the rights of PWDs, and only 2,8 percent recognized state institutions as the most important actors.
The research was carried out as part of the project "Let's strengthen capacities in order to strengthen changes", which was financed by the European Union, through the Delegation of the European Union in Montenegro.
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