Inkluzja społeczna osób z niepełnosprawnościami w Polsce z perspektywy prawa, badaczy społecznych i społeczeństwa polskiego

Abstract

The aim of this article is to show the state of social inclusion of people with disabilities in Poland through the prism of legal acts, opinions of social researchers and Polish society. This research paper was prepared on the basis of an analysis of the content of legal regulations, sociological literature and CBOS reports from 2000-2021. The investigation of the materials collected allowed for the formulation of three basic conclusions. Firstly, despite the existence of many legal regulations concerning people with disabilities, both social researchers and the public have pointed to the fact that social inclusion of people with disabilities in Poland requires further improvements. Secondly, social researchers claim that the definition of disability contained in the 1997 Act on Vocational and Social Rehabilitation is contrary to international regulations and the new approach to disability. In order to achieve more effective inclusion of people with disabilities, a change in Poland’s social policy is recommended, with a shift from a protective to a supportive model of assistance. Thirdly, in the light of public opinion polls, there has been a positive change over 21 years in the social awareness of Poles towards people with disabilities. This article is divided into four parts. The first part introduces basic concepts of social inclusion of people with disabilities. The second part presents the problem of social inclusion in the light of legal acts. The third part introduces the issue of inclusion from the point of view of social researchers. In the fourth part, CBOS opinion polls on the issue of inclusion of people with disabilities in Poland are presented. Finally, conclusions are drawn, in which the collected material is analysed. The article additionally features a summary and a references section.

Keywords

• social inclusion
• disability
• legislation