Disability Discomfort in Development : Unveiling Ableism and Disablism within Swedish Development Cooperation

Abstract: Persons with disabilities have long been overlooked and forgotten in the context of international development cooperation with less than five percent of official development aid targeting disability-related issues. Too often development agencies and organizations claim to have limited expertise related to disability, lack funds to support disability issues and pivot the responsibility of upholding the rights of persons with disabilities to someone else. Ableism, favoring those without disabilities, and disablism, viewing persons with disabilities as inferior lie at the heart of the development problem of excluding the disability community in international cooperation. Through 12 semi-structured interviews, this study examines why disability inclusion in Swedish development cooperation is limited today. The study finds that within Swedish development cooperation disability is not seen as a priority, existing power structures limit disability-inclusive development practices and many individuals working in the sector remain uncomfortable working on disability issues. The study concludes by noting that current Swedish development practices unintentionally favor those without disabilities and continue to overlook disability-related issues. Moving forward development actors and disability rights advocates are encouraged to fight forward and not back to ensure development is inclusive of every ‘body,’ not just those without disabilities.