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Online Journal of Multidisciplinary Research (OJMR)

October 2015, 1(3), 1-5
REVIEW ARTICLE

OPEN ACCESS

The Invisible Population: Psychosocial

Scenario of Human Rights and Autism
Sareeta Behera
Ph.D. Scholar, Dept. of Psychology, Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Article History:
--------------------------Received: 03-09-2015
Revised: 20-09-2015
Accepted: 21-09-2015
Published: 30-10-2015
Keywords:
--------------------------Human rights, Autism, Autism Spectrum
Disorder (ASD), Abuse, Disability
Article code: OJMR131
Access online at: www.ojmr.in
Source of support: Nil
Conflict of interest: None declared
Indexed in: Open J-Gate, Indian Science,
Google Scholar, Scientific Indexing Services
Corresponding Author:
Sareeta Behera,
Ph.D. Scholar,
Dept. of Psychology,
Utkal University, Bhubaneswar,
Odisha, India
E-mail: sareeta08@gmail.com
Mobile no.: +91 8895248762

Summary:
The inception of human rights occurs right in the
womb when a foetus is conceived. However, with
the transition of life situations and perspectives,
human rights get changed, abused and virtually
nullified. This caters to radical negative aftermath in
the entire physical, psychological and social life
dimensions of the person concerned. In todays
world the term Human Rights needs no special
introduction. But, whether we inculcate the soul
and spirit of human rights in our lives still remains
an integral unanswered question. The world at
large comprises of more than 7 billion people
belonging to diverse cultures, habitation, ethnicity,
caste, gender, religion and so on. In the hustle bustle
of our own lives, we tend to keep our eyes closed off
a significant part and parcel of our society. i.e.
People/children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.
Though not all, but many people with autism are
despised, abused, debarred of their basic human
rights and are made literally invisible in the realm
of modern society, living and lifestyle. The present
work is an attempt to sketch out the fundamental
evident issues related to human rights and autism
from a psychosocial perspective; which are
sometimes overlooked or kept veiled. Some
observations of violation of human rights of people
with ASD have been cited by the author.

OJMR 2015 | October - December 2015 | Volume 1 | Issue 3 | Pages 1-5

Published online by Association for Indian Psychology, Rishikesh, India

ISSN (Online): 2395-4892

Quarterly, Peer-reviewed, Int. Journal

2
Behera, S. / Psychosocial Scenario of Human Rights and Autism

Background

Human Rights

are those rights or

privileges that all human beings are entitled
to, irrespective of their age, sex, caste, creed,
culture, region, religion and so on. Human
rights entail equality and protection of each
and every individual in every nook and corner
of the globe. The concept of Human Rights
was first considered as a matter of global
concern during the atrocities and inhumane
experiences that cropped up in the Second
World War. With the creation of the United
Nations, the world community vowed that no
human being shall further suffer in such
brutal conditions. This eventually led to the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the
UN General Assembly on 10th December, 1948.
Dr. Justice R. K. Patra, Odisha Human Rights
Commission, 2014 states that, Human Rights
are not established by writing words on
papers or on blue sky. Human Rights are
established by building specific types of
institutions the institutions that live through
organized and articulate methods the sole
goal to achieve that all human beings are born
free and equal in dignity and rights.
The chief characteristics of Human
Rights reflect that Human Rights are
Universal, interrelated, indivisible, equal, nondiscriminatory, and are both rights and
obligations to be followed by one and all.
There are several forms of Human Rights viz.
Right to Equality, Right to Freedom, Social and
Political Rights and so on. Among these Right
to Life with Dignity is of utmost importance. It
safeguards the life, individuality and integrity
of an individual irrespective of who he or she
is. In the words of Dr. P.K. Rath, Professor of

Psychology, Odisha (2014) From Psychology

point of view Right to Life with Dignity
describes an individuals right to love, to
respect and to accept oneself as the person is.
It is because the individual is a very unique
creation,
not
yet
duplicated
even
physically..And yet because of the constant
bombardment of comparison, competition
and success as a sign of rarity have created
huge amount of stress, lack of belief in our
uniqueness and much less willingness to fight
for our dignity. We love, respect and accept
ourselves much less than what we deserve.
Needless to say, there are many instances of
Human Rights violation in the so-called civil
society and more specifically with the people
who suffer from physical and mental
impairments. The inhumane treatment, abuse,
torture and torment they receive are
sometimes beyond ones senses and
imagination.

Review of Literature:
Jennifer C. Sarrett, Graduate Institute
of Liberal Arts (2012) suggests that Autism
and related disorders are increasingly
discussed in disability literature as the field is
more confidently discussing intellectual and
developmental impairments. Using autism as
a basis, a model for human rights is built
around the interconnected traits of
interdependence,
individuality,
and
a
consideration for the sphere of human
diversity. She argues that people on the
autism spectrum are a group of people in a
particularly unique position to relate to a
diverse range of disabilities and abilities and

OJMR 2015 | October - December 2015 | Volume 1 | Issue 3 | Pages 1-5

Published online by Association for Indian Psychology, Rishikesh, India

ISSN (Online): 2395-4892

Quarterly, Peer-reviewed, Int. Journal

3
can therefore influence and advance our
understanding of human rights from a
disability studies perspective. The study
reflects numerous instances in which the
rights and dignity of people with special needs
are violated even by the primary and upper
level stakeholders of the area.
An evidence based review report
titled, Human rights violations of people with
mental and psychosocial disabilities: an
unresolved global crisis by Natalie Drew et al.
2011, epitomizes the types of human rights
violations experienced by people with mental
and psychosocial disabilities in low-income
and middle-income countries as well as
strategies to prevent these violations and
promote human rights in line with the UN
Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities (CRPD).
Though there have been manifold
research and work with respect to the people
living with special needs, however, the real
implementation of such findings and
applications seem to be sparse at all the levels
that people with special needs encounter on a
daily basis. The abuse, stigma and
discrimination they suffer in every second of
their lives are needless to say the list.

Human Rights and the Differently Able:

People with Impairments were seen
more from a medical model perspective
rather than persons with a life and dignity.
Their impairments were used to despise them
on personal and social grounds. Derogatory
words like deaf, dumb, blind, mad, old, lame,
etc became regular words of regular colloquial
usage. They were not only denied of their
basic Human Rights but also their right to be
alive and lead a meaningful life. Due to the
muddle created by the so-called normal
society, people with impairments almost

became invisible in the map and demography

of the world. Their impairment was made a
breeding ground for stigma, discrimination
and disability.
To safeguard the equality, safety,
integrity of the Differently Able population,
the Persons with Disabilities (Equal
Opportunity, Protection of Rights and Full
Participation) Act / PWD Act was formulated
in 1995. The PWD Act 1995 and the National
Trust Act for the welfare of persons with
mental retardation, cerebral palsy, autism and
multiple disabilities 1999 speak of ten
disabilities such as 1) Blindness 2) Low Vision
3) Leprosy-cured 4) Hearing Impairment 5)
Loco-motor Disability 6) Cerebral Palsy 7)
Mental Retardation 8) Mental Illness 9)
Autism and 10) Multiple Disabilities. In the
words of Mrs Kasturi Mohapata, the State
Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities,
(2014) There is a need for the society to
appreciate that right to access to facilities and
opportunity is enshrined in the Preamble of
the Constitution and is very much a part of
Human Rights. It is hardly correct to talk of a
normal and disabled divide..It is
imperative that the society starts to
understand that an inclusive society is not a
fad but absolute non-negotiable human right
as a part of civilized human society.

Psychosocial Scenario of Autism and

Human Rights:
Technically,
Autism
Spectrum
Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopment
disorder characterized by impaired social
interaction,
verbal
and
non-verbal
communication, and restricted and repetitive
behaviour. The main thrust to define autism
began in the 1940s with seminal work of Leo
Kanner (1943) and Hans Asperger (1944). As
of 2010, the rate of ASD is about 12 per 1,000

OJMR 2015 | October - December 2015 | Volume 1 | Issue 3 | Pages 1-5

Published online by Association for Indian Psychology, Rishikesh, India

ISSN (Online): 2395-4892

Quarterly, Peer-reviewed, Int. Journal

4
people worldwide. It occurs four to five times
more often in boys than girls. The earliest
signs of autism are noticed within the first
two years of a childs life. Other children tend
to achieve some of their developmental
milestones and then regress.
The violation of rights and dignity of a
child with Autism begins at the very first step
of Assessment and Diagnosis. Sometimes
parents tend to tag their children as
Hyperactive and take their children to
inappropriate places for the assessment and
diagnosis of autism. Once this happens, the
actual malady starts for the child. Bullying;
calling the child with names such as
hyperactive, bloody autistic, naughty; abuse;
spanking start right on.
A 13 yr old girl was rescued from her
home confinement when her parents kept her
in a closed room just because she had autism.
In many instances, children with autism are
taken to religious places and quacks so that
they can recover from it. Neither do they
receive proper treatment nor are they
imparted with proper care and attention. An
uncle of a girl with autism was sexually
harassing and abusing her in front of her
mother. When the mother was asked the
reason of her silence, she said her daughter is
an autistic and cant speak so she deserves
this harassment.
In a similar situation rather than being
helped with sanitary napkins during her
menstrual cycle, a girl with ASD is made to
wear cloth-made pads. When she took out her
clothes in front of others due to the cloth-pads
irritation, her clothes were stitched with long
diaper pins to avoid taking out of cloth pads
and clothes. These are just a few hellish and
heinous atrocities people with ASD have to
face.

Children with autism are brutally

abused and killed; they are trafficked, left out
deserted or left in orphanages; debarred of
their basic needs; inhumanly beaten and illtreated by the family members; once they
grow up they are not even included in the
main stream society as integral part of the
society and citizens of the nations. Neither
they are included in voting lists nor do they
have their identity cards, passports or other
such necessary documents reflecting their
rights, personal and social identity and
citizenship.

Discussion and Conclusion:

Human Rights and Right to Life with
Dignity of an individual form the foundations
of meaningful human existence. It should not
only remain restricted to the white-collar and
well-off population but also be entitled to
people belonging to every strata of the society
irrespective of their status and physical or
mental health conditions. People living with
autism and other forms of impairments need
not be considered as disabled and eventually
useless. Though they do not exist and operate
in the way social norms are laid out, yet they
deserve to be accepted, loved and respected.

Acknowledgement:
To the person for whom all my words
of gratitude fall shortMy Ph.D. research
guide, Dr. Pratap K. Rath, who made me stand
upright and alive in the face of all challenges,
for making me understand the true essence of
life, and for being what He is.

References:
1. Asperger
H
(1944).
"'Autistic
psychopathy'
in
childhood".
Cambridge University Press. pp. 37
92. ISBN 0-521-38608-X.

OJMR 2015 | October - December 2015 | Volume 1 | Issue 3 | Pages 1-5

Published online by Association for Indian Psychology, Rishikesh, India

ISSN (Online): 2395-4892

Quarterly, Peer-reviewed, Int. Journal

5
2. Kanner
L
(1943).
"Autistic
disturbances of affective contact".
Nerv Child. 21750. Reprint (1968)
Acta Paedopsychiatr 10036. PMID
4880460.
3. Mohapatra
Kasturi
(10th
Dec,
2014).The rights of the persons with
Disabilities. The Peoples Beacon. Vol.1.
Pg. 32-34
4. Natalie Drew et al. (17 October 2011).
Human rights violations of people
with
mental
and
psychosocial
disabilities: an unresolved global
crisis. Published online: The Lancet

5. Patra R. K. (14th Nov, 2014). Right to

Die Should not be made
fundamental. The Peoples Beacon.
Vol.1. Pg. 1
6. Rath P. K. (10th Dec, 2014). Human
Rights, The Constitution of India and a
pinch of Psychology. The Peoples
Beacon. Vol.1. Pg. 39-40
7. Sarret C. Jennifer (2012). Autistic
Human Rights - A Proposal. Disability
Studies Quarterly, Vol 32, No 4

How to cite this article:

Behera, S. (2015). The Invisible Population: Psychosocial Scenario of Human
Rights and Autism. Online Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 1(3): 1-5.

OJMR 2015 | October - December 2015 | Volume 1 | Issue 3 | Pages 1-5

Published online by Association for Indian Psychology, Rishikesh, India

ISSN (Online): 2395-4892

Quarterly, Peer-reviewed, Int. Journal