Full citizenship

Increasingly, citizenship for people with disability is promoted as a key goal for social policy. For some people, however, it is not always clear what the term means.

At Identitywa, we have developed a working definition of full citizenship, a status which is achieved when a person:

• is integral to their community
• exercises their rights and meets their responsibilities as a citizen
• is and feels valued and respected within their community

and whose

• inherent dignity as a human being is upheld
• uniqueness is recognised and considered a valuable contribution to a rich and dynamic society.

Dr Simon Duffy, with Wendy Perez, propose that there are several elements (keys) to citizenship that build one’s self-respect and generates respect from other citizens, thus enhancing one’s overall wellbeing.

The 7 keys of citizenship are:

Our support services are all designed through the lens of full citizenship.