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(Degener 2017). It further incorporates all human rights. It acknowledges the person’s impairment and argues that it must be considered when developing social justice theories (Degener 2017). The human rights model recognises that a properly formulated prevention policy may be a way of protecting human rights for people with disabilities. It also offers constructive proposals for improving the lives of people living with disabilities (Retief and Letšosa 2018). There is no single way of defining or conceptualising disability. Disability is an umbrella term for bodily or functional impairment, activity or capacity limitation and participation restrictions (Aroonsrimorakot et al. 2020). Disability exists only when the degree and type of impairment cause functional difficulty in a particular environment (Vornholt et al. 2018).
Legislative framework
The legislative framework outlined below reviewed.
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is a human rights treaty signed by 162 countries, including South Africa, set up in 2006 to bring about a paradigm shift that recognises that people with disabilities are rights holders and human rights subjects (United Nations 2006). The Constitution Act 108 of 1996 is the ultimate law of the Republic. It promotes the liberties and dignity of persons living with disabilities. It states that ‘everyone is identical before the law and has the right to equal protection and profit of the law’ (The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa 1996). The Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998 (EEA) was introduced in South Africa to address the legacy of apartheid and ensure equitable representation of the ‘designated groups’ in the labour market. Its purpose was to promote equity in the workplace by promoting equal opportunities and fair treatment and eliminating unfair discrimination (Department of Labour 1998).
The White Paper on Integrated National Disability Strategy, 1997 (INDS) examined how disabled people were previously excluded in South Africa. Its vision is “Society for all, one in which persons with disabilities are actively involved in the transformation process” (The Office of Deputy President 1997). The White Paper on Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2016 (WPRPD) is the domestication of the United Nations Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006). It advocates for a free and just society that includes all persons with disabilities as equal citizens. The WPRDP (2016) commits to accelerating the implementation of existing legislation, removing discriminatory barriers to access and participation, and recognising the right to self–representation (Department of Social Development 2016) – the National Strategic Framework on Reasonable Accommodation for Persons with Disabilities, 2020. The framework’s desired outcome is for people with disabilities to fully and actively participate in life activities equally with
people without disabilities. Reasonable accommodation refers to the necessary and appropriate modifications or adjustments, as well as assistive devices and technology. The reasonable accommodation measure depends on the activity or task performed, the barriers created by the environment and a person’s specific impairment.
employment of people with disabilities
People with disabilities have lower access to employment compared to people without disabilities (Morwane and Dada 2018). In developing countries, people with disabilities are likely to be standing in public spaces as beggars rather than being professionals (Shakespeare et al. 2019). The COVID-19 pandemic worsened disparities of people with disabilities in employment (Ahinkorah et al. 2021). More women were affected by COVID-19, although mortality was worse in men (Saloshni and Nithiseelan 2022) The strain women experienced was in how to balance the multiple roles that they had to perform. Some of the added responsibilities included taking care of ill family members, monitoring home-schooled children, and general household chores (Saloshni and Nithiseelan 2022) They were likely to choose their domestic rather than professional roles. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, spending more time at home exposed some women to gender- based violence (Croft and Fraser 2021).
Gender-based violence (GBV) during the COVID-19 pandemic
The lockdown mobility restrictions that were implemented during the pandemic came with challenges. This was a period where people were constantly in panic mode. One minute, a relative was sick, and a few days later, the other one passed away. This increased the abuse of alcohol and intimate partner violence (Womack and Orton 2024). GBV against women includes any physical, sexual, psychological, economic and any other suffering restricting the personal and social freedom of women (Ostadtaghizadeh et al. 2023). The rise of GBV during COVID-19 resulted in researchers referring to it as a twin pandemic (Dlamini 2021). South Africa has the highest GBV statistics in the world. One woman is killed every three hours (Dlamini 2021).
Accessing and retaining employment during COVID-19 pandemic
People with disabilities encounter challenges in accessing and maintaining employment. Accessibility is the potential to access distributed opportunities such as employment. Access and accessibility are often used interchangeably in the literature. However, access refers to the person’s perspective, whereas accessibility is about the location (Pourramazani and Miralles-Garcia 2022). In this study, accessibility refers to the ability of women with disabilities to enter the workplace and retain employment.
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