Text on screen: Your Service, Your rights

Ben says:
What are human rights?

Human means man, woman, child, or person.

Rights means things you should have, like education, health care, safety, food, and shelter.

People didn't always have human rights. 

A long  time ago some people were treated unfairly.

Some people didn't have education, health care, safety, food, or shelter. A good person said what about our rights?

People kept on doing bad things to each other.

Good people said what about our rights?

But this kept on happening around the world until lots of people said "What about our rights!"

Then something changed.

There was rules for Human Rights.

This meant all people were equal, all people have rights. 

Group of people: WOOHOO! 

Ben continues: There are rules that say all people with disability have rights.

This is called the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disability.

Even though there are rules about rights, people with a disability can still be treated unfairly.

This means people with a disability still have to speak up for their rights.

Leonie says:
A time I spoke up for my rights was when I had a bad experience with a service provider. 

When I was a young person people treated me different because of my disability.

I think things have changed now, but there's a long way to go.

It took me a long time to find my voice but speaking up now is easier.

I did belong to a self-advocacy group in Wagga for a long time and I started to speak up, but I still thought it was a bit scary to speak up.

I went on a day trip with a service provider and I had a bad experience.

I told my advocacy group about about a couple of issues I had with my service provider.

And the group encouraged me to say something, but when when I did speak up nothing happened.

I told my colleague from CID and my colleague from Fair Trading what happened.

They agreed that I had a valid complaint and they encouraged me to speak up about it. So I did.

I have the right to have a good service. It's my choice and it's my money.

And I should be able to choose what I want.

And other people should be able to do the same.

The advice we give people other people to speak up about, is that they can go and make a complaint. 

And if they are scared they can always get someone to go with them. And know that they have every right to make a complaint.

It might be frightening for them for the first time

But after they do it a few times it should become easier.

It's best to say it straight away so you can try and fix the problem quickly.

It takes practice to speak up and have people to encourage you to do so.

I feel better when I speak up. I have the confidence and I feel in control.

We've all got the same rights as anyone else.

We should be listened to.

Justen says:
A time when I spoke up for my rights was with my NDIS appeal.

They misjudged me by saying that I'm quite capable of doing things for myself.

There's a lot of things I want to achieve,

and I can't do it without the right support.

You know, support coordinating all that.

I'm the only expert in my life that knows myself.

Not even your own family would know you.

Only you know yourself.

So I rang up an advocacy service to get an appointment.  An advocacy service is for speaking out for people

if there's something wrong and people with disability can't speak up.

So advocacy works as a team and they fight for the rights of people who can't fend for themselves.

They heard me. I've been heard. 

They actually had a voice and got on the phone and  got onto the NDIS to talk to them about  why I'm appealing and all that.

And then just recently, 4 weeks ago, I got the letter saying that I've won my appeal and I've got my funding that I should have been getting for support coordination and support workers and all that now.

Yeah I think if you've been harshly treated or mistreated by anyone or anything everyone's got a voice and should be able to say something.

Just go and see someone, seek some advice. It'll help.

Just be brave and keep being strong in you'll get there. 

I always, most of my life, I have always been silent.

I've been one of those shy, silent kids when I was younger and that. Right from my childhood, teenage, I've just been a silent one.

So I didn't have any confidence, that confidence was never in me. 

I wasn't quite confident, but I'm confident now.

And it's my right to speak up for my  needs and what I'm missing out of in my life.

And all this is possible because I learned to speak up and to able to get the funding from my planners. Yep.

Justen: You can speak up and be heard.

Leonie: You can speak up if you're not happy.

Ben: You have rights.

Justen: You matter!

Text on screen: Your Service, Your Rights www.cid.org.au/your-service
Produced by Council for Intellectual Disability.
Supported through grant funding from the Australian Government

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