Disability is not Inability

:: The Media Council of Kenya need to expand its horizons

It is in this background that we view the current debate about media and regulation. While various theories abound as to how the media should engage the disability community, one important fact is that the influence of the media in reinforcing discrimination against an all inclusive sustainable development is real. In this view, we take exception to comments that an organization representing persons with disabilities are of no use participating in media regulatory organs.

As the fourth estate, the media (both public and private) engage with the society depending on their potential as media consumers. In the developed world as the economic empowerment of the population of persons with disability has grown so has the profit motivated media built bridges to engage disability leading to more inclusive media products. We are yet to see an exception to this worldwide. However we have seen within statutory regulatory environments, the media (or at least leading media houses in these countries building the initial bridges with the disability community) Britain is the best case in point.

The role of the BBC in identifying the freedom of expression of the disability community is what led to the European Union conference in 2003 focusing on the media and disability. Within the framework of the European Year of People with Disabilities, EU media houses, persons with disability organizations, Advertising agencies, Media NGO’s, Government departments and Film producers, sat down to debate and come up with specific strategies to build the participation of persons with disabilities as equal EU Citizens.

Unless specific measures are built into self regulatory frameworks for media regulation, many do not believe the media has the motivation to engage the community within equity. One of these specific measures is to have an organization representing persons with disability seat in the regulatory body of the media. The recent media Bill 2007 proposal is an example.

The Media Council of Kenya need to expand its horizons and take responsibility in relation to disability by develops specific strategies to implement its provision in its code of conduct. The Code states: “the media should avoid prejudicial or prejorative reference to a person's race, tribe, clan, religion, sex or handicap. These details should be avoided unless they are crucial to the story.

The Persons with Disability Act 2004 defines discrimination as “to accord different treatment to different persons solely or mainly as a result of their disabilities and includes using words, gestures or caricatures that demean scandalise or embarrass a person with a disability. What are those media responsibilities?