SC releases guidelines to prevent stereotyping of differently abled

The Supreme Court, in a landmark ruling on Monday, laid down comprehensive guidelines to prevent stereotyping and discrimination of persons with disabilities in visual media, including films and documentaries, emphasising the importance of sensitive and accurate representation of PwDs in order for discourse to be inclusive rather than alienating. While disability humour attempts to better understand and explain disability, disabling humour denigrates it.We take this opportunity to provide a framework of the portrayal of persons with disabilities in the visual media that aligns with the anti-discrimination and dignity affirming objectives of the Constitution as well as the rights of persons with disabilities.” The judgment underscored the detrimental impact of stereotypes on discrimination and the enjoyment of fundamental rights. The Supreme Court laid down several key guidelines for the portrayal of persons with disabilities in visual media, premising its ruling on the ideas that “the language of thought discourse ought to be inclusive rather than alienating” and that “representation of persons with disabilities must regard the objective social contexts of their representation instead of marginalising them”. Dr Vaibhav Bhandari, disability rights activist and the founder of Swavlamban Foundation, said that the Supreme Court’s ruling represents a monumental step forward for the representation of persons with disabilities in visual media.