About VILSIP

Visually impaired people are not easily missed on the street – they stand out because of the mobility aids they use. This high visibility can be advantageous in a caring society but potentially dangerous in one less caring. In whichever society the blind person is placed the scope for violence towards that person exists. This notion is borne out by the European Union Commission on Human and Social Rights against Visually Impaired People - 2003 in which this type of violence was proven. In many parts of Europe blind people are not allowed outdoors, even if escorted. In many parts of Europe, the cruel aspect of attacking the blind is considered “fair sport”. One of the aims of this project, therefore, is to raise awareness of these practices and the reasons surrounding them, especially in the new accession countries to the EU.

Violence in public can be easy to spot, but violence in private is less obvious. Here we refer to the self-harm and the numerous health impacts that accompany sensory impairment. Even people who are seemingly robust can hide the practice of self-harm. This story is largely untold and is often misunderstood. Self-harm can take many forms, some obvious, others, less so: suicides, contemplation of suicides, self-mutilation, self-denial, self-hurt, low self-esteem, over-protective and over-compensatory parent/guardians – indicate the transition from true violence to lesser categories of harm. The project will raise awareness in the following groups: selected educational establishments; selected medical centres; parents/guardians, youth workers; sectoral organisations as well as exploring and developing strategies for educating those prone to harming themselves.

The types of violence outlined above are not limited to sensory impaired people. People with physical impairments and with cognitive impairments all tell similar stories and all can relate to the experiences of sensory impaired people. This means that the awareness raised by this project can be of benefit to others and for the sake of transferability, it is worth considering immigrant and ethnic groups with impairments – here the concern is doubled, firstly because they are not native and secondly because of the impairment. They too can benefit from the awareness raised in this project.