Ethnicity and disability: A double state of disadvantage?

Individuals with disabilities have experienced a negative perspective of society throughout the historical process because of their disability and therefore they have been exposed to stigmatizing and discriminatory practises. This research has tried to show whether 'disability' and 'ethnicity' together create a 'double disadvantage' situation in the context of Turkey. The negative experiences caused by the stituation of disability as a result of social interactions were evaluated within the framework of the narratives of individuals with visual and physical disabilities. In-depht interviews and participatory observations were conducted with eleven participants, seven of whom were wheelchair users and four of whom were visually disabled, in a study using qualitative research techniques and conducted in Batman. The data analysis of the study was carried out using the Excel program. The theoritical framework of the research is the social constructivist approach, which is one of the sociological theories, and the functional-ecological model, which is one of the models explaining the disability that develops as an extension of this approach. Based on the discussions about disability in this research, it has been seen that disability is a problem in a social sense rather than an individaul problem. Cultural definition of disability hinder their social life rather than the self-image of people with disabilities. At the intersection of 'disability' and 'ethnicity', which is the main focus of the research, it has been seen that only 'disability' creates a disadvantage and causes deprivation in all areas. Based on the discussions about being 'disabled' and a 'woman' due to the emphasis on gender at the field stage, this creates dominant and 'double disadvantage' situation in terms of this research. As result of the discussions conducted with the participants due to the prevalence of Kovid-19 during the field stage of the research, it was found that Kovid-19 further hinders the majority of disabled people.