Navigating Minefields: Social Work with People with Disabilities in the Context of War

Abstract The systematic dehumanization of people with disabilities in peaceful times is magnified in times of war and during post-war periods, especially in regions and countries with prevalent medical-pathological approaches towards individuals with disabilities. This discussion combines historical, current, and anticipated impacts and integrates the experiences of practitioners and communities. Using critical social work and critical disability studies perspectives, we have questioned what we need to attend to in social work to ensure that, in war, we do not overlook people with impairments. We also ask how the lives of people living in long-term institutions have been affected and what has changed since the outbreak of war. Their rights have long been overlooked. The war zone in Ukraine provides a critical case study intended to increase sensitivity and understanding among academics and social work professionals about the needs and rights of people with disabilities, and about the multi-dimensional barriers and hazards, visible and invisible, that they experience in times of armed conflict and its aftermath. It is argued that this is a global and mainstream concern, not a marginal topic. New emphasis is given to social work's potential and shared responsibilities to contribute to the realization of the rights of people with disabilities in a war context, through training, research, practice, and policy.