Situating occupational injustices experienced by children with disabilities in rural India within sociocultural, economic, and systemic conditions
Tanya Elizabeth Benjamin‐Thomas, Debbie Laliberté Rudman, Colleen McGrath, Debra Cameron, Vinod Joseph Abraham, Jeshuran Gunaseelan, Samuel Prasanna J. Vinothkumar
Abstract
This paper contributes to diversifying and situating understandings of occupational injustices through presenting findings from the knowledge generation phase of a participatory action research (PAR) project that utilized participatory filmmaking with children with disabilities in rural South India as co-researchers. Centering on situations of occupational injustices generated through a participatory analysis conducted with the child co-researchers, a critical theoretical analysis, informed by critical occupational science and critical disability perspectives, was carried out. This theoretical analysis of data generated through the filmmaking process, as well as data generated with parents of children with disabilities, community members, and service providers, was used to elucidate forces shaping and perpetuating occupational injustices within the study context. Findings address the complex layers of sociocultural, economic, and systemic forces shaping occupational injustices, as well as ways contested responsibility and individualization of issues limited collective action. The paper illustrates the contributions that can be made through critical participatory approaches to enhancing understanding of the production and perpetuation of occupational injustices in ways that contribute to nuanced understanding of diverse human occupations. As well, issues of occupational injustice related to occupational marginalization, restricted occupational possibilities, occupational degradation, and non-sanctioned occupations are fore fronted.