Charity Model of Disability
The charity model of disability views disabled people as objects of pity who
require sympathy, help and looking after, their impairment being their main
identifier (Think Local Act Personal, n.d.). They are seen as recipients and
beneficiaries of services. This approach sees persons with disabilities as passive,
tragic or suffering, requiring care. air assumes that it is the community and
society’s responsibility to arrange all services for these vulnerable people and
know what’s good for them (CBM, 2022). Historically, this model can be traced to
the 19th century when institutions and asylums were designed to house disabled
people rather than empower them.
It views disabled people as passive recipients of care, pity or benevolence. It
assumes that disability is inherently tragic and that society must compensate for
it through charity, volunteering or other duties. It focuses on helping or rescuing
the person and can offer family support, peer networks, and mentoring. It
assumes dependency and power remains with non-disabled actors or institutions;
it originates from religious or philanthropic traditions, and the community helps
advocate for individuals and provides emotional and practical backing.
Implications lead to individuals being depicted as helpless or broken, encourage
funding for services only when an individual appears ‘severely impaired’,
undermine self-advocacy and peer-led initiatives and may fuel stigma and
internalised shame by framing disability as a misfortune. It can take away
agency, create dependency instead of empowerment and offer no structural
critique or pathway to systemic inclusion (ION Neurodiversity, n.d.).
According to the Charity Model, people may view persons with disabilities as not
having the capacity to live independently or live together with others without
disabilities. With this implication, they must be ‘cared for’ in separate facilities
from the rest of the community, and they are unable to make their own decisions
(UNHCR, n.d.).
It has been widely critiqued by the Social Model of Disability, which argues that
disability is not caused solely by impairment but by societal barriers and
exclusion. Policies and practices influenced by the Charity Model often
perpetuate segregation and limit autonomy. This model can reinforce societal
assumptions that disabled people are incapable of making decisions or
participating fully in community life. This model has historical roots in John
Winthrop’s model of Christian charity, which emphasised that helping those in
The charity model of disability views disabled people as objects of pity who
require sympathy, help and looking after, their impairment being their main
identifier (Think Local Act Personal, n.d.). They are seen as recipients and
beneficiaries of services. This approach sees persons with disabilities as passive,
tragic or suffering, requiring care. air assumes that it is the community and
society’s responsibility to arrange all services for these vulnerable people and
know what’s good for them (CBM, 2022). Historically, this model can be traced to
the 19th century when institutions and asylums were designed to house disabled
people rather than empower them.
It views disabled people as passive recipients of care, pity or benevolence. It
assumes that disability is inherently tragic and that society must compensate for
it through charity, volunteering or other duties. It focuses on helping or rescuing
the person and can offer family support, peer networks, and mentoring. It
assumes dependency and power remains with non-disabled actors or institutions;
it originates from religious or philanthropic traditions, and the community helps
advocate for individuals and provides emotional and practical backing.
Implications lead to individuals being depicted as helpless or broken, encourage
funding for services only when an individual appears ‘severely impaired’,
undermine self-advocacy and peer-led initiatives and may fuel stigma and
internalised shame by framing disability as a misfortune. It can take away
agency, create dependency instead of empowerment and offer no structural
critique or pathway to systemic inclusion (ION Neurodiversity, n.d.).
According to the Charity Model, people may view persons with disabilities as not
having the capacity to live independently or live together with others without
disabilities. With this implication, they must be ‘cared for’ in separate facilities
from the rest of the community, and they are unable to make their own decisions
(UNHCR, n.d.).
It has been widely critiqued by the Social Model of Disability, which argues that
disability is not caused solely by impairment but by societal barriers and
exclusion. Policies and practices influenced by the Charity Model often
perpetuate segregation and limit autonomy. This model can reinforce societal
assumptions that disabled people are incapable of making decisions or
participating fully in community life. This model has historical roots in John
Winthrop’s model of Christian charity, which emphasised that helping those in
