I SEE, BUT IN A DIFFERENT WAY THAN YOU (The Social Position of Blind and Visually Impaired Population in the Republic of Slovenia)

Diskutiranje o fenomenu slepote in slabovidnosti bo nemara v družbah vselej aktualno tako v družboslovnih kot naravoslovnih znanostih. Okvare vida so lahko bodisi prirojene bodisi nastanejo kot posledica različnih bolezenskih stanj in se pojavljajo v vseh obdobjih človekovega življenja, a vseeno znatno pogosteje pri populaciji starejših. Zahodne družbe se že vrsto let soočamo s trendom staranja prebivalstva, hkrati pa se podaljšuje tudi življenjska doba v državah v razvoju. Potemtakem ne preseneča ugotovitev, da je velik delež slepih in slabovidnih starejših od šestdeset let. Zaključno delo je razdeljeno na teoretični in empirični del ter izpostavlja aktualno problematiko, s katero se slepi in slabovidni v Republiki Sloveniji soočajo v različnih družbenih sferah. Problematika se glede na izsledke našega raziskovanja pojavlja tako pri dostopnosti do določenih pripomočkov za slepe in slabovidne kot tudi na ravni izobraževanja ter pri ustrezni prilagojenosti javnih površin in ustanov. Najbolj pereč problem za slepe in slabovidne ostajajo zaposlitvene možnosti oziroma otežkočen vstop na trg dela. Stanje v zaposlovanju se je v postsocialističnih državah s tranzicijo iz socializma v kapitalizem opazno poslabšalo, kajti v socializmu so bile zaposlitvene možnosti slepih in slabovidnih bolje regulirane. Hkrati so temelji družbenega izključevanja v pomilovalnem in podcenjujočem odnosu do slepih in slabovidnih oseb. V povezavi s tem se v 21. stoletju zaradi okulocentrizma in pojmovanja »ideološkega modela človeka« o slepoti in slabovidnosti še vedno pojavljajo različni predsodki in stereotipi.The discussion of the phenomenon of blindness and visual impairment will always be present in societyboth in the sphere of humanities and natural sciences. The visual impairment can either be innate - a result of various consequences of conditions that occur in all periods of human life. Nevertheless, their occurrence is more frequent in the population of the elderly. Western societies have been facing the aging trend of the population for many years, however, at the same time, the life expectancy is on the rise. It is therefore not surprising to find a large percentage of blind and visually impaired individuals in the population older than sixty. The master thesis is divided into a theoretical and empirical part. The thesis highlights the current problems with which the blind and visually impaired in Slovenia are confronted in different social spheres. The main problems, according to the results of our research, appear to be the lack of accessibility of some devices for blind and visually impaired, as well as also the aspect of education. Furthermore, the inappropriate adaptation of public spaces and institutions also represents a problem. The most pressing problem for the blind and partially sighted remains the employment opportunities and difficult entry into the labor market. The situation connected to employment has markedly deteriorated in post-socialist countries with the transition from socialism to capitalism, because in socialism, the employment opportunities of blind and partially sighted people were under better regulation. At the same time, the foundations of social exclusion lie in a pitying and underestimating attitude towards the blind and visually impaired. In connection to this, in the 21st century, different prejudices and stereotypes of blindness are still occurring due to the ocularcentrism and the concept of the "ideological model of man"