Occupational apartheid is the concept in

occupational therapy Occupational therapy (OT) is a global healthcare profession. It involves the use of assessment and intervention to develop, recover, or maintain the meaningful activities, or ''occupations'', of individuals, groups, or communities. The field of ...

that different individuals, groups and communities can be deprived of meaningful and purposeful activity through segregation due to social, political, economical factors and for social status reasons. Occupational

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid wa ...

may occur due to race, disability, age,

gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures ...

, sexuality, religious preference, political preference, and creed. A war environment can also contribute to occupational

in which the constraints of war prevent the people living in the midst of combat from accessing past occupations. Occupational therapists recognize that many people facing occupational apartheid do not have the opportunity to freely choose their occupations, and thus are disadvantaged. The health and wellbeing of these individuals, groups and communities is compromised through the deprivation of meaningful and purposeful activities. In the light of day to day existence, every individual should be of equal status, no matter what their economic, political, health or social status. Occupational apartheid explains the reality that some people may be occupationally more equal than others. Pollard, N. Sakellariou, D. and Kronenberg, F. (2008) ''A Political Practice of Occupational Therapy''. Edinburgh: Elsevier Churchill Livingstone

Groups that may experience occupational apartheid

* Homeless adults * Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people *

Refugee A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

and asylum seekers * Individuals with disabilities * Religious groups * Street children * Survivors of

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for '' intimate partn ...

* Women * Incarcerated people * Indigenous People * Racial Minorities * The

working poor The working poor are working people whose incomes fall below a given poverty line due to low-income jobs and low familial household income. These are people who spend at least 27 weeks in a year working or looking for employment, but remain un ...

* Freeters

References

{{Aspects of occupations Occupational therapy Social inequality

Groups that may experience occupational apartheid

See also

References