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Italian Laws for Blind and Visually Impaired People

Presented by Marco Bongi at the Transnational Meeting in Turin, Italy, June 1998.

The current legislation dates back the to First World War with some adjustments after the Second World War. This link exists because visual impairment in Italy was mainly due to wars, and stressed the recognition on visual impairment as 100% blind. There was, and still is, little regard on the area of progressive disease's, for example the criteria for state benefits is based exclusively on 'visual acuity'. The most important test it the ability to read using the central retinal areas at 5 metres, this is not the only test but does not take into the account the effects of different visual impairments. Under Italian Law 'Blind and Legally Blind' is specified as a visual acuity up to 10% and 'Partially Sighted' as visual acuity between 10% and 30%. FIARP believes that these definitions do not take the wider implications into account, for example Scandinavia examines and account for 'functional ability'. There are other parameters that should be equally as important, for example:

• Angle of visual field
• Effects of light and dark
• Colour identification

All the above parameters are essential and effect a person's daily life.

New organisations for the Blind have, to some degree, defended this methodology but support the expansion of the criteria to reflect the wider effects. Part of the problem in campaigning for this change is that new organisations do not have the same power as the established organisations, whose focus has been working with people within the above methodologies.

Benefits are available to people matching the present criteria, for example visually impaired children in mainstream schools have the right to a personal tutor to support extra tutoring, homework and social activities. Within the Health Service there is access to video technology, computers, braille on-line and some subsides but again these are linked to a person being legally disabled.

Due to the acuity test people with RP are excluded from the above benefits. This is why people with RP face a negative situation and FIARP applied for ESF funding as the funding would not be tied to the Italian legal definition on visual impairment.

Social Enterprises for disabled people are widespread in Italy but not for visual impairment, we only know of four co-operatives. This is a promising area to develop as well as increasing the skills and developing other professional skills for people with RP. Especially interested in examples from other European countries on their legislation and rights for visually impaired people.

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