Fostering Healthy Human Relationships with People with Disabilities in Post-Apartheid South Africa

South Africa’s post-apartheid journey has been characterised by an array of developments, accolades and challenges. This chapter discusses how healthy human relationships with people with disabilities (PWD) in South Africa have been fostered. It does this by providing a historical overview and addresses the developments initiated by the Constitution of South Africa and the policy and legislative frameworks with regard to the inclusion of and acknowledging the rights of PWD. These developments and the alignment with the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of People with Disability led to a renewed conceptualisation of the terminology and understanding relevant to disability. The impact of the UN’s community-based rehabilitation model (CBRM) and the social model of disability (SMD) permeate the understanding and implementation of matters related to PWD in South Africa. Considering the post-apartheid tenets of equality, non-discrimination, the inclusion of all, increased accessibility, focus on communities and the acknowledgement of the importance of indigenisation, South Africa can be recognised with several accomplishments concerning policy implementation, breakdown of stereotypes and discrimination and a greater focus on community-based programmes for PWD. Notable challenges about infrastructure, resources, discrimination, etc. are however still evident in the society.