SoylentNews

upstart [soylentnews.org] writes:

████ # This file was generated bot-o-matically! Edit at your own risk. ████

upstart [soylentnews.org] writes in with an IRC submission for aristarchus:

Pedophilia as a disability? Greece in uproar over allowing pedophiles, kleptomaniacs special status [nydailynews.com]:

Greek disability groups expressed anger Monday at a government decision to expand a list of state-recognized disability categories to include pedophiles, exhibitionists and kleptomaniacs.

The National Confederation of Disabled People called the action "incomprehensible."

The Labor Ministry said categories added to the expanded list - that also includes pyromaniacs, compulsive gamblers, fetishists and sadomasochists - were included for purposes of medical assessment.

Most Read

• NYPD Officer Michael Valva, charged with murder after his autistic son froze to death in garage, quits police force [nydailynews.com]
• Teen arrested after teacher sees him having oral sex with 7-year-old girl during break in online class [nydailynews.com]
• After being voted off ‘The Masked Singer,' Wendy Williams dishes the dirt [nydailynews.com]

But NCDP leader Yiannis Vardakastanis [nydailynews.com], who is blind, warned the new list could create new difficulties for disabled Greeks who are already facing benefit cuts due to the country's financial crisis.

"What's happened is incomprehensible. I think there is some big mistake. The ministry should have a different policy on disability," Vardakastanis told the Associated Press. "The list contains major changes to disability quotients, which could effectively remove many people from access to benefits."

Greece has been fighting to avoid bankruptcy since 2009. Public spending on health and welfare programs has been sharply cut under austerity measures imposed as a condition for receiving emergency loans from the International Monetary Fund and other countries using the euro currency.

Independently run welfare programs that survived on state grants have been the hardest hit, leaving some disabled groups, including the deaf, facing sudden drops in their standard of care.

The government is also battling widespread abuse in the welfare system, forcing tens of thousands of disabled people to be reassessed.

Recommended on Daily News

Original Submission