What are the different types of advocacy?
There are three main forms of advocacy that you may hear about from other service providers, or read on their web sites; “Independent Advocacy” , ” Systemic Advocacy” and of course, “Self Advocacy” . Individual Advocacy is when the advocate concentrates their efforts solely on advocating for one or two people. The advocate could be a staff member of an organisation, a carer, family member, friend or volunteer. This type of advocacy is focused on the specific needs or situation surrounding the individual or person with a disability. Systemic Advocacy is primarily concerned with influencing and changing the ‘system’ in general (such as legislation, policy and practices) in ways that will benefit people with a disability as a group. Systemic advocates will encourage overall changes to the law, service policies, government, and community attitudes. This form of advocacy does not usually involve individual advocacy as it can cause a conflict of interest around the resources that are being g
