Welcome to the UAV Project Website

UAV final aim is to promote the idea of formal and non-formal adult education really inclusive and accessible to all. The issue of Aversive Discrimination has not yet been addressed openly and directly in the field of adult education. Discrimination changes in time and cultures. In almost all sectors the level of awareness of those who work or volunteer or study in adult education excludes any direct discrimination.This fact is also supported by legislation, ethical principles, awareness of rights, etc. However, in the last twenty years numerous authors and groups have been debating the aversive aspects of discrimination.

Aversive (or unintentional) disablism, sexism or homophobia is different from oldfashioned, or blatant, disablism, sexism or homophobia. Discrimination is characterized by overt hatred for and discrimination against people with disabilities, women, lesbians and gays, the aversive forms are characterized by more complex, ambivalent attitudes. On the one hand, people who discriminate in an aversive way may be well-intentioned people who typically avoid acting in a discriminatory manner, support public policies that promote equality, sympathize with victims of past injustice, identify with liberal political agendas, possess strong egalitarian values, and regard themselves as non-prejudiced. On the other hand, these people almost unavoidably possess negative feelings and beliefs about people with disabilities, women, people of different 'race' etc.

The negative feelings experienced by aversive racists, disablists, sexists and homophobes are discomfort, uneasiness, or fear in the presence of some people. In addition, this negative attitude is frequently unacknowledged or dissociated from the self because it conflicts with one's egalitarian or self centred self-concept. Because aversive discriminating people are concerned with maintaining an egalitarian self-concept, they typically do not consciously or intentionally discriminate, therefore the negative feeling underlying their attitudes is likely to influence behavior in subtle, unconscious, and unintentional ways.