Resources

ELA presents a report that brings together the gender and disability agendas to examine how care and support for independent living are organised. The report moves beyond an assistentialist approach and calls for policies that recognise care and support as rights, with an emphasis on autonomy, interdependence, and equality. In our region, care continues to fall disproportionately on women.

This report provides a framework for articulating “care” and “support”: recognising the value of care while ensuring that support respects the autonomy, will, and preferences of persons with disabilities. The goal is clear: to shift from a private responsibility placed on families to a shared social responsibility among the State, communities, the market, and households.

What will you find in the report?

• Conceptual keys to understand the differences and complementarities between “care” and “support,” based on the social model of disability and a rights-based approach.
• Evidence and testimonies showing how the current organisation of care produces gender inequalities, especially where support needs are present.
• Standards and regulatory frameworks (CRPD and regional developments) to guide policies that enable autonomous, independent, and interdependent lives.
• Proposals to move from assistentialist schemes towards comprehensive care and support systems, including accessibility, care leave and time to provide care, personal assistance, and assistive technologies.