Unapei conducted a survey among parents of people with disabilities. 3,940 parents contributed.
The survey is called The voice of parents.
The survey talks about how families are impacted because of the lack of support for people with disabilities.
- Impact on health (including mental health);
- Impact on professional life;
- Feelings of exclusion and isolation.
“68% of people in France say they were happy in 2018, but for respondents-parents it was only 43%. 24% feel pessimistic, when it’s 11% in the general population.”
Some highlights from the survey:
95% of parents fear for their daughter’s or son’s future when they are no longer there
Lack of support, shortage of professionals, waiting lists… The future of their loved one at the time of their death worries an overwhelming majority of parents regardless of their age.
74% of parents feel they are not free to choose how to live their lives
Only 26% of parents say they feel free to choose their lives. A worrying and unfair figure when we know that they are 71% in the general population.
41% of the active population who responded work part-time
That is significantly higher than the 17.5% of the general population. Often due to a lack of a solution for the care of their loved one, parents are forced to slow down their professional lives and become lifelong carers.
59% of respondents indicate that more support solutions would allow them to have more time for themselves.
For context:
France was condemned by the Council of Europe for its treatment of people with disabilities, following a complaint by EDF and Inclusion Europe on behalf of French organisations.
80% of care in Europe is provided by informal carers (mostly family members, mostly women). See EU care strategy.
