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In France, a mother killed her son. Her son had intellectual disabilities. The mother told the police that her son was acting in a violent way. She said she killed him because she could no longer deal with this. Unapei responded to this. Unapei is a French organization working for and with people with intellectual disabilities and their parents. The organization said that the incident also happened because there is not enough help for people with intellectual disabilities and their families. For example, there are not enough living and care options for people with intellectual disabilities. Because of this, many have no other choice but to stay with their parents. This can create problems in the family.The French law says that every person with a disability has the right to compensation. The right to compensation is the right to receive the support you need. Unapei says that the right to life and compensation must be better put in place in France. |
ROUEN – After a dramatic incident in early February involving a mother killing her son who had intellectual disabilities in the city of Rouen, France, the French National Union of Parents of People with Intellectual Disabilities (Unapei) responded fiercely in an opinion piece blaming the lack of inclusion within French society.
After she spontaneously confessed to the police, the woman who murdered her intellectually disabled son told the authorities that she could no longer deal with the aggressive mood swings her son was suffering from.
For Unapei, this incident is a clear indication that something is very wrong in the way French society treats people with intellectual disabilities and their families. According to the organization, many are forced to live in isolation in some way or another. Unapei said that “the failure of our society drives struggling families into committing the worst and irreversible.” Furthermore, Unapei denounced the fact that for many people with intellectual disabilities, there is no other alternative then living at home with their parents.
Yet, the right to alternative living situations is enshrined in French law. In 2013, a young adult called Amélie Loquet who has he Prader-Willi syndrome, autism and pervasive developmental disorders, was not provided with any housing and care solutions for over a year, other than staying at her childhood home. Her case was taken to court and eventually, it was decided she had a right to compensation. This court ruling has had a major effect on the general rights of people with disabilities; it should have acted in a way that an article was added to the (French/national) Declaration of Human and Citizens’ Rights (La Déclaration des Droits de l’Homme et du Citoyen), ensuring the right to compensation for people with disabilities.
As Unapei states however, despite the French government having created a “critical situation management device” spurred by Amélie Loqeut’s case, the general situation in France has still not improved. Statistics from October 2014 show that as much as one third of similar cases have not yet been resolved.
Christel Pradc, president of Unapei, stated that families are left on their own, facing an unacceptable plight that sometimes cannot be borne without committing the unthinkable. Unapei has thus demanded a strict implementation of the right to compensation. ‘Not abiding by this law is unacceptable within a society of solidarity built upon the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,’ Unapei said.
To find out more about Unapei, click here
To read the original article in French, click here
