A thread in English about what most of my Swedish tweets are about: austerity and disability politics. Feel free to spread the word about the developments in Sweden to activists and critical thinkers elsewhere.
Today, the Swedish disability movement won an important victory: the Swedish government declared that it will change the law to counter a court ruling that would abolish personal assistance, an absolutely vital service for independent living.
The government has also decided to freeze reviews for assistance until a public commission is finished a year from now. This is all good news, considering the developments during the last few years.
Personal assistance has been attacked for at least a decade, framed as too costly and haunted by fraudsters. Court decisions has eroded it to become something completely different from what is stated in the law regulating the service.
State authorities has been increasingly restrictive in their eligibility rulings. As a result, disabled people have had to quit their jobs and institutionalisation of disabled children is once again a distinct possibility.
Stories of disabled people dying as a result has started to appear. Already a year ago, a few hundred meters from where I live, a person denied assistance was found dead in a public toilet. The accident would have been prevented if she had been granted the assistance she needed.
Disabled activists, along with a small number of disability scholars and others allies, have campaigned furiously for the last few years. The government decision is a result of this struggle.
However, personal assistance is still threated. There are a few more important court rulings that need to be overruled by law. Eligibility for assistance need to be based in needs, rather than cost analysis.
People are still suffering horribly as a result of cynical and grim political decisions.
The present victory shows that a united movement can change policy, but the struggle for equality and independent living is of course far from over. This gives us some breathing space, though
The present victory shows that a united movement can change policy, but the struggle for equality and independent living is of course far from over. This gives us some breathing space, though
There are a number of brilliant scholars and activists writing – mostly in Swedish – about this and related things. See for example @KittinVittamin, @swedishhobbit, @JuliaBahner, @SusanneBBerg, @killedbyproxy, among others.
I have two pieces in Swedish about the developments and plan to publish an English summary soon. I would be interested to head if there are any cross-national efforts to mobilise against austerity. I would also want to see more comparative research on the politics of cutbacks.
I have been granted research funding for three years looking into these questions and would love to reach out to scholars and activists elsewhere. Do not hesitate to contact me!
