Carers rights movement

The Carers rights movement attempts to address the issues of low income, social exclusion, damage to mental and physical health and lack of recognition that have been identified by research articles and studies of unpaid carers (or caregivers as they are known in the USA). Restrictions on the freedom and opportunities of unpaid carers caused by the heavy burden of caring have given rise to the Carers rights movement. In social policy and campaigning terms, it is vital to make a clear distinction between this group and the situation of paid careworkers, who in most developed countries have the benefit of legal employment protection and rights at work.

Carers, and family caregivers, refer to the care of people with disabilities by unpaid relatives or friends. Unpaid carers are also incorrectly referred to as voluntary caregivers, and informal carers; but these classifications have been criticized as a misnomer since caring for a relative or friend is normally neither voluntary nor informal. An accepted definition of a carer is, "Someone whose life is in some way restricted by the need to be responsible for the care of someone who is mentally ill, mentally handicapped, physically disabled or whose health is impaired by sickness or old age.” Carers UK defines carers as people who "provide unpaid care by looking after an ill, frail or disabled family member, friend or partner".

Around half of all carers are effectively excluded from paid employment through the heavy demands and responsibilities of caring for a vulnerable relative or friend. Their work has huge economic and social impact, being valued at over £87 billion in the UK alone.

With an increasingly aging population in all developed societies, the role of carer has been increasingly recognized as an important one, both functionally and economically. Many organizations which provide support for persons with disabilities have developed various forms of support for carers/caregivers as well.

On February 27, 2004, the International Alliance of Carers Organizations (IACO) was launched by family caregiving organizations from Australia, the UK, Sweden, the Netherlands, and the U.S. The mission of the organization is threefold:

IACO is headquartered in London. Initial IACO projects included promotion of a United Nations Day for Carers and a presentation on the IACO as part of a half-day workshop at the International Federation on Aging conference in Singapore on August 4, 2004. National family carer organizations in all countries are encouraged to join the alliance.

Australia has a population of over 22 million people. Of these 2.5 million are carers.

In Australia, carers are defined as people, usually family members, who provide support to children or adults who have a disability, mental health problem, chronic condition, who are frail aged or have drug or alcohol dependencies. Carers can be parents, partners, brothers, sisters, friends or children of any age. They may care for a few hours a week or all day every day. In Australia, many carers are eligible for government benefits, while others are employed or have a private income.

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Wikipedia