Welfare practices for the disabled: Between recognition and disregard
The study will investigate the experiences made by people with physical and multiple disabilities who were rehabilitated and socialized in institutions specialized in caring for the physically disabled (in the German- and French-speaking parts of Switzerland) between 1950 and 2010. The experiences are classified within the context of recognition and disregard.
Project description (completed research project)
Up until about the year 2000, people with physical and multiple disabilities were usually rehabilitated and socialized as inpatients. They reported experiencing supportive as well as coercive practices and even traumatic experiences in the context of welfare. In practice, developments in the field of care for the physically disabled have clearly been moving towards a stronger appreciation of self-determination and recognition since about 1970. In order to examine this development, were carried out with three cohorts (1950, 1970, 1990). The data compiled within the scope of this participative research project were discussed with experts from institutions providing care for physically disabled people in order to determine actions so as to improve the scope of self-determination within the institutional context.
Results
The summary of the results for this project are available here:
Original title
Between "Anerkennung und Missachtung" (between recognition and disregard). Reconstruction of coercion, outside control and participation in the context of welfare/care for people with physical disabilities in the period between 1950 and 2010 – a participatory study with People with Physical and Multiple Disabilities