Creating capabilities for societal participation in times of welfare state change? Experiences of people with disabilities in Finland

This article explores societal participation of people with disabilities in Finland in times of the recent ratification process of the UN CRPD and welfare cuts, and investigates the subjective experiences of societal participation in a changing welfare state context. The data consists of 13 individual qualitative interviews among working-age people with different kinds of disabilities. The findings highlight the importance of state commitment for creating equal capabilities for societal participation and for removing barriers standing in its way. They also suggest that this commitment is becoming both strengthened by the UN CRPD and weakened by the economic crisis and austerity measures and that this may have an undermining effect upon capabilities for persons with disabilities to participate in society.RésuméLa participation sociale est au cœur des politiques en faveur des personnes handicapées dans le monde entier. L’État providence finlandais s’est fermement engagé à créer des capacités égales. Mais la participation sociale dépend également d’autres conditions préalables, comme un marché du travail inclusif. Ces engagements sont devenus à la fois de plus en plus importants grâce au renforcement des droits des personnes handicapées et de plus en plus questionnés par l’effritement de la croissance et les mesures d’austérité récurrentes frappant les politiques sociales. Cet article explore la participation sociale des personnes handicapées en F...
Source: ALTER - European Journal of Disability Research - Category: Disability Source Type: research