Ebba Olsson writes about a meeting with our Nordic members.
The Nordic countries are often seen as leaders in deinstitutionalisation and community-based living for people with intellectual disabilities.
But yesterday, Inclusion Europe members from Denmark 🇩🇰, Finland 🇫🇮, Iceland 🇮🇸, Norway, 🇳🇴 and Sweden 🇸🇪 shared a different reality: Pressure towards re-institutionalisation. Re-institutionalisation means putting people with disabilities back into large buildings with many people in them.
Across the countries, similar challenges emerge: 🔸 Staff shortages and tight budgets at municipal level 🔸 Political priorities shifting toward cost-saving rather than rights 🔸 Narratives that institutions are “efficient”, despite evidence to the contrary
But we also discussed opportunities to push back against this: 🔹 Evidence from reports and projects on community-based living 🔹 Engagement with decision-makers on CRPD commitments 🔹 Legal support for people defending their rights
Thank you to all our Nordic members for your insights.
I see some of the shifts personally as well. They affect my brother who lives in a group home in Sweden.
We all need to push back against the harmful narratives and keep advocating for people’s right to inclusion 🤝
Ebba Olsson participates in the Ulla Topi traineeship in inclusive policy-making at Inclusion Europe.