A new study by Eurofound, released on 25 October, shows that the number of people with disabilities living in segregated, often harmful, settings has increased in many EU Member States. It is estimated that 1.4 million children and adults with disabilities under the age of 65 are residing segregated in these settings now, versus the 1.1 million estimated 10 years ago.
This represents an alarming failure of EU countries to support the independent living of persons with disabilities. It highlights that many countries in the EU are actually going the opposite way from their statement commitment to disability rights.
The findings
One of the most shocking findings is that 13 EU Member States now have more adults with disabilities living in institutions than they did 10 years ago. The “hall of shame” is led by France, Poland, Malta and Portugal. Starkly, in France, the number of persons with disabilities living in institutions more than doubled over the past decade, and in Poland, it increased by over 80%.
Other Member States that saw increases in the number of persons with disabilities in institutions were Croatia, Denmark, Luxembourg, Sweden, Ireland, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Netherlands and Italy.
However, we see positive improvements in 11 Member States. The countries that saw the biggest reduction in places in institutions were Finland, Greece and Estonia.
Almost half a million children are segregated in institutions
The number of children segregated in institutions also has risen to 466.000. The number increased in 11 EU countries. The biggest increase was in Cyprus where there are now more than twice as many institutionalised children as a year ago. The other countries with increases were the Netherlands, Croatia, Germany, Ireland, Sweden, Luxembourg, France, Finland, Italy and Spain.
Read the whole report by Eurofound here.