Carers & Equality

 

Caring Together, Scotland’s Carers and Young Carers Strategy 2010 recognises carers for the first time as ‘Equal Partners in Care’ and provides a commitment to develop a Carers Rights Charter.

‘We will develop a Carers Rights Charter, consolidating existing legal rights and setting out key principles for carer support both now and in the future’

In light of this and the new Equality Act, the Coalition of Carers is keen to explore the idea of how ‘equal’ carers currently are, where you face discrimination in your lives and how we can begin to plan for a more ‘equal’ future.

We are asking our members to participate in a national survey, over the period from June 2011 until June 2012. The intention of this survey is to record instances where carers face inequality or discrimination, either in the workplace, in your local communities or in accessing services. The survey report will be available on our website in August 2012.

We also want to look beyond the Equality Act to define how carers encounter inequality in their everyday lives when we compare their experiences to those of other people who don’t have a caring responsibility.

This evidence will be used in relation to the implementation of Caring Together, but also to highlight to national and local government any injustice or inequalities that exist across Scotland in relation to carer recognition and support.

You can read more about what we mean by equality and discrimination by visiting the Coalition of Carers website by clicking here.

This may give you some ideas of inequalities that other carers have faced - or you can go straight to the questions on the next page.

Thank you for taking part in this important survey.