BACKGROUND
In 2018, ConcertAction Femmes Estrie (CAFE) identified that the living conditions of women with disabilities should be a priority issue in the region, particularly in terms of housing for women with disabilities, including single parents and aging women experiencing a loss of autonomy. The member groups of this regional roundtable seeking to collectively uphold women’s rights wished to act more specifically on the homes of women with physical disabilities, with a view to advancing universal accessibility.
GROUPS INVOLVED IN THE STUDY:
Paul Morin (School of Social Work, Université de Sherbrooke)
“Regardless of women’s age and what barriers they encounter to be able to access a real home, is there not a common reality of exclusion and a similar need for accessibility, safety, rental accommodation and economic support?”
Our thanks go first and foremost to the women who generously collaborated on this research and to the partner organizations that supported their recruitment. You made the entire project possible!
We hope that the statements reported in this research can shed light on the challenges and aspirations of women whose voices remain unheard. These women interviewed in our research are key players whose expertise deserves to be disseminated so that women with physical disabilities can realize their full potential.
We would also like to thank Status of Women Canada (now Women and Gender Equality Canada), whose financial support for the Nouvelles Alliances pour plus de savoirs en égalité entre les sexes project made this collaborative research possible (2017-2020).
We relied mainly on the experiences of women with physical disabilities, and as a result, we were able to hear what really matters to them. There is no doubt about their desire to have accessible, affordable and safe homes.
Although measures and adaptation programs have been set up to enable people with disabilities to exercise their rights and freedoms, clearly, universal accessibility has not yet been extended to all spheres of community life, and these women’s choices are considerably restricted as a result. It is therefore imperative that action be taken to end systemic discrimination against women with physical disabilities in the realm of housing.
