Sue Yeandle, CIRCLE, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Sheffield

Kate Hamblin, CIRCLE, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Sheffield

This panel will explore the emergence, progress and potential of a rights agenda for unpaid / family carers (people supporting a relative or friend) and the roles played in achieving this by state actors, carers’ organisations and international agencies. Papers may focus on:

• Concrete developments in policy and practice, e.g. legislation, treaties or formal agreements at the international, national or sub-national levels, or carers’ strategies or policies developed with / targeted to the wellbeing and rights of carers. Papers could include discussion of how these developments were achieved, whether they have been successfully implemented, and their impact on carers / those they support.
• The claims-making of organisations representing the interests of carers; papers could focus on the nature of the claims made and alliances forged to press for legislative or policy change and protect carers from unfair treatment, discrimination and social exclusion.
• Barriers to progress in establishing rights for carers: papers might discuss barriers arising from: challenges in identifying, defining and recognising carers; the complexity and transient nature of caring roles; the social invisibility of caring within families/households; weaknesses in support for carers in particular groups / marginalised communities; the low priority given to support / services for carers and those they assist.
• Examples of problems or progress in specific areas of carers’ lives, in one country or a group of countries. Papers could focus on carers’ rights to: recognition; social protection; paid employment / time off work; choice in how, where and for whom they provide care, etc.
• Specific challenges faced by carers in claiming their rights in conjunction with other forms of discrimination. Papers might focus on: difficulties carers face in securing their rights in transnational caring circumstances; carers in LGBTQIA+ communities; or challenges faced by people in co-caring situations (where carers also have health or disability-related support needs).