Protests of Parents of Persons with Disabilities in Poland: The Results of a Qualitative Study Among the Participants and Supporters

Abstract

The paper tackles the phenomenon of a protest organized by parents, care providers, persons with disabilities, and supporters in the building of the Polish Parliament in 2018. It was held for 42 days and supported regular protests organized in front of the building as well as, occasionally, in several Polish cities. It was the second nationwide protest by the movement of parents of people with disabilities in the Polish Parliament, and the first one took place in 2014. The article also refers to those events. The paper aims at presenting and discussing the protest phenomenon in 2018 at two levels. At the micro-level, we reconstruct the protest’s meaning for its participants and supporters. Here, we present individual motivations, attitudes toward the protest, and the subjective perception of the whole action, as well as its place in the participants’ and supporters’ lives. At the second level (collective), we locate the protest among other activities carried out by formal and informal groups and organizations of people with disabilities, or acting on their behalf. We also identify gains and losses of the protest, especially from the subjective perspective of the participants.

Keywords

• protest
• social movement
• disability
• parents of persons with disability
• carers of persons with disability