The right to care

Abstract

Care is an essential element in the development of social life. However, it is rather an invisible reality. The public debate about who and how should care - the family, the State, the market - is a crucial issue because the current model generates great inequalities. In addition, the gender imbalance marks all this discussion as care is socially attributed to women. Therefore, it is appropriate to approach care from a horizon of democratization of care policies in a rights-based perspective. In this context, the discussion about the articulation of a (human) right to care is especially relevant from the defense of the indivisibility and interdependency between political, civil, and social rights. This work aims, more than a technical or dogmatic analysis, to reflect in a general way about care policies and the construction of a more inclusive citizenship around this central issue for democracy and social development.

Keywords

• care
• democracy
• vulnerability
• social rights
• human rights
• gender equality
• citizenship