The publication, authored by Karin Lukas and Vincent Perle, was released in November 2022 and deals with the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on persons with disabilities as well as selected social policy measures that were taken in response to it in different European countries.

In cooperation with the Chamber of Labour, the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Fundamental and Human Rights (LBI-GMR) is investigating the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on social human rights in Europe. The legal basis for this are the social rights enshrined in the (revised) European Social Charter (RESC) for Austria and 42 other European states, which are binding under international law.

With regard to the impact of the Covid 19 crisis on persons with disabilities, the authors state, among other things:

• The social rights of persons with disabilities were particularly severely affected in the course of the Covid-19 crisis
• The health consequences of the pandemic had a disproportionately negative impact on people with disabilities
• It must be assumed that the crisis had a particularly negative impact on the employment situation of persons with disabilities
• People with disabilities are more exposed to the health and financial impacts of (economic) crises
• School closures and the shift to distance learning have been particularly challenging for children with disabilities and their families

The authors call for the life realities of people with disabilities to be taken more into account and addressed in the context of future crises. This requires, not least, a solid and differentiated data basis. Furthermore, stakeholders and self-advocates should be involved in the process of elaborating and implementing the relevant measures.

The German version of the policy brief on “Social Rights in the Pandemic – Covid-19 crisis and persons with disabilities” can be found in the download section.