14.10.19
Riga - September 2019 - workshop on children with disabilities. Representing Make Mothers Matter, Laura Fiquet made it clear that mothers with disabled children are frontline to face many obstacles and problems daily, in France and elsewhere. There has to be some solutions, inclusive of their family environment. Families are the major support of children with disabilities and we must listen to what they have to say.
Our network member Laura Julia Fiquet, founder and president of Union des Mamans d’Enfants Handicapés – UMEH participated in a recent EU fact-finding workshop on children with disabilities. Held in Riga, the event was part of the European Commission’s feasibility study on a potential Child Guarantee.
An expert on the topic (Laura herself is a mother of a child with a disability), she underlined the many problems she and other mothers in France and elsewhere in Europe face on a daily basis.
They go from job loss, loss of financial autonomy or total financial dependence on the spouse – to loss of social rights (unemployment, retirement, sickness) with the precarious social minima that this implies. Here are some examples:
Family cohesiveness is also compromised, such as separation from the spouse or the renunciation of having another child.
In many cases these mothers also encounter social isolation and a high mental burden, to the point of exhaustion.
Laura also highlighted the lack of competent social interlocutors who could accompany mothers.
Laura proposed the following:
Laura welcomed the Commission’s endeavors and hoped that the situation facing many mothers like her would improve.
She urged for solutions at policy and societal level throughout Europe as an important step towards the recognition of the obstacles. She is positive that this feasibility study will bring clarity and firmly present changes needed to tackle problems. Financial and logistical tools must be provided to properly involve these families and their children in society. Laura also hopes that more family associations will be included in the study, primarily because families are the major carers and often fragilized by these situations. Not taking what they have to say into account could lead to artificial or temporary solutions.
Laura’s concluding message was that if we want a child guarantee initiative to fight poverty and social exclusion, we need to hear the voices of parents and to address these social policies to the family as a whole. A child is embedded in a family environment and context and it is by working hand in hand with families, and mothers in particular, (many children living in precarious situations live only with their mothers) that effective solutions to support vulnerable children will be found.
02.07.24
UN New York / HLPF - Register now to join us online at this year’s High Level Political Forum side-event.
13.02.24
UN New York, CSocD62 - MMM's intervention to the Commission on Social Development reiterates that investing in mothers through recognition, education, protection and adequate support is a smart invest
11.03.24
UN New York, CSW68 - Join us for a discussion on changing the narrative in support of mothers - an online parallel event to the 68th UN Commission on the
05.12.24
We were delighted to coorganise, together with the European Parents Association (EPA), the "Quality Assurance in Child and Family Support in Europe: Policy Lessons for Evidence-Informed Decision Making" initiat
18.09.24
EASPD, in collaboration with various family rights networks, including MMM, has issued a position paper on “Family-centred Early Childhood Intervention" (ECI) for children with disabilities. This approach pro
19.06.24
UN Geneva – A resolution aimed at strengthening the right to education in international legal instruments will be negotiated during the 56th session of the Human Rights Council, which began on 18 June. This r
07.05.24
MMM welcomes the recent adoption of La Hulpe Declaration, under the Belgian presidency. This inter-institutional document aims at shaping the future social agenda of the European Union for the period 2024-2029.
13.02.24
This event, marked by insightful presentations and discussions, addressed the challenges and opportunities that exist in parenting within our complex society and highlighted the tools created to provide parents
09.01.24
The "We Learn Everywhere" (WLE) project is a pioneering initiative that has made significant strides in promoting family well-being through education and support for parents and children across Europe. As this