Social disinvestment and vulnerable groups in Europe in the aftermath of the financial crisis: the case of people with disabilities in Latvia

This report is prepared in the framework of the Europe H2020 project ‘Rebuilding an inclusive, value based Europe of solidarity and trust through social investments’ (RE-InVEST). The RE-InVEST project aims to contribute to a more solidary and inclusive EU, through an inclusive, powerful and effective social invest­ment strategy at EU level. Moreover, the project itself adopts a participative approach that gives voice to vulnerable groups and civil society organisations. The RE-InVEST consortium consists of members of the informal network ‘the Alliances to fight Poverty’, a network of civil society organisations, trade unions, policy makers and academics co-ordinated by the Flemish Christian labour movement beweging.net, and committed to a more inclusive Europe. The consortium covers a broad range of European countries, both geographically (12 countries, 13 regions) and in terms of representation of different welfare and labour market traditions. The analyses are carried out by the local partners, who consist of NGOs and/or research­ers. In particular, this report is one of the 13 national reports that make up the qualitative research of the RE-InVEST work package ‘The social damage of the crisis’. This work package focuses on the lived expe­rience of vulnerable people, the impact of the crisis (and crisis‐related policy reform) on vulnerable groups as well as the impact of growing inequality and social vulnerability on distrust. Our two key hypothesis in this regard are: 1. that growing distrust and indeed resentment among the population may be attributed to (a rejection of) the neoliberal policies employed by national as well as European elites in recent years; 2. that this integrated diagnosis can build on the idea of the erosion of/disinvestment in (individual and collective) capabilities and basic social rights in the EU. This means that experiences of insecurity, poverty and social degradation need to be re‐analysed from those perspectives. Next to the 13 qualitative case studies, this work package consists of a cross‐validation with a report describing trends in selected quantitative indicators that reflect the relation between socio‐economic vul­nerability, human rights and capabilities. A third element consists of a statistical analysis of the dynamic relationship between vulnerability, shifts in social policies and trust: in which sections of the population has the trust in institutions declined most? Can different patterns between countries be observed, and can they be explained by differences in policy shifts and differences in resilience of civil society? A European synthe­sis report will combine the main findings from the three types of analyses. The qualitative research focuses on the experience of vulnerable groups in each of the 12 countries (13 regions) participating in RE‐InVEST. Mixed teams of researchers, NGO‐ and union workers, practi­tioners and people from vulnerable groups jointly analysed cases where the crisis has impacted on human rights and (individual as well as collective) capabilities. This Latvian qualitative study focuses on women with disabilities. We would like to thank all participants of our group and the NGO “Zvaigzne” where we were hosted for their responsiveness and hospitality to discuss the situation of people (women) with disabilities and search for solutions in order to fight for their rights and development of their capabilities