Geledés launches guide for access to care policies

What rights do populations who perform care work in Brazil have? What state policies can contribute to these people having a more dignified life? The answers are in the Guide to Accessing Care Policies, launched this Friday (25) by Geledés – Instituto da Mulher Negra. In a simple and didactic way, the manual presents the steps to gain access to public policies. The information ranges from the necessary documents and how to open an account on the sougov.br portal or access the digital SUS, to a summary of all the policies aimed at each population. The publication points out that historically, care work has been made invisible, exhausting, and undervalued. "Millions of women, mostly Black and from peripheral communities, work to sustain life and social well-being, living without the due economic and institutional support from the State for this activity, which contributes to the country's development insofar as other lives become functional thanks to the care provided by people who took on those responsibilities." The Guide is divided into specific policies for children and adolescents, elderly people, people with disabilities, and paid and unpaid care workers. In addition, there is a specific section for groups with vulnerability markers such as: single mothers and female heads of household, families in extreme poverty, people deprived of liberty and their family members, relatives of victims of femicide (mothers and orphans), populations of traditional communities such as Indigenous people and quilombolas, and immigrants. "We will celebrate collective achievements and reflect on the paths toward strengthening care policies that recognize the realities, knowledge, and demands of Black women," emphasizes Geledés' Coordinator of Training, Care, and Emancipation, Nilza Iraci. Care work Paid care workers include domestic workers, nannies, caregivers for the elderly or bedridden people, as well as social caregivers and educators. Unpaid care workers are usually mothers, daughters, grandmothers, and community leaders who dedicate their lives to supporting family members and neighbors without receiving any financial compensation. National Care Policy According to UN Women, Brazilian women dedicate almost ten hours per week more than men to care work. "Those are 10 hours that are not left over for studying, for working, for participating in public life. That is why care policy is also a policy of democracy," says UN Women representative in Brazil Gallianne Palayret. Despite the importance of the topic, the law establishing the National Care Policy in Brazil is recent: it was sanctioned in December 2024. The goal of the policy is to look differently at those who provide care and to develop projects such as expanding daycare centers and homes for the elderly, for example.