Persons with Disabilities and Deinstitutionalisation: Some Fundamental Changes in the Ethical Framework of the Care Model

This paper analyses the fundamental changes in the ethical framework of the care model required for effective deinstitutionalisation in the field of disability. Adopting a doctrinal and conceptual approach grounded primarily in the CRPD, it examines the transition from an assistencialist culture, rooted in institutional forms of care, to a human rights-based approach that recognises persons with disabilities as active rights holders. On this basis, the paper identifies some of the key rights and ethical dimensions that should guide the transformation of care and support systems. It argues that deinstitutionalisation requires not merely a change in the place or manner in which care is provided, but a systemic transformation aimed at enabling persons with disabilities to exercise choice and control over their own lives and to live and participate in the community on an equal basis with others.