A Study of Arguments by Advocacy Groups Resisting the Restraint Policy of Personal Assistance by the Swedish Government

Abstract

This paper uses qualitative research to analyze the logic of arguments by advocacy groups which resist the constraint policy of personal assistance by the Swedish government. At first the Advocacy groups insisted that 1) the content of “Act concerning Support and Service for Persons with Certain Functional Impairments (LSS)” should keep its original mission and the needs of individuals should be recognized from the perspective of citizenship, and 2) LSS should be modernized based upon the social model. Secondly, advocacy groups insisted that 1) assessment by the Social Insurance Agency invades the privacy of users and the self-control that users can exert and 2) personal assistance allowance should be paid flexibly according to the lifestyle of the individuals. Thirdly, regarding providers of personal assistance, the advocacy groups insisted that 1) profit-oriented companies can be controlled and selected by decisions of the individuals using personal assistance and 2) the system that allows family members to become personal assistants should be sustained even though it is necessary to take into consideration the risk that families might prevent the independence of individuals. Finally, the advocacy groups said that the cost of personal assistance should be considered from the perspective of 1) raising the awareness for human rights and their relationship to the quality of assistance provided, 2) cost-effectiveness, 3) outcome on the labor market and domestic demand, 4) human rights and gender equality, and 5) national responsibility.