Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Wacker reported on Monday March 3 in a hearing of experts before the German parliament. Already in August, Andrea Nahles, the Federal Minister for Labor and Social Affairs, had appointed Wacker as the scientific advisory counsellor for reporting.
At that time, the members of the German parliament discussed the proposition for a new federal participation law, which was to be passed within this legislature period. "For this purpose, statements are collected from various experts and with different perspectives, in order to accumulate information and obtain a broad picture of the situation", declares Prof. Wacker. With her statement, she conceptualized a scientific viewpoint of the situation with which individuals with disabilities are confronted in Germany and specified the problems as well as approaches for a solution.
Wacker considers a new law to be "long overdue, since people with disabilities have been subjected to massive disadvantages until now" through the now valid legal position, which finances the services required by the disabled from the welfare system. This has consequences on those who are involved: "Individuals with disabilities are thereby massively limited in their lifestyle, since they are unable to acquire assets, for example, because of the social benefits they obtain. Instead, they must even invest every euro which they earn for their necessary services", summarizes Wacker.
Should an individual marry, who is dependent on social welfare due to his/her disability, or should he/she have a long-term partner, the state can also take advantage of the financial assets of this partner. The existing disadvantages already suffered as a result of the disability have not yet been balanced out so that an equal participation in society is not possible, concludes Professor Wacker.
The new legislative proposal could serve to help reduce this problem.
To the Homepage of the Faculty for Social Diversity
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Wacker
Uptown Munich Campus D
Georg-Brauchle Ring 60/62
80992 Munich
Telephone: 089 289 24460
E-Mail: Elisabeth.Wacker(at)tum.de