To express our support to the demands made by the Spanish organisation Comité para la Promoción y Apoyo de las Niñas y Mujeres Autistas (CEPAMA), EUCAP has sent an open letter to the ministers Carolina Darias and Ione Belarra Urteaga.
In a petition launched in July, CEPAMA drew attention to harassment and violent crime targeting autistic people in Spain, and called for a plan to promote the recognition and visibility of autistic people. The petition has been signed by over 87 thousand people.
CEPAMA activists will continue discussions with government authorities on 14th October.
Open letter, 8th October 2021
To:
Carolina Darias, Ministra de Sanidad
Ione Belarra Urteaga, Ministra de Derechos Sociales y Agenda 2030
The Spanish organisation Comité para la Promoción y Apoyo de las Niñas y Mujeres Autistas (CEPAMA) has published a petition to draw attention to the problem of harassment and violent crime against autistic people. CEPAMA has urged public authorities to make a plan to promote the recognition of autistic people and their general visibility in Spanish society. They emphasize that this plan should involve autistic people in active roles, informing the public about the positive aspects of autism.
As the representatives of an umbrella organisation for autistic people’s organisations in Europe, we wish to express our concern for the safety and well-being of autistic people in Spain. We endorse the requests made by CEPAMA, and voice an urgent appeal to the Spanish authorities to give them serious consideration, since in many cases, health and even lives of vulnerable autistic people are at stake.
With respectful regards,
On behalf of the European Council of Autistic People,
Heta Pukki, President
Michal Roškaňuk, Secretary General
Diederik Weve, Treasurer
Silke Rudolph, Board Member
Annikka Suoninen, Board Member
Martijn Dekker, Board Member
Jo Minchin, Advisory Board Member
Alistair de Gaetano, Advisory Board Member
