In 2016, members of ADI agreed to adopt a rights-based approach to dementia advocacy in support of the ongoing efforts of DAI to guarantee the rights of people living with dementia globally. We published this booklet setting out our position and highlighting key points.
The booklet sets out our position as follows:
Although persons with dementia are indisputably included in CRPD Article 1, they have been excluded from its implementation by Member States. By the same token, CRPD is not reflected in the dementia strategies and plans of 26 Member States and two regions. The exclusion of persons with dementia from the Convention could be considered as an example of systemic if unintentional discrimination.
The greatest single obstacle to the continued participation of persons with dementia in society arises from the stigma and fear of dementia in the general population and under-estimation of their
capacity by politicians, professionals, researchers and the community.
As a result of discrimination, persons with dementia are often not diagnosed and/or not told their diagnosis. Even in High Income Countries (HICs), they often do not have access to support services for themselves and their families or to medical treatment. There is also clear evidence in the social media that isolation begins at the point of diagnosis when friends and family members stop visiting.