Spain
No state regulation yet exists in Spain in the domain of Social Services. The 1978 Spanish Constitution did not recognise the public system of social services, but for the first time, did include a mandate requiring the public authorities to perform a social welfare function. Article 1 states that Spain is a "Social and democratic State of Law that advocates freedom, justice, equality and political pluralism as the superior values of its legal system". It also establishes that competences in matters of Social Services are attributed to the Autonomous Communities. Therefore, the State’s General Administration, the Autonomous Communities and the Local Corporations (City Councils) are officially responsible, through the Public System of Social Services, for the social needs of citizens. Over the years, Social Services laws have been approved by Autonomous Communities, making resources, actions and benefits available to individuals and groups to achieve their full potential. They have also taken measures towards the prevention, treatment and elimination of the causes that lead to marginalisation. As an illustration, the latest regional social services laws below have been approved:
- CANARY ISLANDS - Law 16/2019, of 2 May, on Social Services of the Canary Islands
- VALENCIAN COMMUNITY - Law 3/2019, of 18 February, on inclusive social services in the Valencian Community
- ANDALUSIA - Law 9/2016 of 27 December, on the Social Services of Andalusia
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This chapter explores the role of Social Services regarding the support given to migrant women in vulnerable situations. It addresses the effective, real and successful measures and strategies, taking into account the fulfillment of human rights as an essential component, and based on a comprehensive intervention. The purpose is to create a social protection system for migrant women following a multidimensional and gender-sensitive approach, in which governments formulate laws and policies according to social services adjusted to migrant women’s realities. Within the framework of good practices, aimed at supporting and promoting the human rights of migrant women and gender equality in host societies, we present here examples of successful actions that are currently being conducted by the public administration:
- In the Autonomous Community of La Rioja, social services have a Reception Programme for Immigrant Women in situations of social vulnerability. It offers emergency care services such as initial support, accompaniment, accommodation and maintenance, training programmes, labour insertion intervention programmes and intercultural coexistence activities. https://www.larioja.org/servicios-sociales/es/inmigracion/acogida-mujeres-inmigrantes
- In the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, the regional Ministry of Equality, Social Policies and Conciliation has set up a legal assistance service for immigrant women victims of gender violence to provide them with Legal Advice. Together with the Spanish Commission for Refugee Aid (CEAR), the specialised service of support and legal advice is free of charge for foreign women victims of gender violence. Regarding other issues, such as family reunification, information and support for women generally, as well as contacts with associations and federations of migrant women in Andalusia, etc., please consult the following link: https://www.juntadeandalucia.es/temas/familias-igualdad/inmigracion/mujeres.html#toc-m-s-informaci-n
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We end this chapter with a case study entitled "The power of dreams, persistence and collaboration. From Mexico to Spain", accessible at https://viw.pixel-online.org/case_view.php?id=MzU = In this interview, the protagonist narrates the difficulties of her integration process to acquire a home due, among others factors, to being a foreigner.
References/Online Resources
The management of the care crisis and its relationship with the feminisation of migration: comparative analysis of the Spanish and Chilean models
http://rua.ua.es/dspace/handle/10045/14297
This article aims to identify and compare the management models of the healthcare crisis in Spain and Chile. It seeks to understand how social policies have responded regarding the distribution of the social responsibility for the care of dependent people within the State, the market, the community and the family. It also seeks to determine which social welfare regime is associated with this distribution.
Community social actions of immigrant women\'s associations in times of crisis http://www.inguruak.eus/index.php/inguruak/article/view/44
This article analyses the socioeconomic and family realities of immigrant women in the Basque Country and tries to make their own collective action visible. It also seeks to show the different ways in which they are responding to the situations of need they have to face resulting from their migration projects.
Migration Policies, Participation and the Political Construction of Migration in Spain (2021). https://digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/252957/1/migration_policies_participation_policial.pdf
This article provides a state of the art of the research on migration policies, and the participation and political construction of immigration in Spain.