LETTER: Respite relief

With the apparent tendency for women to adopt a caring role ahead of their male counterparts, we did some research to find out whether there is a gender bias in deciding who is to assume a caring role, with some interesting results.

We found that 9 out of 10 female carers felt there was an expectation in families and society that women take on the role of carer. As a consequence, 8 out of 10 female carers thought that women felt pressured into the role of carer on account of their gender. Let’s not forget the estimated 2.65 million male carers in the UK either. But with women forming the greatest proportion of those in caring roles overall, it’s evident that for many the responsibility has fallen disproportionately on them. At Revitalise we think much more needs to be done to support unpaid family carers - both male and female - including enabling them to have respite breaks.

I’d like to invite your readers to get behind Revitalise’s essential work supporting disabled people and carers from across the UK.

Call 0303 303 0145 or visit http://revitalise.org.uk/

Stephanie Stone

Revitalise

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