Care-Related Policies and Laws in Latin America and the Caribbean
This database set up and maintained by the Gender Affairs Division of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) comprises the existing care legislation contained in the constitutional charters and other legislative instruments of the countries Latin America and the Caribbean. Public care policies are designed to guarantee the daily physical and emotional well-being of people with some level of dependence. They are meant to structure the social organization of care work and establish the right to be cared for accordingly.
The laws compiled in this database refer to: maternity leave for caring and breastfeeding, paternal and parental leave for caring for dependents of different age groups; facilitating the access and establishing extra-home care services; anti-discriminatory employment laws for mothers and fathers; social security in the event of maternity as well as access to preventive and curative medical childcare; legislation on promoting responsible motherhood and fatherhood; legislation on shared responsibility for families and the community; implementation of mechanisms and the provision of care regarding the social integration of persons with disabilities; monetary transfers to caregivers, and constitutional rights for unpaid care providers.
This digital repository of care laws of the Gender Equality Observatory for Latin America and the Caribbean contains information on more than two hundred legislative bodies from 36 countries in the region.