The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities promoted a paradigm shift in the field of mental health. At the Via-Guasp Foundation we work to advance in this direction and strengthen professional practices centered on the person.
Since 1989 dedicated to improving the quality of life of people with a mental health diagnosis.
Historically, people with mental health problems have suffered rights violations or, directly, have not enjoyed the same rights as the rest of the population.
As stated in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) , despite the progress achieved, 'persons with disabilities continue to encounter barriers to participating on an equal basis with others in social life and [...] their human rights continue to be violated in all parts of the world'.
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is an international UN treaty, adopted on 13 December 2006 in New York, with the aim of 'promoting, protecting and ensuring the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities'.
The Spanish State ratified the Convention in 2007 , and it entered into force on 3 May 2008. Since then, measures have been promoted to adapt the regulatory framework to its principles. In this sense, in 2021, Law 8/2021 came into force, which reforms civil and procedural legislation for the support of people with disabilities. This law eliminates the figures of incapacity and guardianship for adults and replaces them with a system of support based on respect for the will, wishes and preferences of the person, in coherence with the Convention.
In Catalonia, in 2024 the Government of the Generalitat approved the draft law amending the Civil Code of Catalonia to adapt it to Law 8/2021 and the Convention, deploying the figure of assistance as a support measure and moving towards the disappearance of incapacity processes.
Beyond the entity's participation in these regulatory changes —through the Workspace for the modification of the Catalan Civil Code and meetings with institutional representatives—, at the Via-Guasp Foundation we are committed to a paradigm shift in professional practices and in the support of people with mental health problems.
In this context, the entity's team has participated in several training actions and all professionals are currently developing the QualityRights training of the World Health Organization (WHO) . The QualityRights program is an international initiative that promotes a human rights-based approach to mental health, in accordance with the Convention. Its objectives are to improve the quality of care and services, prevent rights violations, promote supported decision-making and foster person-centered practices, recovery and community inclusion.
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