Caring is central to the experience of women. It is also a form of oppression
for women, since this culture demands that women care for, as well as care
about, others, yet does not acknowledge the value of caregiving tasks. Women
who are caregivers to relatives with a severe and persistent mental illness
carry an intolerable burden of care, with little support from the state. This
article delineates these issues and proposes specific changes in social policy
and actions by social workers that would alleviate the burden of care and the
gender oppression on which it is based.
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