On 23 and 28 October, experts from the Human Rights Division of the Seimas Ombudspersons’ Office held training sessions for specialists from social care institutions. The training was held both remotely and in person. The remote training attracted a record number of participants – 800 people from 40 social care institutions. The live training took place at the Lithuanian Audiosensory Library in Vilnius. The training covered a wide range of topics, from the international standards to be applied in social care homes to the use of easy-to-understand language in presenting information to the residents of these homes.
“Thank you very much for your active participation and interest in this training. It shows that the issues related to human rights in social care homes are important. Only through joint efforts can and must we ensure that these institutions meet international human rights standards and that people live in dignity. The contribution of each and every one of you is very important. Thanks to you, formal legislation comes to life – to life in practice. I wish you the best of luck in continuing to apply human rights principles in your daily work,” said the Head of the Seimas Ombudspersons’ Office, Erika Leonaitė, welcoming the participants to the training.
In her presentation, Fausta Viktorija Osičnaitė, Senior Advisor at the Human Rights Division of the Seimas Ombudspersons’ Office, presented international standards that should be used as a basis for human rights-based living conditions in social care homes. She highlighted the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and noted the importance of its provisions in guaranteeing the rights and freedoms of persons living in social care homes.
Fausta Viktorija Osičnaitė also presented the preventive activities carried out by the Seimas Ombudsperson in social care homes in accordance with the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. During the training, the participants were informed that the Seimas Ombudsperson, together with the staff of the Seimas Ombudspersons’ Office and other experts, regularly visit social care homes to inspect the treatment of the residents therein. The aim of these activities is to prevent human rights violations, to draw the attention of the responsible entities to areas for improvement and to cooperate more effectively in order to improve the treatment of persons whose liberty is restricted.
Greta Bylaitė, Chief Specialist of the Human Rights Division of the Seimas Ombudspersons’ Office, spoke at the training about promoting empathy and creating a non-discriminatory environment in social care homes. She stressed the harm of stereotypes prevalent in society and the need to question them and reflect on them in one’s daily work when interacting with and providing services to the residents of a social care institution.
During the training, Greta Bylaitė reviewed the types of discrimination defined in the legislation of the Republic of Lithuania, as well as other types of discrimination that do not fall under this definition, but which are equally important in order to avoid discriminatory practices. In her presentation, she focused on the creation of a non-discriminatory psychological and physical environment in social care homes, highlighting the importance of diversity and equality policies throughout the institution, as well as the importance of ensuring physical accessibility for persons with visual, hearing and/or mobility disabilities.
Gabrielė Marija Baltrušytė, a lawyer from the NGO “Mental Health Perspectives”, gave a presentation on the use of “easy-to-read” language in the provision of information to residents of social care homes. It is estimated that more than one in 10 people in Lithuania at some point in their lives will benefit from easy-to-understand language. The applications of this method range from health, social services, education to fiction.
The expert outlined the differences between easy-to-understand and plain language. Plain language is aimed at the general public, while easy-to-understand language is aimed at people with reading and comprehension difficulties. She also discussed the actors involved in the process of developing plain language, highlighting the important role of text checkers. Participants learned about the levels of plain language, text checking with readers, and best practices in Lithuania and abroad. Participants also had the opportunity to practice how to simplify information based on the rules of plain language, i.e. breaking the text into paragraphs, bullet points, maintaining a logical sequence, writing shorter sentences etc.
Goda Jurevičiūtė and Sergejus Stoma, Advisers of the Human Rights Division of the Seimas Ombudspersons’ Office, engaged the participants in practical workshops and tasks. Participants were invited to analyse various situations related to the work of social care home workers and living conditions in social care homes, and were asked how they would behave if they were faced with specific challenges in their work. Participants were also shown photographs of different rooms and spaces, where they were asked to identify good practices and risks related to the guarantee of human rights.
The training organised by the Human Rights Division of the Seimas Ombudspersons’ Office on “Human Rights-Based Care of Persons in Social Care Homes: Standards, Challenges, Practices” for the staff of social care homes is an ongoing activity, which is aimed at contributing to the enhancement of the competences of the staff of social care homes and to the improvement of the situation of human rights in these institutions.






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