Between moral duty and precarity: case studies with family caregivers in Spain

Abstract

The interest of this article is to analyze how families address situations of caring for adult individuals in households, focusing on the caregiver as interdependent subjects around whom care resources are organized. Through the study of three cases as a qualitative methodological strategy, the results indicate that gender, kinship, and sexuality shape a sense of moral obligation that pushes women to care for family members in need, and that social and economic capital also influence care provision and organization. Moreover, caregiving has emotional and physical implications for the caregivers themselves. Investigating who provides care and under what conditions leads us to delve into a complex entanglement of social relations of power and represents a central place for understanding the perpetuation of injustices and social inequalities. Through this analysis, we demonstrate that the welfare system in Spain relies on the family, on women, and on the precariousness of this essential work for life.