Lewis, O orcid.org/0000-0002-3679-5541 (2017) Disabling legal barriers. European Human Rights Law Review (1). pp. 49-58. ISSN 1361-1526
Abstract
In dictatorships as well as democracies, throughout history and today too, the world is awash with laws that promulgate rather than penalise prejudice. This article is a reflection on 15 years of human rights litigation and advocacy focused on improving the lives of people with mental health issues and intellectual disabilities in Central and Eastern Europe. The article provides two examples of case-work— Shtukaturov and Stanev —which have had a wider impact than just the lives of the individual applicants and illustrates how creative lawyering can contribute to advancing social justice. The article offers a personal reflection about what it means to work alongside activists striving to give voice to people whom the law has rendered invalid. Like many other marginalised people, children and adults with labels of mental health issues or disabilities face abuse in everyday life, partly as a result of discrimination embedded in law. Normalisation of discrimination nudges the public to welcome segregation and ill-treatment rather than accept difference and celebrate diversity.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: | |
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2017 Thomson Reuters (Professional) UK Limited and Contributors. This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in European Human Rights Law Review following peer review. The definitive published version, Lewis, O (2017) Disabling legal barriers. European Human Rights Law Review (1). pp. 49-58. ISSN 1361-1526 is available online on Westlaw UK or from Thomson Reuters DocDel service. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Disability discrimination; Eastern Europe; International law; Mental patients’ rights |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Education, Social Sciences and Law (Leeds) > School of Law (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 22 Jun 2017 15:57 |
Last Modified: | 20 Feb 2018 01:38 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Sweet and Maxwell |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:117945 |