Involuntary Confinement and Involuntary Treatment
A Disability, Human Rights and the Law Series seminar for 2015-2016, organized by the Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism.
For many people with a disability, being taken to the hospital by a family member against their will, or being held down and forced to take medication is a familiar scenario. The CRPD establishes that involuntary treatment and other forced psychiatric interventions in health-care facilities are forms of torture and ill-treatment that can affect the most fundamental rights, including the right to dignity and liberty. An international legal framework guaranteeing the right of persons with disabilities is thus in place. However, given that this framework is relatively recent, the Convention still needs to find its place in the policies of the State. This session will engage with the rights violations associated with involuntary placement and involuntary treatment and identify strategies for limiting their use.
Moderated by Derek Jones, and featuring Ella Amir, Marie-Hélène Goulet, and James Sayce.
