Freedom to negotiate: A proposal extricating 'capacity' from 'consent'

Liz Brosnan, Eilionóir Flynn

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

16 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In this paper, we seek to radically reframe the legal construct of consent from a disability perspective. Drawing on feminist scholarship and human rights standards around 'free and informed consent', we apply a concept of freedom to negotiate to laws regulating both consent to sex and medical treatment - key areas in which the legal agency of people with disabilities (especially people with cognitive disabilities) is routinely denied, restricted or ignored. We set out the essential ingredients for reframing consent: namely, legal personhood, freedom to negotiate and understanding. We also outline conditions (i.e. coercion, undue influence and power imbalances) that impede valid consent. This represents a first attempt to move beyond labelling adults with certain disabilities as lacking the 'mental capacity' necessary to give valid consent - in order to explore in more depth particular expressions of consent or refusal and seek new validity criteria, beyond the label of 'mental incapacity'.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)58-76
Number of pages19
JournalInternational Journal of Law in Context
Volume13
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Mar 2017

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