#FreeBritney a Disability Rights Issue
For over a decade Britney Spears has been placed under a conservatorship that restricts her autonomy. Today, the viral online campaign ‘#FreeBritney’ has culminated in yet another court hearing.
So what’s a conservatorship anyway?
Under California law, a judge can order an adult or organisation, the ‘conservator’, to care for a person who is no longer able to care for themselves, the ‘conservatee’.
Ms Spears told the court that she was prevented from removing her contraceptive device. This has come as no surprise to experts and advocates for disability rights who say Britney’s case is not unusual. As one of the most high-profile conservatee’s Britney has brought attention to similar laws on guardianship in Australia that impact some of society’s most vulnerable.
Dr Linda Steele, Senior Lecturer at UTS Faculty of Law, joined us on The Daily to discuss the parallels in Australian law.
