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Ending disability segregated employment: ‘modern slavery’ law and disabled people's human right to work

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 February 2023

Linda Steele Open the ORCID record for Linda Steele [Opens in a new window]
Linda Steele*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Law, University of Technology Sydney, PO Box 123, Broadway, NSW, 2007, Australia,
*
*Corresponding author: linda.steele@uts.edu.au
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Abstract

Disability segregated employment (also referred to as ‘sheltered workshops’) violates disabled people's human right to work and employment. This article argues that modern slavery law might serve as one part of a broader strategy to end disability segregated employment, ensure accountability for the injustices within them and ensure equal access to open employment opportunities for disabled people. This is on the basis that disability segregated employment can be understood as a form of labour exploitation under modern slavery law – specifically forced labour and servitude. Modern slavery law is a useful legal tool to unseat deeply entrenched ableist attitudes of disability segregated employment as beneficial and necessary and build corporate/charity, public and government momentum towards the transition away from disability segregated employment, even if this particular area of law cannot itself legally compel the closure of sheltered workshops and an increase in open employment opportunities for disabled people.

Keywords

modern slavery lawcritical disability studiesdisability employmentforced labourviolenceAustralia
Type
Article
Information
International Journal of Law in Context , Volume 19 , Issue 2 , June 2023 , pp. 217 - 235
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press

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