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Disability Anti-Discrimination Law: A Tool for Compliance or Path Towards Social Justice?

Sepulchre, Marie LU (2025) In Social & Legal Studies
Abstract
Drawing on vignette interviews, this article analyses the legal consciousness of disability anti-discrimination law of staff working with disability/accessibility resources in higher education in Sweden and the United States. In both countries, participants considered the law as the basis of their work, but differences were noticed regarding their views of the purpose of laws banning disability discrimination and their potential to change society. Swedish participants underlined the rule of law but were sceptical about the anti-discrimination law's potential to address social injustice more broadly. American participants pointed to the need to go beyond legal compliance and follow the spirit of the law. The article interprets these... (More)
Drawing on vignette interviews, this article analyses the legal consciousness of disability anti-discrimination law of staff working with disability/accessibility resources in higher education in Sweden and the United States. In both countries, participants considered the law as the basis of their work, but differences were noticed regarding their views of the purpose of laws banning disability discrimination and their potential to change society. Swedish participants underlined the rule of law but were sceptical about the anti-discrimination law's potential to address social injustice more broadly. American participants pointed to the need to go beyond legal compliance and follow the spirit of the law. The article interprets these findings as differences in collective legal consciousness regarding disability anti-discrimination laws that are rooted in people's understanding of disability and in the process through which anti-discrimination laws were adopted in Sweden and the United States. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
epub
subject
keywords
anti-discrimination, disability, legal consciousness, higher edcuation, Sweden, United States, social justice, civil rights
in
Social & Legal Studies
publisher
SAGE Publications
external identifiers
  • scopus:105002962982
ISSN
0964-6639
DOI
10.1177/09646639251333130
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
ebb1343a-02de-4501-9ed9-b866c4c7615c
date added to LUP
2025-04-28 13:20:52
date last changed
2025-04-29 04:01:08
@article{ebb1343a-02de-4501-9ed9-b866c4c7615c,
  abstract     = {{Drawing on vignette interviews, this article analyses the legal consciousness of disability anti-discrimination law of staff working with disability/accessibility resources in higher education in Sweden and the United States. In both countries, participants considered the law as the basis of their work, but differences were noticed regarding their views of the purpose of laws banning disability discrimination and their potential to change society. Swedish participants underlined the rule of law but were sceptical about the anti-discrimination law's potential to address social injustice more broadly. American participants pointed to the need to go beyond legal compliance and follow the spirit of the law. The article interprets these findings as differences in collective legal consciousness regarding disability anti-discrimination laws that are rooted in people's understanding of disability and in the process through which anti-discrimination laws were adopted in Sweden and the United States.}},
  author       = {{Sepulchre, Marie}},
  issn         = {{0964-6639}},
  keywords     = {{anti-discrimination; disability; legal consciousness; higher edcuation; Sweden; United States; social justice; civil rights}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{04}},
  publisher    = {{SAGE Publications}},
  series       = {{Social & Legal Studies}},
  title        = {{Disability Anti-Discrimination Law: A Tool for Compliance or Path Towards Social Justice?}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/09646639251333130}},
  doi          = {{10.1177/09646639251333130}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}