Disability Law at Birmingham (D-L@B) hosts regular events and speakers throughout the year. All events are either online or hybrid for accessibility and everyone is welcome. Please check back regularly for more events and updates.
If you would like to join one of our events either in person or online, please follow the links to find out more and to register.
Forthcoming Events
Afternoon Research Seminar: Wednesday 13 May 2026
Disability-Selective Abortions (DSA): Unpacking Messages, Ethics and Stigma
Join the D-L@B research group for an afternoon research seminar exploring the negative messages, ethical implications, and stigma surrounding disability-selective abortions. Dr Heloise Robinson (University of Oxford), Dr Kavana Ramaswamy and Dhani Seneviratne (University of Birmingham) will present their research covering different aspects of debates which ultimately frame disability and reproductive autonomy as oppositional positions within the scope of disability-selective abortions.
Registration essential for catering purposes.
Coming soon:
Online Seminar:
Protecting Disabled Consumers in the Online Marketplace
Dr Eliza Varney, University of Nottingham
This seminar has been POSTPONED due to unforeseen circumstances. Please check back for the new date and time. All previously registered attendees will be notified of the new date.
Find out more, or please register here to join us for the event and be updated as soon as the new date is available.
Hybrid Seminar:
Disability Employment: From Policy to Practice
Dr Louise Bell, University of Lancashire
This seminar has been POSTPONED due to unforeseen circumstances. Please check back for the new date and time. All previously registered attendees will be notified of the new date.
Find out more about this event.
Previous Events
The Court of Protection: exploring family experiences, media representations and social media activism
Amanda Hill
Friday 27 March 2026, 11:00-12:00 (online)
Abstract:
The Court of Protection makes decisions in the ‘best interests’ of protected parties (known as ‘P’) who are unable to make specific decisions due to cognitive impairments (e.g. linked to conditions such as dementia or Learning Disability). Thousands of applications are made annually, impacting numerous families (e.g. the court can intervene to make decisions about where a relative lives, whether their house can be sold, or what medical treatments they can be given). However, many families appear unaware of the role the CoP’s can play in what they consider private matters, which can lead to shock and perceived intrusiveness.
There is a lack of research of family experiences of the Court of Protection, a situation that is excaerbated because most families are subject to court injunctions forbidding them from saying that they are a family member of somebody involved in a Court of Protection case. My research aims to address the gap in knowledge on this topic by exploring the experiences of families, how they are represented in the media and other documents, such as published judgments, and navigation of reporting restrictions.
My research methods involve a mix of qualitative methods, including ethnography through observing court hearings, and interviewing family members and other people involved in the CoP. I am in the second year of my PhD. As a family member myself, I have an insider-outsider positionality to consider.
I hope that my research raises awareness of family members experiences, leading to improvements such as providing resources for families and a better understanding from professionals.
Bio:
After a long career both as a Chartered Accountant and a teacher, I thought that I was heading towards retirement. Then my mother became a P in a CoP case and that changed everything. I became a core team of the Open Justice Court of Protection Project in 2023. This, as well as my own personal experience, led me to embark on my research project. I’ve observed over 100 Court of Protection hearings and I’ve written numerous blogs for the Open Justice Court of Protection Project: https://openjusticecourtofprotection.org/blog-2/
I regularly give talks about the Court of Protection and my own experience and I often co-host the monthly webinar on ‘How to observe remote hearings in the Court of Protection’.
I am on LinkedIn (here), and also on X as @AmandaAPHill