“Alleged Disabilities”: The Evolving Tactics of Child Protection in a Disability Rights Environment

Abstract

This contribution reports on a child protection case concerning the removal of a child from the custody of a parent with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in Iceland. Employing a mix of document analysis and interviewing, the results demonstrated two key themes forming the analysis: One is the aura of professionalism. A careful examination of the working methods reveals a continuation of the poor practices typical of the past, despite the claims made that specialised support for persons with disabilities has been tried and was not successful. The second analytical theme is alleged disabilities. This case provided evidence of a previously unseen tactic, to the best of our knowledge, by which a parent’s disability status was called into question. The argument offered herein is that this was pursued to sidestep the protections afforded to disabled parents under Icelandic law in recent years. We conclude by arguing that the combination of a heighted awareness of these legal protections and a greater scrutiny as to how these cases are worked appears to have led to a series of evolving tactics that are employed against disabled parents in an enhanced disability rights environment.