Thread by @BuzzFeedNews

The #FreeBritney movement has drawn worldwide attention to US guardianships.

A BuzzFeed News investigation found that the system, which controls the lives of more than a million people, can be dehumanizing, dangerous, and even deadly.

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Many guardians work hard to care for those who genuinely can’t care for themselves. Others are committed family members looking after loved ones in exceptionally difficult circumstances. But the system is rife with abuse.

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BuzzFeed News examined over 200 cases, and found that vulnerable people had been abused, neglected, and even killed while living under guardianship.

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Guardians are often paid from the estate of the person whose life they control. “If you’re somebody that’s predatory and you get into this business,” said Shannon Butler, a board member with the National Guardianship Association, “it’s scary.”

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Guardians can wield total power over people. A teenager with cerebral palsy was snatched from the school gates and hidden from his parents. A 46-year-old man died under a do-not-resuscitate order that went against the desperate pleas of his wife.

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People under guardianship have been locked up and isolated from their families and friends. Some guardians have gotten restraining orders to keep concerned loved ones at bay.

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In many states, guardians can force the people under their control to undergo invasive medical procedures, including getting contraceptive devices implanted. Some wards have even been permanently sterilized.

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Guardians have stolen tens of millions of dollars from the people under their care. One guardianship nonprofit drained the accounts of more than 800 people.

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People can lose their rights to vote, marry, start a family, decide where they live, consent to medical treatment, spend their money, seek employment, or own property.

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Some say they have been trapped by controlling family members who strangled their ability to have social or romantic relationships, choose where they live, or express their true gender identity.

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Guardians may have hundreds of people in their control. And despite perception that guardianship is for older adults, the system traps huge numbers of young people — some who insist they are capable of making their own decisions and living their own lives.

Ultimately, advocates say, until public attitudes change, people with disabilities and mental health conditions will remain vulnerable to overreach and abuse.

buzzfeednews.com/article/heidib…