A/HRC/40/54 tantrums, yelling or self-injury) as well as public displays of poverty and lack of support (e.g. lack of maintenance of properties).26 If persons with disabilities violate such codes of conduct, they can face criminal penalties, including fines, community service or even arrest. Accumulation of minor offences may lead to deprivation of liberty. 27 Moreover, persons with disabilities are repeatedly criminalized because the police take their non-compliant behaviour as a threat.28 Persons with epilepsy or who are deaf have also been mistaken as unruly.29 35. Prevention of suicide and self-harm are common justifications for compulsory admission into psychiatric facilities. However, medical literature cannot provide strong evidence on whether the risk for suicide decreases after involuntary treatment. 30 Moreover, a number of studies reported higher rates of suicide after psychiatric hospitalization. 31 Negative subjective experiences with compulsory admission can further lead to lower rates of seeking or using services from the mental health system. Additionally, there is compelling evidence that suicide is very difficult, if not impossible, to predict. 32 Prevention of suicide demands comprehensive multisectoral strategies, including safe and supportive spaces to discuss suicide and self-harm, free from any potential coercive intervention. 36. Liability for malpractice and the ensuing risk management philosophy have proven to be a galvanizing factor. In many jurisdictions, preventing people from harming themselves is within the scope of the duty of care of service providers and families. This increasing prospect of liability is making service providers err on the side of caution and thus to resort to coercive measures. Furthermore, suicide rates increase when potential tort liability is expanded to include mental health professionals, as those facing potential liability may choose not to work with individuals considered to be at high risk of suicide. 33 37. The interplay between disability and other identity traits produces further inequalities in the enjoyment of the right to personal liberty. Based on gender and disability stereotypes, women with disabilities are at risk of being viewed as “burdens” and being placed in psychiatric facilities or other institutions, including the idea that they are unable to fulfil the traditional role of mother and caregiver. Similarly, many older persons with disabilities are placed in institutions or confined within homes, owing to prejudices based on both age and disability. There are many reports of minority populations being overrepresented in psychiatric facilities.34 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 A. Fang, “Hiding homelessness: ‘quality of life’ laws and the politics of development in American cities”, International Journal of Law in Context, vol. 5, No. 1 (2009), pp. 1–24. Australia, Parliament of Victoria, Law Reform Committee, Inquiry into Access to and Interaction with the Justice System by People with an Intellectual Disability and their Families and Carers (2013). S. Krishan and others, “The influence of neighbourhood characteristics on police officers’ encounters with persons suspected to have a serious mental illness”, International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, vol. 37, No. 4 (2014), pp. 359–369; and K. Gendle and J. Woodhams, “Suspects who have a learning disability: police perceptions toward the client group and their knowledge about learning disabilities”, Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, vol. 9, No. 1 (2005), pp. 70–81. S. Nevins, “The US prison system perpetuates ‘the criminalization of disability’”, 14 November 2014. D. Giacco and S. Priebe, “Suicidality and hostility following involuntary hospital treatment”, PLOS One, vol. 11, No. 5 (2016); C. Katsakou and S. Priebe, “Outcomes of involuntary hospital admission – a review”, Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, vol. 114, No. 4 (2006), pp. 232–241. D. Chung and others, “Suicide rates after discharge from psychiatric facilities: a systematic review and meta-analysis”, JAMA Psychiatry, vol. 74, No. 7 (2017), pp. 694–702. M. Chan and others, “Predicting suicide following self-harm: systematic review of risk factors and risk scales”, British Journal of Psychiatry, 209 (4) (2016), pp. 277–283. S. Dillbary, G. Edwards and F.E. Vars, “Why exempting negligent doctors may reduce suicide: an empirical analysis”, Indiana Law Journal, vol. 93, No. 2 (2018). R. Gajwani and others, “Ethnicity and detention: are Black and minority ethnic (BME) groups disproportionately detained under the Mental Health Act 2007?”, Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, vol. 51, No. 5 (2016), pp. 703–711; L. Snowden, J.F. Hastings and J. Alvidrez (2009), “Overrepresentation of black Americans in psychiatric inpatient care”, Psychiatric Services, vol. 60, No. 6 (2009), pp. 779–785. 9