How the legal system fails autistic people | Franaaz Khan | TEDxUniversityofJohannesburg

This talk was sparked by a period of deep reflection in April, which is observed globally as Autism Awareness Month. It prompted engagement with how South African private law, in particular the law of delicts, interacts with cognitive differences. The objective reasonable person standard serves as the basis for assessing fault (culpa) in the law of delicts. However, this assessment is assumed to be unbiased and reflects a normative model developed around neurotypical methods of thinking, recognizing, and responding to the world. This talk addresses the objectivity of the reasonable person test by examining its exclusionary impact on neurodivergent individuals, in particular those on the autism spectrum. These individuals have legal capacity; however, they engage with their surroundings through different cognitive and sensory paths.

Associate Professor and Head of Department of Private Law at the Faculty of Law at the University of Johannesburg. She is also an admitted attorney of the High Court of South Africa (non-practicing). She has over 15 years of experience in academia. Her legal career spans more than two decades, beginning with an LLB and LLM, followed by practice as an attorney before transitioning into academia. She pursued her PhD. Passionate about the evolution of delictual law, she explores its intersections with constitutional values, social justice, and emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence.

She has presented at national and international conferences, published significantly, and supervised postgraduate students in diverse areas. She is committed to gender equity initiatives, actively supporting Black female students through mentorship programs.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx