MENTAL ILLNESS

1 Introduction 1

1.1 Using the law in the fight for social justice 1

1.2 Whom are we addressing? 5

1.3 The history of this book 7

1.4 How the book has been organised 12

1.5 Terms used to describe mental health problems 14

1.6 Our authorial voice(s) 16

References 17

2 Principles and Concepts 19

2.1 The tension between advancing the rights of people with mental health problems and attitudes in society 20

2.2 Law relating to people with mental health problems: the historical context 21

2.3 Discrimination 24

2.4 General versus specific law 36

2.5 Importance of enforcement 39

2.6 Social model of disability 41

2.7 Capacity and competence 44

2.8 Human rights 47

2.9 Stigma, discrimination and 'structural violence' 52

2.10 Social justice 54

2.11 What comes next? 57

References 57

3 Civil and Political Participation 63

3.1 Voting 63

3.2 Jury service 65

3.3 Measures intended to optimise civil and political participation 66

References 69

4 Legal Capacity, Decision-making, Discriminatory Statutes and Practice 71

4.1 Guardianship and the legal right to make decisions 71

4.2 Discriminatory statutes and practice 76

References 78

5 Work and the Workplace 79

5.1 Mental health problems and labour force participation 79

5.2 Intellectual disabilities and labour force participation 81

5.3 Employment disability legislation 82

References 86

6 Education 89

6.1 United Nations Covenants and examples of country-based legislation 90

References 95

7 Housing 99

7.1 Discrimination in housing 99

7.2 Examples of legislation 100

7.3 Community living 103

References 106

8 Social Security and Social Protection 109

8.1 What are social security and social protection? 109

8.2 Social security and social protection for people with mental health problems 110

8.3 Elements of social protection/social services legislation 113

8.4 Implementation challenges 117

8.5 Examples of legislation 119

References 121

9 Health, Health Care and the Right to Health 125

9.1 Inferior access to mental health care 125

9.2 Excess rates of co-morbidity and mortality 125

9.3 'Diagnostic overshadowing' and 'treatment overshadowing' 127

9.4 The right to health 128

9.5 Examples of legislation 131

References 132

10 Protection Against Abuse and Research Involving Vulnerable Populations 137

10.1 General considerations in research 139

10.2 The nature of vulnerability 140

10.3 Protection and remedies 141

10.4 The nature and quality of the investigation 143

References 146

11 Promotion of Mental Health and Prevention of Mental Illness 149

11.1 Public health approaches to promotion and prevention 150

11.2 UNCRPD in relation to mental health promotion and mental illness prevention 151

11.3 Examples of legislation 153

11.4 Other legislation to promote mental health and prevent mental illness 156

References 157

12 Implementation and Enforcement 159

12.1 Implementation plans and policies 159

12.2 Participation: professional groups, service user organisations and carer organisations 166

12.3 Inspections and visitation 170

12.4 Hearings 174

12.5 National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) 176

12.6 Other complaints mechanisms 179

12.7 Advocacy 179

References 181

13 Summary and Conclusions 185

References 190

14 International and Regional Instruments, Standards, Guidelines and Declarations 191

14.1 International instruments and standards 193

14.2 Regional human rights systems, treaties, conventions, charters and standards 203

14.3 Non-binding standards, guidelines and declarations 215

14.4 Full texts 220

15 Examples of Disability Legislation from Across the World 299

16 Organisations and Resources 307

16.1 Legislation libraries and databases 307

16.2 World Health Organization literature and resource 308

16.3 Other intergovernmental organisations and resources 314

16.4 Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and resources 317

Index 323