"States should impose an absolute ban on all forced and non-consensual medical interventions against persons with disabilities, including the non-consensual administration of psychosurgery, electroshock and mind-altering drugs, for both long- and short- term application. Special Rapporteur on Torture Juan E Méndez 4. Mars 2013
Based on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), several UN bodies, among them the High Commissioner for Human Rights, have argued for a complete ban of all coercive interventions in mental health care.
The response from psychiatry has mainly been critical, defending the need for coercion and going as far as accusing the Committee of “reversing hard won victories in the name of human rights” (Freeman et al. 2015) or suggesting that governments “ignore the Convention when it would interfere with a commonsense approach to protecting citizens who in one way or another are incapable of protecting themselves.” (Applebaum 2019)
The authors Martin Zinkler and Sebastian von Peter conceptualize a system for mental health care based on support only. Psychiatry loses its function as an agent of social control and follows the will and preferences of those who require support. The authors draw up scenarios for dealing with risk, inpatient care, police custody, and mental illness in prison. With such a shift, mental health services could earn the trust of service users and thereby improve treatment outcomes (1).
Germany without Coercive Treatment in Psychiatry—A 15 Month Real World Experience 2011 too 2012 showed that it is possible to reduce forced drugging by 90% (2). Additional training of personnel could nearly remove forced drugging, i. e. only 0,03 % of patients where subject to coercive medication 2011 to 2018. (3)
Rindal, 10. November 1919
Walter Keim
Netizen:
http://walter.keim.googlepages.com
References:
Martin Zinkler et al. 2019: "End Coercion in Mental Health Services—Toward a System Based on Support Only", Laws 2019, 8(3), 19; https://doi.org/10.3390/laws8030019
Martin Zinkler: «Germany without Coercive Treatment in Psychiatry—A 15 Month Real World Experience», Laws 2016, 5(1), 15; https://doi.org/10.3390/laws5010015
Responding to Crises - Alternatives to Hospital: Martin Zinkler, Kliniken Landkreis Heidenheim gGmbH, Trieste 23rd Sept 2019: http://www.triestementalhealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Zinkler.pdf