30/11/2022 By acomputer 446 Views

People with psychosocial disabilities live in chains

(London) – Worldwide, hundreds of thousands of people with psychosocial disabilities are shackled by shackles, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. In some 60 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East and the Americas, men, women and children – sometimes as young as ten years old – are tied up or locked in confined spaces for periods of time. weeks, months or even years.

Living in Chains

Shackling of People with Psychosocial Disabilities Worldwide

The 56-page report, titled "Living in Chains: Shackling of People with Psychosocial Disabilities Worldwide", shows that People with psychosocial disabilities are often chained against their will in their own homes or in overcrowded and unsanitary institutions, due to widespread stigma and lack of mental health services.

Many people are forced to eat, sleep, urinate and defecate in the same tiny area. In state or private institutions, as well as in traditional or religious healing centers, they are often forced to fast, take herbal remedies or concoctions, and risk physical and sexual violence. The report contains field research and testimonies from Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, China, Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Liberia, Mexico, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sierra Leone , Palestine, the self-declared independent state of Somaliland, South Sudan and Yemen.

“Shackling people with psychosocial disabilities is a brutal practice that is widespread and an open secret in many communities,” said Kriti Sharma, senior researcher in the Disability Rights Division of Human Rights Watch. and author of the report. “People can spend years tied to a tree, locked in a cage or a sheepfold because families struggle to cope and governments fail to provide adequate mental health services. »

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#BreakTheChains

Campaign website

Although a number of countries have become more aware of the issue of mental health, the use of chains continues, largely hidden. There are no data on this practice, nor coordinated international or regional efforts to eradicate it. In response, Human Rights Watch has worked alongside mental health rights advocates who have first-hand experience with it, as well as with human rights and anti-torture organizations around the world, to to launch a global campaign, #BreakTheChains, aspiring to end the chaining of people with psychosocial disabilities, ahead of World Mental Health Day on October 10. Human Rights Watch interviewed more than 350 people with psychosocial disabilities, including children, 430 family members, institutional staff, health professionals, religious healers, government officials and disability rights advocates. Based on a study of 110 countries, Human Rights Watch was able to highlight the use of shackles among people with psychosocial disabilities in some 60 countries, in various age groups, ethnic origins, religions, categories socio-economic, and in both urban and rural areas.

People with psychosocial disabilities live in chains

Globally, it is estimated that 792 million people have a psychosocial disability, or one in ten, including one in five children. Yet governments spend less than 2% of their health budgets on mental health. In more than two-thirds of countries, mental health services are not reimbursed by national health insurance systems. Even where care is free or subsidized, distance and transportation costs are a significant barrier. Without meaningful mental health support and low awareness, many families feel that they have no choice but to tie up their loved ones. They often fear that the person will run away, harm others or themselves. Restraint is usually practiced by families who believe that psychosocial disabilities are due to evil spirits or sins committed. Often people consult religious or traditional healers first, only turning to psychiatry as a last resort. So Mura, a 56-year-old man from Bali, Indonesia, was taken to 103 religious healers. When that didn't work, he was locked in a room for years. In many countries, families take their loved ones – including children, sometimes as young as ten – to traditional or religious healing centers. , where they are chained to contain or punish them. The people thus attached live in extremely degrading conditions. They are regularly forced to take medicine or subjected to alternative "treatments" such as decoctions of "magical" herbs, fasting, vigorous massages administered by traditional healers, Koranic recitations in the ear, gospel songs and special baths. Restraint has an impact on both physical and mental health. A person who is chained can suffer from post-traumatic stress, malnutrition, infections, nervous disorders, muscle atrophy and cardiovascular disease. Being tied also means living in very restrictive conditions that limit the ability to stand up or move around. Some are even chained to another person and therefore forced to go to the toilet and sleep together. A Kenyan man, who is currently living in chains, said: “This is not how a human being should live. A human being should be free. "In most of these institutions, personal hygiene is appalling, as people are not allowed to wash or change clothes, and live within a two-metre radius," Kriti Sharma said. “They are denied dignity. “Without adequate access to sanitation, soap or even basic medical care, people who are chained are at greater risk from Covid-19. And in countries where the Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted access to mental health services, people with psychosocial disabilities are more at risk of ending up in shackles. National governments should act urgently to ban the practice of sequencing, reduce stigma and establish quality, accessible and affordable community mental health services. Governments should immediately order regular inspections and monitoring of state and private institutions, and take appropriate action against abusive centers, Human Rights Watch said.

“It is terrifying that hundreds of thousands of people around the world can live in chains, in isolation, victims of abuse, and alone,” concluded Kriti Sharma. “Governments should stop sweeping this problem under the rug and take real action now. »

Additional stories: “I was chained for five years. This chain is so heavy! I don't find it normal, it makes me sad. I stay in a small room with seven men. I'm not allowed to wear any clothes, only underwear. I eat porridge in the morning and if I'm lucky I find bread in the evening, but not every night. —Paul, man with psychosocial disabilities, Kisumu, Kenya, February 2020 “Stop shackling people with mental health issues – stop. ”—Tina Mensah, Deputy Minister of Health of Ghana, Accra, November 8, 2019 “I feel sad, locked in this cell. I want to go outside, go to work, plant rice in the fields. Please open the door. Please open the door. Do not put the padlock. ”—Madé, a man with psychosocial disabilities who was locked up for two years in a purpose-built shed on his father's land, Bali (Indonesia), November 2019 “I was afraid that someone would attack me at night, without my being able to defend myself, since I was chained up. ”—Felipe, a man with psychosocial disabilities who was tied with chains and a padlock, naked, in a psychiatric hospital in Puebla (Mexico), 2018 “I relieve myself in plastic bags, then in the evening they take them away . I haven't had a bath in days. I eat right here, once a day. I am not free to walk around. At night, I sleep in the house. I stay away from men. I hate chains. ”—Mudinat, a woman with psychosocial disabilities, chained in a church, Abeokuta (Nigeria), September 2019 “Throughout my childhood, my aunt was locked in a shed and I was forbidden any contact with her. My family thought his mental health issue would stigmatize the whole family. I really wanted to help my aunt, but I couldn't. It broke my heart. ”—Ying (pseudonym), a young woman who grew up in Goungdong province (China), November 2019 “People in the neighborhood say that I am crazy [maluca ou n’lhanyi]. I was taken to a traditional healing center where my wrists were slashed for a cure, then to another where a witch doctor gave me chicken blood baths. ”—Fiera, 42, woman with psychosocial disabilities, Maputo, Mozambique, November 2019 “It was heartbreaking to see two of my cousins with mental health issues locked in a room together for years. My aunt did all she could to help them, but she has to struggle with the stigma and the lack of decent mental health services in Oman. It's time for governments to finally play their part so families aren't left to fend for themselves. —Ridha, whose relatives are chained in Oman, September 2020“I was chained, beaten, given incense against demons. They think you are possessed and run liquid down your nose to exorcise the demon. ”—Benjamin, 40, mental health rights advocate, who was chained in a church in Monteserrado, Liberia, February 2020 “Families routinely tie them [people with mental health issues]. We know this because of the visible scars on their bodies. They have scars. —Officer of the Public Prosecutor for the Protection of Persons with Disabilities, Mexico