A study of more than 300 people with mental health problems, carried out by Dublin City University (DCU), found that 95 per cent of participants had experienced some level of unfair treatment because of a mental health problem.
Launched to coincide with World Mental Health Week, starting on October 10, the report found that 86 per cent of respondents had experienced some level of distress as a result of unfair treatment, while 64 per cent of people reported unfair treatment in making or keeping friends. Some 63 per cent reported having been avoided or shunned because of a mental health problem and 61 per cent of people reported being treated unfairly by family.
The DCU study was carried out by the School of Nursing and was part of Amnesty International Ireland’s mental health and human rights campaign, ‘Hear My Voice: Challenging Prejudice and Discrimination’.
Findings also highlighted that 44 per cent of people said they were treated unfairly in terms of personal safety, 36 per cent of people reported being unfairly treated in finding a job and two thirds of the participants stopped themselves from applying for work because of the manner in which they were treated.
The new research findings highlight the need for Government action to challenge mental health prejudice and discrimination, according to Amnesty. Colm O’Gorman, Executive Director of Amnesty, said: “At the heart of ‘Hear My Voice’ is not statistics, but human stories. You hear about the job offer that disappeared at the mention of a mental health problem. Or someone else outlining so simply, yet so powerfully, the dramatic effect a mental health problem had on their social life. No telephone calls, no visiting, no invitations.
“In Ireland to date, there has been little research about the nature, extent and impact of discrimination that people with mental health problems face.”
The report makes a number of recommendations to Government including: Ireland should ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol without further delay; the Office for Mental Health and Disability should adopt immediate, effective and appropriate measures to combat prejudice and raise awareness of the impact of discrimination; and the Equality Authority should collect, analyse and disseminate information on the prevalence and nature of discrimination against people with mental health problems.
Amnesty also recommends the implementation of specialised education programmes targeted at key State agencies to improve attitudes and conduct of officials; to identify indirect discrimination against people with mental health problems that may be occurring as a consequence of the application of laws and policies; and to undertake measures to redress these and monitor the impact.
Irish Medical Times
