Mental health legislation and social rights

Abstract

AbstractMental illness is commonly associated with denial of social rights, despite the advent of ‘community care’ in many countries. There are several potential ways to address these issues: political activism to build more just societies; expansion of social support to reach those most in need; reform of mental health services to ensure minimum standards of care; and revision of mental health legislation to accord with international standards such as the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. India’s new mental health legislation, the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, was commenced on 29 May 2018 and is the first piece of major mental health law that seeks explicitly to comply with the Convention. The legislation includes both specific provisions relating to delivery of mental health care and broader provisions centred on a range of rights, including social rights. Most significantly, the 2017 Act provides a legally binding right to mental health care to the entire population of India, which includes 1.3 billion people or one-sixth of Earth’s population. Other key social rights in the legislation relate to housing, community living, and ‘a right to live with dignity’. The extent to which this ambitious legislation will succeed in protecting and promoting the social rights of the mentally ill has yet to be seen. Clearly, adequate resources and training of more mental health professionals are both essential if social rights and social inclusion are to become realities for the mentally ill and their families in India and around the world.