Mental Health Services and Community Care by Cummins Ian

Author:Cummins, Ian [Cummins, Ian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Social Work
ISBN: 9781447350590
Google: evDcDwAAQBAJ
Barnesnoble:
Goodreads: 49693379
Publisher: Policy Press
Published: 2020-04-24T03:48:19+00:00

Mental health law

There is an assumption that there is a consistent tension in the development of mental health law and policy. This tension is identified as being one between the rights of the individual and the rights of the wider community to protection. It should be noted that this discourse seems to be based on an acceptance of the notion that people with mental health problems will pose some sort of threat to the wider community. The broader discourse of human rights developed in the shadow of the atrocities and oppression of Nazism (Habermas, 2010). As discussed in Chapter 3, the image of the asylum as a concentration camp was a powerful image in the calls for reform. The UN Declaration of Human Rights states in Article 1 that ‘All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights’ (United Nations General Assembly, 1948). Abuses of human rights involve violations of human dignity. The protection of human rights is, therefore, based on calls to a set of moral values that we share. This discourse of human rights is based on notions of dignity. This modern notion is a recasting of Kant’s (1996) categorical imperative that every person should be viewed as an ‘end in themselves’. This approach contrasts with utilitarianism and other forms of consequentialism. The modern notion of dignity is contrasted by Habermas (2010) with the development of the liberal rights of freedom of association and religion and protections against arbitrary arrest.

The enjoyment of these classic democratic rights was seen as providing protections against the potential intrusion of the state into the private sphere of family life. It should be noted that these rights were not enjoyed by everyone or all groups. Women, ethnic minorities and people with mental health problems who were institutionalised are clear examples of groups who were denied the full rights of citizenship. The abuse that occurred in these settings and the examples that Gostin (2007) quotes are clearly violations of human dignity and the bodily integrity of individuals. Rawls (1971) suggests that liberal, political rights can only be fully enjoyed if they are accompanied by social, economic and cultural rights. The asylum system prevented this. Dworkin (1995) notes that dignity is both a powerful but also a vague concept.

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