Mental Health and Human Rights: In Search of Context, Consequence and Effective Care

This paper examines the concept of human rights in the area of mental health. It does this in four steps. Firstly, it provides a brief examination of the shift from institutionalisation to community care and the violation of human rights that occurred in the process. Secondly, it defines the concept of human rights in the field of mental health. Thirdly, it provides a discussion of the hegemonic medical approach to mental health and the undermining of human rights that followed. Finally, the paper offers a brief focus on the role of the socio-political context in the understanding and distribution of human rights.