1 Introduction 1
1.1 Using the law in the fight for social justice 1
1.2 Whom are we addressing? 5
1.3 The history of this book 7
1.4 How the book has been organised 12
1.5 Terms used to describe mental health problems 14
1.6 Our authorial voice(s) 16
References 17
2 Principles and Concepts 19
2.1 The tension between advancing the rights of people with mental health problems and attitudes in society 20
2.2 Law relating to people with mental health problems: the historical context 21
2.3 Discrimination 24
2.4 General versus specific law 36
2.5 Importance of enforcement 39
2.6 Social model of disability 41
2.7 Capacity and competence 44
2.8 Human rights 47
2.9 Stigma, discrimination and 'structural violence' 52
2.10 Social justice 54
2.11 What comes next? 57
References 57
3 Civil and Political Participation 63
3.1 Voting 63
3.2 Jury service 65
3.3 Measures intended to optimise civil and political participation 66
References 69
4 Legal Capacity, Decision-making, Discriminatory Statutes and Practice 71
4.1 Guardianship and the legal right to make decisions 71
4.2 Discriminatory statutes and practice 76
References 78
5 Work and the Workplace 79
5.1 Mental health problems and labour force participation 79
5.2 Intellectual disabilities and labour force participation 81
5.3 Employment disability legislation 82
References 86
6 Education 89
6.1 United Nations Covenants and examples of country-based legislation 90
References 95
7 Housing 99
7.1 Discrimination in housing 99
7.2 Examples of legislation 100
7.3 Community living 103
References 106
8 Social Security and Social Protection 109
8.1 What are social security and social protection? 109
8.2 Social security and social protection for people with mental health problems 110
8.3 Elements of social protection/social services legislation 113
8.4 Implementation challenges 117
8.5 Examples of legislation 119
References 121
9 Health, Health Care and the Right to Health 125
9.1 Inferior access to mental health care 125
9.2 Excess rates of co-morbidity and mortality 125
9.3 'Diagnostic overshadowing' and 'treatment overshadowing' 127
9.4 The right to health 128
9.5 Examples of legislation 131
References 132
10 Protection Against Abuse and Research Involving Vulnerable Populations 137
10.1 General considerations in research 139
10.2 The nature of vulnerability 140
10.3 Protection and remedies 141
10.4 The nature and quality of the investigation 143
References 146
11 Promotion of Mental Health and Prevention of Mental Illness 149
11.1 Public health approaches to promotion and prevention 150
11.2 UNCRPD in relation to mental health promotion and mental illness prevention 151
11.3 Examples of legislation 153
11.4 Other legislation to promote mental health and prevent mental illness 156
References 157
12 Implementation and Enforcement 159
12.1 Implementation plans and policies 159
12.2 Participation: professional groups, service user organisations and carer organisations 166
12.3 Inspections and visitation 170
12.4 Hearings 174
12.5 National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) 176
12.6 Other complaints mechanisms 179
12.7 Advocacy 179
References 181
13 Summary and Conclusions 185
References 190
14 International and Regional Instruments, Standards, Guidelines and Declarations 191
14.1 International instruments and standards 193
14.2 Regional human rights systems, treaties, conventions, charters and standards 203
14.3 Non-binding standards, guidelines and declarations 215
14.4 Full texts 220
15 Examples of Disability Legislation from Across the World 299
16 Organisations and Resources 307
16.1 Legislation libraries and databases 307
16.2 World Health Organization literature and resource 308
16.3 Other intergovernmental organisations and resources 314
16.4 Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and resources 317
Index 323