Authors: Camilo Guaqueta, Jessica Davis & Helen Makregiorgos,
Year: 2023
Event: 2023 The MHS conference - Adelaide
Subject: Rights for All
Type of resource: Video
Abstract:
Presentation 1: Developing a Human Rights Analysis Tool for New Initiatives in the Mental Health Sector.
Author: Camilo Guaqueta
Abstract
Mental health services must respect the rights and dignity of people receiving mental health care, including the Right to make their own choices and be free from coercion, violence, and abuse.
The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) establishes the binding responsibilities to develop a service culture that promotes recovery, empowerment, and active citizenship to enjoy the Right to the highest attainable standard of mental health care.
The SA Mental Health Services Plan 2020 - 2025 requires implementing a human rights analysis to support the development of the models of care for all newly commissioned services. The Human Rights and Coercion Reduction Committee (HRCRC) was established to meet this requirement and ensure the human rights-based approach is embedded into new mental health care initiatives to protect, promote, and fulfil the rights of people who require mental health care in South Australia.
The HRCRC developed a Human Rights Analysis Tool to ensure that the standards and the principles of human rights are integrated into the design and implementation of new policies and services.
The tool has two sections. The first is focused on assessing the PANEL principles, which organisations like Australian Human Rights Commission have promoted. The second focuses on eight critical themes related to the articles of the CRPD relevant to the mental health sector.
The presentation will focus on designing the tool and the learnings from its trial in terms of mapping gaps related to the embedment of human rights in new initiatives in the mental health sector.
Learning Objective
The audience will gain a broad understanding of the principles underpinning the Human Rights Based Approach and will be familiarised with a practical tool to assess the inclusion of principles and standards related to the CRPD in the context of new initiatives in the mental health sector.
Presentation 2: Safeguarding the rights of Mental Health Consumers, non-legal Advocacy within the Victorian Mental Health System.
Authors: Jessica Davis & Helen Makregiorgos
Abstract
The Independent Mental Health Advocacy (IMHA) service has been in operation for seven years; providing non-legal advocacy to consumers who are subject to or at risk of involuntary treatment within the Victorian Mental Health System. The service provides individual and systemic advocacy to ensure that consumers rights are enacted upon and represented across all levels of the system. An RMIT evaluation in 2018 by Maylea etal found that consumers highly valued non-legal advocacy, it helped them access their rights and be treated with respect and dignity. The evaluation recommended that all consumers who are placed on involuntary treatment orders have access to non-legal advocacy, that an ‘opt-out’ model be put in place with legislative reform. Consequently, the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health recommended that access to non-legal advocacy be a right under the new Mental Health and Wellbeing Act coming into effect in September 2023.
This presentation will elaborate on the role and impact of non-legal advocacy as provided by the IMHA service, including the embedding of lived experience expertise in the design and delivery of the service. How its assists consumers to explore and access their rights, influences systemic change, and highlight the impact as reported by consumers.
Learning Objective
Delegates will learn about non-legal advocacy in the Victorian Mental Health system. Delegates will learn about the role and impact of non-legal advocacy as provided by the IMHA service in the lives of those with lived and living experience of mental ill health and the systems they interact with.
References
Maylea, C. Etal (2018) Evaluation of the Independent Mental Health Advocacy Service (IMHA). Social and Global Studies Centre, RMIT University.
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