Category: Article
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The faces of mental health in Uganda
Today, Mental Health Uganda (MHU) and Validity release a new film documenting the lives and experiences of people with mental health issues across the country. Entitled “The faces of mental health in Uganda“, the film vividly depicts the social isolation and human rights violations faced by people with mental health issues on a daily basis.…
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Preventing Child Abuse in Institutions
Robert Martin, CRPD Committee Member, talks institutionalistion, ill-treatment and human rights. Earlier this month, Validity (formerly MDAC) published a first-of-its-kind monitoring methodology for identifying and preventing abuse of children with mental disabilities in institutions – the CHARM Toolkit. The Toolkit was the product of a two-year, EC-funded project carried out together with our partners, GIP-Sofia…
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Hungary: Statement on the NGO Law
Validity (formerly MDAC) expresses its unequivocal opposition to legislation passed this month in Hungary which undermines the rule of law, freedom of association and respect for fundamental rights of independent non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in this country. The law, which directly affects Validity and many other human rights organisations operating in Hungary, comes amid a concerted government…
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Straightjackets and Seclusion
Validity (formerly MDAC) is today calling for the immediate closure of state-run institutions for people with disabilities in Hungary after an investigation of one large scale institution discovered children and adults who had been tortured and abused, including being tied to beds and restrained with makeshift straitjackets. One three-year-old was found in a caged bed,…
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A tribute to Rusi Stanev
We would like to share a few words on hearing the news that our dear client, collaborator, friend and hero Rusi Stanev has died, at the age of 61. Our hearts go out to people whose lives were touched by Rusi, to the Bulgarian disability rights movement, and to our colleagues who have kindly shared…
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Zambia Must Close Abusive Institutions, says UN Expert
Ms. Catalina Devandas, UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Disabilities has welcomed greater respect for the rights of people with disabilities in Zambia since 2010, but says the country must go further and abolish abusive practices against people with mental disabilities. In her report to the UN Human Rights Committee, Ms. Devandas expressed concern that the…
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Poland: Government admits failure to investigate rape of man with intellectual disabilities
Peter* has intellectual disabilities and lives in Poland. Ten years ago he was 33, and one day came home from attending a day-care centre and told his mother that he had been raped by a therapist at the centre and that he had been beaten with a belt. They went to the police but investigators…
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Slovakia: UN says stop putting people in cages and get them out of institutions
The UN Human Rights Committee has recommended that the Slovakian Government abolish cage beds and restraints in psychiatric institutions and speed up the evacuation of people with disabilities out of institutions and into the community. More than 40,000 people with disabilities live in Slovakia’s social care and psychiatric institutions. These places segregate people from the…
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Moldova: Psychiatrist guilty of raping multiple women with disabilities
Today in Bălți, Moldova, a psychiatrist was found guilty of several counts of rape that he committed during the course of a decade against 16 women under his care in a 400-bed social care institution. Dr. Florea Stanislav was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment. Ana (not her real name) recounted at the trial how she…
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Moldova: Constitutional Court Finds Guardianship Violations, But Will Government Listen?
Today the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Moldova called time on guardianship, an outdated and unjust system that harms people with disabilities. This follows an international trend away from removing rights, and towards providing supports for people to make decisions about their own lives. Guardianship entraps around 4,000 people in Moldova, a country with…