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Uganda: People with Psychosocial Disabilities Demand, “End the Abuse!”
Joint statement by the Pan African Network of People with Psychosocial Disabilities (PANSUP), Mental Health Uganda and the Mental Disability Advocacy Centre (now Validity). Last week Validity (formerly MDAC) was in Uganda and…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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Today the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Moldova called time on guardianship, an outdated and unjust system that harms people with disabilities.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…
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Russia: For first time Russia admits overcrowding and injustice in psychiatric hospital
After six years of litigation at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, the Russian Government has admitted violations of our client, Rafael Usmanov’s rights. He was detained in an overcrowded…
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Duped, detained and drugged
Today, the European Court of Human Rights found that 55-year-old Jaroslav Červenka from the Czech Republic was deceived and wrongfully held in a social care institution for eight months (judgment here).…
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Polish Constitutional Court says stop segregating people with disabilities
The Polish Constitutional Court has ruled that laws allowing guardians to detain people in social care institutions without court’s supervision are unconstitutional. This landmark judgment should change the law for…
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Why won’t the Romanian government let 15-year-old Stefan go to school?
Stefan Stoian is a 15-year-old boy and lives in Bucharest, Romania. Because of his physical and learning disabilities, access to education was never easy. In 2011 his impairments got worse…
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Slovakia questioned at UN on institutions, education and rights of children with disabilities
Slovakia’s disability rights record was scrutinised by the UN’s disability expert committee this week. Validity (formerly MDAC) and Slovak NGOs sent information to the committee so that it could recommend to the…
