Tag: institutionalisation
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Woman with Lived Experience of Institutionalisation Wins Landmark Case Against Psychiatric Hospital in Bulgaria
On 23 April 2025, a district court in Stara Zagora, Bulgaria, awarded substantial damages to Tanya Petkova, a woman with psychosocial disabilities, for repeated periods of psychiatric detention and coercive practices violating her dignity and autonomy and for the trauma inflicted upon her. The decision is a rare judicial acknowledgment of the impacts of intersecting…
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Topház: European Court of Human Rights finds Hungary failed to protect right to life of residents, must investigate links between death and disability
In a ground-breaking judgment today, the European Court of Human Rights (“the Court”) condemned Hungary for failing to protect the lives of institutionalised persons with disabilities. States must effectively investigate the context and conditions in which people in institutions die, the Court also said. The judgment sends a strong message against institutionalisation and guardianship regimes…
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Topház: Az Emberi Jogok Európai Bírósága szerint Magyarország nem védte meg a lakók élethez való jogát; Magyarországnak vizsgálnia kell a fogyatékossággal élő személyek intézményi elhelyezése és ott bekövetkezett haláluk közötti összefüggéseket
Az Emberi Jogok Európai Bírósága („a Bíróság”) a mai napon közzétett úttörő ítéletében elítélte Magyarországot, amiért nem védte meg a fogyatékossággal élő, intézményben elhelyezett személyek életét. Az államoknak hatékonyan ki kell vizsgálniuk az intézményekben elhelyezett emberek halálának összefüggéseit és körülményeit – mondta ki a Bíróság. Az ítélet határozott üzenetet küld az intézményi és gondnoksági rendszerekkel…
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Marking the legacy of Gábor Gombos
UPDATE We remember Gábor Gombos, who passed away on 5 June 2022. Gábor’s work shaped the Hungarian and international disability movement, and his stories, presentations, speeches, and thoughts went to the heart of his audience. The book titled ’The World – Without Cage Beds: World-Shaping Narratives by Gábor Gombos’ can be ordered here and downloaded…
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Topház: Court rules Hungarian state authorities responsible for grave disability rights violations
The Budapest Capital Court today issued a judgment finding three state authorities responsible for multiple, grave violations of the rights of 220 adults and children with disabilities detained in the notorious Topház Social Care Home. Validity first exposed the shocking abuses in 2017, reporting on filthy living conditions, violence, torture and ill-treatment, malnutrition and the…
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Cage Beds, Human Rights, Dignity: Commemorating the Life and Works of Gábor Gombos
In November 2023, Validity and our partners at the Bárczi Gusztáv Faculty of Special Needs Education at the Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) published a unique collection of materials commemorating the life, work and thought of Gábor Gombos, a leading figure in the Hungarian and global disability rights movements and survivor of psychiatry. Gombos, who passed…
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Romania: Victims of Ilfov Must Receive Reparations and Redress – Public Letter of Concern to the Romanian Government and International Community
The following is an open letter on behalf of the Validity Foundation to the Government of Romania and international bodies concerning recent events in Romania (list of recipients below). On 4 July 2023, the Romanian Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (Direcția de Investigare a Infracțiunilor de Criminalitate Organizată și Terorism, DIICOT) together with other…
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UN Human Rights Committee condemns Bulgaria for seriously violating the rights to life, freedom from torture and ill-treatment, and respect for inherent dignity
On 15 March 2023, the Human Rights Committee, the United Nations body that monitors the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by its States parties, issued a decision, so-called views, in communication No. 3171/2018 and condemned Bulgaria for violating the Covenant. The communication was drafted by lawyers of the Bulgarian Network…
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Representing Victims of Torture with Disabilities
A key cross-cutting objective for Validity is to contribute to the global push to end all forms of torture and ill-treatment faced by persons with disabilities. In this context, Validity works with partners to represent numerous victims with disabilities in Europe and Africa, with the strategic goals of ending disability-specific forms of torture, enhancing protections…
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New Film: I am the director of my own ‘institution’ | Validity Seasonal Appeal 2022
We are delighted to announce the release of this new film, featuring Validity client István Cservenka as part of Validity’s 2022 seasonal appeal – full film below. Forced to endure decades of institutionalisation simply for having a disability in Hungary, the team at Validity have been proud to support István’s journey to independence following over…