Tag: torture and ill-treatment
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Czechia: Reports expose shocking use of mechanical restraints in psychiatric institutions
A psychiatric hospital in Opava, Czechia, kept a young woman in mechanical restraint for over 12-years. The story was exposed by a Czech human rights activist, supported by Validity, who managed to obtain reports of monitoring visits in 2018 of Czech psychiatric hospitals conducted as a part of a programme of psychiatric reform. The reports…
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Finland: Validity intervenes before the European Court of Human Rights to argue coercive psychiatric treatment violates the Convention
At the beginning of June, Validity intervened in the case H.H. v. Finland in which the applicant complained of coercive treatment in a psychiatric hospital. She was medicated against her will but could not turn anywhere to complain and try to stop it. The courts refused to hear her case. Many people with psychosocial disabilities…
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Czechia: long-awaited ban on cage beds in psychiatric institutions enters into force
Czechia finally prohibited the use of netted cage beds in psychiatric hospitals from the beginning of this year, following a legislative amendment of the Czech Act on Healthcare Services. The ban comes after years-long efforts of Validity and its partners calling on the Government to end this practice. Various international bodies have repeatedly echoed our…
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Slovakia: UN Committee against Torture condemns the use of netted cage-beds
Lucia Černácova is an autistic woman with an intellectual disability. In 2006, faced with a lack of support to take care of her daughter at home, her mother had no choice but to accept that Lucia is placed in a Social Care Facility. Lucia is a person who needs individual attention and support, but the…
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COVID-19 Disability Rights Monitor Report highlights catastrophic global failure to protect the rights of persons with disabilities
Final report: Click here Easy-to-read summary of the final report: Click here In its final report, the COVID-19 Disability Rights Monitor (DRM) Coordinating Group calls for urgent action by States and the international community to halt the catastrophic failure to protect the lives, health and rights of persons with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The…
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Tackling Torture Against Persons with Disabilities in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic – webinar series
in Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bosnia Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Honduras, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Moldova, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Nigeria, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Switzerland, Uganda, United Kingdom, USA, Zambia, ZimbabweAs the COVID-19 pandemic rages around the world, evidence is emerging that measures taken by states are resulting in severe consequences for persons with disabilities. From brutal enforcement of lockdown orders through to the denial of basic and emergency health treatment, persons with disabilities are at risk of experiencing severe pain and suffering with life-changing…
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COVID-19 Disability Rights Monitor (DRM) calls for an end to police violence and abuse against persons with disabilities and their family members
Easy-to-read version: Click here The COVID-19 Disability Rights Monitor Coordinating Group express their alarm about increasing police violence against persons with disabilities in the context of the pandemic, and are calling on governments around the world to take urgent steps to prevent acts of brutality. Early in the COVID-19 global pandemic, the global community and…