Mental Health Legislation Essay

Mental health legislation is necessary for protecting the rights of people with mental disorders, who are a vulnerable section of society. They face stigma, discrimination and marginalization in all societies, and this increases the likelihood that their human rights will be violated. Mental disorders can sometimes affect people’s decision-making capacities and they may not always seek or accept treatment for their problems. Rarely, people with mental disorders may pose a risk to themselves and others because of impaired decision-making abilities. The risk of violence or harm associated with mental disorders is relatively small. Common misconceptions on this matter should not be allowed to influence mental health legislation.
Mental health legislation can provide a legal framework for addressing critical issues such as the community integration of persons with mental disorders, the provision of care of high quality, the improvement of access to care, the protection of civil rights and the protection and promotion of rights in other critical areas such as housing, education and employment. Legislation can also play an important role in promoting mental health and preventing mental disorders. Mental health legislation is thus more than
Of the countries in which there is mental health legislation, half have national laws that were passed after 1990. Some 15% have legislation that was enacted before 1960, i.e. before most of the currently used treatment modalities became available (World Health Organization, 2001). The existence of mental health legislation does not necessarily guarantee the protection of the human rights of people with mental disorders. In some countries, indeed, mental health legislation contains provisions that lead to the violation of human