Pathways to Justice for Mental Health Consumers in the Pacific

Download or read book Pathways to Justice for Mental Health Consumers in the Pacific written by Helen J. Ménard and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 380 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Much of the mental health legislation in the Pacific region is archaic, pays no attention to the rights of mental health consumers and is long overdue for reform. A small number of countries in the Pacific has recently undertaken such reform. This thesis analyses the provisions of past and present mental health statutes in Tonga, Samoa, Fiji and Vanuatu to establish, firstly, whether the new legislation has prima facie created or improved pathways for access to justice for mental health consumers, and, secondly, whether these pathways offer any practical benefit for those subject to involuntary detention. The research is baed on field work involving interviews and correspondence with mental health professionals, court officials, law reformers, lawyers and other professionals in the Pacific region. The thesis concludes that reform of mental health laws in Pacific island countries has largely been inspired by international human rights movements, global world health initiatives and, on occasions, a few key individuals in a position to influence political decision making. Legislative reform has created a variety of rights based frameworks throughout the region, which have delivered limited practical improvements for mental health consumers. In terms of consumers' ability to access justice through the utilisation of those rights, the reforms have been primarily aspirational rather than substantive. Lack of political commitment together with limited financial and professional resources constitute major impediments to the capacity of legislation to change substantially the lives of mental health consumers in these countries. Likewise, culture and customary practices still have significant influence in the management of mental health in Pacific communities and, when mental health initiatives are presented in a human rights context, often create substantial barriers.