"The European Network of (ex-)Users and Survivors of Psychiatry
(including its German member-organisation Bundesverband
Psychiatrie-Erfahrener) together with their sister organisation the
World Network of Users and Survivors of Psychiatry, and working closely
with MindFreedom International, are issuing this statement to make
clear our coordinated position on force and psychiatry at the time of
The World Psychiatric Association (WPA) Conference, “Coercive
Treatment in Psychiatry: A Comprehensive Review,” being held
in Dresden, Germany, June 6 to 8, 2007. Our organizations are in a
unique position to speak on this issue because we have experienced
forced psychiatry and know the damage it has done to our lives and
those of our members, colleagues, and friends.
Our organizations will have representatives from a number of countries
participating in the WPA conference, with the intent of putting a human
face on this practice. We believe that people who have been coerced by
psychiatry have a moral claim to making the definitive statement
concerning such coercion.
We stand united in calling for an end to all forced and coerced
psychiatric procedures and for the development of alternatives to
psychiatry.
We especially point to the recent adoption by the United Nations
General Assembly of the “Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities” which was drafted with the participation
of human rights activists who had personally experienced the mental
health system. We believe that the people of the world and their
elected representatives should ratify this Convention without
reservations, affirming that all people ought to be treated equally and
that no one should be denied liberty based on a label of disability,
disease or disorder. We all have a right to refuse psychiatric
procedures, since this Convention recognizes the right to free and
informed consent with no discrimination based on disability. Even more
important, the Convention guarantees to people with disabilities the
right to make our own decisions (legal capacity) on an equal basis with
others, and requires governments to provide access to non-coercive
support in decision-making, for those who need such support.
We note that the World Health Organization (WHO) has stated its
opposition to all involuntary electroshock, which is also known as
electro-convulsive therapy (ECT). Involuntary electroshock is
increasing internationally, including in poor and developing countries
where it is most likely to be used without anaesthesia. In particular,
we call for the abolition of involuntary ECT in every country.
WHO and the European Commission have also stated the need for the
development of new non-stigmatising and self-help approaches for people
in emotional distress. Organizations of people who have experienced
psychiatric treatment have taken the lead in developing self-help
programs that are based on equality and choice, rather than on
coercion, and have been successful in helping people lead integrated
lives in the community. We know that healing can only occur when people
are respected as humans with free will and when there are alternatives
beyond psychiatry which are based on ethical approaches, which see the
whole person, and which support recovery, while force makes recovery
impossible.
We note that in many countries of the world, there is an increasing use
of forced psychiatric procedures, including court ordered treatment
which requires that people living in their own homes take psychiatric
drugs against their will or lose their freedom. This practice is a
violation of our human rights as set forth in the UN Convention.
We invite all supporters of human rights to join and support us in
demanding a world free of forced and coerced psychiatric procedures,
and we call for adequate funding and support for voluntary self-help
services and for alternatives to psychiatry which respect our humanity
and dignity."
On behalf of: