The European Disability Forum (EDF) welcomes the European Commission’s call for evidence on mental health. A comprehensive and holistic approach to mental health is needed to ensure the right to health and the integrity and inclusion of all, including persons with disabilities.
Persons with disabilities face many issues in accessing mental health services and support, including inaccessibility, costs, stigma and discrimination. Persons with psychosocial disabilities and those experiencing mental health crisis still see their human rights violated.
The European Commission must ensure it effectively address the situation of persons with disabilities and promote and comply with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, ratified by the EU and all Member States.
We recommend that the Commission’s communication include requirements on:
- Availability, accessibility and variety of mental health services: the Commission must promote the availability, accessibility and variety of mental health services, recognising that they are not only medical, but also social (including peer support, person-based organisations, etc). Services must be available and accessible to people with disabilities in all their diversity, including young persons and women with disabilities and in the context of rehabilitation and victims’ support services (including victims of gender-based violence) with no waiting period. The barriers faced by persons with disabilities when attempting to access mental health services, including societal barriers, lack of understanding of disability by service providers, stigma and financial barriers, must be explored and addressed. Information about services must be available in a variety of formats (e.g. Braille, easy to read and understand formats, augmentative and alternative communication tools) and services offer various means of communication (e.g. in person, online, written, spoken or sign languages).
- Integrity of the person and free and informed consent: the Commission must explicitly indicate that the provision of mental health services must be based on the free and information consent of the person. It should prevent, prohibit and condemn forced treatment and placement in mental healthcare settings, including psychiatry. Coercion can never be considered care; forced treatment and placement have been recognised by the UN as a form of ill treatment, which can amount to torture.
- Trainings on the person-centred and rights-based approaches, and on disability rights: mental health professionals and other stakeholders in contact with individuals who may experience mental health issues must receive training on the person centred and human rights-based approaches to mental health and on disability rights. This includes training for individuals working in schools, the workplace, institutions for persons with disabilities and older persons, and refugees centres. Member States should follow the WHO ‘Guidance on community mental health services: promoting person-centred and rights-based approaches’.
- Awareness-raising: Member States should ensure that adults, children and adolescents with disabilities are sensitised about mental health, including in schools, at home and in residential institutions. Awareness raising is crucial for prevention, early diagnosis, early orientation and care, and to lower discrimination and stigmatisation.
- Consultation of and involvement with organisations of persons with disabilities: Member States must consult organisations of persons with disabilities in the design, implementation and monitoring of mental health initiatives. Users and ex-users, including with various types of disability, must be involved, including for the development of peer support and peer expertise.
The European Disability Forum supports the call of Mental Health Europe for an EU Mental Health Strategy, with clear governance, timeline, adequate budget, objectives, and indicators to monitor progress. Such strategy is necessary to achieve systemic and structural changes and progress across the Union.