Thursday 14 November 2019

November Newsletter

Dear Friends,

With the General Election date set for Thu 12 December, once again we are in full electoral campaign swing. 
If you have not registered to vote yet, please proceed asap as the deadline is the 28th November www.gov.uk/register-to-vote
Please also check the Shaping Our Lives resources here mailchi.mp/9f9bed90fcae/shaping-our-lives-insight-an-accessible-election?

We will be talking briefly about the General Election at our November meeting at LARC next Monday the 18th from 6:30 pm. Emily Reynolds also wants to tell us about her campaign:
A group of London based activists are trying to ensure that all survivors/service users are able to vote in the forthcoming general election.
They want to make sure that everybody knows their rights, is registered to vote, are able to get to the polling stations on election day, and are given adequate support once there. They are particularly interested in reaching those who are entitled to vote but are in hospital and unsure how they can cast their vote.
They are looking for support and are contacting local user-led organisations to ensure everyone has the information they need, as well as drop-in sessions to help people register to vote. If there is interest, they will also be crowdfunding for transportation and offering of escorts to make sure people get to the polling station. If you or anybody from your network wants to support the project or would like more information, please email emilyoliviareynolds@gmail.com

The remaining part of Monday's meeting will be dedicated to celebrate ourselves, as we have reached another round year with our collective work.
12 years since we started meeting in 2007!!! Where has the time gone???
An heartfelt thanks to all supporters, allies and friends that have helped keeping the fire going for all these years, through thick and thin times.
Join us for some light refreshments (any volunteer cake maker out there?) and some impromptu music and poetry to follow the GE discussion.
No set program, be prepared for surprises or come along to perform one of your own. We will also hear poems written at last Summer anti-austerity workshop ​www.facebook.com/events/1379313818898454 Updates will be shared on Facebook www.facebook.com/events/642729832799973

Please note there was a broken link in last month newsletter in regards to Protest Art being exhibited in major museum
The Science Museum new Medicine Galleries is opening this week www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/see-and-do/medicine-wellcome-galleries

Looking forward to seeing many of you on Monday.


EVENTS & OTHER NEWS

Survivors' Poetry Live at the Poetry Cafe 
Thu 12 Sept, 7:30-10.30pm. Arrive 7pm to sign up (1.50 floorspots / 2.50 conc/ 3.50). 
The Poetry Cafe, 22 Betterton St, Covent Garden WC2H 9BX.  
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Psychical research Study Day (ticketed event)
16th November, 2019 10:00 am 6:00 pm, Society for Psychical Research HQ SPR, 1 Vernon Mews, London W14 0RL
www.spr.ac.uk/civicrm/event/info?id=128&reset=1

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#Protest4Assange   #NoUSExtradition

World Protest to Free Julian Assange
Sat 16th November 12-3pm Trafalgar Square, Outside the National Gallery, London WC2N 5DN
www.facebook.com/1851422841765138/photos/a.1851430901764332/2485178271722922/
Also Belmarsh Solidarity Vigil
Saturday 30th of November 2pm-4pm, HMP Belmarsh, Western Way, Thamesmead, London SE28 0EB
From Woolwich Arsenal Train Station catch the 244/380 Bus to the Prison.

Don't Extradite Assange Petition
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Commission on Social Security led by Experts by Experience, Theatre Programme Autumn 2019
18-25 Nov, at Trust for London, 4th Floor, 4 Chiswell St, EC1Y 4UP London
To apply to join, or ask a question, contact Tamsin: Email tamsincurno@gmail.com Phone: 07879676666
Or fill in the online form: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeBEl-oWcbgmcTMO3mCHqunF5xLaQT8m2N8BvY6Adbrk2FzyQ/viewform    

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12 Years Young - 12th Anniversary of FEEL
Mon 18 November 6.30 - 8.30 pm (possibly later finish), ​​LARC 62 Fieldgate Street, Whitechapel, London  E1 1ES
www.facebook.com/events/642729832799973

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Together! 2019 Disability History Month Festival
2 November - 13 December East London (various venues)
www.together2012.org.uk/together-2019-disability-history-month-festival

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UK Disability History Month 2019
18 November – 20 December
Leadership, Resistance and Culture
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Together! 2019: Notes from the East, London
Friday 22 November 7-9pm, Stratford Old Town Hall, 11 George Lane, South Woodford, London, E18
Jo-anne Cox is joined by Janice Weir, Angus McKenzie Davie and guests for a musical celebration of Disability History Month. 

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Liberty, The Mayor of London’s free festival celebrating the work of deaf and disabled artists
by The Mayor of London in partnership with Waltham Forest
22 to 24 November 2019 wfculture19.co.uk/events/liberty

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Psychedelic Healing in Psychotherapy (ticketed event)
Saturday, 23rd November 9am-5pm, ORTUS Conferencing and Events Venue, Camberwell, London, SE5 8SN
www.forumsandevents.co.uk/psychedelic-healing-in-psychotherapy


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Melancholy & Raving
25 Nov 8pm–10pm (usually on the last Monday of the month - no December gig)
the upstairs dysfunction room at The Ship pub, 68 Borough Road, SE1 1DX
www.melancholyandraving.com

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Disabled & Proud Festival, by Culture Access, 30th Nov 2019
Workshops 3pm to 5 pm at Bathway Theatre, SE18 6QX
Performances 6pm to 8 pm at Woolwich Central Library, SE18 6HQ

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Under the Poet Tree: REaD Rhymes Live,presented by Richard Downes
A Disability Arts Online ‘Contested Space’ Performance for the International Day of Disabled People
Tue, 3 December 18:30 – 21:00 pm, The Foundry, 17 Oval Way, London SE11 5RR
 
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Together! 2019 Disability Film Festival Programme
5-8 December 2019, Stratford
www.together2012.org.uk/together-2019-disability-film-festival/together-2019-disability-film-festival-programme

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Why I Campaign Against Abuse of People with Mental Health Disabilities, by Daryl Brown

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End Coercion in Mental Health Services—Toward a System Based on Support Only
www.mdpi.com/2075-471X/8/3/19

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Dismay over psychiatrists’ failure to speak out on ‘abusive’ universal credit project

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Everyone needs to speak up about abuse by staff on psychiatric wards
theprovince.com/opinion/op-ed/dr-diane-mcintosh-everyone-needs-to-speak-up-about-abuse-by-staff-on-psychiatric-wards
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Rights Not Charity Crowdfund, by Disabled People Against Cuts 
To stop the ongoing erosion of disabled people's human rights. 
7 out of 8 people become disabled later in their lives. It affects us all.
www.crowdfunder.co.uk/rights-not-charity

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The impact of a decade of Conservative Government on disabled people – pre-election survey

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Tribunals Service unable to keep up with rise in appeals

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We need disability pay gap reporting

Monday 4th November is Disability Pay Gap Day
dpac.uk.net/2019/11/monday-4th-november-is-disability-pay-gap-day/

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‘Homage to Razz’, by Debbie McNamara 
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Postpone the rollout of 5G in the UK, pending further independent investigation
you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/postpone-the-rollout-of-5g-in-the-uk-pending-further-independent-investigation-2?

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F.E.E.L. - Friends of East End Loonies
FEEL meets the third Monday of each month 6.30 - 8.30 pm ​​LARC 62 Fieldgate Street, Whitechapel, London  E1 1ES U.K.



www.facebook.com/feel.campaign

Anyone willing to come off psychiatric medication ​​please always seek for reliable help.
Some good resources can be found here:
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Wednesday 13 November 2019

Psychiatric chief physician damands: End Coercion in Mental Health Services

From the board of die-BPE Berlin, Germany

[Please snowball this message in e-mail lists and newsgroups]

Dear friends,

Since 2009 we have been fighting our struggle against coercion in psychiatry by using our special psychiatric advance directive, the PatVerfue, forbidding any medical doctor to make a psychiatric diagnosis and of course forbidding him to execute any forced measures, see: http://www.patverfue.de/en
Our view is now shared in an article published in German and English by Dr. Martin Zinkler (chief physician of the psychiatry in Heidenheim) and Dr. Sebastian von Peter in which they describe how the end of coercion in psychiatry would mark the beginning of a support system conforming with UN-Human Rights.
The article is published in English here: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-471X/8/3/19
Its title is: End Coercion in Mental Health Services—Toward a System Based on Support Only
Here some citations as an incentive to read the full article:
Based on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) (UN 2018a), several UN bodies, among them the High Commissioner for Human Rights, have argued for a complete ban of all coercive interventions in mental health care (UN 2013, 2014, 2017a,2017b, 2018b).

The support system will be obliged to look for new no-restraint interventions as soon as the traditional coercive interventions can no longer be carried out.

The relation between the person concerned and the support system (mental health and social services) should always be based on informed agreement or informed dissent. Treatment and care cannot be determined anymore by a court or an administrative body (who may think that a particular intervention is just what the person needs).

Instead, in the new system, a dialogue would begin with the person on their wish to be discharged and any problems that may emerge from the discharge in this situation. Mental health professionals will outline the support services available in the community. The whole process is guided by the will and the preferences of the patient.

According to the Committee, forced treatment violates Article 12 of the Convention, equal recognition before the law, and several other articles such as the right to personal integrity (Art. 17), freedom from torture (Art. 15) and freedom from violence, exploitation, and abuse (Art. 16). The Committee perceives forced treatment to deny the legal capacity of a person to choose medical treatment, therefore classifying it as a violation of Article 12 of the Convention (UN 2014).

Additionally, in 2017, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights held that “many practices within mental health institutions also contravene articles 15, 16 and 17 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Forced treatment and other harmful practices, such as solitary confinement, forced sterilization, the use of restraints, forced medication and overmedication (including medication administered under false pretenses and without disclosure of risks) not only violate the right to free and informed consent, but constitute ill-treatment and may amount to torture.” (UN 2017a). 

The Committee is equally unambiguous about detention in mental health facilities: the denial of the legal capacity of persons with disabilities and their detention in institutions against their will, either without their consent or with the consent of a substitute decision-maker, is perceived to be an ongoing problem: “this practice constitutes arbitrary deprivation of liberty and violates articles 12 and 14 of the Convention.

Restrictions on their legal capacity based on an assumed impairment in mental capacity are no longer permitted. According to the CRPD, legal capacity “must be given to every individual by virtue of being human (…) (and) recognizes that regardless of perceived or actual decision-making ability, every individual has a right to be respected as a full person before the law with rights, responsibilities and agency—this is the right to legal capacity on an equal basis.” (Arstein-Kerslake and Flynn 2015). The task for health care professionals is to change to support only, based at the same time on the extent of the disability and on the will and the preferences of the person concerned.

Renouncing coercive interventions enables the support system to learn and develop non-restraint interventions (Zinkler and Koussemou 2013;Zinkler 2016). Conceivably, the serious consequences of severe mental health problems like homelessness, family break-ups, and imprisonment would occur less frequently.

We are not suggesting the creation of special rules for these cases or the definition of some kind of last resort use of coercion or some “ultima ratio”. In line with Arstein-Kerslake and Flynn, we believe in the principle, that “even in the hard cases, legislative response must apply equally to people with and without disabilities.” (Arstein-Kerslake and Flynn 2015).

Traditionally, persons who in one way or another pose a danger to themselves or to others and in the eyes of their surroundings suffer from mental illness can be brought to a psychiatric hospital voluntarily or against their will. In many jurisdictions, the police perform this task. In the new system, however, the police lose the option to remove a person to a hospital against their will. A police officer may take someone in police custody, irrespective of an assumed or diagnosed mental illness, but they cannot take the person to a hospital against their will. The police officer would then ask the person if they wanted to have a psychiatric consultation, speak to a counsellor or social worker, or be admitted to hospital. Only if the person agrees would consultation, counseling, or hospital admission be arranged. 

The principle of non-discrimination in the Convention stipulates that persons with an assumed or diagnosed mental illness must not be treated legally different than persons without this attribution.

The relation between the person concerned and the support system (mental health and social services) should always be based on informed agreement or informed dissent. Treatment and care cannot be determined anymore by a court or an administrative body (who may think that a particular intervention is just what the person needs).

Instead, the task for mental health professionals would be to support autonomy by determining the will and preferences of the person and by assisting them if possible. This includes an explanation of support options to enable the person to decide for themselves. Trust-building communication will be essential: “We are here to support you and we will not force you to do anything you don’t want.”

Most jurisdictions allow the police to forcibly remove a person from a public place to a psychiatric hospital. This practice discriminates persons with presumed mental illness, as the removal rests on the presumption of mental illness. Therewith, the law treats persons with an assumed mental illness differently than other persons. Based on the assumption of a mental illness, the person has to see a doctor or some other mental health professional in the community or at a hospital. The outcome of the assessment may then lead to detention in hospital.
However, according to the interpretation of the Convention by the UN Committee (UN 2014), such measures can only be taken with the consent of the person. 

As long as the person agrees to see a doctor or be taken to hospital, these steps can be taken. However, what happens if the person rejects these proposals? Equality before the law (Article 12 of the Convention) stipulates that the person with a presumed or diagnosed mental illness has the same rights as any other person. The person may be taken into police custody only if the general criteria (those not related to mental illness) for police custody are fulfilled. 

Judicial determinations on remand in prison or on prison sentences must not discriminate persons with an assumed or diagnosed mental illness. Therefore, the duration of imprisonment for someone with a diagnosed mental illness must not be longer than for someone without a diagnosis (for a comparable offence). Likewise, for people with mental illness, the curtailments of liberty in prison should not be harsher than for those without mental illness. 

According to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and several other UN bodies including the High Commissioner for Human Rights, coercive practice in mental health services is not in line with Article 12 and several other articles of the Convention. 

In the new system, a psychiatric diagnosis will not lead to disadvantages concerning restrictions of liberty. A functional approach toward mental capacity will no longer be used to justify detention or coercive interventions. Legal sanctions for the individual follow a non-discriminatory process that applies to all members of society.

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