WUNRN

http://www.wunrn.com

 

INDIA – ABUSES AGAINST WOMEN & GIRLS WITH PSYCHOSOCIAL OR INTELLECTUAL DISABILLITIES IN INSTITUTIONS IN INDIA

 

Human Rights Watch

http://www.hrw.org/reports/2014/12/03/treated-worse-animals-0

 

Direct Link to Full 96-Page Report:

http://features.hrw.org/features/Interview_2014/Locked_Up_in_Institutions_With_No_Way_Out/index.html

 

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“Locked Up in Institutions with No Way Out”

 

December 3, 2014 - This report documents involuntary admission and arbitrary detention in mental hospitals and residential care institutions across India, where women and girls with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities experience overcrowding, lack of hygiene, inadequate access to healthcare, forced treatment – including electroconvulsive therapy – as well as physical, verbal, and sexual violence.

These women and girls are locked up in institutions against their will. Some of the institutions for those women, who have disabilities ranging from Down Syndrome and cerebral palsy to schizophrenia and depression, are filthy and overcrowded.

Residents lie on the floor practically on top of each other for lack of space. Opportunities to bathe are minimal, access to medical care is limited, and forced treatment – including electroshock therapy – is often the norm. Verbal or physical abuse by staff members is common. It’s not a pretty picture, but this is the reality for those living in institutions. Many don’t even know their diagnosis. Admitting female relatives to institutions is painfully easy, but it’s nearly impossible for these women to leave without their family’s permission.

Human Rights Watch’s Kriti Sharma spoke with Amy Braunschweiger about the 24 institutions she and other researchers visited across four Indian states – including government mental hospitals and government and private residential care facilities – for the new report, "Treated Worse than Animals."