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Published on February 27, 2025

On January 15, 2025, Dahdaleh faculty fellow Marina Morrow delved into the intersections of colonial encounters, human rights and mental health laws in Canada, Kenya and Australia. The seminar highlighted how mental health policies and practices in these nations continue to be shaped by their colonial histories, disproportionately impacting marginalized communities.  

Morrow emphasized that many routine practices in mental health are experienced by people as traumatizing, violent and coercive such as involuntary detainment, the use of restraints and seclusion. These coercive practices are reinforced by stigmatizing attitudes, discriminatory behaviours and state sanctioned frameworks like the Mental Health Act. Discrimination based on gender, racialization, citizenship and colonization exacerbates mental health disparities, yet significant gaps in data remain. 

The seminar explored how mental health laws in these countries contradict international human rights conventions, including the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (CRPD). While Kenya has fully signed on, Canada and Australia maintain reservations on Article 12, which relates to substitute decision making. Domestic mental health laws in all three nations violate CRPD Articles 12, 14 and 17, underscoring the need for legal reform. Field research conducted through focus groups and interviews in Canada, Kenya and Australia revealed recurring themes of coercion, systemic discrimination and human rights violations in mental health care. Participants shared experiences of involuntary treatment, racial discrimination and structural oppression, reinforcing the need for an intersectional approach to mental health reform. 

The discussion concluded with calls to fully implement the UN CRPD, eliminate seclusion and restraints and center lived experiences in policy reform. Morrow’s research advocates for recovery oriented, non-coercive community based mental health care as a path toward achieving human rights and social justice in mental health systems. 

Connect with Marina Morrow.

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