This national survey looks at how well mental health consumers met their human rights in 2024. We want to hear about how human rights-based approaches have respected, protected and promoted people’s dignity and times when people’s inalienable rights to mental health have been breached. Your experiences may have been in the mental health system but also in justice, health, or other social sectors.
Please complete this survey if you are a mental health consumer, a person with lived experience, or a person with a psychosocial disability. For the purposes of this survey, the three terms can be interchanged; for psychosocial disability, please read mental health consumer/lived experience/person with a mental health issue. There are around 50 questions, most of which are Yes/No.
Human Rights and Mental Health
Australia does not have a National Human Rights Act. However, all levels of Australian government, federal, state, and local, must uphold their commitments to the International Human Rights conventions to which Australia is a signatory. This includes the United National Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD)
The UNCRPD seeks to promote, protect, and ensure that all individuals with disabilities can fully enjoy their human rights and fundamental freedoms while also fostering respect for their inherent dignity. This Convention delineates general and specific obligations for signatories (known as States) regarding various rights, including civil and political rights and economic, social, cultural, and developmental rights. The core principles of the UNCRPD highlight respect for inherent dignity, non-discrimination, full and effective participation, appreciation of diversity, and equality of opportunity.
While we understand that there is strong evidence that applying Human Rights frameworks across society will improve the experience of people involved with the mental health sector, we also recognise that some people do not identify as mental health consumers nor identify as persons with psychosocial disability.
Additionally, Australia is a signatory to the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT). OPCAT highlights the prevention of mistreatment of people in all places of detention, including locked mental health wards.
We want to understand whether you feel your rights as mental health consumers have been respected in your interactions with various services and/or settings.
Further reading on the UNCRPD can be found in United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) | Australian Human Rights Commission
Use of survey results
The Alliance will work with the lived experience research group ACACIA to analyse the data collected from this survey. The ACACIA research group comprises people with lived experience and was created to investigate issues important to mental health consumers and carers in the ACT. The group also works with service providers and policymakers to drive change that improves mental health care.
The research group will analyse the data collected from this Survey, which may be used in other research projects. As your responses are completely de-identified, there is no risk that your participation in this research will be identified.
If you have any questions regarding this survey, please do not hesitate to contact Jen Nixon, National Policy and Research Manager, policy@nmhca.org.au
Survey details
The Alliance’s national human rights survey opens on 4 November 2024 and closes on 31 December 2024.
Survey https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/AllianceHR
Survey QR code: