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Mental Health Notes

Mental health issues are exacerbated in prison due to a lack of contact with the outside world, lack of privacy, violence, isolation, and uncertainty about the future. The prevalence of mental disorders is much higher among prisoners compared to the general population, and suicide rates in prisons are up to 10 times greater. To properly address these challenges, prisons must look beyond just punishment and provide appropriate mental health treatment, access to medication, and not mix prisoners with mental illnesses together with the general prison population, as this violates international standards. Improving mental health in prisons can help reduce stigma, recidivism rates, and promote rehabilitation.

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93 views2 pages

Mental Health Notes

Mental health issues are exacerbated in prison due to a lack of contact with the outside world, lack of privacy, violence, isolation, and uncertainty about the future. The prevalence of mental disorders is much higher among prisoners compared to the general population, and suicide rates in prisons are up to 10 times greater. To properly address these challenges, prisons must look beyond just punishment and provide appropriate mental health treatment, access to medication, and not mix prisoners with mental illnesses together with the general prison population, as this violates international standards. Improving mental health in prisons can help reduce stigma, recidivism rates, and promote rehabilitation.

Uploaded by

rufelie gula
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Topic:

- Main issue
- Violation to udhr/iccpr/nelson mandela rules

One of the primary causes for the increase in mental health conditions among detainees is the
complete lack of contact with the outside world, including their families; and their lack of
privacy

"mental health issues are exacerbated by violence, enforced solitude or conversely, lack of privacy,
lack of meaningful activity, isolation from social networks, and insecurity about the future."

The prevalence of mental disorders among prisoners is considerably higher than in the community,
and studies have shown that suicide rates in prisons are up to 10 times higher than those in the
general population

"To address these challenges, we need to look beyond the four walls of a detention facility. We
need to look at prison health as public health," Michel said, recalling the Declaration on Prison
Health as Part of Public Health" adopted in Moscow in 2003.

Appropriate mental health treatment and care, and access to medication must also be provided to
address mental health issues in prisons.

For prisoners…. Addressing mental health needs will improve the health and quality of life of both
prisoners with mental disorders and of the prison population as a whole. By promoting a greater
understanding of the problems faced by those with mental disorders, stigma and discrimination can be
reduced. Ultimately, addressing the needs of people with mental disorders improves the probability that
upon leaving prison they will be able to adjust to community life, which may, in turn, reduce the
likelihood that they will return to prison

People with mental disorders are exposed to stigma and discrimination: Within most societies, people
with mental disorders face marginalisation, stigma and discrimination in the social, economic and health
spheres, due to widespread misconceptions related to mental disorders. This stigma and discrimination
usually persists in prison, with the person often facing still further marginalisation and isolation due to
imprisonment
Prisons are bad for mental health: There are factors in many prisons that have negative effects on
mental health, including: overcrowding, various forms of violence, enforced solitude or conversely, lack
of privacy, lack of meaningful activity, isolation from social networks, insecurity about future prospects
(work, relationships, etc), and inadequate health services, especially mental health services, in prisons.
The increased risk of suicide in prisons (often related to depression) is, unfortunately, one common
manifestation of the cumulative effects of these factors.

prisoners with mental illness are mixed with those who are mentally healthy
This is in direct contravention of the United Nations Standard for Minimum Rules for the
Treatment of Prisoners (UN Minimum Rules), which provides:
82. (1) Persons who are found to be insane shall not be detained in prisons and arrangements
shall be made to remove them to mental institutions as soon as possible.
(2) Prisoners who suffer from other mental diseases or abnormalities shall be observed and
treated in specialized institutions under medical management.

A prison system facilitates punishment, retribution or retaliation, expiation, deterrence, and


reformation, as well as the protection of society. But in many cases, these aims are not
served. The prison system is constrained to punishment and retribution per se; with little
regard for the reformation and rehabilitation of the offender. With the indifference to the
plight of the prisoners, society yet creates more monsters out of them.  

Statistics
Government Efforts

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