Community Treatment Orders in Victoria: A Clinico-Ethical Perspective

2008 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 340-343 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gunvant Patel

Objective: The aim of this paper is to outline the impact of Community Treatment Orders over a 20-year period on service delivery and clinical practice in Victoria. Conclusions: Community Treatment Orders, as utilized in Victoria, have undermined optimal service delivery and supported paternalistic, reductionistic clinical practice. The psychiatric profession has failed to advocate adequately for better mental health resourcing and human rights protection of those subject to Community Treatment Orders.

Author(s):  
Simon Evans ◽  
Julia Watson

This chapter examines the influence of the new Commonwealth model of human rights protection (exemplified by the UK Human Rights Act 1998) on the form of the two Australian statutory Bills of Rights, and then considers the impact of Australia's distinctive legal culture and constitutional structure on the operation of these instruments. In particular, it examines the impact of culture and structure in the decision of the High Court of Australia in R. v Momcilovic [2011] HCA 34; (2011) 280 A.L.R. As a result of that case, key features of the Australian Bills of Rights now diverge from the dominant UK approach, a divergence so striking that it may no longer be possible to identify the Australian Bills of Rights as exemplars of the new Commonwealth model.


2020 ◽  
pp. 000765032092897
Author(s):  
Krishna Chaitanya Vadlamannati ◽  
Nicole Janz ◽  
Indra de Soysa

The consequences of foreign direct investment (FDI) for human rights protection are poorly understood. We propose that the impact of FDI varies across industries. In particular, extractive firms in the oil and mining industries go where the resources are located and are bound to such investment, which creates a status quo bias among them when it comes to supporting repressive rulers (“ location-bound effect”). The same is not true for nonextractive multinational corporations (MNCs) in manufacturing or services, which can, in comparison, exit problematic countries more easily. We also propose that strong democratic institutions can alleviate negative impacts of extractive FDI on human rights (“ democratic safeguard effect”). Using U.S. FDI broken up into extractive and nonextractive industries in 157 host countries (1999–2015), we find support for these propositions.1 Extractive FDI is associated with more human rights abuse, but nonextractive FDI is associated with less abuse, after controlling for other factors, including concerns about endogeneity. We find also that the negative human rights impact of extractive FDI vanishes in countries where democratic institutions are stronger. Our results are robust to a range of alternative estimation techniques.


2014 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 49-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Gomez ◽  
Robin Ramcharan

This paper evaluates the impact of competing “democratic” discourses on human rights protection in Southeast Asia. The authors identify three key discourses emanating from a set of national governmental policies, advocacy positions promoted by both global and local civil society and international standards and procedures adopted by members of inter-governmental organisations. These discourses, the authors argue, are collectively shaping the emerging ASEAN inter-governmental human rights regime. The political impact of these competing “democratic” discourses and their complex interactions bring a cultural dimension to regional human rights. The authors argue that observers seeking to understand the emergence of norms, the establishment of institutions and their capacity to collectively protect regional human rights, need to understand these competing discourses.


Author(s):  
Mary E Footer

Since the turn of the millennium, the European Union (EU) has sought to advance its policies on business and human rights with the aim of achieving specific outcomes on human rights protection, core labour standards, and a better alignment of European and global approaches to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). At the heart of this endeavour lies the European Commission’s renewed strategy for CSR in its 2011 Communication. This chapter critically analyses the impact of the EU’s re-calibration of its CSR policy to allow for the fuller engagement of European business with human rights on the internal and external plane. The EU has sought to develop a ‘smart mix’ of voluntary policy measures and complementary regulatory initiatives to achieve its aims. Consequently, it has made considerable progress towards embedding business and human rights in European law and policy. However, it continues to face challenges due to its lack of competence along the whole spectrum of business-related human rights, and the transversal character of EU policy, which elicits a multidimensional response to implementation, involving a plethora of actors from government, business, and civil society.


2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 196-205
Author(s):  
Jaya Gupta ◽  
Angela Hassiotis ◽  
Ingrid Bohnen ◽  
Yogesh Thakker

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore use of community treatment orders (CTOs) in adults with intellectual disability (ID) and mental health problems across England and Wales. Design/methodology/approach – A web-based exploratory survey was sent to 359 consultants on the database of the Faculty of the Psychiatry of ID, Royal College of Psychiatrists who had declared ID as their main speciality. Socio-demographic details of responding consultants, clinical characteristics of adults with ID on CTO, subjective views of consultants on using CTOs in people with ID were collected and analysed. Findings – In total, 94 consultant questionnaires were returned providing information on 115 patients detained under CTO. More than 75 per cent of the respondents had used CTO in their clinical practice. Patients subject to CTO were generally young, white males with mild ID and living in supported accommodation. CTOs were primarily used in situations of non-engagement (52.2 per cent), non-compliance with medication (47 per cent) or non-compliance with social care supports (49.6 per cent). Practical implications – Responding consultants expressed concerns about encroachment of civil liberties and ethics of using CTOs in people with ID who may lack capacity and stressed that decision to use CTOs needs to be therefore done on individual basis. Originality/value – This is the first national study to examine the practice of applying CTOs in adults with ID and mental disorders. Current practice is based on evidence from research done in adults with normal intelligence. Further research is needed to investigate the utility of CTOs in routine clinical practice in adults with ID and mental disorders.


2000 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 383-385 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa McMurray ◽  
Warren Steiner

Objective: To review the literature on the responses of individuals with severe mental illness (SMI) to natural disasters, to describe the impact of the 1998 Ice Storm on a group of SMI patients, and to describe the steps taken at a Canadian university teaching hospital to ensure the ongoing provision of mental health services throughout the crisis. Method: Published articles describing the impact of natural disasters on SMI populations, as well as service provision to these patients, are reviewed. Service use at the Montreal General Hospital (MGH) Department of Psychiatry is described. A questionnaire about the impact of the ice storm was administered to a group of patients in an assertive community treatment program. Results: Service use during this natural disaster was consistent with that described in the literature, in that these patients were no more likely to be admitted or to visit the emergency room during the crisis. Continuous mental health service delivery may have contributed to this positive outcome. This service delivery was provided by ensuring staff access to information, by securing the physical safety of both staff and patients, and by taking a flexible, outreach-oriented approach to service delivery. Conclusions: SMI patients who have ongoing access to psychiatric services in disaster situations tend to cope well. A flexible, proactive, assertive approach to service delivery during the crisis situation will help to ensure that needs for care will be met.


2000 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 801-808 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Vaughan ◽  
Neil McConaghy ◽  
Cherry Wolf ◽  
Craig Myhr ◽  
Terry Black

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the readmission rate, and the level of patient disturbance and community care associated with readmission following Community Treatment Orders (CTOs) in New South Wales, Australia. Method: The readmission rates of all patients given CTOs within a 4-year period and a matched comparison group were investigated. The following factors were compared before, during and following a CTO: medication non-compliance, number of clinical services and duration of disturbed behaviour preceding hospitalisations. Results: Of 123 patients on CTOs (mean length, 288 days; SD, 210 days), 38 were readmitted during the CTO, the majority in the first 3 months and a further 21 patients were readmitted following termination of the CTO. Evidence of lower severity of illness in the comparison patients prevented meaningful evaluation of the readmission rates of the two groups. While on CTOs, patients receiving depot medications showed high compliance and a significantly reduced readmission rate compared with that of patients receiving oral medications. In the 2 months prior to hospitalisations during CTOs, compared with those before or after CTOs, patients received more frequent consultations and showed a shorter duration of medication non-compliance and disturbed behaviour. The level of services in the 3 months following discharge were comparable for patients on CTOs and the comparison group. Conclusions: CTOs may reduce rehospitalisations by use of depot medication. Earlier and possibly more frequent readmissions in the CTO group shortened the disturbance associated with illness recurrence. It would appear that to establish a control group with equivalent severity of disorder necessary to evaluate the impact of CTOs requires a random allocation design.


Author(s):  
Rhona K. M. Smith

This chapter examines the role of the African Union, formerly the Organization of African Unity (OAU), in the development of African jurisprudence on human rights. It provides a brief historical background on the African Union and the Charter provisions. The chapter traces the development of human rights protection in Africa; describes the monitoring and enforcement of human rights law; highlights the impact of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights on human rights in Africa; and explains how States may be held accountable for infringements of rights and freedoms.


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