ABUJA: Hundreds of thousands of men, women and children with mental health conditions are living chained up in roughly 60 countries, Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday. Without mental health support or awareness, families or institutions shackle people against their will – often believing their condition is because they are bewitched, possessed or have sinned – and leaving them eating, sleeping, urinating and defecating in one small space, the rights watchdog said in a report.
In the run-up to World Mental Health Day on Oct. 10, the report documents almost 800 interviews describing how people with psychosocial disabilities in countries like China, Indonesia, Nigeria and Mexico can live shackled for years – chained to trees, locked in cages or imprisoned in animal sheds.
“We have found the practice of shackling across religions, social strata, economic classes, cultures and ethnic groups it’s a practice that is found around the world,” said Kriti Sharma, senior disability rights researcher at Human Rights Watch, in an interview. China’s foreign ministry and Mexico’s health ministry did not respond to emails seeking comment. Nigeria’s health ministry spokesman said ministers had not seen the report and declined to comment.–Agencies
