Background The World Psychiatric Association recently emphasised that the protection of human rights in mental healthcare was a ‘central concern’. This paper examines recent literature on human rights and mental healthcare. Aims To (a) outline how international human rights law distinguishes between the protection and promotion of human rights; and (b) explore the literature on promoting human rights in mental healthcare which avoids what has been termed the ‘Geneva impasse’ between those who argue that compulsory care and treatment can never comply with human rights law and those who argue that they can if certain conditions are met. Method The following doctrinal methodology was used: (a) identification and detailed analysis of international human rights conventions and commentaries; (b) identification of key literature on human rights and mental healthcare; and (c) critical analysis of key issues emerging from the literature. Results Much of the literature on human rights and mental healthcare focuses on whether restrictions on compulsory care are required to meet the requirements of United Nations Conventions. There is an emerging literature identifying measures to promote the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of mental health. Conclusions There has been a focus on protecting the rights to liberty and equality before the law for mental health patients. The nascent literature on promoting human rights in mental healthcare could mark a way forward beyond the ‘Geneva impasse’ that has dominated public debate in recent years.

Sexual offence laws in many Commonwealth jurisdictions criminalise sexual activity with disabled people with cognitive impairments. Many of these laws were created with the intent to protect disabled people with cognitive impairments from sexual abuse. However, they often preclude the possibility for the individual to consent to sexual activity. This preclusion from consenting to sex has the potential to create significant hardship for disabled people with cognitive impairments. It can create barriers to sexual expression and romantic relationships. In addition, it may interfere with the right of disabled people with cognitive impairments to sexual agency, which is protected as part of the right to legal capacity in Article 12 of the 2006 United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Many of these sexual offence laws are either colonial remnants or may be a product of colonial influence. Many of the most restrictive laws date back to colonial rule and bear remarkable similarity to laws in the United Kingdom (UK) around the time of colonisation. The UK has since enacted reform in this area and has less restrictive laws. However, even these reformed laws often present barriers to the recognition of sexual consent from disabled people with cognitive impairments. This article their compliance with Article 12 of the CRPD. It identifies a potential need to reform antiquated laws that appear to be a remnant of colonial rule and more modern laws that may continue to create barriers to sexual expression and romantic relationships for disabled people with cognitive impairments.

Sexual offence laws in many Commonwealth jurisdictions criminalise sexual activity with disabled people with cognitive impairments. Many of these laws were created with the intent to protect disabled people with cognitive impairments from sexual abuse. However, they often preclude the possibility for the individual to consent to sexual activity. This preclusion from consenting to sex has the potential to create significant hardship for disabled people with cognitive impairments. It can create barriers to sexual expression and romantic relationships. In addition, it may interfere with the right of disabled people with cognitive impairments to sexual agency, which is protected as part of the right to legal capacity in Article 12 of the 2006 United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Many of these sexual offence laws are either colonial remnants or may be a product of colonial influence. Many of the most restrictive laws date back to colonial rule and bear remarkable similarity to laws in the United Kingdom (UK) around the time of colonisation. The UK has since enacted reform in this area and has less restrictive laws. However, even these reformed laws often present barriers to the recognition of sexual consent from disabled people with cognitive impairments. This article reviews sexual offence laws across Commonwealth jurisdictions and analyses their compliance with Article 12 of the CRPD. It identifies a potential need to reform antiquated laws that appear to be a remnant of colonial rule and more modern laws that may continue to create barriers to sexual expression and romantic relationships for disabled people with cognitive impairments.

There is a developing body of research indicating that individual and population-based mental health is affected by a range of 'social determinants'. Discrimination, poverty, inadequate access to housing and education as well as exposure to violence, conflict and disaster have all been associated with poor mental health and mental illness. International human rights treaties identify many of the social determinants of mental health as matters of human rights. However, limited attention has been paid to the connection between social determinants and the right to enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of mental health. This paper explores the potential for incorporating elements of both social determinants and human rights approaches to provide a new framework for mental health research, policy and practice. While acknowledging potential challenges, it identifies advantages to collaborating across disciplinary boundaries. The social determinants approach provides a foundation for understanding the interconnectedness of rights and draws attention to individual and collective needs, while a human rights approach can help identify the measures that are required to secure the social determinants of good mental health and wellbeing.

This book offers principles for designing care and support policy to address two persistent sources of tension in the field. The first is the tension between supporting women's unpaid caring and supporting their paid work participation. The second is the tension between carers' claims for support based on the 'burden' of caring and disability rights claims for support for choice and independence for people with disabilities. Policies tend to favor one activity and one constituency over the other. Consequently, individuals' access to resources and choices about how they live are constrained. Using a citizenship rights framework, with insights from human rights law, the principles provide guidance for designing policy and legislation that avoids 'either/or' approaches and addresses the interests of multiple constituencies. Analyses of Australian and English policies demonstrate the value of the principles for developing policy that reduces inequality, responds to 'failures' of neoliberalism, and expands choice for all.

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This article discusses the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System relating to the reduction and elimination of the use of seclusion and restraint. The author focuses on the implications of these recommendations for women. She argues that the Royal Commission’s proposals stand to benefit all mental health consumers but did not address the full range of gender-specific experiences and needs of women. The Andrews government has committed to implementing the Royal Commission’s recommendations, and the author identifies a range of issues that must be attended to in order to ensure these matters are dealt with.