title: The relative irrelevance of human rights for the care and protection of the mentally ill.
abstract: This paper argues that the approach adopted by the recent Report of the National Inquiry into the Human Rights of People with Mental Illness of seeking to protect the interests of the mentally ill by following a human rights model is fundamentally flawed. The application of human rights to the care and protection of the mentally ill is at best irrelevant and at worst actually harmful to their best interests. Human rights are incapable of addressing the personal experience of mental illness and are similarly incapable of addressing the social and political issues that confront the mentally ill.
authors.affiliation: Department of History and Politics, University of Wollongong, Australia.
authors.forename: A P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Butcher
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia; D006806:Human Rights / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D006801:Humans; D028642:Persons with Psychiatric Disorders / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D028701:Patient Rights; D011209:Power, Psychological; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D012941:Social Responsibility; D014480:United Nations