Shona Clarke

Kia ora,

Thank you for the opportunity to speak at this celebration today for New Zealand ratifying the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

I feel honoured to bring a youth mental health perspective this evening.  I know there was vast amounts of input into the convention from people who have had experience of a mental illness, and I want to highlight that I can not bring all of the issues to the table, and will be focussing on the relevancy of the convention to young people who experience mental health issues.

Before I read the convention, I wondered how it could relate to young people with mental health issues.  These young people would never think of themselves as having a disability, and generally only identify as having a mental illness after they've been told repeatedly from people that they do.  And with good mental health services early enough, a mental health issue for a young person, can be prevented from becoming a disability.

After reading the convention, I realised that there were rights and principles in it that many young people do not enjoy, let alone young people with mental health issues.  The rights that stuck out for me, and the ones I'll be addressing, were those about non-discrimination, individual autonomy and fundamental freedom and the guarantee of liberty. The rights outlined in this convention are not new rights, but we wouldn't need this convention if our rights were adhered to.

Discrimination

Gillian was 14 when she realised that how sad she felt, wasn't normal.  As she got older, her mental health began to impact on her at school.  She had always achieved academically, done well in music and sport.  She was never in trouble and her report cards always said "Gillian is a pleasure to teach."

Gillian's "mental illness" gradually got worse as she wasn't receiving support, and only sat some of her sixth form end of year exams, though she still managed to achieve good grades.  In her seventh form year, she had to take some time out of school because she was hospitalised. 

Her friends were great, despite having their own things to deal with.  Her school however, didn't want her back.  She felt discriminated.  She had a mental illness that was too scary for them.  If Gillian had a physical illness she would probably have been accommodated and been congratulated for bravely going back to school against the odds.  Fortunately Gillian had some advocates that encouraged her school to let her back and finish the year.

Gillian is a real person. Although she would have been considered a model student before she was diagnosed with a mental illness, she was discriminated against and was on the verge of losing her right to education.

In my job, I've talked to young people who talk about the discrimination and need for attitude change by their peers, siblings and teachers.  Sometimes the bullying they've received for acting a little different has meant they've left school, which impacts on their normal adolescent development and their right to equality and liberty.

People who have experienced a mental illness are often subjected to a lot of misunderstanding and discrimination, exacerbated by the tv and the media.  Young people with mental illness are often seen as bad, and are punished for their behaviour, rather than their behaviour seen as a reaction to the things occurring in their life and social inequities that exist.

Fundamental freedom

In reading the report of the confidential forum for former in-patients of psychiatric hospitals published last year, it saddened me that this torture, abuse and violation of human rights occurred to people with mental ill health.  However it upset me even more knowing these things still happen in the mini-institutions that still exist. I know this not from word of mouth, but from personal experience.

For me the convention for the rights of persons with disabilities promises the fundamental freedom that institutions inherently deny and that some current mental health practices prevent.

I hope this convention will provide the impetus for social inclusion to be practiced more, and the freedom to live your life as you choose in your community.  The contribution to society of people with disabilities is potentially greater than most anticipate.

Individual autonomy

I also look forward to the shift away from paternalistic services.  We will have total autonomy not just over our individual treatment, but on service development and delivery, and policy development.    Adults have these opportunities more often than young people, and my challenge is that young people should also be allowed the freedom to make choices.  Even those young people with mental health issues.
Some of the things we may want, may not be what those in the helping profession want to give us, but that needs to be respected.  We don't necessarily want to be fixed up as that implies that there is something wrong with us.

The convention recognises that: "disability is an evolving concept and that disability results from the interaction between persons with impairments and attitudinal and environmental barriers that hinders their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others."

The translation from my perspective is that 'disability exists because of the attitudes and other barriers that prevent people from participating in society like everyone else'.

There is already a convention for young people up to the age of 18 - the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.  Article 12 highlights young people have the right to give their opinion, and for adults to listen to it and take it seriously.  This aligns with the Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities and the right to freedom of expression and opinion.

One of my challenges to those implementing the convention in New Zealand is that when you closely consult with people with experience of mental illness, do not forget about young people.  We have been invited today, and I hope you continue to ensure young people are given the opportunity to express their valid opinion, thus reflecting the values outlined in the convention.

In closing, I thought I'd share a poem that is meaningful for me.  It is called Beautiful People by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found the way out of the depths.

These people have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE DON'T JUST HAPPEN.