Universal Human Rights - Is mental health one of them?

Photo source @TheYorkie

COVID-19 has caused the world to shut down and Governments have called for people to isolate and enter lockdowns which has created increased attention towards mental health and whether or not it is actually protected.

There are various types of mental health disorders including, but not exclusive to: mood disorders such as depression; anxiety disorders like OCD; psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia and eating disorders like anorexia.

The WHO reported that 1 in 4 people in the world have suffered with a mental illness during their lifetimes with approximately 450 million people currently suffering. However, negative stigma and discrimination prevents people from seeking help creating a vicious cycle: “where there is neglect, there is little or no understanding. Where there is no understanding, there is neglect”.

Legal Barriers

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) stated that the right to health is a fundamental human right which has been defined under the 1946 Constitution of the World Health Organisation (WHO) as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being”. The right to health and particularly mental health is also being promoted through Target 3 of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

Although definitions provided in International law may make it seem evident that everyone has the right to enjoy physical and mental health, the issue lies within what the universal standard that should be implemented.

The right to health is recognised in Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR 1948) as the “right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family”. The problem here lies in the use of “adequate” in describing the standard for living and health. Since the definition of adequate is created by societal norms it will have undoubtedly have changed since 1948 with perceptions continuing to shift further into the future.

Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) defines adequate health as the right to enjoy the “highest attainable standard of physical and mental health”. A similar problem can be found in the ICESCR’s use of “highest attainable standard”. After ratification of treaties, States are expected to implement the treaties obligations into national law. This means that the highest attainable standard will vary from State to State and resulting in a lack of consistent application.

Societal Barriers

The WHO have predicted that by 2030, depression will be the leading cause in global disease burden. Although this is only one example of a mental health disorder that some sufferers face, the picture is even more bleak when you consider that 2/3 of people with known mental health disorders do not access mental health services due to stigma and discrimination which can often lead to human rights violations.

Within the UN member states, it was found that 36% of countries do not allow people with mental health problem to vote with 42% not recognising the right for those with mental health problems to write their own wills and testaments. More importantly, over half the countries have no explicit protection against dismissal, termination and suspension of employment on grounds of health including mental health problems. This can directly make mental health sufferers more at risk of unemployment due to COVID-19; subsequently making their mental health worse.

The statistics above echo Special Rapporteur and UN right to health expert, Dainius Puras, who states that the most basic challenge to the right to health and subsequently mental health is stigma and discrimination.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Health

One reason why mental health is currently a concern is due to the unequal economic impact of the pandemic. In the US, more than 40 million people have filed for unemployment whilst the UK has seen more than one in four workers being furloughed. This has led to ¼ of unemployed workers not coping well with stress which is double that of employed workers with basic necessities such as securing food being their main concern.

In the UK, further reports have found that 69% of adults report concern over the impact of COVID-19 with 56% feeling stressed or anxious. It has also been found that mental health has worsened by an average of 8.1% with young adults and women having been hit the worst by the pandemic.

However due to measures such as quarantine and lockdown, access to mental health services has been reduced meaning that current services cannot meet the demands of those at risk. Statistics and COVID-19 highlight how mental health is yet to be considered and treated as a fundamental human right.

Future

The findings for a report conducted in 2018 found that new technologies could transform mental health services and care over the next 20 years. Some examples of key technologies are the use of telemedicine, digital therapies, virtual and augmented reality as well as the use of AI amongst other things. Even social media has been highlighted as a potential method of mental health care due to the ability to use data from social media use to aid and predict mental health disorders.

The aforementioned techniques will not only aid in prevention and protection of those at risk but also provide the chance to increase access for those in need. A future with more electronic services being available could result in alleviating societal burdens on those suffering with mental health, creating a more optimistic outlook on what the future of mental health could look like.

Conclusion

The report mentioned above was conducted for the benefits of the NHS, therefore it is difficult to assume all countries will be open to accepting similar technological advancements in helping those with mental health disorders especially as statistics from UN member states continue to demonstrate high levels of discrimination and stigmatisation. However, the need for technological advancements driven by COVID-19 could provide an opportunity for mental health sufferers to gain more privacy and greater access to mental healthcare.

Overall, the current status of the perception of mental health around the world is far from being uniform which ultimately prevents the right to mental health being truly universal. That being said, the increased focus on technology as a result of COVID-19 could help in promoting education on mental health disorders as well as improving mental healthcare and services around the world.