Tina Minkowitz is a lawyer in the USA, who was involved in developing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Tina is also a survivor of psyiatric abuse, and a human rights lawyer, and interested in workign towards reparations for psychiatric violence, for example, for psychiatric institutionalization and abuses such as chemical restraint. She works tirelessly for the rights of persons who are ‘survivors of psyiatric care’, and her work on reparation for past harms, deinstitutionalisation and human rights is extraordinary.

reparation

definition: the action of making amends for a wrong one has done, by providing payment or other assistance to those who have been wronged.

synonyms: remuneration, reprisal(s), requital, restitution, satisfaction

Reparations and deinstitutionalisation are also very relevant to people living with dementia, who are not only detained in institutional residential aged care, but where people with dementia are further violated as they are usually also segregated in ‘secure dementia units’. I’m grategul to know Tina, and have learned a lot from her work.

Anyone who follows me here, knows I am involved in research specifically looking at reparations for past (and future) abuse, violence and neglect in residentiual aged care with Professor Linda Steele, something the Aged Care Royal Commission in Australia chose to ignore in their final report and recommendations.

It doesn’t matter how good residential care facilities might look from the promotional flyers or videos, or from the choice of curtains and furniture, nor that family members, guardians and health care professionals promote the need for people with dementia to be incarcerated (not a word these groups would use) for their own safety, it is 100% against their human rights.

View her COSP15 Side Event on Remedy and Reparation for Institutionalization here: