Hundreds of thousands of people shackled for mental health issues globally
PAUL CARSTEN and ANGELA OKUMADU HUNDREDS of thousands of men, women and children with mental health conditions are living chained up in roughly 60 countries, Human Rights Watch has revealed. Without mental health support or awareness, families or institutions shackle people against their will - often believing their condition is because they are bewitched, possessed or have sinned - and leaving them eating, sleeping, urinating and defecating in one small space, the rights watchdog said in a report. In the run-up to World Mental Health Day on October 10, the report documents almost 800 interviews describing how people with psychosocial…