Popular on eTradeWire
- K9 Technology President Files a Lawsuit Against Google LLC - 272
- BK Adventure Celebrates 10 Years of Glow: Join the Year-Long Celebration! - 232
- NCYS Names Distinguished Sports Leaders to Officer Positions for 2025 - 216
- Premium workspaces with exceptional hospitality to fuel your growth. Where professionals thrive - 195
- Uriel Medrano Joins RE1 Advisor as Property Manager/Realtor - 193
- The Perfect Book for Your Child's First Lost Tooth! - 192
- CROW receives funding to rebuild Sea Turtle Complex post Hurricane Ian - 168
- Pet Professional Guild Announces Corporate Partnership with the Phenix Advocacy Center - 163
- Vocs AI Announces Three Groundbreaking Features to Revolutionize AI Voice Generation - 155
- Benchmark International Faciltd. the Trans BT EZ Fabricating, Inc. and House Rock Capital Partners - 142
Similar on eTradeWire
- International Women's Day Gala to Celebrate Women's Achievements and Support Fire Survivors
- Innovative Dental in Webster, NY Now Offering Advanced Invisalign Treatment for All Ages
- Well Revolution Announces Free Healthcare for Every Artist in New York
- Theta Sleep Clinic Opens in Salt Lake City, Offering Cutting-Edge Sleep Solutions
- Direct Interactions Celebrates National 211 Day
- Tickets available to hear Olympian Michael Phelps at the Kids' Minds Matter 2025 Signature Gala
- David Prescott Announces Campaign for Amarillo City Council, Place 3
- Daryl Guberman: The Forefather of Quality and Government Accountability
- DICE Dental Emphasizes the Importance of Early Internal Resorption Treatment
- Book Release for "The Adventures of the Reflex Rangers: Jack and his Sea Legs"
CCHR and Electroshock Survivors Reject Psychiatric Apology for Tortured Children
eTradeWire News/10761472
CCHR joins survivors of electroshock torture in NZ in condemning a very late apology issued by a psychiatric association, spanning half a century of neglecting the abuse endured. The group wants justice for victims of analogous abuse in the U.S.
LOS ANGELES - eTradeWire -- The U.S.-based Citizens Commission on Human Rights International joined former child victims of psychiatric electroshock torture in New Zealand in rejecting a very late apology from the local psychiatric association for failing to protect them.[1] The mental health industry watchdog has been at the forefront of the campaign to ban electroshock use and helped its chapter in New Zealand to expose the torture of children at the now-closed Lake Alice psychiatric institution in the 1970s. After more than 50 years, the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) formally apologized last week to the survivors for the abuse they endured. Advocating for justice, CCHR demands a more sincere apology, rigorous accountability, and rightful compensation for the survivors not only in New Zealand but also for those brutally treated with electroshock in the U.S.
The RANZCP apologized for the "torturous actions carried out and directed by psychiatrist Selwyn Leeks,"[2] a member of the College who was responsible for electroshocking children without anesthetic, including to their legs and genitals.[3] Leeks died in January 2022, aged 92.[4] Eleven months later, only then did the College posthumously rescind his fellowship with it.[5]
In 2021, the Lake Alice survivors were granted a Royal Commission—the highest form of government inquiry in New Zealand—to testify about the terror and trauma they still suffer from their 1970s treatment. In December 2022, the Commission confirmed the hospital had been a place of misery, neglect, terror, fear and torment.[6] Despite the lapse in time, there are now recommendations that the survivors be adequately compensated.
Recent local media reported, "Vulnerable children in the adolescent unit at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital faced unimaginable abuse. They were drugged, punished with electric shocks and subjected to physical and sexual assaults."[7]
Dozens of survivors and their supporters, including CCHR New Zealand's director Mike Ferriss, heard from the RANZCP president Elizabeth Moore. Some of the survivors called the very late statement of professional regret "hollow lip service and a fairy tale apology."[8]
In the full written apology released to the media, the RANZCP wrote "We know the courageous attempts to raise concerns by young, vulnerable people detained at Lake Alice were ignored."
More on eTradeWire News
CCHR says there is a growing trend for psychiatric associations to apologize for everything from psychiatrists' role in the Holocaust euthanasia murders of mental patients and eugenics to racism. In January 2021, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) issued a formal apology for what it said was psychiatry's "role in perpetrating structural racism" and that psychiatrists had subjected indigenous people to "abusive treatment, experimentation, victimization in the name of 'scientific evidence,'…." APA said it had "historically remained silent on these issues."[9]
In 2010, Prof. Frank Schneider, President of the German psychiatric association broke the society's 70-year silence and apologized for Nazi psychiatrists who had forced patients "to be sterilized, arranged their deaths and even performed killings themselves." Patients were killed in the gas chambers, from lethal doses of drugs or by prescribed starvation.[10]
Some psychiatric associations, however, have not been so forthcoming. For example, South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which in 1997 investigated apartheid crimes, reported that the South African Society of Psychiatrists "did not play a proactive role in ensuring that the human rights of mentally ill people were upheld" during apartheid.[11] A UN report had concluded that the society had resorted to "blatant falsehood in its defense of South African psychiatric care."[12] Black patients were warehoused in privately owned institutions, electroshocked without anesthetic, and used for unpaid labor. According to a 1983 World Health Organization report, "This situation has no parallel in the history and present state of psychiatric care; it certainly does have a parallel in the ownership and trading of slaves." The report further stated that "in no other medical field in South Africa is the contempt of the person, cultivated by racism, more concisely portrayed than in psychiatry."[13]'
CCHR says more than just apologies are needed and they must also be given without added platitudes about how conditions have "changed." The RANZCP apology drew harsh criticism when it added, "We are committed to people receiving the best mental health care, guided by evidence and expertise" and "Now, psychiatrists work transparently and collaboratively, in teams, with supervision, and ongoing training and development."
However, a recent WHO and United Nations guideline clearly shows there is ongoing abuse, stating: "Coercion remains a core component of existing mental health laws across jurisdictions and is a major concern." Such practices include "involuntary hospitalization, involuntary medication, involuntary electroconvulsive therapy, seclusion, and physical, chemical and mechanical restraint." These "violate the right to be protected from torture or cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment…." and should be prohibited.[14]
More on eTradeWire News
To prevent the abuse of patients, the guideline says access to justice is "essential to accountability." Bypassing colleges and associations who may put reputation above protecting patients or admitting to their abuse, implementation of the guideline would allow "persons interacting with mental health services to challenge human rights violations and to enforce rights, including the right to an effective remedy…. Effective remedies also entail the duty to investigate and bring to justice those who are responsible, to hold them to account, combat impunity and prevent repetition of violations."[15]
In the meantime, CCHR continues to call for all electroshock treatment to be prohibited, with its most recent protest held on February 22 outside an American College of Psychiatrists' convention held in New Orleans. Report abuse to CCHR.
About CCHR: CCHR was founded in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and the late Dr. Thomas Szasz, Professor of Psychiatry. It has obtained over 190 laws to protect the rights of mental health patients, including the prohibition of dangerous psychiatric treatments with criminal penalties if administered.
[1] www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2024/02/lake-alice-survivors-react-to-apology-from-royal-australia-new-zealand-college-of-psychiatrists.html
[2] www.ranzcp.org/news-analysis/apology-to-the-survivors-of-lake-alice
[3] www.cchrint.org/2022/12/30/lake-alice-psychiatric-hospital-children-were-tortured/; www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/royal-commission-of-inquiry-into-state-care-finds-lake-alice-children-were-tortured/ZB3EVQL765ATLMDKSX6XHSTXEA/
[4] www.stuff.co.nz/national/rnz/300963742/why-a-key-figure-at-lake-alice-was-not-charged
[5]www.ranzcp.org/news-analysis/apology-to-the-survivors-of-lake-alice
[6] www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2024/02/lake-alice-survivors-react-to-apology-from-royal-australia-new-zealand-college-of-psychiatrists.html
[7] www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2024/02/lake-alice-survivors-react-to-apology-from-royal-australia-new-zealand-college-of-psychiatrists.html
[8] www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2024/02/lake-alice-survivors-react-to-apology-from-royal-australia-new-zealand-college-of-psychiatrists.html
[9] www.cchrint.org/2021/01/26/american-psychiatric-associations-apology-for-harming-african-americans-rejected/ citing www.medscape.com/viewarticle/944352?src=wnl_edit_tpal&uac=345404PY&impID=3143084&faf=1; www.psychiatry.org/news-room/apa-apology-for-its-support-of-structural-racism
[10] www.cchrint.org/2021/01/26/american-psychiatric-associations-apology-for-harming-african-americans-rejected/, citing www.dgppn.de/en/Core-areas/psychiatry-in-time-of-National-Socialism/speech-schneider.html#0; link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00406-011-0243-1; www.dgppn.de/en/Core-areas/psychiatry-in-time-of-National-Socialism/travelling-exhibition.html; www.dgppn.de/en/Core-areas/psychiatry-in-time-of-National-Socialism/stations-of-the-exhibition-1.html
[11] www.justice.gov.za/trc/report/finalreport/Volume%204.pdf
[12] "The Case for South Africa's Expulsion from International Psychiatry," United Nations Centre Against Apartheid report, May 1984
[13] "Apartheid and Health," WHO report (Geneva) 1983, pp. 166-248
[14] www.cchrint.org/2023/09/18/who-guideline-condemns-coercive-psychiatric-practices/
[15] www.cchrint.org/2023/09/18/who-guideline-condemns-coercive-psychiatric-practices/
The RANZCP apologized for the "torturous actions carried out and directed by psychiatrist Selwyn Leeks,"[2] a member of the College who was responsible for electroshocking children without anesthetic, including to their legs and genitals.[3] Leeks died in January 2022, aged 92.[4] Eleven months later, only then did the College posthumously rescind his fellowship with it.[5]
In 2021, the Lake Alice survivors were granted a Royal Commission—the highest form of government inquiry in New Zealand—to testify about the terror and trauma they still suffer from their 1970s treatment. In December 2022, the Commission confirmed the hospital had been a place of misery, neglect, terror, fear and torment.[6] Despite the lapse in time, there are now recommendations that the survivors be adequately compensated.
Recent local media reported, "Vulnerable children in the adolescent unit at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital faced unimaginable abuse. They were drugged, punished with electric shocks and subjected to physical and sexual assaults."[7]
Dozens of survivors and their supporters, including CCHR New Zealand's director Mike Ferriss, heard from the RANZCP president Elizabeth Moore. Some of the survivors called the very late statement of professional regret "hollow lip service and a fairy tale apology."[8]
In the full written apology released to the media, the RANZCP wrote "We know the courageous attempts to raise concerns by young, vulnerable people detained at Lake Alice were ignored."
More on eTradeWire News
- Coincapmarket.com Unveils Global Bitcoin Prices, Data Analysis, And Data Mining Services
- Unstoppable Women: Women's Orchestra of Arizona's Scottsdale Concert Inspires with Powerful Works
- Vibe Rantz Designs Is In Business With Website Launch And 3d Prints Added!
- KLM Enterprises Announces Rebranding of Baby Girl Elite Shoes to Being Great Everyday Brand
- Well Revolution Announces Free Healthcare for Every Artist in New York
CCHR says there is a growing trend for psychiatric associations to apologize for everything from psychiatrists' role in the Holocaust euthanasia murders of mental patients and eugenics to racism. In January 2021, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) issued a formal apology for what it said was psychiatry's "role in perpetrating structural racism" and that psychiatrists had subjected indigenous people to "abusive treatment, experimentation, victimization in the name of 'scientific evidence,'…." APA said it had "historically remained silent on these issues."[9]
In 2010, Prof. Frank Schneider, President of the German psychiatric association broke the society's 70-year silence and apologized for Nazi psychiatrists who had forced patients "to be sterilized, arranged their deaths and even performed killings themselves." Patients were killed in the gas chambers, from lethal doses of drugs or by prescribed starvation.[10]
Some psychiatric associations, however, have not been so forthcoming. For example, South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which in 1997 investigated apartheid crimes, reported that the South African Society of Psychiatrists "did not play a proactive role in ensuring that the human rights of mentally ill people were upheld" during apartheid.[11] A UN report had concluded that the society had resorted to "blatant falsehood in its defense of South African psychiatric care."[12] Black patients were warehoused in privately owned institutions, electroshocked without anesthetic, and used for unpaid labor. According to a 1983 World Health Organization report, "This situation has no parallel in the history and present state of psychiatric care; it certainly does have a parallel in the ownership and trading of slaves." The report further stated that "in no other medical field in South Africa is the contempt of the person, cultivated by racism, more concisely portrayed than in psychiatry."[13]'
CCHR says more than just apologies are needed and they must also be given without added platitudes about how conditions have "changed." The RANZCP apology drew harsh criticism when it added, "We are committed to people receiving the best mental health care, guided by evidence and expertise" and "Now, psychiatrists work transparently and collaboratively, in teams, with supervision, and ongoing training and development."
However, a recent WHO and United Nations guideline clearly shows there is ongoing abuse, stating: "Coercion remains a core component of existing mental health laws across jurisdictions and is a major concern." Such practices include "involuntary hospitalization, involuntary medication, involuntary electroconvulsive therapy, seclusion, and physical, chemical and mechanical restraint." These "violate the right to be protected from torture or cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment…." and should be prohibited.[14]
More on eTradeWire News
- Ticon and Map AI Announce Business Alliance, With Map AI To Provide Exclusive Demographics Data
- How New U.S. Tariffs Are Reshaping the Frequency Control & Precision Timing Industry
- Bail America Bail Bonds Supports Jeepin With Judd Event with Special Rubber Duck Giveaway
- How New U.S. Tariffs Are Reshaping the Machining Industry
- Housing not Handcuffs for the Unhoused
To prevent the abuse of patients, the guideline says access to justice is "essential to accountability." Bypassing colleges and associations who may put reputation above protecting patients or admitting to their abuse, implementation of the guideline would allow "persons interacting with mental health services to challenge human rights violations and to enforce rights, including the right to an effective remedy…. Effective remedies also entail the duty to investigate and bring to justice those who are responsible, to hold them to account, combat impunity and prevent repetition of violations."[15]
In the meantime, CCHR continues to call for all electroshock treatment to be prohibited, with its most recent protest held on February 22 outside an American College of Psychiatrists' convention held in New Orleans. Report abuse to CCHR.
About CCHR: CCHR was founded in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and the late Dr. Thomas Szasz, Professor of Psychiatry. It has obtained over 190 laws to protect the rights of mental health patients, including the prohibition of dangerous psychiatric treatments with criminal penalties if administered.
[1] www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2024/02/lake-alice-survivors-react-to-apology-from-royal-australia-new-zealand-college-of-psychiatrists.html
[2] www.ranzcp.org/news-analysis/apology-to-the-survivors-of-lake-alice
[3] www.cchrint.org/2022/12/30/lake-alice-psychiatric-hospital-children-were-tortured/; www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/royal-commission-of-inquiry-into-state-care-finds-lake-alice-children-were-tortured/ZB3EVQL765ATLMDKSX6XHSTXEA/
[4] www.stuff.co.nz/national/rnz/300963742/why-a-key-figure-at-lake-alice-was-not-charged
[5]www.ranzcp.org/news-analysis/apology-to-the-survivors-of-lake-alice
[6] www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2024/02/lake-alice-survivors-react-to-apology-from-royal-australia-new-zealand-college-of-psychiatrists.html
[7] www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2024/02/lake-alice-survivors-react-to-apology-from-royal-australia-new-zealand-college-of-psychiatrists.html
[8] www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2024/02/lake-alice-survivors-react-to-apology-from-royal-australia-new-zealand-college-of-psychiatrists.html
[9] www.cchrint.org/2021/01/26/american-psychiatric-associations-apology-for-harming-african-americans-rejected/ citing www.medscape.com/viewarticle/944352?src=wnl_edit_tpal&uac=345404PY&impID=3143084&faf=1; www.psychiatry.org/news-room/apa-apology-for-its-support-of-structural-racism
[10] www.cchrint.org/2021/01/26/american-psychiatric-associations-apology-for-harming-african-americans-rejected/, citing www.dgppn.de/en/Core-areas/psychiatry-in-time-of-National-Socialism/speech-schneider.html#0; link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00406-011-0243-1; www.dgppn.de/en/Core-areas/psychiatry-in-time-of-National-Socialism/travelling-exhibition.html; www.dgppn.de/en/Core-areas/psychiatry-in-time-of-National-Socialism/stations-of-the-exhibition-1.html
[11] www.justice.gov.za/trc/report/finalreport/Volume%204.pdf
[12] "The Case for South Africa's Expulsion from International Psychiatry," United Nations Centre Against Apartheid report, May 1984
[13] "Apartheid and Health," WHO report (Geneva) 1983, pp. 166-248
[14] www.cchrint.org/2023/09/18/who-guideline-condemns-coercive-psychiatric-practices/
[15] www.cchrint.org/2023/09/18/who-guideline-condemns-coercive-psychiatric-practices/
Source: Citizens Commission on Human Rights International
0 Comments
Latest on eTradeWire News
- Daryl Guberman: The Forefather of Quality and Government Accountability
- DICE Dental Emphasizes the Importance of Early Internal Resorption Treatment
- Introducing Anastasis Plus: A Revolutionary Health Share Plan in Nashville
- Ocean Prime hiring associates for new Fort Lauderdale waterfront location
- Book Release for "The Adventures of the Reflex Rangers: Jack and his Sea Legs"
- The Grifties Award Show Tickets Now Available
- New Jersey Sober Living Opens New Luxury Themed Facility in South New Jersey
- Cup'ital Tea: The Small Tea Brand With Big Flavor That Keeps Selling Out
- Black Caviar Social Club (BCSC)
- Knowledge + Wisdom = Understanding x BLACK IRIS III
- The ROS1ders Issues RFA for $75K ROS1+ Cancer Research Grant
- Black Iris III Social Club (BISC)
- Pennsylvania Logger Launches Updated Website
- Western River Expeditions Announces April 2025 7-Day Grand Canyon Rafting Trips Now Available
- Brewlando's third location now open in Maitland
- United Heritage Credit Union Partners with Central Texas Food Bank to Combat Food Insecurity in Texas
- Private School Pups Announces 3rd Annual 5K Run/1-Mile Walk Fundraiser Presented by MS Consultant
- Comedy Magician George Gilbert Announces Corporate Entertainment Services in Naples, FL
- Mercy Center Awarded $10,000 Grant from National Endowment for the Arts to Support Arts Education at Sisters Academy
- Border Brewery & Barbecue Marks One Year Serving Wood-Fired Pizza