Annual review 2007/08
Stigma and discrimination
Civil rights for a better world
Making a difference
At the heart of our mission is improving the lives of everyone affected by severe mental illness – and that means putting the civil rights of people with mental illness on the political and policy agenda. That’s why we’re undertaking an important project, funded by Comic Relief, called Rethink Rights. We aim to empower people with mental illness and those who care for them to get the full benefit of existing laws.
Making it happen
- We’ve trained 25 Rethink staff in what civil rights means, changed our campaigns strategy, and briefed our activists.
- We’ve established better links with disability organisations already taking a civil rights approach.
- We’ve started policy work on big civil rights issues, including the right to sit on a jury.
Making an impact
- Britain is discriminating more than other countries on this issue. So we’ve given staff and activists increased knowledge about what civil rights really mean and how they can be applied to mental health.
Moving forward
- We’ll produce a report in 2008 detailing what impact civil rights can have on mental health, and what steps Rethink will be taking to ensure that service users and carers are supported and encouraged to fully exercise their rights.
- We’ll be publicly launching our ‘Breaking Down the Wall’ campaign which will end many of the historical discriminatory pieces of law affecting people with mental illness.
Moving you forward
Become a campaign activist at www.rethink.org/campaigns.
