UN Report Exposes Psychiatric Abuses, Urges End to Forced Treatment WorldwideThe mental health industry watchdog, CCHR, shares the report's human rights abuse concerns and demands accountability as U.S. mental health facilities profit from coercion and neglect.
Psychiatric Forced Treatment The Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR), a 56-year mental health industry watchdog, warns that these abuses remain prevalent in the United States. CCHR President Jan Eastgate asserts, "The UN and other agencies have determined that forced hospitalization strips individuals of their autonomy, often subjecting them to degrading conditions, physical restraints, forced drugging, and electroshock treatment against their will Yet despite the US-ratified Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment, and even the American Convention on Human Rights, approximately 54% of psychiatric admissions in the country are involuntary, demonstrating a blatant disregard for human rights."[2] Evidence shows that forced hospitalization may also constitute a life-threatening risk. A study published in Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior found that involuntary hospitalization is associated with an increased risk of suicide after psychiatric care.[3] The UN report calls for legal safeguards to ensure free and informed consent, prevent coercion, and address abuses in psychiatric interventions through comprehensive civil law reforms. Beyond forced hospitalization, the profit-driven exploitation of patients is another growing concern. Many private, for-profit psychiatric facilities hold voluntary patients against their will to maximize insurance reimbursements. In Washington, D.C., a woman was committed involuntarily after only a five-minute conversation with a doctor—despite the psychiatrist noting she was calm, cooperative, and possessed good judgment. Her medical records, however, falsely reflected the need for an involuntary stay, ensuring the hospital could bill insurance for the maximum amount. She was only released after securing a judge's intervention.[ CCHR has also documented shocking levels of abuse within U.S. for-profit psychiatric facilities.
The UN report urges reparative justice mechanisms for survivors of coercive psychiatric treatment, including financial compensation, public apologies, and independent oversight. It states that past harms "need to be acknowledged, and meaningful steps should be taken toward recognition and reparations."[ CCHR supports this demand. Jan Eastgate concludes, "The United Nations' findings, along with widespread cases of abuse, paint a grim picture of psychiatric treatment in the U.S. The continued use of forced hospitalization, coerced treatment, and the profit-driven exploitation of vulnerable patients must end." For more than five decades, CCHR—founded in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and renowned psychiatrist Dr. Thomas Szasz—has investigated and exposed human rights violations in the mental health system. The organization is calling for:
Sources: [1] "Mental health and human rights," Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 14 Jan. 2025, Point 17, Pages 5-6, docs.un.org/ [2] "Involuntary Commitments: [3] www.cchrint.org/ [4] "D.C. psych hospital committed patients to boost profits, lawsuit says," Washington Post, 24 Feb. 2025, www.washingtonpost.com/ [5] "Former employees say short-staffed NC psych hospital rife with violence, abuse," NC Health News, 6 May 2024, www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/ [6] "Violence, understaffing and neglect in California's for-profit psychiatric hospitals: Key takeaways from our investigation," [7] "Alan Testifies for Senate Bill 297," Mortensen & Milne law firm, www.mortmilnelaw.com/ [8] simonlawpc.com/ [9] "Mental health and human rights," Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 14 Jan. 2025, Point B. 20, Page 6, docs.un.org/ End
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