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Nowhere to be safe
Women's Experiences of mixed-sex wards
Report
of the Victorian Women and Mental Health Network's project "Listening
to women consumers" Experiences in Mixed-sex Psychiatric Wards." 2007
Copies can be ordered from VICSERV
Psychiatric Disability Services
of Victoria (VICSERV)
Level 2, 22 Horne Street,
Elsternwick Victoria 3185 Australia
T 03 9519 7000 F 03 9519 7022
W www.vicserv.org.au
Dr Janet Spink, 2000 Gender
and Psychosocial Rehabilitation. A study of the different perspectives
of services users, service providers and policy makers. Published by Vicserv Melbourne ISBN 0 9587326 3 9
Psychiatric Disability Services
of Victoria (VICSERV)
Level 2, 22 Horne Street,
Elsternwick Victoria 3185 Australia
T 03 9519 7000 F 03 9519 7022
W www.vicserv.org.au
Marg Brooks, 2004 Beyond the Divide, Women’s experiences in rural Victorian psychiatric rehabilitation services. New Paradigm Press North Fitzroy Melbourne Australia
ISBN 0 97516562 3
Copies can be ordered from VICSERV
Psychiatric Disability Services
of Victoria (VICSERV)
Level 2, 22 Horne Street,
Elsternwick Victoria 3185 Australia
T 03 9519 7000 F 03 9519 7022
W www.vicserv.org.au
Mental Health Legal Centre (MHLC)
The Mental Health Legal Centre is concerned that women are not safe in
psychiatric units in general hospitals in Victoria, We believe that it is
a violation of women's rights to be placed at risk of violence and sexual
assault when they are inpatients in psychiatric facilities.
A free public forum regarding these issues was held on Tuesday 5th October
2004 at Swanston Hall, Melbourne Town Hall in Swanston street Melbourne,Australia.
Women Only Psychiatric Wards
Transcript of speeches delivered at the "Women Only Wards Forum" held on
5th October 2004:
- Chair - Renata Alexander
- Carolyn Graham - author of Certified Truths study
- Cath Roper - consumer activist and consumer academic at Centre for
Psychiatric Nursing Research and Practice on Consumer Experience
- Fran O'Brien - Senior Counsel specialising in employment law and speaking
on issue as discrimination
- Barbara Shalit -Mental Health Legal Centre Lawyer,sum up
Word
Document 126 KB - full transcript of proceedings including questions
from the floor and Appendices
Women
Only Psychiatric Wards Forum 5th October 2004, Full transcript on Mental
Health Legal Centre website. http://www.communitylaw.org.au/clc_mentalhealth/cb_pages/discrimination.php
(it is in the Law reform & policy tab, listed under Discrimination, Mental
Health Legal Centre website).
R v Pearce
Case of a male Bendigo staff member accused of sexual assault of a female client.
As we know it is difficult for any victim of sexual assault to go through the court system.
The
appeal document, highlights some of the particular difficulties
females with mental illness issues have in bringing such a case.
http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/sinodisp/au/cases/vic/VSCA/1999/221.html?query=R%20v%20Pearce
Gender sensitivity and safety in adult acute mental health inpatient
units
The Mental Health Branch of the Victorian Department of Human Services is
undertaking a specific project to consider gender sensitivity and safety in
adult acute mental health inpatient units. The project is scheduled to run
over a 12-month period.
The gender sensitivity and safety in adult acute mental health inpatient
units project will complete in December 2007.
Newsletters
Gender
sensitivity and safety in adult acute mental health inpatient units - September
2007 Issue 2 (PDF file 415KB)
Gender
sensitivity and safety in adult acute mental health inpatient units - March
2007 Issue 1 (PDF file 1.3MB)
The gender sensitivity and safety in adult acute inpatient units
project - Final report - May 2008
Download
this document (PDF File 1.88KB)
Across Victoria, creating and ensuring safety within acute adult
inpatient units presents a range
of challenges. Mixed-sex environments,
limited physical space, and the acuity of patients’ illnesses are just some of
the difficulties. Because there are typically more males than females in acute
wards, service providers need to be sensitive to the safety and privacy needs of
women admitted to these units.
To examine these issues, the Department of Human Services’s Mental
Health Branch undertook the Improving Gender Sensitivity and Safety in Acute
Mental Health Inpatient Units project. The scope, methodology, findings and
recommendations of this project are the subject of this report.
Hard
copy available - order here
Partnership project
The 'building partnerships between mental
health, family violence and sexual assault services' project established levels
of collaboration between those sectors across Victoria; it provides
recommendations for those three sectors to work towards greater levels of
collaborations between service sectors and to ultimately improve the quality of
service for those clients with a mental illness who have experience family
violence and or sexual abuse no matter which part of or which sector they make
contact with.
Building partnerships between mental
health services, family violence and sexual assault services, 2006
Published by the Victorian Government Department of Human Services, Mental
Health Branch, Melbourne, Victoria (060607)
Publications and Documents
Mental Health Branch Publications Home - Order Publications Online
http://www.health.vic.gov.au/mentalhealth/publications/pubs.htm
This web site has a list of publications produced by the Mental Health Branch
of the Department of Human Services. Unless indicated otherwise, all publications
listed there can be downloaded from the Web site.
Alternatively, a hard copy of a publication can be ordered by contacting
the Branch's Community and Professional Education Team on (61 3) 9616 8087,
or you can order online.
Tailoring Services to Meet the Needs of Women (May 1997) ( PDF document - 256 KB)
http://www.health.vic.gov.au/mentalhealth/publications/downloads/tailoring_services_to_meet_needs_of_women.pdfhttp://home.vicnet.net.au/~fopwg/tailoring_services_to_meet_needs_of_women.pdf
This document explores the issues impacting on women
using public mental health services and promotes ideas,
strategies and examples of good practice that may assist
in improving service response. In particular, the document
highlights the importance of raising the awareness of all
staff and pursuing training and service development
opportunities to ensure that the service system as a whole
provides better services to women.
The aim of this policy and strategy statement is to
raise awareness within mental health services of women's
particular needs and to promote a basis for improved service
response. The document:
- Identifies six priority areas for change.
- Discusses women's needs in relation to these
priority areas.
- Proposes principles for service delivery.
- Offers examples of good practice.
- Provides potential strategies for change.
- Establishes standards and key areas of responsibility.
The document includes sections focusing on each of the
six key priority areas:
- Women with mental illness who are parents.
- Women with experience of sexual assault.
- Development of adequate safety and privacy
in inpatient and residential services.
- Older women.
- Women who are carers of people with a mental
illness.
- Increasing the participation of women in psychiatric
disability support services.
General News and Articles
BBC News: Mixed wards in psychiatric units can lead to abuse
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/223343.stm
The Age News: Nearly two-thirds of female patients
surveyed in psychiatric wards in...
Women in mental wards face grave
risk of abuse - National - theage ...
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/women-in-mental-wards-face-grave-risk-of-abuse/2008/05/11/1210444243808.html
Sydney Morning Herald: Abuse of women rife in psychiatric wards, 18 March 2008
http://news.smh.com.au/national/abuse-of-women-rife-in-psychiatric-wards-20080318-206y.html
Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre (APRC)
Projects
