Mental health victims 'face abuse'
Updated on 29 November 2007
Most people with mental health problems are routinely subjected to physical and sexual abuse or targeted by their neighbours, a new study reveals.
Nearly three quarters of those suffering from conditions such as depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia have been victimised in the community at least once in the past two years.
The report by the mental health charity Mind found that 41% of respondents complained of persistent bullying, 27% of sexual harassment and 10% of sexual assault.
Victims were called names, followed, pestered, chased, and had things thrown at them. Others were spat at, received prank calls and hate mail and some received death threats.
One support worker told Mind about a client who had been the victim of harassment, which culminated in his murder.
The study suggests that many crimes go unreported, with vulnerable adults feeling stigmatised by the police and legal system because of their illness.
Others complained of being told that "the police officer said that the client was probably imagining it or trying to get attention" or was "not seen as a credible witness".
Many crimes against distressed people were going unrecognised, Mind said.
Of these, a third said that they felt that they would not be believed, while 60% of those who did report a crime thought that the authorities failed to treat them seriously.
Mind chief executive Paul Farmer said: "Time and again we hear stories of people with mental health problems being discriminated against, but what we have uncovered here is evidence of bullying, harassment and victimisation on an alarming scale."
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