Roma children are expelled from schools with mental disability reports
I have been waiting for a document for two weeks. A committee report that I do not want to believe is true. Recently, when information about the exclusion process of Romani children in education processes has increased in different provinces, I have experienced the difficulty of bringing this claim to the agenda without a document.
In my interviews with civil organizations and activists working in the field of social policy last month, it was brought to the agenda that Romani children of school age are directed to schools for the disabled by receiving committee reports and mental disability reports and that the practice has become widespread.
During the Romani opening process, the basic expectations of Romani communities also brought to the agenda the discrimination processes that cause them to be excluded in the communities they live together. While the basic problem regarding discrimination is the processes of not being able to benefit equally from public services, access to the right to education and receiving quality education stand out as a practice that causes discrimination to become institutional. There are different factors that support discrimination in the education process. Different reasons such as the failure to operate integration processes, non-Romani families not wanting Romani children in schools, inadequate guidance services, school administrations not making enough effort for the integration processes of Romani children, and Romani families lacking the life skills and opportunities that will support their education processes come to the fore.
Since family practices that support education in Romani families are insufficient, there can often be absenteeism and disengagement from the education process. However, in recent years, Romani children and youth who attend educational institutions have been increasingly successful. These processes are strengthened by inclusive public policies and the support of families. However, when family demands are combined with poverty and deprivation, different dimensions of exclusion emerge. Social inclusion practices or the opportunism of private educational institutions can bring human rights violations to the agenda. Romani children are directed to schools for the disabled with the consent of their families and diagnosed with mental retardation through committee reports. I would like to believe that this practice is brought to the agenda by local interest groups rather than the policy of the government, which has developed the field of social services in the last decade.
The practice is mentioned in the provinces of Izmir (Zaman Newspaper, December 5, 2013), Manisa, Gaziantep, Hatay and Istanbul. There are different reasons for the practice:
1. Families may prefer this method because they want to benefit from social support processes for the disabled.
2. Supporting poor and deprived Roma families in social service processes with wrong guidance as a temporary practice in support mechanisms.
3. It is possible for private service institutions to exploit the process and manipulate and operate the process.
The situation is grave since there is discrimination in every case. I call on the Turkish Medical Association, the Ministry of Family and Social Policies and the Ministry of National Education to examine this practice, to eliminate the victimization of Roma children who are victimized and will be under guardianship throughout their lives, to direct them to integrative schools and to provide appropriate social assistance services to families.
Civil Monitoring System in the Field of Mental Health
While the mental health process is used as a discriminatory practice for Roma children, the Initiative for Human Rights in Mental Health - RUSİHAK shared the monitoring report it has been working on for a long time with the public last week. 25% of the world's population and 18% of the population of Turkey have experienced or are experiencing mental problems at some point in their lives. The findings highlighted by the report reveal that care processes and public policies need a reform;
Mental health is a taboo and it is preferred to be invisible.
The transformation of individuals under guardianship into equal individuals is regulated by international agreements. However, the practices are inadequate.
The national action plan for mental health foresees a transition from an institution-based system to a community-based system. It aims to provide care within a social, psychological and ecological framework.
Existing hospitals operate with a regional hospital model rather than providing services to cases for the province.
There has been a decrease in the number of beds since 2008. Since those who should not be inpatients in depot hospitals are kept there and when some of them should not be inpatients, the numbers have decreased with the right approaches. Hospitals were places where those who had nowhere to go, were abandoned by their families and could not hold on to society stayed.
It is seen that those who receive service in private care centers often deteriorate and return to depot hospitals. However, the ministry does not allow monitoring of private care and rehabilitation centers.
There are serious differences in the number of patients and beds per healthcare personnel in all hospitals. For example, while Manisa has the fewest doctors (30 beds for 1 doctor) Bakırköy (7 beds for 1 doctor) has the most doctors. A psychologist is given a mental health treatment process that covers 90 to 150 patients in different hospitals.
n reduces the quality of service.
The standard of living and quality of treatment are low in all hospitals. The insufficient number of employees, the poor physical working environment, and the hospital management's failure to take into account the demands and suggestions of the staff bring about a permanent decrease in service.
It has been observed that the number of inpatients has decreased within the framework of the community-based system, where the family is included in the process and allowed to participate in decision-making processes. This process stands out as a positive practice that prevents patients from being separated from society and eliminates isolation processes.
Providing different measures and support within the framework of preventing returns reduces the pressure on hospitals and contributes to patients not being subjected to discrimination, poor treatment and service processes.
According to the United Nations conventions, the right of a person to refuse treatment is not exercised. In particular, hospital managements, experts and patients do not know about the existence of this right. Experts tend to believe that the patient should not know about this right if they know about it.
Mental health institutions are closed and there is a problem of civilianization. Hospitals are closed to civil society and people from outside. The fact that institutions are closed causes them to become vulnerable to violations.
The decrease in the bed capacity of warehouse hospitals brings up another problem. In special care processes, patients are kept in a closed system again. The involvement of the private sector does not bring the improvement of the service to the agenda. The expansion of community mental health centers will both reduce the need for closed institutions and contribute to the process of the patient receiving treatment with the support of their family and social circle without relying solely on medication.
For detailed information and the report, you can visit http://www.rusihak.org/.
Cengiz Çiftçi
03.07.2014
