Concerned With Issues Faced By Women At Mental Health Facilities: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court directed time-bound vaccination of all inmates in mental health institutions and told all states to lay down a schedule to vaccinate people in mental health homes

The Supreme Court while hearing a plea on seeking rehabilitation and vaccination of patients in mental health institutions expressed concern over issues faced by women in such facilities. The court directed the central government to address these issues with state governments and carry out monthly monitoring of progress. The plea was filed by advocate Gaurav Bansal, in which he said some 10,000 people who are fit to be discharged are forced to live in different mental hospitals across the country and institutes due to social stigma. The plea demanded that they should be tested for Covid and completely vaccinated as they are among the most vulnerable sections of society. "In many of these mental health homes, women's heads are tonsured forcefully and they face several other issues like difficulty in accessing sanitary pads," Mr Bansal told the Supreme Court. He cited a NIMHANS research study of 2016 and a NCW research of 2020 that highlighted women in mental health institutions are treated with indignity.