Violation of Right to Liberty by Involuntary Mental Health Treatment in Bangladesh: A Legal Analysis on Mental Health Act 2018

Abstract

The right to mental health is well established as an important human right, yet Bangladesh is still overflowing with social stigmas concerning the concept of mental health. The treatment for mental health problems are mostly ignored by an individual facing mental health problems or their family. Most of the people think of mental health hospitals as nothing but a prison to detain patient. Involuntary admission and treatment to a mental health patient is a common practice in worldwide. Most of the countries adopted their legislation regarding the involuntary admission in compliance with United Nation Standards to ensure a human right based management. Bangladesh has also recently enacted the Mental Health Act 2018 to provide a right based healthcare services. This paper primarily seeks to determine whether the right to liberty of an individual is ensured under the provision of involuntary admission in Bangladesh. It critically analyses the national legal frameworks concerning the right to liberty by involuntary admission and present notable incompatibilities with international legal standards. There are remaining some gaps into the provision of involuntary admission which are the barriers to the enjoyment of right to liberty of a mental health patient. Bangladesh needs more comprehensive legislation with effective enforcement mechanisms to effectively implement the rights of the people with mental health problems. Thus the purpose of the research is to identify the loopholes of the provision and recommend possible solution by analyzing the current legal framework.