Electroshock was originally developed by Italian psychiatrist Ugo Cerletti after he saw electric shock used on pigs before slaughter. Many people think it is no longer practiced, completely unaware that Victorian children and adults continue to have hundreds of volts of electricity sent searing through their brains. Last year electroshock was given a staggering 22,765 times to Victorians, including 52 times to children aged 15-19.
Electroshock can cause severe and permanent memory loss, brain damage, cardiovascular complications, suicide and even death.
In 2005, the World Health Organization stated: “There are no indications for the use of ECT on minors, and hence this should be prohibited through legislation.”
Unlike other mental health acts in Australia, under the Victorian Mental Health Act, psychiatrists and mental health workers are exempt from criminal fines and prison terms related to ill treatment, electroshock, restraint, seclusion and excessive or inappropriate use of psychiatric drugs. In stark contrast, under the Victorian Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, if a person commits an act of cruelty on an animal that torments, worries, terrifies, wounds, mutilates or abuses the animal, they can be fined up to $40,297 or imprisoned for up to 12 months.
“Electroshock must be banned for all ages including children. Vulnerable children and adults should not be brutalised with electroshock, this barbaric treatment is unacceptable,” says Ms Kim Cullen, the executive director of the Victorian chapter of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR).
With the current Victorian Royal Commission into Mental Health, CCHR is calling on Victorians to lodge a submission before the 5 July 2019 deadline asking the Royal Commission to recommend that electroshock is banned for all ages in the Victorian Mental Health Act. Anyone adversely affected by psychiatric abuse or the families of such victims should also advise the Royal Commission of their knowledge of psychiatric abuse and recommend changes.
Submissions can be made by logging on to: rcvmhs.vic.gov.au
CCHR has written a Fact Sheet outlining key points of concern in the Victorian psychiatric system that urgently need to be rectified. It can be accessed on CCHR’s home page at: cchrvictoria.org.au
CCHR was co-founded in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and Professor of Psychiatry Dr. Thomas Szasz, to investigate and expose psychiatric violations of human rights.
/Public Release.
