
How does the latest Inquiry,
He Ara Oranga, report on prejudice and discrimination against experiences of
mental distress?
The Report of the Government Inquiry into Mental Health and Addiction, released
on 4 December, made 40 recommendations.
These recommendations were made across a wide spectrum: from social wellbeing, to mental
health promotion and prevention, to responses to people living with severe mental
distress.
The report places work to counter stigma and discrimination within the mental health
promotion and prevention space.
The Inquiry panel mentioned the impacts of discrimination several times:
- “...numerous submissions described the impact of discrimination on the basis of
mental health status”, in the wider community and in mental health services
- People who feel doubly discriminated against – because of their ethnicity,
disability or gender identity in particular – reported that they did not feel safe
accessing mental health services (p43)
- People are reluctant to seek help “for fear of encountering negative attitudes from
health professions and being subject to restraint, seclusion, the removal of their
children, separation from family, loss of employment and suspension of human rights”
(p62).
The report mentioned several initiatives and work carried out to counter discrimination
against experiences of mental distress, noting that:
- New Zealand has “a history of successful anti-stigma initiatives” (p68)
- While many of the social determinants of mental distress and addiction lie outside
the health sector, some promotion and prevention interventions target mental health
and wellbeing specifically, including “measures to counter mental health and
addiction stigma and discrimination” (p152)
- The Health Promotion Agency played a role in the Like Minds, Like Mine
programme, and that the programme was successful in changing community attitudes
(p154)
- “While many submitters praised national campaigns such as Like Minds, Like
Mine for shifting thinking about mental health, more targeted
destigmatisation and mental health promotion programmes are needed for marginalised
groups” (p155).
The Report concluded that greater central leadership is needed for mental health
promotion and prevention, and that, with this infrastructure in place, the panel
“supports significantly more investment in this area, including customised responses at
a local level” (p156).
The Report's final recommendations to the Government were:
- To establish a clear locus of responsibility for social wellbeing within central
government, to provide strategic and policy advice, and to coordinate
cross-government responses to “prevention activities” (Rec.16)
- To give the new Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission functions oversight of mental
health promotion and prevention, and to develop an investment and quality assurance
strategy for this area (Recs 18 and 19).
Learn more
Download the full
report.
Watch a short
animation explaining the report in brief.