Mental health restraint · 2018

Mental Health Units Use of Force Act 2018

Seni's Law addressed restraint, transparency and accountability in mental health units.

Use of force needed recording, scrutiny and prevention.

Simple version

The Mental Health Units Use of Force Act 2018, often known as Seni's Law, made provision about oversight and management of use of force in mental health units.

Why it matters

This matters because disabled, autistic and mentally distressed people can be harmed by restraint and coercive practice. Transparency and accountability are safeguarding issues.

Awareverse lens

Awareverse sees restraint history and restraint law as directly connected to dignity, trauma and power.

Common mistake

A common mistake is treating restraint as only a staff safety issue without asking what happened to the person restrained.

Question to ask

Who had power here, who was left outside, and what would have changed if the human being was seen first?

Connected topics

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