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We need responsible reporting on mental illness and crimes such as rape

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 The man accused of raping a seven-year-old girl in the bathroom of a Dros restaurant in Pretoria has been referred to Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital for mental observation. Picture: Phill Magakoe/Gallo Images/Getty Images
The man accused of raping a seven-year-old girl in the bathroom of a Dros restaurant in Pretoria has been referred to Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital for mental observation. Picture: Phill Magakoe/Gallo Images/Getty Images

In September, a suspect was arrested on the suspicion that he had raped a seven-year-old girl at the Dros Restaurant in Silverton, Pretoria.

He was taken into custody and, after three court appearances, has been referred to Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital for evaluation in terms of the Criminal Procedure Act 103 of 1987.

Subsequent to this, he has been put on trial by the media, who have closely followed the matter in the interest of the public.

The suspect was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2013 and has received treatment for substance abuse, also having attempted suicide.

In light of aggravating circumstances against him, the media have drawn a nexus between the act he allegedly committed and his mental illness, citing that people with such a condition are dangerous and that their state of mind leads them in the direction of violence and criminality.

It has been heavily reported on that this individual is making use of the defence of criminal incapacity as a means through which to conveniently avoid liability for what he allegedly did.

This is not for the media or the public to decide. It is instead a decision to be taken in a forensic unit of a hospital by specialised professionals.

The South African Federation for Mental Health strongly condemns this attitude, and wholly rejects this flagrant stigmatisation of all people with mental illness.

Such attitudes lead to discrimination and prejudice, not only towards the suspect at whom they are directed but against all people with mental illness, which can have an impact upon their social status, access to employment and other socioeconomic entitlements, their dignity and sense of self as well as their relationships.

According to the World Federation for Mental Health:

“The word stigma is derived from the Latin term stigmata, meaning a mark of shame. Throughout history, stigmas were imposed on individuals who exhibited unfavourable characteristics or engaged in behaviours that were not typical. When stigma associated with a specific condition becomes rooted in societal norms it manifests in attitudes and behaviours that are difficult to change. For centuries, society did not possess the skills or knowledge to identify and treat mental health problems. Thus the gap in understanding was filled with misinformation and fear.”

Stigma and discrimination of people with mental illness and psychosocial disability is patently unjustified and is contrary to the prescripts of our Constitution, specifically the right not to be unfairly discriminated against (section 9) and the right to inherent dignity (section 10).

The former cites disability as an expressly prohibited ground for discrimination, a fact that is espoused in the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act 4 of 2000.

Inherent dignity is concerned with esteem within the community – something that is diminished in the event that stigma is created around a specific disability such as mental illness and psychosocial disability.

Stigma is pervasive and pernicious and, as set forth above, filters into every aspect of a person’s life.

Regardless of what a person may have done they remain a human being and ought to be treated as such, not cat-called in the press as making excuses.

It is never justifiable to link in a blanket statement about mental illness and psychosocial disability to violent crime.

There exists a societal perception that people with mental health problems have a greater propensity for committing offences.

While it has been documented that people with mental health problems do at times commit unlawful acts, this is outweighed by data that illustrates that such individuals are more likely, in fact, to be victims of crime.

The majority of crimes, according to Time to Change, are committed by people who do not have a mental illness and, as evidenced by suicide rates, people with mental illnesses are more of a danger to themselves than to others.

On this basis, while it may be possible that this individual may have committed as an unusual consequence of a mental illness, there is no justification for indicating that mental illness specifically makes people in this position capricious and dangerous.

Mental illness and psychosocial disability are not simply excuses people utilise as a “get out of jail free card”.

Being driven to commit an unlawful act due to a mental illness renders a person first of all to the vast minority and secondly to extreme vulnerability.

In addition, to make far-flung statements generalising mental illness does not simply reflect on the person who has allegedly committed the offence but stigmatises everyone with the condition.

We call upon the media to report responsibly and for the public to draw informed conclusions both about the individual concerned as well as all of those who suffer with a mental illness or psychosocial disability.

An armchair diagnosis of criminality or psychopathology is unconstructive and merely complicates a defence and prosecution.

The magistrate is entitled to send a person for a psychiatric evaluation if he or she has a reasonable suspicion that a person lacks criminal capacity.

That is what happened in this case and this process should be respected.

* Nicole Breen is project leader for information and awareness at the South African Federation for Mental Health

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