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Shackling of Women in the Name of Mental Health
Global Movement to #BreakTheChains
“I’ve lived in chains for many years. It’s very uncomfortable. I was shackled around the waist and ankle – my stomach used to hurt with the weight of the chain; it was so heavy. I used to cry.” — Akeyo, a woman with a psychosocial disability chained in a faith healing institution, Kenya, February, 2020
- By Kriti Sharma, Shantha Rau Barriga
- Medicus Mundi Switzerland
Gender & Mental Health
Globally, an estimated 792 million people or 1 in 10 people, including 1 in 5 children, have a mental health condition.
Gender is a major factor (World Health Organization1; 2019a; 2019b; 2019c). Depression, the leading cause of disability, is reported to be twice as common in women than men.
Discrimination, gender-based…