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CRPD Should Protect Woman with Intellectual Disabilities, Says UK Mental Welfare Commission
By Andrea Shettle, MSW | April 29, 2008
A woman with intellectual disabilities in the United Kingdom has been sexually assaulted as many as 12 times over the course of 7 years–but her assailants have not yet been brought to justice, the Herald has reported. The UK Mental Welfare Commission has released a harsh report that takes the Crown Office, police, social work and health professionals to task for failing to protect the woman and prosecute the three men who have persistently attacked her. The report points out that their failure to protect the woman may be a violation of her human rights under Article 13 of the new Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which is meant to protect the right of people with disabilities to have access to legal justice.
The CRPD is the first international, legally binding human rights instrument to protect the rights of people with disabilities. It is meant to protect a wide range of human rights including freedom from abuse and torture, and the right to ones physical and mental integrity. So far, 24 countries have ratified the CRPD. Among these, 14 countries have also ratified the Optional Protocol, which enables people with disabilities in these countries to pursue redress at the international level. The CRPD and Optional Protocol will enter into force on May 3.
The UK has signed the CRPD, but has not yet ratified it. A government is not legally bound to obey the CRPD until it has finished ratifying it. However, signing the CRPD signals interest in ratifying it in the future, and also signifies a pledge to avoid taking any action that actively violates the spirit and intent of the CRPD.
Read more about the Mental Welfare Commission report in the Herald at:
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The links to the "Herald" news article were still functioning at the time of this writing, April 29, 2008. However, RatifyNow.org readers should please note that news outlets vary widely in how long they allow their articles to be read by the public. We cannot guarantee that all links will continue to work in the long term.
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