Within the framework of World and National Mental Health Day, which is commemorated this Monday, the National Institute against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism (inadi) sent a statement to the audiovisual media. In this way, he released a technical report in which he analyzes the approaches to mental health issues and problematic consumption.
According to him inadi, an “outdated, discriminatory and stigmatizing” view of mental health cases still prevails in some journalistic coverage. The organism points out that the problems must be addressed from a human rights perspective and not from irrational behavior.
The inadi stated that it is essential that the audiovisual media, as a socially legitimate voice, “do not contribute to the production and reproduction of a discriminatory and stigmatizing approach.”
“It is important that the media contribute to its visibility from a perspective that recognizes the singularity and its context, and appeals to approach the situation from a human rights perspective, not only to protect the right to health of the person, but also the exercise of the rest of their rights”, concluded the organism.
Discriminatory speech alert
The Institute He also warned that discriminatory speeches can help legitimize social pressure tendencies towards certain groups. In this way, they emphasize the importance of “dismantling stereotypes by making simplified images visible and strengthening a human rights approach in the that users of mental health services be recognized as subjects of law”.
Furthermore, the body He truthfully stated that “all people -regardless of gender, age, economic situation, origin or other particular- are going through or have gone through mental health situations with different degrees of complexity, in need of different types of accompaniment and assistance”.