The Penitentiary System and the Mental Health Hospital in Guatemala
By Silvia Quan (silviaq@intelnet.net.gt)
The majority of the people living in our conservative societies, associate the situation of persons with disabilities with hospitals, especial education schools, asylums and other forms of medical and social forms of segregation, so common in poor countries. Therefore, is it frequent that they do not think about persons confined due to the commission of some criminal act and who, pursuant to a court order, were admitted in a medical center.
As in many countries, in Guatemala when a person is sentenced to a term in prison because of a criminal action, if it is proven that she or he has a psychiatric impairment, the measure or ruling is to confine the person in a health facility, substituting for jail.
The ideal would be to provide these health services within the penitentiary and that, in every case, the service would be, duly and safely, provided only to those who need it. The problem is that such service does not exist in the jails of this Central American country. So, the inmates are declared "mentally sick" and taken to the Special Ward of the National Mental Health Hospital.
Who is responsible?
It is no secret that keeping inmates as hospital patients with security measures, has been one of the principal causes of repeated violations to human rights. First, we must understand that these persons, though they need health attention, are and continue to be under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Government (Ministerio de Governación), the institution of the State responsible for the security of the Guatemalan population.
On the other hand, because the irregularities and the corruption within our justice system, strings are pulled so that criminals are sent to the hospital by the courts, from which they simply escape. The problem is very complex, because the hospital says that its mission is only to provide health services, not to guard inmates.
The most serious problem
Multiple problems derive from this situation. Many of the patients who need medical attention, are also very dangerous sentenced criminals. These individuals pose a danger to others and to themselves. On many occasions the inmates admitted to hospital facilities have threatened the civil rights and the personal security of the non-inmate hospital population and medical personnel.
The most serious problem comes from the custodians of inmates who need to come there for medical treatment. These prison guards have been accused of raping hospitalized persons or obliging them to perform acts against their will or provide entertainment to other police officers. Some members of the hospital staff have witnessed such violations, but they are afraid to denounce. There is impunity and fear. The accompanying "security guards" abuse power and carry weapons most of the time.
One of the immediate consequences of these violations is the increase of the number of residents with AIDS. The problem becomes more alarming because the National Mental Health Hospital does not have sufficient resources to prevent sexually transmitted diseases from being transmitted from the perpetrators to the hospital residents and hospital personal. Here is another evidence of a violation to the right to health and, fundamentally, to the right to life.
The problem is being ignored
Both the authorities of the penitentiary system, the Ministry of Government, and the public health officers, know this alarming situation. Yet, they have not started corrective actions to ensure the personal security of the residents of the National Hospital of Mental Health. There are some good alternatives like operating a small mental health or general health service within the main penitentiaries of Guatemala.
The other part of the problem deals with the lack of commitment, political support from government authorities. They are just postponing urgent measures, and keep on ignoring a problem that grows day by day.
This type of situation reflect why persons with disabilities are not perceived as having rights, particularly those persons presenting stigma and so much prejudice, as it now happens with people with psychiatric disorders. They are made fun of, they are undervalued, made invisible, and excluded, and considered sub-human.
We have to tell the world about the violations hurting person with disabilities who have been confined to institutions. This article is a strong public denunciation of the negligence manifested by the government of Guatemala. Guatemalan authorities are not interested in solving the corruption, the abuse of power. They are not developing public polices to foster the security and the human rights of persons with disabilities.
Urgent measures to stop this situation are needed. Liberty and respect to dignity are fundamental human principles, which have been universally recognized. It is time for persons with disabilities to be fully included in society, as part of human diversity and as contributing members of society.
We need to create and strengthen mechanisms fostering the participation of all persons with disabilities, and do so with the principle of equal opportunities. We all must demand better living conditions. The Movement of Persons with Disabilities should invite and unite efforts with other groups of excluded peoples, including women, native groups, and other forces which have to be more active in national, local, and community life. This is the way of demanding our rights and fundamental liberties, which must be respected by all and for all.
In this sense, the marked prejudice against persons with disabilities who are users of psychiatry must be eliminated. They must be allowed to organized, represent themselves, and participate as fully as they are able.
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