Mental Health Patients Victimised

Some 71 per cent of people with mental health problems have been victimised within the community in last two years, compared with less than a quarter of the general population, new research has shown.

According to Mind’s new report people with mental health problems experience more harassment than other people and 64 per cent are dissatisfied with authorities’ response to crime reports, with many claiming they are often not taken seriously.

Nearly a quarter of people with mental health issues had been physically assaulted, compared to just 3.6 per cent of the UK population, while 41 per cent said they were victims of ongoing bullying.

Just over a quarter of people with mental health problems had their homes targeted, with the result that only 19 per cent said they always felt safe in their own house.

In the survey, people said that disclosing a mental health diagnosis resulted in a hardening of police attitudes, and 36 per cent of those who didn’t report a crime against them felt police wouldn’t believe them.

Mind’s chief executive Paul Farmer said: “Time and again we hear stories of people with mental health problems being discriminated against, but what we have uncovered here is evidence of bullying, harassment and victimisation on an alarming scale. Victimisation of any group of people on this scale is unacceptable, and we need the government to show that disability hate crime will not be tolerated.”

Mr Farmer continued: “In an added blow, people with mental health problems are having to fight for justice when crimes are committed against them, as all too often, criminal justice agencies simply don’t believe them.

“There is a huge education exercise to be done so that victims are treated seriously, and not automatically written off by the authorities who are meant to support them.”

Mental distress affects one in four people in the UK.