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Media & Social Constructs of Black Mental Health

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Afrwecan Black Mental Health
Afrwecan Black Mental Health

This presentation exposes what is mental health with statistics that will open your eyes that this issue might be closer to home thank you think!   By Alison Roberts

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Media & Social Construct of Mental Health in Black Community By Alison Roberts
• Definition of social construct • Social constructionism is a mechanism or method that shapes one’s perception of society and reality. • Q. But whose reality?
Three types of recognised reality • Experienced reality: refers to events that an individual directly experiences, but it is limited as it can impact on constructed reality. • (eg: Media may portray a certain type of person in a particular way. such as “teenagers are delinquent”, yet if one meets a teenager this opinion is incorrect.
● Symbolic experience: an indirect experience that is believed through media and social construct. ● (eg: African are hungry and live in mud huts…what media shows us). ● Socially constructed: this is a combination of experienced and symbolic reality. (Individuals who share similar environments are exposed to same information :eg: Trump vs Hilary campaign where we are limited to media coverage which can be bias) ● (Surette2007)
Difficulties with media & social construct • It impinges into peoples lives • It marginalises and stigmatise certain social groups • Provide tools for empowerment or social inclusion • It delimits and can have negative bias influences which creates stereotypical views and unfounded assumptions.
• These constructs highlight conflict, poverty, unemployment, discrimination, addiction, dysfunctional, homelessness and crime which are dangerously indicative of a creating negative perception of specific BME communities. (Dr Howarth 2011)
Have media and social construct influence these statistics? • Statistics from institute of race relations • Criminal justice system: BME communities are over-represented at all stages of justice • Disproportionately targeted by police and are more likely to be imprisoned with longer sentences than white British people.
• Stop & search: more likely to stopped and searched. In 2011 police were 28 times more use sec 60 powers against black people rather than white people • 2014/15 …28% of the 539,788 stop and search, did not lea to arrest…feels like stop where based on suspected ‘suspicion behaviour’ which can be seen as harassment simple due to their colour
Continued statistics on social construct influences • In 2014 there were 1.04 million arrest in England, however when looking at London alone that figure represented 25% of the BME communities. • In 2014 black people were three times more likely to be arrested than white people.
• Joint enterprise which convicts people purely if they knew or are seen to have encouraged the crime, is disproportionately used against 80% of BME groups. 27% are sentence at crown court , 44% are sentence for driving offences ,38% for public order offences/ weapon, 27% for drug possession. • Equality and Human Rights Commission reported that there is a greater disproportionality in the number of black people in prison in the UK than in the USA
Over presentation vs under representation • Employment in the criminal justice system • 6% of senior judges are from BME communities • 8% of practitioners in the National Offenders Management Service are from BME communities • 5% of police officers of senior rank are from BME communities
Ethnicity and health statistics • 23% of inpatients in MH services are from BME communities (2010) • Mind suggest discrimination in MH system • 29% are forcibly detained under Mental Health Act • 50% more likely to be put in seclusion and diagnosed as psychotic (2013) • 15% are treated with compulsory treatment orders. (Care Quality Commission 2011/12) • 50% Afro Caribbean people are more likely to be referred to MH services via police than white people. • (Black Mental Health UK)
Why are BME groups over represented in these areas? Fernando 2006, a Black Psychiatrist, who pioneered to bring about awareness on these disturbing findings especially in the MH sector. He looked at inequality in workplace and spoke of tokenism. He recognise that media and social construct portrays radical stereotypes within the BME community. He fought against the label created by professional “perceived dangerousness of black men” which allows professionals to use their bias, subjected views to arrest or section a person.
• This creates unjustified labels and led to mis- diagnoses and inappropriate sectioning under the Mental Health Act and lengthy prison sentences. • Fernando refused to accept his OBE 2007 in protest of this label. He reported that some politician are fearful of highlighting these damaging statistics for fear of being accused by right wing of pandering to black peoples needs. • Lastly, Transcultural Psychiatry looked into the inappropriateness of applying western disorders to different cultural and ethnic groups, without fully understanding ethnic and cultural difference.
References Department for Communities and Local Government, (2009).Progress report on Gypsy and Traveller policy. London, Department for Communities and Local Government Dr Howarth. C, (2006) Towards a social psychology of community, A social representative presentation Ethnicity and health London, Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, (2007), p. 1. Institute of Race Relations, (2016) Equality and Human rights commission
Greater London Authority, (2009). The London Health Inequalities Strategy: draft for public consultation (London, Greater London authority Health and Social Care Act 2008 Regulated Activities, Care Quality Commission Regulations (2014), Regulation 18 Statistic from institute of race relations (2016) Institute of Race Relations Surette, R. (2007). Media, crime, and criminal justice: images, realities, and policies (3rd ed.). (pp. 31-56). Belmont: Thomson.

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Media & Social Constructs of Black Mental Health

  • 1. Media & Social Construct of Mental Health in Black Community By Alison Roberts
  • 2. • Definition of social construct • Social constructionism is a mechanism or method that shapes one’s perception of society and reality. • Q. But whose reality?
  • 3. Three types of recognised reality • Experienced reality: refers to events that an individual directly experiences, but it is limited as it can impact on constructed reality. • (eg: Media may portray a certain type of person in a particular way. such as “teenagers are delinquent”, yet if one meets a teenager this opinion is incorrect.
  • 4. ● Symbolic experience: an indirect experience that is believed through media and social construct. ● (eg: African are hungry and live in mud huts…what media shows us). ● Socially constructed: this is a combination of experienced and symbolic reality. (Individuals who share similar environments are exposed to same information :eg: Trump vs Hilary campaign where we are limited to media coverage which can be bias) ● (Surette2007)
  • 5. Difficulties with media & social construct • It impinges into peoples lives • It marginalises and stigmatise certain social groups • Provide tools for empowerment or social inclusion • It delimits and can have negative bias influences which creates stereotypical views and unfounded assumptions.
  • 6. • These constructs highlight conflict, poverty, unemployment, discrimination, addiction, dysfunctional, homelessness and crime which are dangerously indicative of a creating negative perception of specific BME communities. (Dr Howarth 2011)
  • 7. Have media and social construct influence these statistics? • Statistics from institute of race relations • Criminal justice system: BME communities are over-represented at all stages of justice • Disproportionately targeted by police and are more likely to be imprisoned with longer sentences than white British people.
  • 8. • Stop & search: more likely to stopped and searched. In 2011 police were 28 times more use sec 60 powers against black people rather than white people • 2014/15 …28% of the 539,788 stop and search, did not lea to arrest…feels like stop where based on suspected ‘suspicion behaviour’ which can be seen as harassment simple due to their colour
  • 9. Continued statistics on social construct influences • In 2014 there were 1.04 million arrest in England, however when looking at London alone that figure represented 25% of the BME communities. • In 2014 black people were three times more likely to be arrested than white people.
  • 10. • Joint enterprise which convicts people purely if they knew or are seen to have encouraged the crime, is disproportionately used against 80% of BME groups. 27% are sentence at crown court , 44% are sentence for driving offences ,38% for public order offences/ weapon, 27% for drug possession. • Equality and Human Rights Commission reported that there is a greater disproportionality in the number of black people in prison in the UK than in the USA
  • 11. Over presentation vs under representation • Employment in the criminal justice system • 6% of senior judges are from BME communities • 8% of practitioners in the National Offenders Management Service are from BME communities • 5% of police officers of senior rank are from BME communities
  • 12. Ethnicity and health statistics • 23% of inpatients in MH services are from BME communities (2010) • Mind suggest discrimination in MH system • 29% are forcibly detained under Mental Health Act • 50% more likely to be put in seclusion and diagnosed as psychotic (2013) • 15% are treated with compulsory treatment orders. (Care Quality Commission 2011/12) • 50% Afro Caribbean people are more likely to be referred to MH services via police than white people. • (Black Mental Health UK)
  • 13. Why are BME groups over represented in these areas? Fernando 2006, a Black Psychiatrist, who pioneered to bring about awareness on these disturbing findings especially in the MH sector. He looked at inequality in workplace and spoke of tokenism. He recognise that media and social construct portrays radical stereotypes within the BME community. He fought against the label created by professional “perceived dangerousness of black men” which allows professionals to use their bias, subjected views to arrest or section a person.
  • 14. • This creates unjustified labels and led to mis- diagnoses and inappropriate sectioning under the Mental Health Act and lengthy prison sentences. • Fernando refused to accept his OBE 2007 in protest of this label. He reported that some politician are fearful of highlighting these damaging statistics for fear of being accused by right wing of pandering to black peoples needs. • Lastly, Transcultural Psychiatry looked into the inappropriateness of applying western disorders to different cultural and ethnic groups, without fully understanding ethnic and cultural difference.
  • 15. References Department for Communities and Local Government, (2009).Progress report on Gypsy and Traveller policy. London, Department for Communities and Local Government Dr Howarth. C, (2006) Towards a social psychology of community, A social representative presentation Ethnicity and health London, Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, (2007), p. 1. Institute of Race Relations, (2016) Equality and Human rights commission
  • 16. Greater London Authority, (2009). The London Health Inequalities Strategy: draft for public consultation (London, Greater London authority Health and Social Care Act 2008 Regulated Activities, Care Quality Commission Regulations (2014), Regulation 18 Statistic from institute of race relations (2016) Institute of Race Relations Surette, R. (2007). Media, crime, and criminal justice: images, realities, and policies (3rd ed.). (pp. 31-56). Belmont: Thomson.