With over 15,000 Mental Health Prescriptions Written Every Day in Victoria, a State of the Art Exhibit Exposes the Truth about these Drugs which Can Lead to Suicidal Behaviour and Death,

This world-acclaimed multi-media exhibition, produced by the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), opens on 18 May for one week at the Northcote Town Hall in Melbourne.

The exhibition, entitled “Psychiatry: Human Rights Abuse and Failure”, showcases the historical evidence comprising modern-day mental health treatments and how they came to be. It covers psychiatry’s early beginnings, through to Nazi Germany’s “Ayran” race policy, from the darker days of pre-frontal lobotomies and electric shock treatments to the ‘modern’ explosion of disease labels and accompanying psychotropic medication.

As deaths from antidepressant use in Australia continue to rise, this is information every parent needs to know. By 2009 there were 217 deaths linked to antidepressants in Australia. By 2011 this figure had skyrocketed to 286 deaths, a 31% increase in 2 years. With Australian experts saying between 1% and 10% of adverse side-effects are reported, the figure can only be much higher.

The free exhibition is chillingly informative, but indisputably real. It contains facts which cannot be ignored and issues clear warnings concerning deaths related to psychiatric treatments including antidepressants.

With an increasing number of Victorian children being prescribed antidepressants, despite the fact the Australian government have not authorised their use on anyone under 18 years for depression, over 5,600 Victorian children under the age of 16 took antidepressants in 2009/10. This is up 1,900 on the previous year. More than $3.2 million is being spent by the Australian Government funding antidepressants for children on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

Unbeknownst to many parents and patients are the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration warnings that antidepressants (SSRIs) can cause suicidality. There have been 38 reports of Australian children aged 10-19 years who experienced suicidal ideation or attempted suicide while on antidepressants.

This state-of-the-art 200 square metre exhibit has been shown internationally in more than 30 countries. It features 14 display panels that incorporate audio-visual presentations depicting human rights abuses in the mental health system with statements from 160 health professionals, academics, legal and human rights experts, and victims of psychiatric brutalities. It traces the origins of psychiatry to today and features the devastating effects of psychotropic drugs, especially in relation to children.

“Psychiatry: Human Rights Abuse and Failure” provides practical guidance for lawmakers, doctors, human rights advocates and private citizens to take action to help protect themselves and others from the abuses rampant in the mental health system.

People visiting the FREE exhibit will have an opportunity to sign a petition against controversial proposals in the Draft Victorian Mental Health Act.

Opening Event: Friday 18th May 2012 at 3pm at the Northcote Town Hall, MainHall, 189 high Street, Northcote.
Phone: 0408 073 314 or Email: info@cchrvictoria.org.au to RSVP.
GENERAL TOUR TIMES: The exhibit will continue daily 9am to 9.30pm from Saturday 19th May until 4pm Thursday 24th May

CCHR was founded in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and Dr. Thomas Szasz,
Professor of Psychiatry Emeritus from the State University of New York
Health Science Centre in Syracuse, and has successfully achieved hundreds of 
legislative protections against psychiatric abuse.  

(In Australia, CCHR is known as the Citizens Committee on Human Rights)