Calls for restorative justice after ‘dehumanising’ incidents in Victoria’s mental health care system

Clients and carers from Victoria’s public mental health system want the state government to being a restorative justice process to acknowledge harms and human rights breaches in the sector. Photograph: SDI Productions/Getty Images

When Victoria’s mental health royal commission made landmark findings of systemic human rights breaches in 2021, there was little that surprised Anna*.

At the time of the inquiry’s hearings, Anna had numerous stints in the psychiatric wards of Victorian public hospitals. She said the experiences were “dehumanising” and often chipped away at her will to live.