foreseeable that toxic exposure would cause psychological problems.” Reasonable Fortitude and Robustness Lord Griffiths in White v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire noted “the law expects reasonable fortitude and robustness of its citizens and will not impose liability for the exceptional frailty of certain individuals.” Whether all members of the Aamjiwnaang community are robust and of reasonable fortitude, remains for the Plaintiffs to prove and for the court to determine. However, it is important to note that unfortunately “special vulnerability of indigenous peoples to environmental harm” does exist. According to the structured interviews of First Nations members, “the lifetime prevalence for any mood disorder was 19.4 percent in men, …show more content…
Berry that it was intended to impose upon claimants the burden of showing a positive expert diagnosis.” Second, the requirement that the mental injury sustained must be recognized as a psychiatric injury, has shifted the recovery of damages outside of the realm of courts and more into the realm of mental health specialists. Third, by allowing the requirement of recognizable mental injury to exist “accords unequal — that is, less — protection to victims of mental injury” compared to the victims of physical …show more content…
Psychiatric symptoms include, but are not limited to: an ongoing, excessive fear and phobic reactions that are caused by the presence or anticipation of chemical spills; ongoing depression and a loss of “a great deal of autonomy and control over their health and well-being as a result of the pollution in the Chemical Valley”; ongoing and constant anxiety and worry over “the warning sirens, unreported or poorly managed accidents, and increases in the number of industrial sources of pollution being approved in the Chemical Valley”, as well as anxiety regarding the health and wellbeing of immediate family members, relatives, and other community members (e.g., Christine Roger’s anxiety over the fact that her daughter who was poisoned by the hydrogen sulphide); PTSD symptoms,
The Grassy Narrows (Asubpeeschoseewagong) First Nation is an Ojibwa First Nation located north of Kenora, ON. The community has been fighting against environmental injustices imposed on them from various actors over the last 40 years (Rodgers, 2009, para. 10), involving issues with mercury poisoned fish (para. 1) clear cutting of their lands (para. 27) and subsequent degradation of their land, water and food sources. This essay will detail the environmental justice struggles of the Grassy Narrows First Nation, point out the unfair treatment and environmental racism they have been subject to and will also question the role that authority, power and litigation have played within the community.
Indigenous People. In evaluating the Legal System’s response to Indigenous People and it’s achieving of justice, an outline of the history of Indigenous Australians - before and during settlement - as well as their status in Australian society today must be made. The dispossession of their land and culture has deprived Indigenous People of economic revenue that the land would have provided if not colonised, as well as their ... ... middle of paper ... ...
LaPrairie, C. (1998). The new justice: Some implications for aboriginal communities. Canadian Journal of Criminology. 40 (1), 61-79.
...ng experts to identify mental health symptoms such as delusions, hallucinations, and identifying if any instances of malingering are present. Evaluating a defendant is essential in understanding whether or not they are capable of following legal proceedings. If an individual is in fact found incompetent, attempts to restore competency are performed through treatments with medication or mental training about legal information that is vital for them to know in their case. It is imperative to acknowledge competency to stand trial cases in the legal system to not only ensure fairness in the courtroom, but offer mentally ill defendants an opportunity to have a lawful trial depending on their psychological state.
Definition: Mental health has become a pressing issue in Indigenous communities. Often, a combination of trauma, a lack of accessible health resources, substance abuse, violence, and socioeconomic situations lead to high rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidality in Indigenous Peoples. This crisis is especially apparent in Indigenous youth, where there is a growing suicide epidemic but little mental health support and resources are provided. The increase in stigmatized and untreated mental illness has continued as trauma and systemic injustices remain unaddressed. Indigenous groups, governmental parties, and health organizations are involved.
... be low educated, likely to experience previous marriage or common-law union, and also more likely to be unemployed or have unemployed partner (Brownridge, 2008). Those aboriginal men who live on reserve are highly engaged in substance abuse such as alcohol. Most of the domestic violence tends to occur due to the consequence of high intake of alcohol. In aboriginal family violence offences, “69% were committed while the accused was under the influence of drugs or alcohol …just over half (54%) of the victims of a family violence assault were under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the assault” (Paletta, 2008). There are various reasons why aboriginal people are highly involved with substance abuse and are more likely to commit suicide than non-aboriginal people (i.e. socioeconomic conditions, unemployment, traumatic history, residential school, etc.).
Neylan (2013) suggests that the Aboriginal women of Vancouver have perhaps experienced a similar and lingering attitude to those of the colonists. As well, it seems the Canadian justice system has also retained some of the same cruel and biased ideologies as its earlier colonialists. Neylan identifies a parallel here, explaining both colonists and the current justice system treat natives in a demeaning manner, disregarding the value of human life because of an indigenous lab...
"Prevalence of mood disorders in a national sample of young American adults." Soc Psychiatry. Psychiatr Epidemiol 38(11): 618-624. Lee, C. V., S. W. McDermott, et al. a. The '90s.
...y of international trends. Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology , 45 (9), 889 - 897.
Guerin, B. & Guerin, P. 2012, 'Re-thinking mental health for indigenous Australian communities: communities as context for mental health', Community Development Journal, vol. 47, no. 4, pp. 555-70.
Mental illness is an addition to all of the previously listed perceived disadvantages of Native Americans by those of other ethnicities. Many believe that Native Americans are at a higher risk for mental illness than those of European descent. Many also believe that Native Americans have more people suffer from depression than their white counterparts (Stark & Wilkins, American Indian Politics and the American Political System, 2011). There have been studies conducted to test whether or not this is the case, with mixed results. Some studies say that Natives are at a higher risk and others say they are not. This discrepancy makes the answer unclear. If Natives are actually at a higher risk for and have more people suffering from depression than individuals of European descent, the question to ask is, “why?” Several factors play into depression and other mental illness, including biology, social standing, history, family, and any preexisting/comorbid diseases that could contribute to or cause depression.
Unknown. "Mental Health | Canadian Mental Health Association, Ontario Division." Ontario.cmha.ca, 2014. Web. 13 Jan 2014. .
...s a way of coping with bad memories and changes in culture (Reser, 1991). Many Indigenous are still being affected by the events which unfolded long ago. Alcohol is consumed by many who are known to have mental disorders. Depression is a major issue within the aboriginal population with many suffering with factors like grief, shame, worry, homesickness, and anger due to the colonization and the way it has changed their everyday life, culture and environment (Reser).
... The source of the defendant’s mental abnormality is the greatest point of distinction between all of the defendants. Whether the abnormality is internal, external or a diagnosed medical condition will play a significant role in which defence can be used. As defences, they are all used for a similar reason, and that is to eliminate or reduce liability for criminal offences.
Teff, H. (1998) Liability for Negligently Inflicted Psychiatric Harm: Justifications and Boundaries, The Cambridge Law Journal 57,1, 92