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Professor Daryl Higgins, James McDougall, Sebastian Trew and Dr Aino Suomi
Australian Government National Mental Health Commission
To identify issues of stigma and advise on how to address stigma for people with mental ill health in the Family Court and child protection processes
People involved in family court or child protection processes who have mental health issues can be subjected to stigma and discrimination. We were approached by the National Mental Health Commission who requested a high-level rapid evidence review of the issues relating to their experiences. The purpose of the review was to identify issues and implications for areas where work can be done to address stigma in three domains: self-stigma, public stigma, and structural stigma/discrimination.
We also acknowledge Jessica Dickson (Senior Librarian, Australian Catholic University) for assistance with the literature search, and Dr Rachel Carson (Senior Research Fellow) and Gillian Lord (Librarian) from the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) for identifying relevant AIFS publications.
The review will inform the development of the National Stigma and Discrimination Reduction Strategy for the National Mental Health Commission and build a better service system and society for those who experience mental ill health.
Our report is one of many background briefs and research papers commissioned or supported by the Commission. These publications are the evidence base on which the Commission will base its initial thinking to develop the National Stigma and Discrimination Reduction Strategy. View all publications, including our report (PDF, 726KB) and the research summary (PDF, 161KB) of our report.
We provided an overview of the family court and child protection systems, and how mental ill health can affect a person’s experience and outcomes within these systems. Our report identifies areas for possible consideration in addressing stigma and discrimination in these systems, opportunities for broader service improvement, as well as potential topics for further research. Some of the actions we suggest to address stigma and discrimination in child protection and family law systems include:
The National Mental Health Commission released the overarching draft strategy in 2022 for public consultation and invites feedback by I Feb 2023.
Find out more about how to provide feedback, and access the draft Strategy
Higgins, D., McDougall, J., Trew, S., & Suomi, A. (2021). Experiences of people with mental ill-health involved in family court or child protection processes: A rapid evidence review (PDF, 726KB).. A report to the National Mental Health Commission. Melbourne: Institute of Child Protection Studies, Australian Catholic University. DOI: 10.24268/acu.8w64y
National Mental Health Commission (2022). Research summary: Stigma and discrimination experiences of people with mental ill-health involved in family court or child protection processes (PDF, 161KB). Australian Government, Canberra
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