The “Mad Pride” will bring together people with mental illnesses in Paris. The organizers intend to fight against the stigmatization of society towards them.
“Crazy, so what?” “It is by displaying this slogan that several hundred people will beat the streets of Paris on Saturday, June 13, for the second French edition of” Mad Pride “. On that day, schizophrenics, bipolar, alcoholics or even phobians will no longer have to live in hiding from a society of which they are marginalized. For a day, they will be able to “make themselves visible”.
“Society is afraid of mental illness”
Fourteen associations are behind the organization of this parade, which began in the streets of Toronto, Canada, twenty years ago. This Thursday, during a press conference, their members recount the obstacle courses of people with mental disorders. Repeated layoffs, isolation, ordinary discrimination … “Society has compassion for physical disabilities. But mental illnesses scare him, ”they say.
It is therefore to combat stubborn prejudices that they walk. “To fight against disqualification; to be recognized as people, and not as symptoms. We do not have to be ashamed of what we are, explains Philippe Guérard, president of Mad Pride and of the association. Advocacy France, which brings together mental health users. Last year a woman watching the march asked one of us, “Who are you?” – “I am schizophrenic, but I did not kill anyone!”. Then they chatted. This is what we want. Let people ask us questions and get to know us ”.
Marie-Agnès Letrouit, founder of the Schizo association? Yes! : ” Some say: we are not proud to be schizophrenic. But we can be proud to fight against this disease. Imagine facing voices that insult you all day … “
“The fool is not violent”
The problem is that the stigma of mental illness is so entrenched in society that people with disorders have internalized this discrimination themselves. “We self-stigmatize,” they explain. We devalue ourselves, tells Michèle Mestre ofAFTOC (French Association of people suffering from Obsessive Compulsive Disorders). This march should allow us to reclaim our citizenship and reinvest in the city. We must find our confiscated word ”. It aims for an objective of ” empowerment “- namely,” the taking back of power over oneself “.
The organizers also intend to counter the common discourse which associates these disorders with delinquency or violence. They denounce with vigor Nicolas Sarkozy’s speech, who, in 2008, after a tragic news item, had made the madman a criminal before initiating a security reform of the psychiatric hospital, in particular by strengthening the compulsory internment of the sick.
“Violence has never been part of the definition of schizophrenia”, insists Marie-Agnès Letrouit, of the association Schizo? Yes!, which has also received the Legion of Honor. “The mentally ill has the same treatment as a prisoner – he is forcibly locked up, he is treated against his will. It can’t work… ”Philippe Guérard echoes.
Philippe Guérard, President of Mad Pride and of the Advocacy France association: ” When a minister explains that he does not pay his taxes because he is phobic … When we say of Cahuzac that he is schizophrenic … We mix everything up. “
Psychiatry, the poor relation of medicine
Through their approach, the organizers also intend to challenge the authorities on the fate of French psychiatry. Many are asking for the revision of the 2011 law, but also for additional resources for psychiatry, designated as the “poor relation of medicine”.
“The sick would want to take a train alone, but they don’t do it because they are afraid. If we could take care of them when the train arrived, like the physically disabled, that would change everything! Caregivers should be trained for mental handicaps, ”emphasizes Philippe Guérard. Access to healthcare is also cited as one of the priorities, as is the need to be better supervised during hospital stays, “which tend to be shortened and take place in safe environments”.
Although they are aware that “mentalities will take time to change”, the organizers place a lot of hope in this Mad Pride. It will start at 2 p.m. in Denfert-Rochereau and end at Place de la Bastille. “There are some Bastilles to take, in public health! “
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