Intimate partners of psychiatric patients at the short end of the long arm of the lawBy Ruwan Laknath JayakodyIn Sri Lanka, there is not only discrimination in the context of the sexual rights of psychiatric patients but also the vulnerability, in legal terms, of partners who engage in sexual activities with psychiatric patients. Torkelson in “Sexual rights in psychiatric facilities” and R. Tiwana, S. McDonald, and B. Vollm’s “Policies on sexual expression in forensic psychiatric settings in different European countries”. However, even though consensual sexual relationships among adults constitute a legal right, in the case of sexual activity involving psychiatric patients, it is oft, legally prohibited. Sathasivam and Vidanapathirana noted however that this highlights the failure of safe sex and health education and the unavailability of contraceptive advice for long-term psychiatric patients. Hence, Sathasivam and Vidanapathirana explained that the aforementioned case report points to the failure of the Sri Lankan laws on sexual offences, to protect the sexual rights of vulnerable psychiatric patients.

Source: The Nation July 04, 2021 17:37 UTC