There are currently at least 12,600 persons with psychosocial disabilities confined to social institutions throughout Indonesia. They live in conditions resembling prison cells, not knowing if or when they will be released. Some of these individuals are chained up, forced to carry out all their daily activities in the same place, including eating, resting, and defecating.

But is there anything wrong with the conditions mentioned above? Perhaps many readers see no problem with locking people up in social institutions if they have psychosocial disabilities. Afterall, isn't a social institution the best place for people with psychosocial disabilities, and isn't this a safer option for the community at large? Isn't better than have them running loose in society, where they could endanger the population?

In this book, the authors do not seek to dignify the usual assumptions with a response. Instead, through the following pages we will offer perspectives. supported by data, which suggest there is something fundamentally wrong in the treatment of persons with psychosocial disabilities in Indonesia. Henceforth, the authors will view the issue obyjectively, through the lens of human rights, to gain a new perspective on persons living with psychosocial disabilities.

The human rights approach is the most current, most relevant approach to investigating persons with disabilities: it is progressively becoming the modus operandi for those working in this field. Globally, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is well known. The convention, which came into effect on May 3, 2008, is a human rights treaty specifically regulating protection, fulfillment, and respect for the rights of persons with disabilities. The CRPD contains articles which ensure that all persons with disabilities can enjoy basic human rights and fundamental freedoms.

This book uses the UN CRPD as its basis for descriptions of data in relation to violence and human rights violations experenced by people with psychosocial disabilities in Indonesia. Naturally, the CRPD is our guide when raising issues faced by such people in Indonesia, highlighting areas where the true reality contradicts the mandate of the CRPD. The majority of data that appear in this book were reported to the CRPD Committee at the United Nations in January 2020. It is our hope that. by reporting to the United Nations, we can help to improve the condition of persons living with psychosocial disabilities in Indonesia.

Finally, through this book. readers will be introduced to the myriad obstacles facing persons with psychosocial disabilities, which prevent them from enjoying their rights as a Citizen and as a person with a disability.

The book is accessible on the following link :

The Forgotten People : Persons with Psychosocial Disabilities in Indonesia