Mental health as a human right and its impact on criminal responsibility in minors in Ecuador

Abstract

Infractions committed by adolescents represent a complex and multi-causal problem; since certain forms of abusive behavior are perceived by minors as socially accepted cultural practices. Minors with conflicts or mental disorders that violate criminal law, far from being helped, are isolated and even confined within four walls; Being within these scenarios that one is not usually able to decipher with the simple glance of that human being, the pleading cry for help that he shouts, and it is in that context where silence can become the loudest cry.

This article is built with the specific purposes of raising awareness about the attention and importance that each minor human being deserves and the commitment that as adults we must assume to the protection of the rights of each adolescent, seeking differential sensitivity, not from the perception of “minors” objects of protection, but from the radiation of minors subject to rights; from the perspective of a new conceptual structure in which adults, in the most diverse areas, no longer have the absolute power to impose themselves over the interest of each minor.

In summary, it is concluded that the recognition of Mental Health as a recurring problem in adolescent offenders and prisoners of liberty is imminent. The research highlights the urgency of addressing the challenges of Mental Health as a human right by working on the promotion, protection and guarantee of this fundamental right of people.