10-year review of China's mental health law: a call for action to promote human rights in mental health

On Oct 26, 2012, China passed its first mental health law. This law was a substantial advance in protecting the human rights of people with mental ill health in China by requiring that psychiatric treatment be voluntary in the majority of circumstances and that seclusion and restraints be used only if there are no alternatives.1 However, after 10 years, the effect of the law on eliminating the use of coercive practices in mental health services has not been as ideal as expected. As several studies have shown, the rate of involuntary admission to hospital in China has not declined in the past decade and is still above 70%.