Ms Nicola Byrne:

To add to what my colleagues have said, Shine has a wealth of experience in fighting stigma and discrimination attached to mental health.

Our work with See Change and the volunteer ambassadors, as well as our human rights approach to mental health work, is contributing to a much-needed culture change in how the public think about, engage with and refer to mental health experiences. We advocate to eliminate language practices, as well as opinions and labels, that undermine the dignity of the person. We welcome the replacements already made in the heads of Bill, such as "patient" by "person" and "tribunal" by "review board". However, the people with whom we work question the use of the term "mental health disorder". There is consensus that it is degrading. There is a need to bring it in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, UNCRPD, Article 3 of which refers to non-discrimination, while Article 4 places an obligation on states: "To take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to modify or abolish existing laws, regulations, customs and practices that constitute discrimination against persons with disabilities". This issue is also addressed in Article 14 of the European Convention of Human Rights, ECHR, relating to the prohibition of discrimination.