The word ‘insane’ should be deleted as soon as possible from legal texts of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba (the BES islands), CDA and GroenLinks want. They are submitting an amendment today during a parliamentary debate on Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS) to get this done.
The term is used more than eighty times in the current BES Supervision of the Insane Act. By referring to psychiatric patients as insane, parliament maintains a negative stigma, argue Joba van den Berg (CDA) and Lisa Westerveld (GroenLinks).
If the amendment passes, the law will change “insane” to “mental patients.” Words such as insane asylums – as they are now in the law – must also be adapted.
Middle Ages
Labeling people with mental health problems as ‘insane’ is language that belongs to the Middle Ages. Such stigmatizing words should not be included in current legislation. It’s high time we fix this,” says Westerveld. “Insane” is an outdated term and demeaning to the people with mental health problems. Now is the time to modernize the name,” adds Van den Berg.
The scheme dates from the 1920s. According to both MPs, the BES Supervision of the Insane Act has been discussed three times in the House in the past twelve years, but the term has never been changed.
The BES islands are part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
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