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Tuesday, 22 March 2011

Define your terms

Browsing Comic Relief's 'People we support' section I spotted this:
'Time to Change

Amount Awarded: £4,000,000
Country: United Kingdom
Project type: Mental Health

One in four people will develop problems with their mental health at some point in their lives. Those affected can face discrimination, which can prevent them from working or taking part in mainstream activities, such as sport or education. Time to Change works to raise nationwide awareness of mental health issues and eradicate stigma and discrimination. They deliver expert training for medical students and teachers, and run a variety of projects for people with mental health problems, using sport to bring people together and increase their confidence and well-being.'
'One in four people will develop problems with their mental health at some point in their lives' - Define 'problems with their mental health' - does that mean serious mental health issues or are you including such events as experiencing bereavement, losing your job etc.?

The way that some charities increase their importance by exaggerating the problem that they exist to address really irritates me. Claims such as 'one on four people will develop problems with their mental health' are not isolated ones. Here is another 'Available data suggest that about 1 in 5 children in Europe are victims of some form of sexual violence' or is it One in Four?






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