Coordinated mental health policy oriented to populations affected by political violence in Peru

The Working Group on Mental Health of Populations affected by Political Violence (MSM in Spanish) is composed of NGOs and professionals that are interested in sharing experiences in order to improve the interventions with the target population and to elaborate mental health policy guidelines.

In this article, we want to transmit the most important elements from the experiences of the MSM which have allowed the achievement of a coordinated work leading to the elaboration of the draft bill on "Integral Care in Mental Health for populations affected by political violence". The work methodology tries to overcome the isolation and centralism of the period of violence as well as the characteristics of the undercovered dictatorship of Fujimori's government. It appeals to the contributions of the organizations and to the creation of a network thatincludes State institutions, private institutions and grassroots organizations of the affected people themselves.

The model developed by MSM included the design and implementation of a funded project to carry out a wide summons at a national level, to debate the issue of mental health and political violence and to reach consensus about both the problem itself, and the proposals pertaining to it. This was carried out through regional workshops and national events. It implied joint work of the MSM institutions to propose a reflection about the middle term and long-term effects of political violence, the proposal of a participatory methodology to collect inputs during the workshops, and, the implementation of a public opinion campaign to disseminate the results. A document was elaborated from the experience of the workshops, which served as a basis for the draft bill. Additionally, the need of the teams in the provinces regarding the establishment of regional working groups to continue the network and follow up on the document was taken into consideration.

The draft bill contains four sections: a) historical overview (includes recordings of what happened, considering the truth of the facts and the psychological component of the process, as well as the need of sensitize the different sectors regarding what happened); b) justice and reparation (refers to counting on a normative body that guarantees the economic and social protection and reparation of the civilian population affected by political violence); c) life conditions (considers implementing special policies to improve the quality of life of the affected population); and d) prevention and care in mental health (framed within the development of coordinated programs among social organizations, aiming at promoting the reconstruction of the social fabric and contributing to the psychological recovery in the face of traumas originated by political violence and, in addition, preventing new violent acts).

Finally, the working perspectives of the MSM in a favorable political situation are discussed in the article.