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17 October 2004
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Sunday
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02 Ramazan 1425
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Call to change attitudes leading to violence against women
By A Reporter
ISLAMABAD, Oct 16: Rozan, a local non-governmental organization, arranged a discussion on "Mental Health Services - Need and Availability" and a poster launching ceremony in connection with the World Mental Health Day here on Saturday.
According to a statement, the events were part of Rozan's Zeest programme that focuses on emotional and mental health of women.
Participants of the discussion included psychologists, psychiatrists, students and civil society representatives.
The meeting deliberated upon prevalent insensitive and patriarchal attitudes towards women in the society that threatened women and the community at large.
The Zeest programme dealing with the issue of violence against women showed that there was lack of educational and awareness-raising activities on the subject.
Expressing concern over increasing number of cases of violence involving women, Zeest representatives stressed active participation of the community in efforts to question the attitudes which led to violence against women.
The posters put on display targeted the youth, professionals and people from different walks of life with a view to creating awareness among them of their important role in ending violence against women.
The posters also highlighted Zeest's counselling services available on emotional and mental health issues of women, and for victims and survivors of violence cases.
The statement said the idea was to replace the 'I and You' approach with 'We and Our' one.
According to the statistics shared by Zeest, about 400 million individuals in the world suffered from mental or neurological disorders. Mental disorders represented over 12 per cent of the total burden of diseases.
Approximately 24 per cent of patients that sought primary health care suffered from some form of mental disorder, the statement said. It was further informed that 69 per cent of patients with mental disorders were usually treated incorrectly.
World Mental Health Day is commemorated on October 10 worldwide with the aim to raise awareness of the importance of mental and psychological health services.
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