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| Stop selling Halloween outfits that demonise mentally ill, says minister | Stop selling Halloween outfits that demonise mentally ill, says minister |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Halloween’s ghoulish festivities have turned into a dangerous culture that brands mentally ill people as “psychos or schizos or freaks”, a government minister warns. | |
| Norman Lamb, the Liberal Democrat care and support minister, will give a speech urging retailers not to “demonise” people with mental health problems by selling trick-or-treat and party outfits that mock psychiatric patients. | Norman Lamb, the Liberal Democrat care and support minister, will give a speech urging retailers not to “demonise” people with mental health problems by selling trick-or-treat and party outfits that mock psychiatric patients. |
| His address to the National Child and Adult Services (NCAS) conference in Manchester comes after several joke outfits depicting dangerously violent mental patients in chains and wearing masks made headlines after going on sale online. | His address to the National Child and Adult Services (NCAS) conference in Manchester comes after several joke outfits depicting dangerously violent mental patients in chains and wearing masks made headlines after going on sale online. |
| Lamb is due to tell the conference: “For me it is horrendous that, this Halloween, a young person experiencing a mental health crisis could easily come across someone in a ‘psycho ward’ or ‘schizo patient’ costume – complete with handcuffs and ripped restraints – as much as they could see someone in a Dracula costume. | Lamb is due to tell the conference: “For me it is horrendous that, this Halloween, a young person experiencing a mental health crisis could easily come across someone in a ‘psycho ward’ or ‘schizo patient’ costume – complete with handcuffs and ripped restraints – as much as they could see someone in a Dracula costume. |
| “This Halloween culture is dangerous. It conditions all of us to fear mental illness, to see people as ‘psychos’, or ‘schizos’, or ‘freaks’. It makes us believe that mental illness is something otherworldly. We have to tackle this damaging stigma which prevents young people from seeking help when they need it, or talking about any problems they might be having. | |
| “Everyone should be able to enjoy Halloween but I urge all retailers to behave more responsibly – don’t demonise mental illness.” | “Everyone should be able to enjoy Halloween but I urge all retailers to behave more responsibly – don’t demonise mental illness.” |
| Last year, supermarkets Asda and Tesco came under fire for selling Halloween costumes that were said to have caused offence. | |
| Asda withdrew its “mental patient fancy dress costume” and Tesco took its “psycho ward” outfit off the shelves. But similar outfits are still widely available online. A senior health trust manager said this month that such Halloween fancy dress outfits were offensive and damaging. | |
| John Lawlor, chief executive of Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS foundation trust, said people would never wear a “cancer patient” Halloween outfit, and so they should not treat mental health issues so flippantly. | |
| Lamb last week criticised Jokers’ Masquerade, based in Newbury, Berkshire, telling the BBC it was selling outfits that “reinforced stereotypes”. | |
| Jokers’ Masquerade’s website was still selling a £12.45 Adult Skitzo Costume on Friday, consisting of an orange jumpsuit with “a set of black vinyl shackles and belt, plus a restraining face mask to complete the look”. | Jokers’ Masquerade’s website was still selling a £12.45 Adult Skitzo Costume on Friday, consisting of an orange jumpsuit with “a set of black vinyl shackles and belt, plus a restraining face mask to complete the look”. |
| It also offers a £20.99 Maximum Restraint Halloween Costume, consisting of a straitjacket and a mask like that worn by Anthony Hopkins when he played the cannibal killer Hannibal Lecter in Silence Of The Lambs. | It also offers a £20.99 Maximum Restraint Halloween Costume, consisting of a straitjacket and a mask like that worn by Anthony Hopkins when he played the cannibal killer Hannibal Lecter in Silence Of The Lambs. |
| In a blog written after Lamb’s criticism last week, Jokers’ Masquerade’s Mike Dawson said the website’s staff had been sent “abusive comments, blasphemous and expletive remarks” on social media. | |
| He said the company was disappointed to have been singled out over the “Skitzo” outfit, which was also on sale on other websites, and it had withdrawn costumes in the past, including one of Jimmy Savile. | |
| He added that the company did not intend to offend people but wanted customers to be able to make a choice themselves, saying: “We will not be forced into knee-jerk decisions, but are happy to receive constructive criticism. These past days, we have listened to the mental health proponents and made various edits to criticised products. This has included renaming product titles, descriptions and category pages to dilute this sensitive area for some.” | He added that the company did not intend to offend people but wanted customers to be able to make a choice themselves, saying: “We will not be forced into knee-jerk decisions, but are happy to receive constructive criticism. These past days, we have listened to the mental health proponents and made various edits to criticised products. This has included renaming product titles, descriptions and category pages to dilute this sensitive area for some.” |