Promoting the Contributions of Psychology to Human Rights
In spring 2011, APA Public Interest Directorate staff brought the following recommendation to the Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest (BAPPI), that:
“APA include a focus on human rights among its priorities and encourage APA’s work to reflect societal leadership in the promotion of human rights through research, practice, education, science, and policy initiatives, including collaboration with other professional societies and human rights organizations.”
BAPPI appointed a working group which has had as its primary activity proposing conference programs at the 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 APA Annual Conventions, the 2012 and 2014 Div. 9 (Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues) biennial conferences, the 2013 and 2015 Div. 27 (Society for Community Research and Action) biennial conferences and the 2012 International Congress of Psychology. In addition, BAPPI sought recommendations from APA boards and committees, and the divisions of social justice in 2012.
AAAS Science and Human Rights Coalition
APA is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science and Human Rights Coalition, which is a network of scientific associations, professional societies, academies and other formal networks of scientists, engineers and health professionals that recognize a role for science and technology, scientists and engineers in efforts to realize human rights. The APA Public Interest Directorate was represented by Clinton W. Anderson, PhD, associate executive director, Public Interest and director, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Concerns Office, in the planning of the AAAS Science and Human Rights Coalition. When the coalition was launched in January 2009, APA formally joined with one representative from the Public Interest Directorate and one representative from the Science Directorate, currently Anju Khubchandani, MSW, director, Disabilities Issues Office and Sangeeta Panicker, PhD, Office on Research Ethics, respectively.
Cross-cutting agenda items seeking information regarding human rights activities of APA boards and committees and recommendations regarding human rights initiatives for the AAAS coalition were considered by boards and committees in 2009. In 2011, a focus group was held with APA members on Article 15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the right to the benefits of scientific progress, as it applies to psychology.
Khubchandani is working on a bibliography that illustrates the contributions of psychology to human rights. This document is currently being circulated to other psychologists involved in the coalition and/or human rights work for further input and refinement.
United Nations
The APA United Nations (UN)/national government organization (NGO) representation engages in educational and advocacy work at the United Nations to bring a human-centered, psychology-informed perspective to UN deliberations and decision making in a number of U.N.-NGO committees addressing areas relevant to human-rights areas including women, aging, violence, children and families. The APA UN/NGO representation also engages with the UN Human Rights Committee.
Public Interest Directorate Activities Related to Human Rights
- Office on Aging
- Office on AIDS
- Children, Youth and Families
- Disabilities
- Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Concerns
- Office on Ethnic Minority Affairs
- Socioeconomic Status Office
- Violence Prevention Office
- Women’s Programs Office
Several initiatives focus largely on preventing elder abuse and promoting elder justice, including the following:
- Educational materials including public education brochures, blogs and providers experts for webinars to raise attention to this issue.
- Protecting older adults with diminished capacity from financial abuse through provider education via handbooks with the American Bar Association, policy briefs and CE programming.
- Educating psychologists, health care providers, consumers and policy makers regarding alternatives to widespread use of chemical restraints (antipsychotic medications) on older adults with no prior psychiatric problems in long term care facilities.
Provides training, technical assistance and extensive information on a wide range of HIV/AIDS-related topics, including the following:
- The Psychology and AIDS Exchange Newsletter, and end of life issues and care.
- A current policy initiative of the Ad Hoc Committee on Psychology and AIDS is the proposed resolution against HIV criminalization, which will be on the fall cross-cutting agenda.
Develops and implements numerous policies, including the following:
- APA Resolution on UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention's Optional Protocols and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
- Publications and reports, including "Resilience of Refugee Children After War and Crossroads: The Psychology of Immigration in the New Century."
Work toward the elimination of bias against and the promotion of equal opportunity for persons with disabilities with resources including the following:
- The Spotlight on Disability Newsletter, and the DisABILITY Resources Toolbox.
- Policies, including the APA Resolution in Support of the UN Convention on the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities.
Provides support, guidance and resources to APA governance, members and others seeking psychological resources to promote beneficial change in society for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people including the following:
- Task force products including "Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Clients," the "Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming People" (PDF, 617KB), "Report of the APA Task Force on Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation," and "Report by the Task Force on Gender Identity and Gender Variance."
- Projects including Safe and Supportive Schools and the International Psychology Network for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Issues.
- Policy and law including policy statements on LGBT concerns and amicus briefs.
Works to increase the scientific understanding of both how culture pertains to psychology and how ethnicity influences behavior through programs that include the following:
- Guidelines: "Guidelines on Multicultural Education, Training, Research, Practice and Organizational Change for Psychologists;" "Guidelines for Providers of Psychological Services to Ethnic, Linguistic and Culturally Diverse Populations."
- Policy statements and resolutions including: "Racial/Ethnic Profiling and Other Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Law and Security Enforcement Activities."
Responsible for directing, overseeing, facilitating and promoting psychology's contribution to the understanding of socioeconomic status (SES) and the lives and well-being of the poor, including the following:
- The SES Indicator (newsletter), Resilience Booster: Parent Tip Tool and The New Battle on Poverty.
- SES-related webinars.
- Poverty and Inequality Blog.
Disseminates research-based knowledge and information on violence and injury prevention, including the following:
- ACT/Parents Raising Safe Kids, an eight-week program that focuses primarily on educating parents and other adults who raise and care for young children to create early environments that protect them from violence.
- Effective Providers for Child Victims of Violence initiative, a national training program to increase victim service providers’ capacity to serve children and adolescents exposed to violence.
- Policy statements on violence prevention.
Works to improve the status, health and well-being of women psychologists and consumers of psychological services, with program areas including the following:
- Trafficking: "Report of the Task Force on Trafficking of Women and Girls (PDF, 1MB);" APA Convention symposium: Trafficking of Women and Girls in North America: Perspectives from Canada, Mexico and the United States.
- "Intimate Partner Violence: The Intimate Partner Violence and Abuse of Women with Disabilities" brochures in English and Spanish.
- "Sexualization of Girls: Report of the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls," "What Parents Can Do" (English and Spanish), and "What Girls Can Do" (English and Spanish).