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The purpose of this paper is to discuss concerns that, despite recent campaigns, stigma has not been fully addressed by the psychiatric profession and that evidence suggests it may have unwittingly contributed to iatrogenic stigma.

The writer of this paper is a psychiatrist and considers the subject of stigma by employing the metaphor of bricked up windows. Arguments are supported through the evaluation of scientific research in addition to ideas from philosophy and literature.

The paper highlights areas of ongoing stigma and also identifies possible explanations for this in the current approach of the psychiatric profession.

It is hoped that this paper stimulates further discussion particularly within the psychiatric profession about the approach to tackling stigma.

This paper revisits the subject of Iatrogenic Stigma ten years on from an editorial in the British Medical Journal by Professor Norman Sartorius. The assumption of the psychiatric profession is that, by giving prominence to a biomedical view of mental illness, stigma will be lessened. This paper challenges this view and widens the discussion.

The purpose of this paper is to present a focused viewpoint of coercion in psychiatry from the perspective of a survivor and activist.

This paper takes elements from and builds on three recent conference and seminar presentations presented in France and the UK in 2014: International Congress on Clinical Ethics Consultation 2014, Paris: Comité Européen Droit Ethique et Psychiatrie, June 2014, Perpignan and Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Annual Congress, London 2014.

Coercion in psychiatry runs counter to the highest human rights standards, rules out genuine care and profoundly undermines trust.

Additional research from a user and survivor experience would offer a different and more grounded perspective of how coercion is actually exerted and experienced through, for instance, a narrative approach.

The paper is proposed from the viewpoint of a survivor of psychiatry and human rights activist. It is a contribution towards a more user/survivor oriented discourse in this area.

This article sets out guidelines for psychiatric practice prepared at the request of The Royal College of Psychiatrists. It gives an overview of psychosocial and neuropsychiatric problems in HIV disease, service implications and guidance on HIV screening and testing. Advice is given on the issue of confidentiality in relation to HIV status, the avoidance of infection and general recommendations for implementing the guidelines and the development of any necessary special policies or practices in Mental Health Units.

The rate of cesarean sections has been rapidly increased in the last few decades in all the developing as well as developed countries. The rate of cesarean sections determined by the World Health Organization has been crossed by many countries, like Brazil, India, China, USA, Australia, etc. Similarly, this rate has also increased in Pakistan. The purpose of this paper is to explore and identify the factors that are responsible for the rising rate of cesarean sections in Pakistan.

These factors are categorized under medical and non-medical factors. The medical factors include the obesity of mother, age of mother, weight of the baby, umbilical cord prolapse, fetal distress, abnormal presentation, dystocia and failure to progress. The non-medical factors include financial incentives of doctors, time convenience for doctors, high tolerance to surgery, patient’s preference toward cesarean section, private hospitals, public hospitals, income status of patients, rural areas, urban areas and the education of patients. To identify the critical factors, data have been collected and a multi-criteria decision-making technique, called Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory, is used.

The result shows that the medical factors that are responsible for the rise in the rate of cesarean sections are umbilical cord prolapse, age of mother and obesity of mother. On the other hand, the non-medical factors that are the reasons for the increase in cesarean sections are the large number of private hospitals and the unethical acts of the doctors in these hospitals, preference of patients, and either the unavailability of doctors or poor conditions of hospitals in rural areas.

Cesarean section is an important surgical intervention and is considered to be very essential in the cases of existing as well as potential medical problems to the mother or the baby. Cesarean section is also performed for non-medical reasons. In Pakistan, the number of private hospitals has increased and these hospitals provide good health care. However, these hospitals do not work under the rules and regulations set by the government. The doctors in private hospitals perform unnecessary cesarean sections in order to fulfill the demands of private hospital’s owners. In addition to this, it is also found that, nowadays, most women prefer to give birth through cesarean section in order to eliminate the pain of normal vaginal delivery.