CCHR Leads Global Protests Exposing Psychiatric Abuse and Demanding Its End
From Budapest to Los Angeles, Madrid to Melbourne and Wales, CCHR took its fight against psychiatric abuse to the streets. Hundreds marched, placards held high and voices shouting, exposing the brutal realities of electroshock and coercive psychiatry. These demonstrations were global calls for justice, demanding human rights in the field of mental health.
In Budapest, protesters marked the International Day of Protest Against Shock Treatment, marching past the National Institute of Psychiatry and Addictology with banners reading, “Electroshock: Torture, Not Treatment.” Drummers set the pace while speakers shared personal testimonies, including a daughter describing her father’s ordeal with ECT. Fliers detailed ECT’s destructive effects, from brain-cell damage to permanent memory loss. Passersby waved and honked in support. One woman exclaimed, “Finally, someone is speaking out against this!”
In Los Angeles, CCHR staged a large protest against the American Psychiatric Association. Hundreds marched outside the APA’s annual meeting, carrying banners stating, “Ban Psychiatric Coercion,” and, “Children Begged for Air. Psychiatry Let Them Die.” A Jumbotron truck broadcast excerpts from CCHR’s ECT documentary, while a custom-painted “shock doctor” vehicle drew attention. A UN representative joined the march, walking alongside longtime freedom fighters, and shouting chants of “Hey, hey, APA! Stop the torture, stop the pain!” One passerby, overcome with relief, revealed he had lost two loved ones to psychiatry and felt hope seeing CCHR in full force.
CCHR Spain joined forces with CCHR Germany and led a march through Madrid’s Golden Mile during the European Psychiatric Association’s congress. Protests likewise took place in Melbourne and Wales, raising awareness among the public and conference attendees. One doctor in Wales remarked, “You would be surprised how many psychiatrists agree with you.”
Across these and other cities, CCHR’s marches combined personal stories, visual impact and global solidarity. From banners to chants, fliers to Jumbotrons, the message was clear: coercive psychiatry must end. These demonstrations were more than public protests—they proved that wherever psychiatry violates human rights, CCHR will be there—visible, vocal and unwavering.
TAKING ACTION
Host a Documentary Screening
The first step in ending psychiatric abuse is awareness. Every day, lives are destroyed by practices few truly understand—until they see the evidence for themselves.
CCHR’s award-winning documentaries, including Psychiatry: An Industry of Death, Therapy or Torture: The Truth about Electroshock, The Marketing of Madness and others reveal the shocking truth about psychiatric deception, coercion and harm. These films move audiences to action and can spark vital change in your community.
Don’t wait for others to act. Hold a screening in your home, school, church or community center and bring the truth to those you care about.
It’s simple—choose a film from CCHR’s collection, invite friends, family or local advocates and start the conversation that can save lives.
Help expose the crimes of psychiatry. Visit cchr.org/documentaries, order your copy and schedule your first screening today.
END PSYCHIATRIC ABUSE
As a nonprofit mental health industry watchdog, CCHR relies on memberships and donations to carry out its mission to eradicate psychiatric violations of human rights and to clean up the field of mental health. To become part of the world’s largest movement for mental health change, join the group that has helped enact hundreds of laws protecting citizens from abusive psychiatric practices.
