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Stop Shocking and Torturing Women – Mad in America

May 13, 2019 By Deborah Schwartzkopff

By Don Weitz

Edited excerpts from a speech delivered at the “Stop Shocking Our Mothers and Grandmothers” protest, Toronto, May 11, 2019

This year, more than 10,000 women will be electroshocked in Canada, at least half of whom will be in their 60s and older. As professor, antipsychiatry activist and feminist Bonnie Burstow has frequently pointed out, two to three times more women than men are shocked in Canada, as well as in the United States and elsewhere. This is a violent assault on women, triggered by misogyny, ageism and psychiatric lies, with the complicity of the Canadian and American Psychiatric Associations, the transnational drug companies (Big Pharma), and provincial and state governments. Yes, there is collusion between government, psychiatry, government, and the corporate media. A national and international crime and shame.

As an insulin shock survivor, antipsychiatrist and social justice activist, I am speaking out and protesting today to demand that psychiatrists stop electroshocking my sisters, including vulnerable elderly and disabled women. For more than 75 years — since the 1940s — Canadian and American shock doctors have targeted and permanently harmed hundreds of thousands of people, young and old. Predominantly male psychiatrists have fraudulently diagnosed as “mentally ill” (“bipolar,” “borderline personality” “schizophrenic,” etc.) women whom they have then forcibly shocked, traumatized and lied to. With their shock machines, psychiatrists have destroyed countless women’s memories, creativity, skills, careers and lives.

And then, these shock doctors and their fascist organizations unethically minimize or flatly deny all criticism of the permanent memory loss, brain damage, and trauma caused by their “safe and effective” shock machines…

Read full article in MadinAmerica ->

Don Weitz

Don Weitz is an antipsychiatry and social justice activist and insulin shock survivor who has been arrested while participating in nonviolent civil disobedience. He is co-founder of the Coalition Against Psychiatric Assault, co-editor (with Bonnie Burstow) of Shrink Resistant: The Struggle Against Psychiatry in Canada, and author of the e-book Speaking Out Against Psychiatry: Notes Toward Abolition.

Filed Under: Articles

Comments

  1. Amanda says

    December 10, 2019 at 10:56 am

    I have recieved over 20 treatments and on going still.. I have bad memory loss and I dont know if the tingling and numbness a couple days ago on my head has anything to do with the treatments.. but I was scared and had to lay down I have to get treatments every 6 weeks and for the rest of my life I have difficulty walking.. up stairs and down. Back problems from being on 5 different meds too. I forget literally everything I am just shocked and disgusted by everything I read about ects its barbaric and wrong it needs to be stopped.

  2. GAil tussing says

    November 21, 2019 at 7:29 pm

    The same thing happened to me but I’m grateful I’m still alive and not suicidal. Im a survivor like you.

  3. DM says

    June 3, 2019 at 9:09 pm

    I received I think 12-15 shock treatments 2 times a week for several weeks in the 1990s. I have always said that I am not the same person I was before these “treatments”. Much of my children’s childhood I cannot remember. Also many holidays that I have memories of are just repeating what my family has told me. I don’t have my own memories. I am very angry that this was done to me.

Static-Electricity "and the ashes will be blown away from the tops of their heads. It is edict! It is writ!"

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Welcome to the ECT survivors website.

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  • Don’t swallow everything you’re told as the truth May 22, 2019
  • Failure to speak out against ECT May 17, 2019
  • Family Secrets May 14, 2019
  • Stop Shocking and Torturing Women – Mad in America May 13, 2019
  • Lou Reed: That Which Does Not Kill Us Can Radicalize Us – Mad in America May 6, 2019
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ECT Justice was created to help advocate for ECT survivors and their families and to gather and disseminate information about known risks of ECT.  If you are an ECT survivor suffering from post-ECT cognitive deficiencies, please know you are not alone.  By sharing your issues, we are able to continue our efforts toward helping ensure that appropriate warnings of the potential risk of permanent injury gets provided to anyone considering ECT. Together we can make a difference.

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