Women’s Mental Health

Patricia Gibson Excerpts

Thursday 3rd October 2019 Commons Chamber

[Patricia Gibson (North Ayrshire and Arran) (SNP)]

I thank the hon. Member for Bath (Wera Hobhouse) for bringing forward this important debate about women’s mental health.

As the hon. Member for Southend West (Sir David Amess) and the right hon. Member for North Durham (Mr Jones) indicated, the prevalence of poor mental ill health among women is similar to that among men, but there is undoubtedly a marked gender difference in the rates for different types of mental illness: as we have heard, women are more likely than men to experience anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and eating disorders, and we know that young women and girls are at more risk of self-harm. Recently, in my constituency, I had the privilege of visiting a mental health charity called Penumbra, which is in Ardrossan. It supports young people living with self-harm, as well as a range of other mental health challenges.

Reports published recently by organisations such as the Women’s Mental Health Taskforce have highlighted the fact that particular social inequalities faced by women, such as having greater caring responsibilities and sexual and/or domestic abuse, can have a negative impact on their mental health. Most commonly linked to poor mental health is the issue of living in poverty. In view of those facts, it is helpful and informative to debate mental health challenges faced by women in particular.

As the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton) reminded us, there was a time, not so long ago, when poor mental health was not really talked about, but now we are more enlightened. There is a recognition that our mental health is as important as our physical health and that, when we face challenges with mental health, it is nothing to be ashamed of. It is therefore right and fitting for the subject to be debated in the House. Our concern with mental health ought not to be a party political matter. We are all concerned about it. Resourcing the illness and safeguarding those who are at risk matters a great deal.

Let me now say a few words about measures that we are taking in Scotland to try to deal with this problem, although whatever action is taken, it will never be enough to provide the treatment and support that women who suffer from poor mental health—and, indeed, anyone who suffers from poor mental health—need and deserve.

In Scotland, as in every other nation, we face challenges relating to mental health provision. I am pleased that, in the face of those challenges, the Scottish Government were the first Government in the United Kingdom to have a ministerial post dedicated to mental health, I am also pleased that they invested £1 billion in mental health in 2017-18, and that mental health spending increased by 3.2% over that period. With some innovation, I think, they have outlined their vision for approaching women’s mental health in their “Mental Health Strategy 2017-2027”, adopting a rights-based approach to mental health which realises the rights of women as outlined in the United Nations convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women.

The Scottish Government’s “Programme for Government,” published only a couple of weeks ago, pledged to improve existing mental health support for women throughout Scotland, including perinatal support, and support for women who need more specialist help and those with the most severe illness. In terms of pounds and pence, that commitment was part of a programme budget for mental health increasing by £15.3 million, from £70.2 million last year to £85.5 million—an increase of nearly 22%. Of course, in the face of what some people may call a poor mental health epidemic, there is always a need for more resources, and it is the challenge of all Governments to work to meet those demands.

I want to say a word or two about the particular mental health challenges that can affect new mothers. They have been mentioned by a number of Members today, including the hon. Member for Bath, the hon. Member for Lewisham West and Penge (Ellie Reeves) and the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham. New mothers and expectant mothers are an “at risk” group when it comes to poor mental health, and I am pleased that the First Minister of Scotland has given a commitment to spend £50 million on improving access to mental health services for them.

Of course treating mental health and providing support services for women who live with, or are at risk of developing, poor mental health is important, but it is also important that we all understand how much more can be done to safeguard women’s mental health in the first place. We obviously need a more joined-up approach. In Scotland, child and adolescent mental health services are working with schools, which is very important, but we should seek to deliver better training for teachers as well as GPs—who were mentioned by the hon. Member for Thurrock (Jackie Doyle-Price)—to deal with, and identify more confidently, poor mental health in children. We can always do better in that regard, as well as, of course, not forgetting to address the mental health of the GPs and teachers who are in the front line.

It is also important and necessary to mention—and it would be remiss of me not to do so—the effect of austerity measures on women and their mental health. We know that they are most affected by such measures, because much research by, for example, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation bears that out. Psychologists Against Austerity has made clear that cuts to public services are directly linked to mental health problems, and that women living in poverty are more likely to suffer post-natal depression. That finding was backed up by a study in The Lancet, which found that poverty increased maternal depression.

Actually, that should not surprise us. Poverty can be very isolating. If people are living in poverty, they have few choices about how to spend their time. They cannot always afford to meet up with friends, or afford the bus services that provide access to local services and amenities. They cannot simply leave their home for a change of scene, as they may struggle to visit the local cafe. All around, the world shrinks when living in poverty. Sometimes finances are so desperate that the world shrinks to simply their own four walls, and that sense of isolation can form a direct bridge into poor mental health. As the hon. Member for Thurrock set out, that overlaps with conditions such as autism, which often lead to poor mental health, as a sense of isolation of any kind has a significant impact on our mental health.

We know that austerity disproportionately affects women and, sadly, we also know that single household payments as the default for universal credit payments can exacerbate that isolation and loss of financial control. The loss of financial control is a common element in abusive relationships. I am proud that my former colleague, the former MP for the constituency of Banff and Buchan, Eilidh Whiteford, brought forward a private Member’s Bill to ratify the Istanbul convention. Sadly, the convention has not yet been ratified by the UK Government, which is deeply disappointing.

When we know that universal credit has been implemented in ways that negatively impact claimants’ mental health, we should seek to do something about it, as the hon. Member for Bath has pointed out. We know that single parents, 90% of whom are women, are more than twice as likely as any other group to experience persistent poverty. There are obvious things we can do to better safeguard the mental health of those women. As the right hon. Member for North Durham has said, that could actually save money in the end.

I sincerely hope that the Minister will be persuaded, in the light of the debate today, to have conversations, which may not always be easy, across Government Departments about how women’s mental health—and, indeed, mental health in general—can be better supported. This is not just about us thinking about resources to treat poor mental health, important though that is. It is also about giving more thought, more effort and more understanding to what is needed. It is about determining what factors lead to poor mental health and dealing with them, so that ultimately we see fewer people, fewer women, needing treatment for poor mental health, which affects far too many of our constituents. Dealing with the underlying causes of poor mental health is not just about what we can afford to do; it is about what we can afford to leave undone.