When healing becomes a human right: Dianova's call to the UN
- therightid
- Oct 23
- 2 min read
There are moments when advocacy moves beyond policy — when it becomes a voice for those who have been silenced. This month, Dianova International brought such a voice to the world stage.
At the United Nations Human Rights Council’s 60th Session, Dianova submitted a powerful statement with a simple but urgent truth:
Addiction and mental health are not just health issues — they are human rights imperatives.
The Story Behind the Statement
For countless women and girls around the world, trauma is not treated — it’s punished. Those seeking help are often met with stigma, neglect, or systems that fail to see their humanity.
Dianova’s message challenges that reality. It insists that recovery, safety, and dignity are not privileges — they are rights.
As Gisela Hansen, Dianova’s International Relations and Advocacy Coordinator, beautifully said:
“Upholding human rights means ensuring that every person — and especially every woman and girl — has access to care, safety, and dignity. Addressing mental health and addiction is not only a matter of health; it is a global commitment to equity, justice, and human rights.”
What They’re Calling For
In their statement, Dianova calls for a transformation in how societies respond to addiction and mental health — one rooted in compassion, inclusion, and accountability. Their appeal includes:
Expanding gender-based, trauma-informed services
Ensuring policies are shaped by women with lived experience
Investing in real, inclusive care that leaves no one behind
This is not just policy advocacy — it’s a vision for systems that heal instead of harm.
Why This Matters
Because when women are excluded from care, when trauma is ignored, and when addiction is criminalized instead of treated, human rights are denied.
But when we listen — truly listen — to those living these realities, we start to rebuild systems on the foundation of dignity and justice.
Be Part of the Change
Dianova’s message is not theirs alone. It belongs to all of us who believe in a world where healing, not punishment, is the response to pain.
So share it.
Talk about it.
Bring it into your circles, your workplaces, your communities.
Because every time we speak up, we move closer to a world where every woman, every person, is seen, supported, and safe.
