VIOLENCE BY PEOPLE WITH MENTAL-ILLNESS - A CONSENSUS STATEMENT BY ADVOCATES AND RESEARCHERS

be public perception that mental illness is strongly linked to violenc e is the most damaging stereotype faced by the mental health community Recently epidemiological research on violence among people with menta l illness has become available for the first time. Concerned that misu se of the new research could exacerbate an already distorted public vi ew, a group of researchers and advocates produced a Consensus Statemen t that both honestly reflects the findings of recent empirical studies and at the same time puts those findings into a non-inflammatory soci al and political context that does not impede the efforts of advocates for people with mental illness.