Community Treatment Orders: Concerns for women from a relational autonomy perspective

What are the moral and social implications for women that arise from the use of Community Treatment Orders (CTOs)? A relational autonomy approach offers important insights as to the impact of CTOs upon women. Relational approaches emphasize that an individual's background is influential to one's sense of 'self' and thus impact upon that individual's decision-making. The situation of women as primary caregivers for children and other family members raises several concerns: will CTOs be available to women experiencing mental illness?; how could a woman's role as caregiver impact on her decision to comply with a CTO?; and whether a woman who is a caregiver will accept responsibility for a family member subject to a CTO. I contend that CTOs have significant implications for women and it is only by identifying those implications that governments can consider ways to address those concerns in the on-going use of CTOs.