On 2 July 2026, members of the Prisons, Drugs and Mental Health (PDMH) project participated in the roundtable Colonial Confinement and the Shaping of Public Perceptions of Mental Health at the Society for the Social History of Medicine (SSHM) Conference in Leeds. The session brought together researchers from the University of Leicester and partners in Mauritius to explore how colonial systems of confinement shaped public understandings of mental illness across the Caribbean and Indian Ocean worlds. Drawing on archival research, the roundtable examined the historical overlap between punishment and psychiatric care and considered how colonial practices contributed to enduring stigma surrounding mental health and access to care. The discussion highlighted the lasting impact of these histories on contemporary debates about imprisonment, wellbeing, and social inclusion.
