This was published 7 years ago
Campaigner Barbara Hocking sought a better life for the mentally ill
By Paul Morgan
Barbara Hocking was one of Australia's leading advocates for people affected by mental illness. Her leadership and achievements leave a lasting legacy in how people living with mental illness and their families are treated and regarded.
As the first full-time executive director of SANE Australia (1995-2012), she led campaigning and advocacy to argue that those affected by mental illness are not just clinical "cases for treatment", but human beings with the same rights as all of us to inclusion in society – through access to housing, employment, social support and freedom from stigma and discrimination.
Barbara Hocking, mental health advocate.
Barbara fought consistently for "a better life" for people affected by mental illness – a task which became the mission of SANE Australia, and has been adopted by the National Mental Health Commission.
Barbara's campaigning and advocacy was widely respected in the mental health sector. In the words of one admirer, she was "a calm and fierce warrior". During her leadership, SANE developed a range of initiatives which have had a significant influence on mainstream mental health policy and practice.
The pioneering SANE Helpline, online services and information resources empowered a generation of Australians affected by mental illness to understand their condition and help themselves as well as access support. SANE's research spurred action in a whole range of areas – the poor physical health of people severely affected by mental illness; their tragically high suicide rates; the lack of services when they are aged; employment; and support for families.
The StigmaWatch program to tackle media prejudice against the mentally ill won international recognition, and led to comprehensive education of journalists and scriptwriters on this topic.
Barbara was a member of the Australian Suicide Prevention Advisory Committee, sat on the National Media and Mental Health Working Group and was presented with a Special Award for Exceptional Contribution to Mental Health Services at the Mental Health Services Conference of Australia and New Zealand in 2012. In 2008, she was awarded a Medal in the Order of Australia for her contribution to advocacy and public awareness of mental health. As well as being a Director of SANE Australia, she also served on the Board of Mental Health Australia and RUOK.
Barbara Hocking was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. She studied zoology and education at Queen's University before joining Volunteer Service Overseas to teach for some years in Papua New Guinea.
Following her marriage in 1974 to Dr Bruce Hocking, she moved to Melbourne where she worked in the Victorian Health Department before joining Dr Margaret Leggatt at the recently-founded SANE Australia (then known as Schizophrenia Australia Foundation) in 1989. In 1995, she was appointed executive director, a post she held until retirement in 2012.
She subsequently volunteered in the Office of the Public Advocate's Community Visitors program to visit mental health facilities, to ensure residents are treated with dignity and respect.
She is survived by her husband Bruce, children Patrick and Clare and grandchildren Tobias, Poppy, Jasmine and Rory.
Dr Paul Morgan was deputy director of SANE Australia, 1995-2015.