The Right to Respect of Dignity Protection of the dignity of the person against all forms of subservience and degradation constitutes a principle with constitutional value 118. Article L. 3211-3 of the Public Health Code recalls that it is incumbent upon authorities and health professionals, in the fulfilment of their duties and the exercise of their respective roles, to make sure that the dignity of persons hospitalised without their consent is respected under all circumstances. Clothing The right to dignity presupposes being able to dress in a satisfactory manner and in accordance with one’s own dress code. In numerous hospitals visited, the patients are maintained in pyjamas, in most cases those supplied by the institution, manifestly without taking the dignity of the persons and the de-personalising impact of this dress into account. As observed in one institution in the Paris region, although an observation period (referred to as the “pyjama period”) fixed by the psychiatrist, in accordance with the patient’s state, is understandable, its maintenance throughout the period of hospitalisation constitutes a serious violation of dignity. This is the case in certain units of psychiatric institutions in the Rhône-Alpes region, which impose the wearing of pyjamas, even in the corridors of the hospital and the cafeteria. According to the remarks made to the inspectors, this is intended to prevent running away and to enable patients leaving the hospital without authorisation to be found more rapidly. In one hospital in the South West of France, certain doctors justify putting patients in pyjamas by the fact that they can thus remind patients that they are receiving treatment in a hospital; others pointed out that pyjamas enabled them to distinguish patients from visitors and persons working in the hospital. Finally, the inspectors also ascertained the use of pyjamas in certain units as a means of punishing “unruly” patients. Most patients interviewed by the CGLPL said that they felt these pyjamas to be a humiliation. Moreover, the inspectors ascertained particularly shameful situations, where the sizes of pyjamas supplied by the institutions are unsuitable for stout or short people. The wearing of pyjamas should be strictly proportionate to the required need for treatment. When this practice is not appropriate to the patient’s state, it constitutes a treatment that may be described as degrading. The CGLPL considers that the wearing of pyjamas is only justified for a short period after committal and during periods in which patients are placed in seclusion rooms. Dress being an essential element of the psychological well-being of any individual, special attention should be paid to this question in units catering for persons hospitalised without consent. In one UMD visited, it was observed that tracksuits were the only clothes worn by patients; in another, clothes on which the name of the institution was shown were systematically used, as well as hospital underwear. Moreover, it was observed that, when patients do not receive any visits and do not have any spare linen, the clothes lent or given to them by the institution are often worn out and ill-assorted. Yet, hospitalised persons usually have a little money and might therefore wish to buy clothes in order to be able to dress decently and according to their choice. The CGLPL recommends that, in the absence of visits, the purchase of clothes should be systematically proposed to persons that have financial resources. 118 Conseil constitutionnel, Décision no. 93-343/344 DC of 27th July 1994. 133