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Safeguarding Adults in Sport

Safeguarding Adults in Sport. The legislative context for safeguarding adults Alison Brammer. Overview of law Ensuring good practice within sport Taking appropriate action - Recognising and responding to abuse. The Legal Framework. No single statute Complexity of definitions

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Safeguarding Adults in Sport

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  1. Safeguarding Adults in Sport The legislative context for safeguarding adults Alison Brammer

  2. Overview of law • Ensuring good practice within sport • Taking appropriate action - Recognising and responding to abuse

  3. The Legal Framework • No single statute • Complexity of definitions • Developing knowledge base • No specific offence of adult abuse • ‘Imaginative’ use of law – depending on type of abuse, circumstances and location, objective

  4. ‘No Secrets’ (2000) ‘Abuse is a violation of an individual’s human and civil rights by any other person or persons. Abuse may consist of a single or repeated acts. It may be physical, verbal, or psychological, it may be an act of neglect or an omission to act, or it may occur when a vulnerable person is persuaded to enter into a financial or sexual transaction to which s/he has not consented, or cannot consent. Abuse can occur in any relationship and ,may result in significant harm to, or exploitation of, the person.

  5. Categories of Abuse • Physical, Sexual, Psychological, Financial, Neglect, Discriminatory • (Institutional abuse) • Context and perpetrator – various (No Secrets, 2000) ‘Any or all of these types of abuse may be perpetrated as the result of deliberate intent, negligence or ignorance’ (2.7) • ?? Self – neglect, Self-harm, Hate crime, Domestic abuse, Forced marriage, Medication

  6. Key elements • ‘agencies primary aim should be to prevent abuse where possible but, if the preventive strategy fails, agencies should ensure that robust procedures are in place for dealing with incidents of abuse’ (1.2) • Inter-agency policy • Principles • Procedures for responding in individual cases

  7. No Secrets and the law • Action might be primarily supportive or therapeutic or it might involve the application of sanctions, suspension, regulatory activity or criminal prosecution, disciplinary action or de-registration from a professional body. Remember, vulnerable adults who are victims, like any other victims, have a right to see justice. (6.4) • ‘ensure that the law and statutory requirements are known and used appropriately so that vulnerable adults receive the protection of the law and access to the judicial process’ (4.3)

  8. Law reform since ‘No Secrets’ Carers and Disabled Children Act 2000 Care Standards Act 2000 Sexual Offences Act 2003 Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act 2004 Freedom of Information Act 2000 Gender Recognition Act 2004 Civil Partnership Act 2004 Domestic Violence Crime and Victims Act 2004 Mental Capacity Act 2005 Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 Mental Health Act 2007 Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007 Health & Social Care Act 2008 Equality Act 2010

  9. Legal Knowledge • Adult social care law -Law Commission 2011 • Safeguarding – Re A [2010] LA responsibilities, ‘In contrast to child care law, adult social care….has developed piecemeal …it remains a confusing patchwork of conflicting statutes..it is characterised by sheer volume of legislation with much overlap and duplication. It is noted for its baffling and tortuous complexity …’

  10. Support • No Secrets – prevention linked to provision of services • Fair Access to Care Services – critical & substantial level of need • Personalisation – personal assistants • Carers • Law Commission review Care and Support Bill Well-being Personal budgets Duty to make enquiries Statutory safeguarding adults boards Safeguarding Adults Reviews

  11. Criminal law • ‘Some instances of abuse will constitute a criminal offence. In this respect vulnerable adults are entitled to the protection of law in the same way as any other member of the public. Examples of actions which may constitute criminal offences are assault, whether physical or psychological, sexual assault and rape, theft, fraud or other forms of financial exploitation, and certain forms of discrimination, whether on racial or gender grounds…..Criminal investigation by the police takes priority over all other lines of enquiry.’ (NS 2.8)

  12. Criminal Law • Sexual Offences Act 2003, Offences Against the Person Act 1861, Theft Act 1968 • Protection from Harassment Act 1997 • Domestic Violence crime and Victims act 2004 – ‘causing or allowing the death of a child or vulnerable adult’ • Mental Capacity Act 2005 -Ill treatment and neglect

  13. Mental Capacity Act 2005 Principles • Assumed capacity • Practicable steps to assist decision-making • Unwise decisions does not mean incapacity • Best interests (s.4) • Least restrictive option Capacity issue and time specific Care or treatment, proportionate restraint New professional roles and Court of Protection New mechanisms for delegated decision making Ill treatment or wilful neglect

  14. Human Rights responsibilities • Ss 6 & 7 public authority must not act incompatibly with the Convention articles • Local authorities, NHS, police, courts, CQC, Functions of a public nature e.g. independent hospital, R (A) v Partnerships in Care Ltd [2002] EWHC 529, Care homes – YL v Birmingham CC [2007] UKHL 27, Health & Social Care Act 2008

  15. Human Rights Act 1998 • ZH v Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis [2012] EWHC 604 (QB) • A 16 year old boy with severe autism and epilepsy was taken swimming and refused to move from the poolside. His carers were unable to move him with distraction techniques. Police attended and were informed of his autism. When one of them touched the boy he jumped into the pool. He was lifted, struggling, out of the pool and the police restrained him to with handcuffs and leg restraints. He was then placed in a cage in the police van. • Human rights claims under articles 3, 5 and 8 were successful. Damages were awarded. The court noted that, ‘The case highlights the need for there to be an awareness of the disability of autism within the public services’.

  16. Standard of Professional practice‘Duty of Care’ ABB v Milton Keynes Council [2011] EWHC 2745 (QB) • ‘A social worker’s duty in common with other professionals, is to exercise reasonable skill and care …..will not be negligent if she acts in accordance with practice accepted as proper, by a responsible body of social work opinion, even though another social worker might adopt a different practice.’

  17. Good Practice • Good employment practice • Training and disciplinary procedures • Recruitment strategies – vetting and barring • Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 • Clear lines of responsibility • Whistleblowing policies • Human Rights compliant

  18. Recognising and Responding • Listen to concerns • Confidentiality • Make a written record – what was said, observations, response • Referral based on most accurate information available • Updates and outcomes

  19. Thank you Alison Brammer Director: MA Safeguarding Adults: Law, Policy & Practice a.k.brammer@keele.ac.uk

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