Comment: unpacking ‘discriminatory abuse’
| Date | 01 September 2000 |
| Pages | 17-18 |
| Published date | 01 September 2000 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14668203200000019 |
| Author | Hilary Brown |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Sociology |
The Journal of Adult Protection Volume 2 Issue 3 • September 2000 © Pavilion Publishing (Brighton) Limited 17
Discriminatory abuse was added as a distinct
category of abuse relatively late in the steering
group’s work and emphasises how seriously
the government regards abuses which arise
out of racism, sexism or disablist attitudes.
No Secrets defines discriminatory abuse in
the following terms:
‘…including racist, sexist, that based on
a person’s disability, and other forms of
harassment, slurs or similar treatment’.
Many would argue that discrimination forms
a backdrop to all forms of abuse and is a
central casual factor. Any of the other forms
of abuse named in No Secrets might also be
motivated, or aggravated, by discriminatory
attitudes or behaviour. For example, racism
might manifest itself as physical assault or
verbal harassment. Sexism often lies at the
root of sexual harassment and sexual or
domestic violence. Disablist attitudes often
underpin psychologically damaging or negli-
gent ‘care’ regimes. Equal rights are often not
afforded to gay and lesbian service users who
are sometimes prevented from pursuing
relationships of choice in residential and day
settings in breach of their human rights and
civil liberties. Harassment and violence
Comment: unpacking
‘discriminatory abuse’
Hilary Brown
Open University and Social Care
Consultant, Salamons, Canterbury Christ
Church University College
Policy definition
against vulnerable adults on the streets or in
their neighbourhoods may have parallels with
hate crimes against other visible minorities.
All adult client groups covered by the
No Secrets policy are at risk of being denied
treatment which they might otherwise have
received or of being pressured into medical
interventions without full and proper
consent. Judgements about the adequacy
of care, nutrition and access to health care
need to be made against the reference point
of standards applied to all citizens. This
principle challenges less than ‘equivalent’
preventative health care or the routine
rationing of treatment on grounds of age or
disability. The Committee for the Prevention
of Torture of the Council of Europe (CPT)
sets out criteria against which equity in
health care can be evaluated for individuals
who are involuntarily detained, whether
formally in hospitals and prisons or informally
in residential settings. Their standards are
based on the principle of equivalence of
care evidenced through equitable access to
independent, competent professionals with
thorough safeguards around consent and
confidentiality (CPT/Inf/(98)12).1
18th General Report on the CPT’s activities covering the period 1 January to 31 December 1997. European Committee for the
Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT), CPT/Inf (98) 12.
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