New law will protect vulnerable from abuse
03 November 2008
By Ann Ferguson
OLDER people and others who are at risk of harm or mistreatment or who may right now be experiencing it probably don't yet know the significance of new legislation which came into force a few days ago.
They probably don't care that this legislation puts Scotland ahead of the rest of the UK and many other countries around the world. They most likely just want to be treated better and to feel safe.
The Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007 has the capacity to change not just the lives of thousands of victims but how society views the mistreatment of older people and others who are unable to protect themselves from harm.
It requires investigation into allegations of mistreatment. Responding to concerns is for the first time a "must do". It gives powers to local authorities and others and allows them to actually do something to stop older people being treated badly.
It has been mooted that adults who have mental capacity are able to make their own decisions about whether to stay in a threatening or harmful situation but that suggests a lack of understanding of the disempowering affect of abuse, the gradual stripping away of any self-confidence or even a belief that the abuse is the fault of the victim. It has been recognised that many older people put up with mistreatment for many reasons. One of these is pressure from the person harming them – threats of violence, threats to put them in a home, using many forms of bullying.
This new legislation allows intervention in such cases, when all else has failed and when the person experiencing harm is unable to do anything to safeguard themselves.
It is still early days and time alone will test these new measures but a clear message has gone out – it is no longer acceptable in Scotland to mistreat a person just because they are old, or sick or unable to safeguard themselves. There are a lot of people now looking out for them and as of this week they can and will act.
(Ann Ferguson is public affairs manager with Age Concern Scotland)
SOURCE: Scotsman UK
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