Know your human rights | British Institute for Human Rights

1. What is the issue/decision?

This flowchart will help you to decide whether an issue with your care or treatment is to do with human rights.

Please describe your experience using your own words. Don’t worry about getting it right or wrong.

At the end of the flowchart you will get a summary of what you have written and the boxes you have ticked.

What happened, when and where?

Be clear about what has happened.

Be clear about what you want to say has been done wrong.

Tick all that apply:

It is the way I have been treated It is a policy that affects me It is a policy that affects other people too

How has the decision affected you? Think about your personal characteristics and circumstances (e.g. are you a man or a woman, your age, your living situation etc.)

How has this decision made your life worse?

If other people are affected can you describe how?

3. Who has made the decision?

Public authorities, like health and social care workers, have a legal duty to protect your rights.

Private companies and charities who are paid by the government to provide a service have a legal duty to protect your rights.

Sometimes other people try to restrict your rights, like family members or neighbours. They don’t have a legal duty to protect your rights. But if you tell a public official, like a police officer or a social worker, they must take steps to protect you.

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Remember, this duty on public authorities means that they must:

Respect your rights. This means not interfering with your rights, unless they have followed the correct process for doing this.

Protect your rights. This means taking action to protect your human rights in certain circumstances. This can include protecting you if you are at risk of serious harm.

Fulfil you rights. This means taking steps to strengthen access to and realisation of human rights. This can include having systems in place to prevent or investigate human rights abuses.

Select one:

A public official
somebody working for the government, like a social worker, doctor, or nurse Someone working for a private company or charity that is paid by the government to provide a service
e.g. a care worker in a care home run by a charity A private individual
e.g. a family member, a friend

4. Does the decision put your life at risk?

If your life is at risk you should call 999 immediately.

If the decision places your life at risk you should notify a public official straight away, they have a duty to protect you.

If your life is at risk from another person, for example a family member, or someone else, you should tell a public official straight away, they have a duty to protect you.

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Remember, this duty on public authorities means that they must:

Respect your rights. This means not interfering with your rights, unless they have followed the correct process for doing this.

Protect your rights. This means taking action to protect your human rights in certain circumstances. This can include protecting you if you are at risk of serious harm.

Fulfil you rights. This means taking steps to strengthen access to and realisation of human rights. This can include having systems in place to prevent or investigate human rights abuses.

Select one:

Yes, my life is at risk No, the decision does not put my life at risk

5. Is your right to be free from inhuman and degrading treatment at risk?

This right is to stop you being abused or neglected.

It is an 'absolute' right. This means that it must always happen and no one can restrict this right.

For something to be considered inhuman or degrading, the treatment has to be very severe. You will need to show that what has been done to you is very serious.

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Treatment is considered inhuman when it causes intense physical or mental suffering.

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Treatment is considered degrading when it makes a person feel fear, anguish and inferiority capable of humiliating them.

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The treatment must have a serious impact on your physical or mental health. Things like your age, gender and personal circumstances, e.g. a mental health condition are all taken into account in assessment whether treatment is inhuman and degrading.

Select one:

Yes, my right to be free from inhuman and degrading treatment is at risk. No, my right to be free from inhuman and degrading treatment is not at risk.

6. Is the right to liberty involved?

Being detained means being kept somewhere and being stopped from leaving.

This might not be against the law if there is a good reason.

There are some rules that public officials must follow if they want to detain you.

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Your right to liberty can be limited where necessary:

For example:

If you have been detailed under the Mental Health Act. This can only be used if:

You have a recognised ‘mental disorder’.

AND

Your detention is necessary to keep you or other people safe.

The authority detaining you would need to be able to prove this.

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Authorities must make sure that if they want to restrict your liberty, you must be allowed to challenge this decision by going to a court or tribunal as quickly as possible.

You (or someone representing you) should also be able to tell your side of the story, and see any evidence concerning the decision to restrict your liberty.

Select one:

Yes, my right to liberty is involved No, my right to liberty is not involved

Tick all that apply

Can you challenge or appeal the decision? Can you tell your side of the story? Can you see all relevant documents about you? Has the decision taken place in a reasonable amount of time? I cannot do any of the above

7. Is the decision interfering with your right to respect for private and family life, home and correspondence?

An important part of this right is making sure that your choices are respected. This right will be relevant to your life in lots of way.

There are four parts to this right:

The right to respect for private life
The right to respect for family life
The right to respect for home
The right to respect for correspondence

This right is a 'non-absolute' right. This means that public officials can interfere with this right to keep you and others safe.

REMEMBER, the decision must be:

Lawful (the public official must follow the law)
Legitimate (the public official must have a good reason to make the decision that they did)
Proportionate – (the response from the public official must be the least restrictive in the circumstances. Consider whether there are less intrusive ways that something could be done).

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Some examples of what this protects:

Your private information. This includes keeping your personal information confidential.

You having control over your own body and life.

You being asked about decisions about your care and treatment. This is sometimes called having autonomy. This also includes agreeing or consenting to medical treatment (except if you are detained under the Mental Health Act and the hospital can show is a ‘medical necessity’ for the treatment).

Your wellbeing, which means being free from abuse or neglect.

You being part of your community, if want to

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Some examples of what this protects:

Making friends, including finding a partner and having a family.

Keeping in touch with your family.

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This is not a right to housing, but a right to respect for the home that you already have.

Some examples of what this protects:

Living in a place you call home. This is could be a place where you have lived a while and have friends there, like a care home or hospital ward.

Being removed from somewhere you live to receive health or care when you’ve been promised it is your ‘home for life’, for example, if your care home is being closed.

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Some examples of what this protects:

Being able to keep in touch with people (including by letter, email etc.)

Keeping correspondence private (these are things like letters and emails).

Select one:

Yes, the decision is interfering with my right to respect for private and family life, home, and correspondence. No, my right to respect for private and family life has not been interfered with

Tick all that apply

Is the interference lawful? (did the public official follow the law) Is the interference legitimate? (does the public official have a good reason?) Is the interference proportionate? (are you being treated fairly?) None of the above apply

Using my
human rights

Is my issue about human rights?

1. What is the issue/decision?

2. Who has it affected and how?

3. Who has made the decision?

4. Does the decision put your life at risk?

5. Is your right to be free from inhuman and degrading treatment at risk?

6. Is the right to liberty involved?

7. Is the decision interfering with your right to respect for private and family life, home and correspondence?

Key

Using myhuman rights

Is my issue about human rights?

1. What is the issue/decision?

2. Who has it affected and how?

3. Who has made the decision?

4. Does the decision put your life at risk?

5. Is your right to be free from inhuman and degrading treatment at risk?

6. Is the right to liberty involved?

7. Is the decision interfering with your right to respect for private and family life, home and correspondence?

Key

Using my
human rights