Guidance Thirteen - Service Users who choose to remain in an abusive situation
Introduction
If having established a service user has capacity under the Mental Capacity Act (Appendix 11 – Nottinghamshire Mental Capacity Act Policy), and all of the following are true statements, intervention is limited:
- No other vulnerable adult is at risk,
- No children are involved;
- The allegation does not involve a staff member or volunteer;
- There cannot be a prosecution by the police without a complainant.
However, the following checklist explains what actions should be taken to minimise risk to the vulnerable adult:
1. Documentation - In full (see Guidance 20 –Record Keeping).
2. Ensure the service user has someone to listen to them talk about the abuse they are experiencing.
3. Increase the person’s self esteem/belief that they do not deserve to be treated badly.
4. Enable the person to explore options of different ways of living with, decreasing or stopping the abuse.
5. Ensure that the service user has access to information about different options for protecting themselves.
6. Complete a risk assessment and safeguarding plan to cover situations they experienced/are worried about.
7. Assist in enabling the individual to gain protection skills, for example; assertiveness course, assistance with money management.
8. Consider with the individual other sources of support e.g. domestic violence organisations, local or national charities
9. Revisit at regular intervals - An initial rejection of help should not be taken at face value and risks may change over time.
10. Consider the domestic violence policy and procedure.
11. Subject to the consent of the alleged victim and relevant risk assessments, consider the appropriateness of challenging the alleged perpetrator about their behaviour (possibly in partnership with the Police).