SCIE Practice guide 09: Dignity in care

Promoting dignity within the law: Relevant articles in the Convention of the Human Rights Act

Article 10: the right to freedom of expression

Everyone has the right to hold opinions and to express their views on their own or in a group. This applies even if these views are unpopular or disturbing.

The Article makes it clear that it is legitimate for the state to impose restrictions on freedom of expression in certain circumstances. These constraints must be prescribed by law and be necessary in a democratic society, in the interests of national security, territorial integrity or public safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, for the protection of the reputation or the rights of others, for preventing the disclosure of information received in confidence, or for maintaining the authority and impartiality of the judiciary.

This Article can cause difficulties because different people have different levels of tolerance. One person may see it as a freedom to express him or herself by listening to loud rock music; another may find the noise intrusive.

Practice points

• Work alongside residents and their advocates to develop a policy on freedom of expression and keep the policy under review.
• It is appropriate to allow people to display posters, for example, in their own room that may not be tolerated within communal areas.

Practice example

Some of the staff working in a group home are very upset by anti-abortion publicity material to which two of the home’s residents subscribe. The atmosphere of the home is tense. Everyone can see that people have the right to self-expression in theory but it is hard for both groups to manage this in practice. There is no legal answer to this problem, but the manager is likely to have to exercise her skills at people management, and to provide opportunities to listen to everyone who is concerned. She might suggest that the residents make certain rules about what is best for communal areas of the home and what might be best kept in people’s bedrooms.

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