Rights and responsibilities

• Parents have a right of custody until a young person is 16, but this right can only be exercised if it promotes the young person’s interests
• There is no law requiring parental consent before advice/treatment is given to a young person and practitioners are not required to inform parents
• It is preferable for young people to have parental/carer support and the value of this should be discussed, recognising that in certain circumstances this may not be in the interest of the child

The law must protect young people from abuse, but it should not be an obstacle to their ability to get help and advice when they need it. Where young people are accessing sexual health services, it is crucial that professionals do not confuse child protection issues with the normal sexual development of young people. In the case of doubt advice should always be sought by the local NHS Child Protection Advisor.

Health care workers should:-

• Aim to give the young person the knowledge and skills to be responsible for their own sexual health
• Aim to establish trust between the young person and the clinician to ensure the best care. The clinician is in a privileged position to talk about sex and sexuality, relationships and other relevant issues where there may be the opportunity for harm reduction (for example eating disorders, deliberate self-harm and drug and alcohol abuse)
• Positively promote the young person’s sense of worth and self-esteem, their health and development, so that they are able to make informed decisions
• Facilitate harm minimisation through education and support, medical care including provision of emergency and ongoing contraception, pregnancy advice, and the testing and treatment of sexually transmitted infections
• To recognise and facilitate timely information sharing with appropriate partners when a young person is at risk of harm
• Encourage the young person to speak to their parents/carer where it is safe to do so
• Young people are exposed to mixed messages about human sexuality and behaviour, which can be detrimental to their wellbeing. This may result in vulnerability to exploitation and abuse within sexual relationships
• Give young people support to recognise the signs of exploitation, oppression, physical and emotional harm

Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC) is the Scottish Government's approach to supporting children and young people.

GIRFEC should underpin all practice with children and young people. It is designed to be a uniform approach for all professionals working with children, young people and their families who need extra support. It ensures that services hold children and their families at the heart of decision making and that agencies work together across service boundaries. Sexual health services should have knowledge of this approach and work towards its core components, values and principles.

All young people have a named person until they are 18 (or later if still at school). That named person is the first point of contact for a child or their families who have concerns or need extra support. Once a concern has been brought to their attention, the ‘Named Person’ – who will be the first point of contact for the child and their family, will take action, help, or arrange for the right help in order to promote, support, and safeguard the child’s development and wellbeing.

GIRFEC also provides a framework for assessing children and young people with 8 wellbeing indicators (SHANARI) – Safe, Healthy, Achieving, Nurtured, Active, Responsible, Respected and Included.  This framework can be useful when recording significant events, observations and concerns to share with other professionals especially in more vulnerable young people.

Young people have the right to request a copy of their personal data under both the Data Protection Act 1998 and General Data Protection Regulation 2018 . Young people can access their records by requesting a copy in writing. Both pieces of legislation state that parents are not permitted to see a young person’s health record unless the young person has given consent or the young person is deemed too young to understand how to make a request. Young people have the same rights as adults over their personal data and can  access their records by requesting access in writing. 

For young people who have concerns about how information has been shared or wish to complain about a “breach in their confidentiality” the Scottish Child Law Centre can provide relevant advice and information.

• For advice email: advice@sclc.org.uk
• Admin line: 0131 668 4400