Promoting service user inclusion in risk assessment and management: a pilot project developing a human rights‐based approach

Abstract

Accessible summary When people are risk assessed, they are sometimes denied their human rights. In this paper, we say that if we balance the human rights of service users,1 their carers and people in their community we can manage risk much better. This means that people who use services are involved in their own risk assessments. It also means people’s human rights are looked at in the way they are supported. SummaryRecent reports highlight the extent to which many people with learning disabilities are not afforded access to their basic human rights. In addition, traditional approaches to risk management often focus on professional assessments of risks and challenging behaviour and exclude service user perspectives. In this paper, we outline what we believe to be the key principles of a human rights‐based approach (HRBA) to risk assessment and management. We argue that if we balance the human rights of service users, their carers and members of their communities, we can, in effect, manage risk within a much more positive paradigm. A HRBA to risk emphasises service user inclusion, recognises the impact of diverse identities on risk behaviours and makes the human rights in risk management decisions explicit. We believe a human rights approach offer a coherent unifying framework for much current best practice; prompting all involved to design proactive, proportional risk management strategies which balance the rights involved in the person’s risky behaviours with the rights involved in the management strategy. The tools we have developed within our service, structuring a HRBA to risk assessment and management, are briefly presented. Case examples are included to illustrate key points.