Does the young person consent to you sharing information with others?
Young people have a legal right to have their views taken into consideration in any decision you’re making about them, including decisions about whether or not information should be shared with others and, if so, with whom and by whom.
Very rarely there will be exceptions to this. The risk to the young person may be so clear, serious and immediate that you have decided you must share information with others, whether the young person agrees or not. You should never ask the young person to consent to sharing information more widely if you have already decided you are going to do so even if the young person withholds consent. Any such “consultation” would be tokenistic and, therefore unethical.
In any such case (and in cases where you have consulted with the young person and have become convinced that a referral is necessary) you should inform them that you will be sharing information and explain why. You should be clear whom you intend sharing information with. The young person should be offered the opportunity to have involvement in the information-sharing process if they wish (see below).
In seeking consent you should be working with the young person at every stage, not imposing your view on him or her. You and the young person should both be clear about:
Why you want to share information
Well, obviously, because you are concerned for their safety. You should be clear with the young person about why you are concerned and listen carefully to any comments they have to make about your concerns. Try to find out if the young person is also concerned about the situation.
The information you and the young person want to share
Be clear what information you want to share and ask the young person what information they think it would be useful to share. Be clear about whether you would have to name names, or whether information will only be shared on an anonymous basis. If the former: whose names – the young person, parents, siblings, sexual partners, others? Listen carefully to any comments they may have.
Who you and the young person want to share information with.
There will be a vast difference, from the young person’s point of view, between sharing information with a health colleague or a member of your own team and sharing information with their parents or the police. Be clear about who you want to share information with. Listen carefully to the young person’s views about each of the people you want to share information with. They may be happy to share information with some, not with others.
What you (or others) will/may do with the information that’s been shared.
Will the information be kept on the records of your own or another organisation, for example? Will it lead to a police investigation? Will it be shared on a wider basis? Listen to the young person’s views and make sure you can answer (or find the answer to) any questions he or she may have.
What the consequences for the young people, positive or negative, could be.
What support might you be able to get for the young person if information is shared? What other benefits would there be for the young person? Would the young person be disadvantaged in any way, for example by an unwanted police investigation or by their parents discovering they’re sexually active? Ask the young person what he or she thinks the consequences of sharing information might be.
Who will share the information.
If the young person consents to information being shared, (s)he may want (and should be encouraged) to play an active role in discussing the situation with others. You need to establish the extent of responsibility the young person seeks:
- to share the information themselves, without your involvement
- to take the lead in sharing information, with you present for support
- for you to take the lead but in his/her presence
- for you to share the information without the young person being present.
Where you and the young person have agreed to share information with a number of different people, the young person may want different levels of involvement in relation to different people.