Adult protection Information leaflet cover

Information for adults at risk

Someone is causing me harm.
What help can I get?

Throughout Scotland, adults are at risk from all kinds of harm. Thankfully, there's now a new law to help and support people who find it hard to protect themselves. This is called the Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007.

You might be more at risk of being harmed because you:

have a mental illness or form of dementia;
are an older person (over 65 years old);
have a physical disability;
are frail;
have a learning disability;
have sight problems or are blind; or
have hearing problems or are deaf.

Everybody has the right to feel safe. The law makes sure that people tell someone if they think someone is treating you badly. The law says it is everybody's job to share information if they are worried about someone being harmed. It is everybody's job to help you if you are at risk of harm.

Someone might be:

hurting you;
not giving you food or medication that you need;
taking your money;
touching you in ways you do not like;
making you have sex when you do not want to;
frightening you; or
making you unhappy in other ways.

You do not have to put up with this behaviour from anyone.

If someone is causing you harm, you do not have to put up with it. To get help, phone one of the numbers below.

Social Work and Health
Phone ACCESSLine: 08452 777 778
(Monday to Friday from 8.45am to 5pm)
Phone the Out of Hours Social Work Service:
01382 307964 (after 5pm and before 8.45am,
at weekends and on public holidays)
Or, phone Tayside Police on 0300 111 2222.

If I ask for help what will happen?

We will ask you what you would like to happen next. There are a number of things we can do to help, such as the following.

We can offer you extra support to help keep you safe.
We can hold a meeting called an 'adult protection case conference', to plan what support you need to keep you safe.
If you have been seriously harmed, the police could charge the person who has harmed you with an offence.
If you are at risk of being seriously harmed, we can take action to stop the person who has harmed you from seeing you.
If you are at risk of being seriously harmed, we can find you somewhere safe to stay while we sort things out to make you safe.
We will make sure you have the treatment you need if you have an injury or illness.

Remember - You have a right to be safe from harm.