Do we have a mechanism to require people to respect the dignity of others? Do we in fact have a right to dignity?
Frances Butler looks at whether the concept of dignity could be legally enforced
In May, Sir Michael Parkinson became the Government’s dignity in care ambassador. He’s set to go on a national 'dignity tour' of care homes and hospitals. As he puts it: 'people have the right to expect a basic level of humanity and compassion'.
No one would disagree with that but as dignity ambassador what can Parky do about the disgraceful fact that, all too frequently, vulnerable people in care homes are being ill-treated, neglected and abused? Is talking up dignity enough or do we need action as well as words?
Dignity – a sense of self-worth – is inherent to the human condition. Dignity is what makes us feel good about ourselves and gives us self-respect. This is personal dignity but it does not necessarily exist in a vacuum. How much dignity we actually possess may be dependent on how we are treated by others. It is difficult to maintain self-respect in the face of ill-treatment or denigration.
The counterpoint to one’s personal dignity therefore is a recognition of the need to respect other people’s dignity and this has been a long-standing moral value in human society.
The law provides protection in certain situations where people’s dignity has been violated. In extreme cases, such as murder, rape and assault, criminal law bears down on the perpetrator. But many instances of lack of respect for people’s dignity do not reach the threshold of criminal law even though unacceptable exploitation, carelessness and neglect may be involved.
Do we have a mechanism to require people to respect the dignity of others in their dealings with them? Do we in fact have a right to dignity?
The Human Rights Act 1998 guarantees everyone in the UK protection of their human rights, as set out in the European Convention on Human Rights treaty. Essentially, all the legal rights set out there touch on people’s dignity because they concern how individuals are entitled to live their lives without interference from the state.
Certain rights such as the right to life, freedom from degrading treatment, respect for the person and freedom from discrimination are especially protective of human dignity - even though the word 'dignity' is not expressed in them. We can feel confident about this because Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948, on which the European treaty is based, states that 'all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights'.
The Human Rights Act makes public bodies and private providers of public services responsible for respecting people’s human rights. Put another way, this means that hospitals, care homes, schools, prisons, police forces, the armed services and any other institutions that are in a position to trample on people’s dignity, now have a legal duty not to do so.
The simplistic answer therefore is that, since the Human Rights Act came into force in 2000, dignity is no longer just a personal aspiration or a social norm but an enforceable human right. The effect is that the Human Rights Act can be used in cases of ill-treatment and abuse both by requiring the service providers to change their practices and by giving the opportunity to users and their families to say 'you have to treat me properly or else'.
The situation is, however, complicated. Michael Parkinson spoke of people’s 'rights' but not their 'human rights'. Why does he not explicitly refer to the human rights of care home residents and hospital patients if the Human Rights Act is there to back up his dignity campaign? Is it because he doesn’t know that the Act has anything to do with how people are treated in care homes or does he share many people’s sense that bringing in human rights will be counterproductive?
The lack of understanding and poor reputation of the Human Rights Act among the British public and in our national discourse is something that the Equality and Human Rights Commission is concerned about. Its ongoing inquiry is considering this issue and what to do about it.
Another complicating factor is that a legal claim to the right to dignity cannot always be easily resolved. Abuse of vulnerable people in care homes is universally reviled but the right to dignity can be claimed by both sides of such difficult moral issues as abortion and euthanasia.
The eminent jurist Professor David Feldman has questioned the usefulness of dignity as a legal right because he sees it as a 'notion that is culturally dependent and eminently malleable'. It is the judges who are able to take advantage of these deficiencies and Professor Feldman is concerned that a legal right to dignity gives 'too much power to courts to be paternalistic or moralistic'. There’s a risk that the right to dignity will become controversial and unworkable.
There are however several examples where progress has been made in advancing the concept of dignity to provide legal protection to extremely vulnerable people.
The courts have used the legal right to 'respect for the person' to require that severely disabled sisters be given the 'human touch' of manual handling as well as mechanical hoists, which their nurses were using for health and safety reasons but which offended the sisters’ dignity.
It has been used to fine a London borough for failing to re-house a severely disabled woman after social services had assessed her needs. In the case of Leslie Burke, who was suffering from a degenerative terminal disease, the judge made clear that his right to be treated with dignity continued even when he had lost consciousness.
These cases advance our understanding of how the Human Rights Act can affect situations involving people’s dignity by providing ground rules on how people should treat other people.
The idea that we all have a right to basic humanity and compassion is not just wishful thinking - it's a legal right to be claimed and enforced. Yet most of us aren't aware of this. What will it take for dignity to become a usable human right?
Frances Butler is a human rights policy adviser