Page 60 - Reduction of coercive measures
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                                Chapter 3
2015/ 16, 32399, No. 25). According to Steen, de Schipper, and Frederiks (2016), the legislator consciously opted for a broad definition of involuntary care, thus seeking to end the discussion of what does and does not constitute a restriction on freedom. The question remains, however, as to whether the current definition actually achieves its aim. According to the definition, care is involuntary only if resisted by the client or his representative, whereas the legislator acknowledges that resistance by people with an intellectual disability is not always evident. Research (De Boer et al., 2018) has also shown that even carers who know their clients well can find it difficult to recognise and interpret behavioural and other signals of possible resistance. As well as obvious externalised behaviour, such as saying something (verbal resistance) or demonstrating aggression (active resistance), it is also possible for internalised behaviour, such as avoidance or fear, to constitute passive expressions of resistance.
Due to a recent case in the UK (the case P v Cheshire West and Chester Council) the scope of deprivation of liberty is interpreted much more broadly. In this case the Supreme Court identified three new elements or factors which are not relevant to the definition of deprivation of liberty: whether the client agrees or disagrees with the detention, the purpose of the detention, and the extent to which it enables the client to live what might be considered a relatively normal life (The Law Society, 2015). Consequently, many elderly and people with a mental disorder or intellectual disability in the UK seem to need the protection of the DOLS.
The Dutch legislator has opened the door a little bit, in terms of broadening the definition of coercive measures. He stipulates various forms of care that have to meet the standards applying to involuntary care even if there is no resistance, but where the client is legally incapacitated and the representative gives consent. These forms of care comprise the administering of medication that influences the client’s behaviour or freedom of movement and is not administered in accordance with the applicable professional guidelines, measures that result in the client’s freedom being restricted for any period of time, and situations where a person may be locked in a room. Although these measures do not need to be reported, their provision
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