The BMA has warned MPs against introducing a requirement for GPs to automatically report every case of underage sexual activity, as this would ‘damage’ doctors’ relationships with patients.
The union and its GP committee have raised ‘significant’ concerns about the impact on confidentiality of the Crime and Policing Bill, which would introduce a mandatory duty to report underage sexual activity ‘whether or not there is any suggestion of abuse’.
The Government’s proposals in the bill would require doctors to automatically report to the police or social services every case of underage sexual activity where one partner is 18 or over, or in any circumstances where one partner is under 13.
The BMA said that this will ‘severely damage trust’ between young people and doctors and result in young people ‘being deterred from seeking medical support’.
It added that the bill would require doctors to report to the police or social services ‘any disclosure of sexual activity’ between for example a 15-year-old and an 18-year-old, ‘even if the relationship is consensual and there is no risk of harm present’.
But if consensual underage sexual activity is included, the number of cases that would need to be reported ‘risks flooding the system’, to the detriment of those the system is designed to help.
In a briefing to MPs, the union said: ‘We are strongly of the view that a doctor should only inform the police or social services of underage sexual activity where they have concerns that the young person is being abused.
‘If young people are deterred from seeking sexual health and contraceptive advice, and doctors are obliged to report those individuals who do seek help, this could have a devastating impact on young people’s health and wellbeing, potentially leading to an increase in unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in this group.’
The BMA’s GP committee also spoke against the requirement, saying there will be implications for GPs around consultations with young people who are engaging in sexual activity.
In an update to GPs, the GPC said: ‘We are aware from our members that it is not exceptional for young people aged 13 to 15 to be in consensual sexual relationships with people who are older than themselves.
‘While the BMA’s position is that safeguarding children must be of paramount importance, it is clear that there will be implications for GPs around consultations with young people under the age of 16 who are engaging in sexual activity.
‘The BMA ethics committee is currently considering this matter, and GPC England is liaising with it.
‘We have advised the minister and officials about our serious concerns about the impact of these proposals on trust in the doctor-patient relationship and the subsequent risks to young people’s health and wellbeing, and we are working with other organisations including RCGP, Brook and BASHH to seek amendments.’
The BMA has said that the bill should be amended to ensure that doctors are able to ‘continue to provide confidential sexual health advice and contraceptive services’ to all those who need them.
It added that this could be done by including an identical exemption to that currently provided in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill such that the duty to report does not apply ‘if the relevant person considers that the disclosure would be more detrimental to the child than not disclosing the information’.
The latest version of the bill, as amended by the public bill committee, was published last week, and it has now reached the report stage.
It probably depends who the protagonists are, and to whom the reporting is made.
Lists of all GPs who have had sexual relations with people over and under 18 wouldd reduce trust and respect for Doctors, bringing them more into line with interweb influencers, social media and TV celebrities, much lower down t he social and trust scales, which might not help.
one comes to the perennial problem over it being OK for a 17 year old to have sex with a 14 year old, but a couple of weeks later, when the 18th birthday arrives, all of a sudden, it is no longer ‘OK’, and this is clearly inconsistent, and therefore wrong.
Anyway, what about the 16 year old who has married with parental consent? Are we expecting this married couple to not have sex? i think we still need to explore social views on some of these situations and come up with a better consensus.