Demonstrate an understanding of human rights legislation and reflect on its implication for people with a learning disability. this reflection looks at personal relationships

UK Citizens now have certain basic human rights which government and public authorities are legally obliged to respect. These became law as part of the Human Rights Act 1998. This Act 1998 gives legal effect in the UK to 16 of the fundamental rights and freedoms contained in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). These rights not only affect matters of life and death like freedom from torture and killing but also affect your rights in everyday life: what you can say and do, your beliefs, your right to a fair trial and many other similar basic entitlements. The rights are not absolute – governments have the power to limit or control them in times of severe need or emergency. There are also responsibilities to respect the rights of others – and not exercise yours in a way which is likely to stop them from being able to exercise theirs. (Human Rights Act, 1998)The evidence from the Estia seminar, suggests that some of the human rights legislation has not yet had much effect on the lives of people with a learning disability, especially in those whose learning disability is more severe (Annette, 2004). This reflection will focus on the issues surrounding personal relationships, three articles of The Human Rights Act (1998) relate to this: Article 3 – no one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; Article 8 – Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence; and Article 12 – Men and women of marriageable age have the right to marry and to found a family, according to the national laws governing the exercise of this right. (Human Rights Act, 1998)FeelingsAll human beings are sexual beings, sexuality is not an optional extra, and...