The United Nations plays a crucial role in upholding international human rights standards, so let’s talk about one of its most well-known legal documents.

Dentists have the lawful right to refuse patients, but the law prohibits them from doing so in some circumstances. Image credit: Wix.com. Dental care providers can lawfully choose which patients they accept, but they must not refuse to do so if it’s classed as discriminatory. For example, refusing to accept Muslim or autistic people solely because of who they are would almost always be unlawful. In the UK, discrimination against certain characteristics — such as age, religion, sexuality, race, disability, gender identity, and political beliefs — is prohibited under a variety of different laws. The main legal documents that prohibit discrimination are the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR), the Human Rights Act 1998, the Equality Act 2010, international treaties, and the common law, as well as case law. And, if you believe that you have been unlawfully discriminated against, you may have grounds for legal action and/or to make a complaint. Now that we’ve covered the law on when dentists don’t have the right to refuse patients, when can they legally do so? Dentists can refuse patients for any reason they see fit so long as it’s not discriminatory or against a written contract between their patients and the practice concerned. For example, a dental practice could refuse to take a patient if they are fully booked, have grounds to believe the patient won’t pay for their treatment, or for any other reason not prohibited by the law. Now that we’ve covered when dentists can refuse a patient legally, how do you know if you’ve been unlawfully denied an appointment? Generally speaking, when you attempt to make an appointment, you will either be accepted or turned away and have the reason given in writing or over the phone. And, so, if the practice says that they can’t accept patients with hidden disabilities — such as autism, ADHD, or Down Syndrome — and no aggravating factors are involved, then that would typically be discriminatory. However, there are exceptions, so it’s best to contact Citizen’s Advice or a qualified legal counsel if you’re unsure whether you’ve been treated unlawfully by the practice.

Two teachers were sacked and criminally convicted back in 2018 for reportedly assaulting an autistic student. Both members of staff, 52-year-old Sandra Humphrey and 50-year-old Sharon Benton, were immediately investigated after the 12-year-old victim’s parents reported the two staff members for allegedly assaulting him, resulting in their dismissal for gross misconduct after the allegations were proven. The two former teachers — who worked for Stephenson Academy, a specialist SEN school for young people with additional support needs near Stantonbury — were reported to Thames Valley Police, which led to their two-day criminal trial at Milton Keynes Magistrates’ Court. They were both found guilty of common assault against the boy and then received their sentences. The two defendants were ordered to pay a £300 fine, a victim surcharge of £20 each, and given a 6-month conditional discharge (neither were jailed for the assault, though, which is reported to have angered many locals). The two former staff members will almost certainly have a hard time finding most jobs in social care, law enforcement, work involving children or vulnerable people, and many other types of work due to their proven assault on the boy and their criminal records.

Welcome to LCN's Independent Animal Advice & Investigation Department (IAD) An Independent advisory Department for animal-related matters, we do not have any legal powers but are able to offer our own advice, suggestions, and one-to-one support to the public. We can do this in many different ways, such as: launching independent investigations, reviews, or campaigns; submitting reports to the authorities; offering advice and support; visiting people; requesting to collaborate with animal protection services, the police, or other internal/external departments; or referring people to their local animal-protecting agencies. ​ If you suspect that an animal's immediate safety is at risk, please contact your local animal protection agency. Alternatively, you could call 999/112, asking for the police and explaining the situation to the operator. Contact the IAD Who are the IAD, and what is our aim? A volunteer team of independent journalists/reporters, this team and its designated journalists aim to help safeguard and protect potentially at-risk animals and ensure that they are safe. We also launch our own, independent investigations into the welfare of animals and will gather intelligence/evidence if we suspect, or are informed of, animal cruelty, and our specially designated team members will not hesitate to bring animals to safety and perform citizens' arrests on those looking to harm innocent animals. If possible, we will always try and gather as much evidence as possible of any crimes committed against defenceless animals over the necessary time period, bringing these abusers to justice and putting them before the court with our IAD-collected evidence. However, unfortunately, this will not always be in the animal(s)'s best interests, and we would need to involve the authorities immediately in certain situations; for example, if there is an immediate concern for the safety of an animal. The IAD will always try and gather intelligence if a report is made to us about the following topics: wild/domestic animal complaints/concerns, cruelty to animals, animal mistreatment/neglect, anti-social behaviour involving an animal, animal fights, animal trafficking/thefts, general complaints, and unexplained injuries/deaths involving animals. We will also try and gather intelligence on the welfare of both wild and domesticated animals to try and uncover any issues in the communities we visit, especially around our focus areas — Sussex, Surrey, and Hampshire. Get in touch with the IAD! IAD launches animal cruelty investigation The Independent Animal Advice & Investigation Department (IAD) has investigated reports of a dog being kicked on the seafront but had... Puppy welcomed home by a local family A Littlehampton family has, as of yesterday, welcomed a 9-week-old Beagle into their lives and have said they're "delighted to have her".... Review: Beaumont Park, Littlehampton Beaumont Park seems like the perfect area to visit. I visited Beaumont Park earlier today, and I found the Park and its surrounding areas...

Home Report Contact Us News & Policies More We independently investigate the alleged wrongdoing of individuals, authorities, and businesses in our fight for you regardless of your location. We aim to work with the public but will, where necessary, not hesitate to hold people accountable with our paper or the law. What do we do? Education We educate both communities and the accused through our paper or the IID's own blog and also through petitions, independent advice, and recorded IID warnings. Read More > law enforcement When someone has committed a serious crime and is a danger to society, we can use citizen powers to make an arrest or could, alternatively, request to collaborate with the police to bring the alleged offender to justice through a joint investigation. We can also use reasonable force in most countries and may also carry (and use) handcuffs while reporting in the UK. Read More > accountability When an individual, business, or agency has acted unethically/immorally or caused societal nuisance/distress, we can work with them to try and solve the problem or may, where appropriate, gather proof and expose/prosecute the accused. Read More > evidence & intelligence We actively gather intelligence to try and detect any problems in many communities and will, where needed, gather evidence/information about an issue or offender; where necessary, this can be published online or shared with law enforcement and other internal/external departments, people, or groups. We can also investigate reports shared with, or made to, us. Read More > About the IID A Department of fully independent LCN investigators, reporters, and journalists, we actively try to identify community issues and will act on any that are identified via reader-submitted reports and our own intelligence. We can do this in many ways, like: launching independent investigations, joining forces with law enforcement or other agencies, educating, advising, making citizens' arrests and using the appropriate force, offering victims support and advise, exposing the reality of a situation, privately prosecuting the accused, and reporting a crime as a paper or on behalf of our informing source(s), as well as issuing a pre-enforcement warning (either advisory or recorded). ​ The IID aims to do its upmost to protect the communities that it serves; these are usually in our current focus areas — Sussex, Surrey, and Hampshire — but may also be done throughout the rest of the UK and around the world in accordance with any differing legislation & procedures. OUR Department Independent. Trustworthy. Helpful. Reliable. International. Fighting for you and your community! File a Report Concerned about your situation or community? If so, please make a report, and we'll decide whether an investigation needs to be launched by the IID Department. Report Contact us / Recent News & Policy Updates No posts published in this language yet Once posts are published, you’ll see them here. Littlehampton-focused Department.

Welcome to the Victim Support Department (VSD) is this an emergency, or do you feel unsafe? Call the emergency services by dialling your jurisdiction's emergency number, or click the button down below if you live in Europe. 112 📞 Anyone living in Europe can click the above button to be connected to the emergency call handlers. However, it's a criminal offence in most jurisdictions to hoax call 112 or local emergency numbers, and punishments can vary from a verbal warning to a criminal record or even prison time. We take no responsibility for the misuse of this button and do not condone this in any way, as it is dangerous, potentially illegal, and an obstruction to people in genuine need of help. Request our support Have you been a victim of a crime or ethical wrongdoing and don't want to contact the IID and have no clue know what to do next ? If so, please email us, and we'll try to help, advise, or direct you. Email us! Report To report an incident or provide us with general information or intelligence, you can either email the IID or contact our Department via email. As, if necessary, the IID will either refer you to us or collaborate with our team, who are independent and there to support the victim and act on their interests and wishes. Also, we can take the exact same action as the IID but are only likely to do this if the victim would benefit from an independent investigation or if they've asked us not to involve their Department. Email us! IID Who are we, and what do we do? An independent Department from the IID, we can use citizen powers in whichever jurisdiction we are in to hold people accountable, perform citizens' arrests, work with suspects and society and try to avoid legal sanctions or public humiliation, represent victims, and privately investigate, as well as gather general intelligence and evidence of moral or legal wrongdoing. However, in reality, we wouldn't usually do most of this, as our focus is set on supporting victims when needed unless we feel that an independent investigation would be in the public interest; in this case, the IID would not be notified of our investigation, and we would take the same action as their Department's team would. We might, however, collaborate with the IID and involve them later on or at the beginning, or we may request that their team investigate instead. We are two separate departments, and neither of us can take over each others' investigations unless authorised by an authorised team member, but certain law-enforcement agencies can regardless of our policies. No posts published in this language yet Once posts are published, you’ll see them here.