Chapter 3 - Legislative Framework
The Care Act (2014) - Scottish Legislation
What is meant by 'harm’?
While The Care Act 2014 sets out what constitutes abuse and explicitly mentions financial abuse, the Adult Support & Protection (Scotland) Act 2007 simply refers to ‘harm’ and does not state what harm is defined as.
For the purposes of the Act, most authorities have interpreted 'harm' to include all harmful conduct and, in particular, includes:
Conduct which causes physical harm;
Conduct which causes psychological harm (e.g. by causing fear, alarm or distress);
Unlawful conduct which appropriates or adversely affects property, rights or interests (e.g. theft, fraud, embezzlement or extortion); and
Conduct which causes self-harm.