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Clarity has been offered over changes to Guernsey's domestic abuse legislation, explaining why an adult injuring a child while under the influence of prescribed medication would not be treated the same way as one under the influence of illegal drugs.
Deputy Lester Queripel has concerns over a decision made when the States amended the Domestic Abuse and Related Provisions Law 2024 in October.
Part of the amended legislation focuses on cruelty to children, stating that if a person under the influence of drink or a prohibited drug, be deemed to have neglected a child in a manner likely to cause injury to that infants health, then they are guilty of an offence.
The legislation doesn’t include prescribed drugs, and Deputy Queripel asked the Committee for Home Affairs why that is.
A spokesperson explained that this is down to the way prescribed and illegal drugs are consumed, with an expectation of more responsible actions when someone is taking a medication prescribed by their doctor.
Pictured: Deputy Lester Queripel used the Rule 14 mechanism to ask his questions.
The local law, now amended, has also been written in such a way that it mirrors a provision currently applicable in England and Wales under part of the Children and Young Persons Act.
"The section creates automatic criminal liability when an adult does something inherently dangerous, namely sleeps in the same bed as a very young child whilst under the influence of illegal drugs or alcohol," said the Home Affairs spokesperson.
"The policy reason why this automatic criminal liability targets illegal drugs, and not prescription drugs, is because of the higher risks of impairment and unpredictable behaviour that can significantly increase the danger to the child, and the fact that there was no good (therapeutic) reason why the adult should be taking such drugs.
"Whilst prescription drugs can also impair judgment, they are taken for therapeutic reasons and generally in accordance with medical advice. For a person to find themselves subject to automatic criminal liability following a tragedy in which they were taking prescribed medication (rather than illegal drugs) would be a significant step further and may lead to an unfair result."
Home Affairs also said that the amended law does not mean anyone believed to have risked a child's safety while under the influence of a prescribed drug would be exempt from any repercussions though.
The spokesperson said that it will always vary for individual circumstances.
"This provision is solely concerned with automatic criminal liability in very narrow circumstances," they said. "It does not mean that a parent who, for example, neglects a child whilst under the influence of prescribed medication would necessarily escape liability. It is just that such a defendant would have to be tried in the ordinary way with the prosecution proving all elements of the crime beyond reasonable doubt, and without the benefit of a provision creating automatic criminal liability.
"This distinction underscores the exceptional nature of automatic criminal liability, which is reserved for cases involving illegal drugs due to the absence of any legitimate reason for their use and the heightened risk they pose to children."
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