A basic guide to domestic violence information sharing (2007)
A basic guide to domestic violence information sharing (pdf,
56.1kb)
Can I share personal information with other
agencies?
Yes in some circumstances. You can and should share
information that will increase the safety of the victim/survivor
and their child(ren).
It is advisable that agencies develop agreements and protocols
with other agencies with whom they may need to personal data.
(Please see AVA's multi-agency domestic violence information
sharing protocol for further detail).
How much information should I share?
You should only share sufficient personal information that will
enable another agency to work safely to support the survivor and
their child(ren).
So you should share personal data on a need to know basis.
Workers should balance the need for survivors not to have to
repeat their details over and over with partner agencies with the
need to respect their entitlement to privacy.
How do I share information?
Sharing personal information is not difficult. What is
important is to share information safely. So what does this
mean in practice?
- It means encrypting emails if you are sending personal
data.
- It means password protecting electronic files that you share so
that only the other worker with whom you need to share the
information obtains access to it.
- Avoid faxing information whenever possible but if you need to
send information by fax take precautions to ensure it does not get
intercepted by someone who should not have access to the
information.
- When speaking on the telephone make sure you are not being
overheard by someone who does not have a need to know that
information. Be careful where you talk about individual cases
to ensure you are not overheard.
- Mark post "Personal and Confidential - to be opened by the
recipient only".
- Do I need the consent of individuals in order to share their
personal data with another agency?
- A consent based approach (ie. asking the service user) is
ideal.
However, there may be occasions when workers need to assess
whether sharing information would jeopardise a survivor and their
child(ren)'s 'vital interests' (as the law defines it) or if it is
in the public interest to share that information (for example,
there is a high risk that perpetrator is about to attack the woman
or child or another person). Workers are advised not to seek
consent and to share relevant information with relevant partner
agencies who have 'a need to know' in these instances.
Support and guidance should be sought from your supervisor/line
manager or the Data Controller within your agency if you are
unclear on how to proceed.
What if a service user gives me their consent to
share their information but then withdraws it?
A service user is entitled to withdraw their consent to you
sharing their information at any point.
You must tell the service user that they can exercise this right
and that, should they do so, you will inform them of any impact on
the service they will receive from you.
In the event that an individual:
- withdraws their consent for their personal information to be
shared,
- or wishes to subsequently place / amend restriction upon the
personal information to be shared
- your agency should immediately inform all other agencies who
are, or may be, affected by this request and you should record the
details of the request on the individual's file.
Where consent is withdrawn, no further personal information
should be disclosed unless there are legal reasons for doing
so. As before these may include: a threat to the 'vital
interests' of a survivor, their child(ren) or another person or
where there is a 'public interest' to share this information.
Remember always share information to protect the safety of a
survivor and their child(ren). If it is not for this reason
do not share it. Information should not be shared for the
sake of sharing information.
