recording without consent

[thelegalitiesof]

The situation:

A young adult doesn't understand most jokes. The carer of the young adult has been heavily involved with the young adult for years and will know them well by now. The young adult claims that their carer has been making jokes during their time together knowing that the young adult doesn't understand most jokes and gets them wound up. The young adult is visibly frustrated but the carer continues and doesn't reveal that it's a joke until they are very wound up and visibly angry. The young adults frustration and anger will draw out for some time even at home. The carer lives with them and has been complaining about their anger and frustration because they are coming across as rude. This has happened on two recent occasions back to back, and they have not been spending time together since because the young adult doesn't like them.

The carer denies winding them up but admits that they were making jokes. If the young adult were to spend time with them again would it be unreasonable for the young adult to record for the duration of their time together without the knowledge or consent of the carer incase they wind them up again and then share that without permission as evidence towards becoming emancipated from the carer.

Whats your relationship here, are you the parent. Is there any personal care given. Why do they need evidence, if they say the carer deliberately winds them up them the parent needs to tell them to stop. What happens to the y.a. if the carer is banned from that role.

What outcome is the young person hoping for? Do they want to move out? Do they want their step-parent to get thrown out? Because if it’s the latter they are hoping for, I don’t think it’s going to be as simple as showing their parent a video of their step-parent being a bit of a dick. It’s going to have to be pretty bad for the parent to end their marriage over.

It sounds more like bullying than making jokes.

I would support the y.a to put in an application for extra housing, and encourage them to speak to the local authority or social services to say how unhappy they are in the current situation.

It's very unkind to deliberately wind a person up by repeatedly making so called jokes that they are unable to understand. The carer is doing the very opposite of caring.

This is abuse, I would help the young adult record the behaviour and to report. Whilst there may be legal niceties about whether or not the recording would be permissible in court the reality is a human being is being deliberately provoked utilising the fact their disability means they don’t understand the joke. However, without evidence it’s difficult to prove.

There are many examples of families using cctv etc. to catch carers physically abusing children, vulnerable adults or stealing etc. as a result action is taken.

The priority here is to safe guard the young adult.

If the carer is denying the claim, I think the young adult will have a stronger case if the point of the recording is to show them withdrawing consent for the jokes, and the carer ignoring that. So let the carer indulge in the 'joke', then the YA says 'I want you to stop doing that'.

I dont have a link but have a vague recollection that even tickling can be considered abusive, if it carries on beyone the point at which the recipient finds it funny. I would assume these 'jokes' would fall into that category.