Gillick competence is concerned with determining a child's capacity to consent. Fraser guidelines, on the other hand, are used specifically to decide if a child can consent to contraceptive or sexual health advice and treatment. By confusing them, we lose crucial details necessary for obtaining consent.
The Fraser guidelines refer to the guidelines set out by Lord Fraser in his judgment of the Gillick case in the House of Lords (Gillick v West Norfolk, 1985), which apply specifically to contraceptive advice.
Gillick was approved by the High Court of Australia in a case known as Marion's case. The Gillick case holds that a child's capacity increases as they approach maturity or in other words, the authority of a parent decreases as their child's capacity increases.
The legal test used to determine if a child is capable of giving consent is when he or she “achieves a sufficient understanding and intelligence to enable him or her to understand fully what is proposed”. This is referred to as 'Gillick competent' or a 'mature minor'.
For a child to be Gillick competent, he or she must have “sufficient understanding and intelligence to enable him or her to understand fully what is proposed”. It's assessed on a case by case basis, depending on the type of medical treatment proposed.
Dr Bird said under common law, patients under the age of 18 who are determined to be 'Gillick competent' or a 'mature minor' can consent to their own medical treatment.
What did the Gillick case say about competence? A child has sufficient competence if they're deemed to have the maturity and understanding to be capable of making decisions about their own health and medical treatment. This can relate to children under 16 and is decided on an individual basis.
If a child or young person is assessed as Gillick competent, they can make their own medical decisions and doctors are not required to notify a parent or carer, however, the parent or carer may be aware of the situation and be providing support to the child.
Generally, a child under the age of 18 years is assessed as being a 'mature minor' if they fully comprehend the nature, consequences and risks of the proposed action, irrespective of the presence or absence of parental consent.
Children under 18 cannot legally refuse to see a parent following divorce or separation. Children under 18 will be bound to the co-parenting arrangements made by their parents, set out in Consent Orders, and endorsed by the courts.
When can I get contraception? There is no age limit preventing you from buying contraception like condoms at a chemist, or from seeing a doctor about contraception without parental consent. Certain medical contraceptives, such as contraceptive pills, require a prescription that you can only get from a doctor.
People over the age of 16 with decision making capacity have the right to consent or refuse to consent to their own medical treatment and/or healthcare.
This law and the resulting guidelines apply to the British situation, only. They have no legal validity in Ireland. Subsequently, guidance has been issued for UK doctors on judging the Gillick competence of a child (The Fraser guidelines - detailed in the Appendix).
Break 'competence' down into sounds: [KOM] + [PUH] + [TUHNS] - say it out loud and exaggerate the sounds until you can consistently produce them.
In Marion's Case, the High Court upheld the Gillick competency test described in Gillick v West Norfolk Area Health Authority2 which states that a child is capable of consenting to medical treatment if they achieve a 'sufficient understanding and intelligence to enable them to understand fully what is proposed'.
In the ACT it is legal for a person to have sex if: But, if you are over 16 and the other person is in a position of care or authority over you, it is illegal for them to have sex with you. E.g. Your sports coaches, counselors and teachers cannot legally have sex with you, even if you 'consent.
A Roman Catholic mother of 10 children (five sons, five daughters), Gillick began her campaign in 1980 in response to a DHSS circular issuing guidance on contraceptive stating a minor could consent to treatment, and that in these circumstances a parent had no power to veto treatment.
Gillick competence in children
The doctor has to assess and come to a judgement that the minor who is aged 14 or above has sufficient understanding and intelligence to enable him to understand the proposed procedure and its consequences. If so, the minor's consent can be accepted as valid.
In Lord Scarman's judgement, a child is considered to have Gillick competence if: (i) the child displays sufficient maturity and understanding in relation to the treatment or advice provided or (ii) the doctor believes that in the face of exceptional circumstances, it would be in the child's best interests to proceed ...
The lowest age of consent is in Nigeria (11) followed by the Philippines and Angola (12). The age of consent is 13 in three countries – Niger, Comoros and Burkina Faso. The countries where the age of consent is 14 include a number of South American countries: Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Paraguay, Ecuador, and Bolivia.
If the sex is consensual (and it must be enthusiastic consent) and the other party is also aged 16 years or over it is not against the law, although there are some exceptions: If the person is very drunk or under the influence of drugs, they may not have the capacity to consent so having sex with them is an offence.
About legal age in Australia
In Australia, you're considered to be an adult when you turn 18 years old. But for certain things, the legal age can be younger. The information in this article is general in nature, and laws differ from state to state.