A social care worker from Scotland has been struck off from the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) register and permanently banned from care work after he began a sexual relationship with a vulnerable woman and pressured her into aborting their child.
The SSSC has taken action against social worker David Phillips after an investigation that found he had started a sexual relationship with a vulnerable woman in Glasgow while she was in the care of his employer.
The SSSC report details that, while in employment between April and October 2020, he exchanged phone numbers with the woman and made personal calls and sent messages to her. During this time, Mr Phillips started a sexual relationship with the woman who ultimately became pregnant.
When the unnamed woman became pregnant, Mr Phillips reportedly told her: “it’s all your fault”, and paid for a taxi to an abortion provider. After having had the abortion, he then forced her to take another pregnancy test to confirm she was not pregnant. It is understood that he acted with the intention of preventing anyone else from finding out about their secret sexual relationship.
Coerced abortion
The SSSC report states: “You sent numerous messages to a service user with the intention of forming a sexual relationship with them. You met service user AA while she was using the services of your employer, therefore you would be well aware of her vulnerabilities through your role. You then formed a sexual relationship with AA, which resulted in a pregnancy which was terminated”.
“Your actions caused AA emotional and physical harm and amounted to a significant abuse of a position of trust. You used controlling behaviour towards her in order to conceal this relationship from others”.
“You took advantage of your position to make contact with her when she was a vulnerable service user, demonstrating a clear breach of professional boundaries”.
The SSSC subsequently blamed a ‘lack of training’ from his employer as a reason for his actions.
Right To Life UK spokesperson, Catherine Robinson, said: “This is a terribly sad case of an odious man who took advantage of a vulnerable woman. It also highlights how coerced abortion can be used as a tool by such men to cover up their crimes”.
