Journal Articles

What is an ‘adult protection’ issue? Victims, perpetrators and the professional construction of adult protection issues

---

Drawing on data from a Scottish research study, this paper explores the relationship of professionals’ perceptions about specific perpetrators and victims to their constructions of ‘adult protection’ issues in practice. It finds that professionals’ perceptions of victim distress did not consistently coincide with the construction of adult protection issues, whilst the connection to any assessment of victims’ heightened vulnerability in specific cases was not clear. With respect to perpetrators, implicit practice rules were evidenced which differed from explicit policy criteria. In particular, there were different rules for relatives, staff and service user perpetrators, whilst harms attributed to institutions were de-emphasized. Explanations of the findings are advanced based on the complex power relations underpinning practice but unacknowledged in policies. More research is recommended to deepen this analysis in a changing policy context, to foreground service user perspectives, and to contextualize harms potentially resolvable through adult support and protection/safeguarding routes with respect to harms better addressed in other ways.

---

Availability

No copy data

Detail Information

Series Title

Critical Social Policy

Call Number

-

Publisher

Thousand Oaks, CA : Sage Publications., 2012

Collation

p. 203-222

Language

English

ISBN/ISSN

0261-0183

Classification

-

Content Type

-

Media Type

-

Carrier Type

-

Edition

Volume 32, Number 2, May 2012 p. 203-222

Subject(s)

POwer
Abuse
Vulnerability
safeguarding

Specific Detail Info

-

Statement of Responsibility

-

Other version/related

File Attachment

Comments

---

You must be logged in to post a comment