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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to highlight concerns about recent CPS guidance on the prosecution of rape and sexual assault cases.Design/methodology/approach The paper places the CPS guidance in the wider policy context of concerns about sexual violence on mental health wards.Findings The paper concludes that the reported CPS guidance appears to run counter to other policy directives particularly the recent report from the CQC.Originality/value The paper is a first response to these issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe a small scale pilot study undertaken in Northern Ireland to gather service user feedback from individuals who have been subject to adult safeguarding procedures.Design/methodology/approach The aims, methods and findings of the “Adult Safeguarding: 10,000 Voices” pilot project are presented.Findings The pilot project highlighted how an initiative which captures the experiences of patients, service users, carers and staff in the health and social care sector (10,000 Voices) could be successfully adapted for use in adult safeguarding, facilitating the collation of complex experiences and enabling insights to be gleaned and shared.Research limitations/implications The pilot study is limited by the small number of participants. The findings are preliminary.Practical implications For the first time in Northern Ireland the 10,000 Voices model was utilised in the context of a non-health related service, namely, adult safeguarding.Social implications This outline of the model and methodology for obtaining service user feedback can inform user involvement in other contexts.Originality/value This paper provides an accessible overview of an innovative approach to engaging service users in adult safeguarding, such approaches, to date have been limited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Notwithstanding heightened awareness of the issues faced by homeless people, the notion that homelessness is the result of individual failings and weaknesses persists. The purpose of this paper is to challenge that perception by giving voice to this marginalised group and exploring the mechanisms through which they made and remade as homeless and may be protected.Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews (n=23) were carried out with a sample of homeless people who had accessed a range of homelessness services in the study area.Findings It is argued that largely deprived of the private sphere, which arguably renders them in most need of public space, homeless people find themselves most subject to scrutiny, surveillance, social disapprobation and exclusion.Research limitations/implications The authors reiterate that rather than simply being associated with rooflessness, homelessness is as a function of ongoing geographical marginalisation and social alienation.Practical implications The authors suggest that dedicated spaces for homeless people to occupy during the day continue to be in need of development because, whilst not unproblematic, they can disrupt processes associated with homelessness.Social implications Further resources should be directed towards homelessness and the issues that arise during daytime for homeless people.Originality/value The paper supports the literature which highlights the spatial practices by which stigmatised groups come to be separated from mainstream society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to draw on systemic and psychodynamic theories to subject published serious case reviews (SCRs) involving self-neglect to a deeper level of scrutiny, in order to understand how complex contexts impact on self-neglect work. It also updates the dataset of self-neglect SCRs and accompanying thematic analysis. Design/methodology/approach – Psychodynamic and systemic ideas are applied to the content of published SCRs in order to understand how different contexts – societal, legal, organisational, professional and personal – impact on and are influenced by work with adults who self-neglect. Further published reviews are added to the core dataset, with thematic analysis updated using four domains. Findings – Thematic analysis within and recommendations from SCRs have focused on the micro context, what takes place between individual practitioners, their teams and adults who self-neglect. This level of analysis also commonly extends to how organisations have worked together and how Local Safeguarding Adults Board (LSABs) have supported and scrutinised their collaboration. This level of analysis enables an understanding of local geography. However, there are wider systems that impact on and influence this work, especially law and the societal context. If review findings and recommendations are to fully answer the question why, systemic analysis should be extended to appreciate the influence of national geography. Research limitations/implications – There is still no national database of reviews commissioned by LSABs so the dataset reported here might be incomplete. The Care Act 2014 does not require publication of reports but only a summary of findings and recommendations in LSAB annual reports. This makes learning for service improvement challenging. Practical implications – Answering the question why is a significant challenge for safeguarding adults reviews (SARs). Different approaches have been recommended, some rooted in systems theory. The theoretical formulations here extend the lens of systemic analysis on the different contexts that influence how practitioners work with adults who self-neglect and simultaneously are shaped by that work. This adds to the practice, management and organisational evidence base for working with adults who self-neglect but also shines the analytic lens on legal and policy mandates. Originality/value – The paper extends the use of systemic theory for understanding and learning from practice with adults who self-neglect and additionally offers psychodynamic formulations to appreciate what happens within and between practitioners and their organisations. The paper therefore contributes new perspectives to the methodology for conducting SARs. It also extends the thematic analysis of available reviews that focus on work with adults who self-neglect, further building on the evidence base for practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this paper is to offer an introduction to the recently recognised phenomenon of "mate crime" as it affects people with learning disabilities. It looks at how concerns arose, considers what may make people with learning disabilities particularly susceptible, and proposes a provisional definition of "mate crime". Design/methodology/approach -- The paper draws on the author's own project work, and reviews the extant research literature on "disablist" hate crime to examine the extent to which so-called "mate crime" has been both explicitly and implicitly identified and analysed in the literature. Findings -- The literature review indicates that "mate crime" has not been explicitly identified in any scholarly research to date, either under that or any other name. Crimes that we might label as "mate crimes" have, however, appeared in more general literature concerning the experiences of people with disabilities in general, and as victims of crime. Social implications -- Despite a lack of firm data there is sufficient in the literature, combined with increasing anecdotal evidence and case studies, to suggest that people with learning disabilities are particularly susceptible to "mate crime", and are being targeted by perpetrators. Increasing independence and reduced service provision are likely to increase the risks. The author argues that mate crime differs significantly from other manifestations of hate crime and abuse, and needs to be conceptualised, analysed and handled differently. Originality/value -- Whilst the issue of "mate crime" is gaining increasing professional and media attention it lacks any academic base and a definition. This paper attempts to establish an agreed definition and conceptualisation of "mate crime". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The 2015 Modern Slavery Act focusses attention forms of modern slavery (human trafficking and forced labour), within the UK. The contemporaneous 2014 Care Act, identifies modern slavery as a new form of risk within adult social care, listing forms of abuse and vulnerability. However, it does not consider whether those providing care may themselves be vulnerable to forms of modern slavery. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approach The authors describe the history of the development of modern slavery legislation in the UK, outline key provisions of the Care Act, illustrated with real-life cases. The analysis suggests that adult social care – characterised by informality, fragmentation and vulnerability – is one where instances of modern slavery may be more common than considered to date.Findings The data collected, though relatively modest, suggests that a thorough investigation should be undertaken into the possibility of modern slavery taking place within the realm of adult social care.Research limitations/implications Data have been collected through a snowball process, rolling out a survey to relevant groups of individual and organisations. A more rigorous investigation is required to examine the extent of modern slavery within adult social care.Practical implications The training of those responsible for the regulation/management of adult social care needs to ensure that they are fully equipped to understand the nature of modern slavery and how to identify its symptoms and victims.Social implications There is also a need for heightened awareness of those close to people being cared for that they may also identify the symptoms of modern slavery.Originality/value This area has not been explored to date. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007 places a duty on Councils to investigate the circumstances of adults who, because of a disability, health condition or illness are unable to safeguard themselves from harm. Public partner agencies, including the NHS have a statutory obligation to bring to the attention of the Council those individuals who may be at risk of harm. Health professionals cooperate with adult protection investigations and participate in the development of adult support and protection plans, yet do not appear to be initiating adult protection referrals with the Council. Low reporting by health has also been recognised as a national issue. The purpose of this paper is to explore what promotes and what prohibits the identification and reporting of situations of abuse within the Scottish Legislative Framework. Understanding the decision-making processes of prospective reporters would potentially allow the barriers to be reduced and the supports to be strengthened. Design/methodology/approach – The research strategy is based on a literature review, a web-based survey and semi-structured interviews with health professionals within community learning and community mental health teams. Findings – The findings point to a number of inter-related factors which impinge upon the professional’s confidence to initiate adult protection referrals. Workers must first recognise harm as conduct which needs to be reported and addressed. They need to be familiar with referral procedures and be assured that their concerns will be dealt with appropriately. Health professionals are more likely to report if they are based in an environment which supports honest and open discussion regarding harm, without over-concern about agency reputation or resources. Access to multi-disciplinary consultation and support, particularly in relation to more ambiguous protection situations, was viewed as fundamental to reporting. Originality/value – This small scale study adds to a developing bank of literature providing a Scottish perspective on protecting adults. It offers some insight into reporting decisions from the viewpoint of community health professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]