'I was just gobsmacked': care workers responses to BBC Panoramas 'Undercover care: the abuse exposed': invoking mental states as a means of distancing from abusive practices

This paper draws upon discourse analytic techniques and discursive psychology to examine how care workers build accounts of viewing the BBC Panorama programme “Undercover Care: The Abuse Exposed” which graphically documented the abuse of people with learning disabilities in a residential care setting. 56 interviews were conducted as part of a project concerning adult safeguarding. The analysis considers how careworkers report their reactions and the interactional strategies they use to construct themselves as shocked and disbelieving and thus, as oppositional to the extreme practices in the programme. Their role as careworkers, and therefore as ‘insiders’ of the industry that allowed such abuse to happen, makes matters of stake and agency live issues for this particular group; and constructions of ‘shock’ and ‘disbelief’ are potential ways for participants to distance themselves from the abuse shown in the programme. More broadly, these data show how the invocation of mental states contributes to the management of other discursive business, namely, that of fending off any association with the aforementioned extreme practices

Staff understandings of abuse and poor practice in residential settings for adults with intellectual disabilities

BackgroundA common factor in the abuse of people with intellectual disabilities in residential settings has been the failure of care staff and frontline managers to recognise poor practice at an early stage and prevent its development into a culture of abuse. In this context, staff understandings of abuse and poor practice in residential services for people with intellectual disabilities were explored.MethodSemi‐structured interviews (n = 56) were undertaken with care staff and frontline managers working across England. Interviews included the use of vignettes, based on real‐life experiences of people with intellectual disabilities, to prompt discussion.ResultsStaff struggled to define either “abuse” or “poor practice”, focussing more on individual acts or omissions than on institutional practices. When faced with vignettes, staff demonstrated a lack of agreement regarding what constitutes either abuse or poor practice.ConclusionsThe implications for practice in residential care settings and for safeguarding training are discussed

There are no easy answers The provision of continuing care and treatment to adults with learning disabilities who sexually abuse others

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:99/24000 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

It could never happen here| The prevention and treatment of sexual abuse of adults with learning disabilities in residential settings

Available from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:94/05909 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreSIGLEGBUnited Kingdo

Equipped to cope? A resource to help support workers deal with issues of sexual abuse of adults with learning disabilities

Ring-bound itemAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:fm02/1413 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreSIGLEGBUnited Kingdo

Patterns of Risk in Adult Protection Referrals for Sexual Abuse and People with Intellectual Disability

Background Adult protection monitoring data held by local authorities in England provide opportunities to examine referrals for alleged sexual abuse for people with intellectual disability to identify patterns of risk. Methods Adult protection monitoring data collected by two local authorities was analysed, with referrals for alleged sexual abuse compared to referrals for other types of abuse for people with intellectual disability and the wider research evidence. Results Over a fifth of referrals related to alleged sexual abuse, with two-thirds of these for women. Sexual abuse was confirmed in just over a quarter. Similarities were found with the findings of Brown et al. (Mental Handicap Research, 8, 1995:3) across a range of key characteristics. Conclusions Adult protection monitoring data can be used to provide risk management information on the sexual abuse of people with intellectual disability. To maximize its potential, detailed case characteristics need to be included and attention given to improving comparability between databases