DNACPR decisions during Covid-19: An empirical and analytical study

Considerable concern has arisen during the Covid pandemic over the use of Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation decisions (DNACPRs) in England and Wales, particularly around the potential blanket application of them on older adults and those with learning disabilities. In this article, we set out the legal background to DNACPRs in England and the concerns raised during Covid. We also report on an empirical study that examined the use of DNACPRs across 23 Trusts in England, which found overall increases in the number of patients with a DNACPR decision during the two main Covid ‘waves’ (23 March 2020–31 January 2021) compared with the previous year. We found that these increases were largest among those in mid-life age groups, despite older patients (in particular, older women) having a higher number of DNACPR decisions overall. However, further analysis revealed that DNACPR decisions remained fairly consistent with regard to patient sex and age, with small reductions seen in the oldest age groups. We found that a disproportionate number of Black Caribbean patients had a DNACPR decision. Overall, approximately one in five patients was not consulted about the DNACPR decision, but during the first Covid wave more patients were consulted than pre-Covid

Perceptions of safety and experiences of gender-based violence at UK music festivals

Crime and safety at UK music festivals is a subject of growing concern for festival management, police and festival-goers, bolstered by increasing media coverage of incidents of sexual harassment and sexual assault. To date, however, there has been limited evidence regarding festival-goers’ experiences and perspectives concerning safety, particularly in relation to gender-based violence at music festivals. Using data from a mixed methods pilot study, this article presents the findings of a self-selecting survey of 450 festival-goers which asked respondents about their perceptions of safety and experiences of different crime and harms including gender-based violence at UK music festivals. The findings reveal that most respondents report feeling safe at festivals, but various personal, social and environmental factors may increase or reduce these feelings of safety, and these are gendered. Similarly, although experiences of acquisitive crime, hate crime and stalking were low and broadly similar for women and men, a third of women experienced sexual harassment and 8% experienced sexual assault – significantly higher than the reported levels among male respondents. We argue that festivals must work proactively with key stakeholders and agencies, as well as artists and patrons, to develop clear policies and initiatives to prevent sexual violence

Bioenergy as climate change mitigation option within a 2 °C target—uncertainties and temporal challenges of bioenergy systems

Bioenergy is given an important role in reaching national and international climate change targets. However, uncertainties relating to emission reductions and the timeframe for these reductions are increasingly recognised as challenges whether bioenergy can deliver the required reductions. This paper discusses and highlights the challenges and the importance of the real greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction potential of bioenergy systems and its relevance for a global 450 ppm CO2e stabilisation target in terms of uncertainties and temporal aspects. The authors aim to raise awareness and emphasise the need for dynamic and consequential approaches for the evaluation of climate change impacts of bioenergy systems to capture the complexity and challenges of their real emission reduction potential within a 2 °C target. This review does not present new research results. This paper shows the variety of challenges and complexity of the problem of achieving real GHG emission reductions from bioenergy systems. By reflecting on current evaluation methods of emissions and impacts from bioenergy systems, this review points out that a rethinking and going beyond static approaches is required, considering each bioenergy systems according to its own characteristics, context and feedbacks. With the development of knowledge and continuously changing systems, policies should be designed in a way that they provide a balance between flexibility to adapt to new information and planning security for investors. These will then allow considering if a bioenergy system will deliver the required emission saving in the appropriate timeframe or not

Importance of non-CO2 emissions in carbon management

Background: GHG budgets highlight a need for urgency, yet analyses are often CO2-focused, with less attention paid to non-CO2. Results: In this paper, scenarios are used to explore non-CO2 drivers and barriers to their mitigation, drawing out implications for CO2 management. Results suggest that even optimistic technological and consumption-related developments lead to on-going increases in global N2O, largely to improve food security within a changing climate. This contrasts with existing analysis, where lower levels of N2O by 2050 are projected. Conclusions: As avoiding '2°C' limits the emissions budget, constraints on reducing non-CO2 add pressure to energy system decarbonization. Overlooking how a changing climate and rising consumption restricts efforts to curb non-CO2 will result in policies aiming to avoid 2°C falling short of the mark

Practitioner views on the impacts, challenges, and barriers in supporting older survivors of sexual violence

Despite half a century of research on both sexual violence and elder abuse, the intersection between the two remains largely unexplored. Using theoretical lenses of feminist criminology and critical feminist gerontology, this article explores the intersection between age and sexual violence drawing on interviews with 23 practitioners supporting older survivors (aged 60 and over). They reported physical and emotional effects of sexual violence leading to limited lifestyles, disengagement from social networks, and reliance on pathogenic coping strategies. Provision of effective support was complicated by challenges associated with aging bodies and the social stigma associated with both sexual victimhood and older age. Additional challenges lay in supporting older male survivors and those living with dementia. The article ends by discussing implications for practice and an agenda for future research

Older sex offenders – managing risk in the community from a policing perspective

Although there has been an increase in research and policy attention examining sex offenders, their motivations and how ‘risk’ should be managed in relation to registered sex offenders in the community, the majority of these efforts have concentrated on young offenders. This paper presents the findings from a qualitative study involving interviews with offender managers working in six forces across England and Wales. The study produced a number of key findings: (1) there is an increasing number of older sex offenders subject to offender management and these offenders have particular needs; (2) there are a number of specific challenges in managing older offenders and (3) these create a number of a specific issues when managing older offenders with care or support needs. Implications for those involved in the management of sex offenders are discussed and best practice highlighted

Regulating intimate violence: rough sex, consent and death

In this paper we highlight the inadequacies of the current legal response to killings in the course of alleged rough sex. The issues we identify demonstrate the thinness of the legal conceptions of “consent” “violence” and “intent” that have led to the controversial outcomes in some such cases. If the law struggles to find an effective response to domestic abuse and sexual violence in cases where the victim has died, then this shows the severity of the challenges in dealing with them in non-fatal cases. We will critically consider some of the reform proposals that have been enacted in response to these cases and suggest that on their own they are highly unlikely to be effective. We need a more radical rethinking of the law’s approach to consent, sex and violence; to the use of evidence in these cases; and a shift in society’s understanding of consent to sex and violence