Safeguarding in Social Work Practice: A Lifespan Approach
| Published date | 23 December 2019 |
| Pages | 49-50 |
| Date | 23 December 2019 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JAP-02-2020-058 |
| Author | Ann Anka |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Vulnerable groups,Adult protection,Safeguarding,Sociology,Sociology of the family,Abuse |
Edited by Charlotte Chisnell and
Caroline Kelly
Sage
London
2019
pp. viii + 290,
2nd ed.
ISBN 978–1–5264-3981-9 (p/b), £21.99
Review DOI
10.1108/JAP-02-2020-058
The book argues for a lifespan approach to
safeguarding practice rather than a separatist
approach. It brings together common themes
across safeguarding children’s practice and
that of adults. The book consists of eight
chapters covering: “The historical
development of safeguarding and protection
across the lifespan”;“The nature and
prevalence of abuse across the lifespan”;
“The policy and legal context for safeguarding
practice”;“Safeguarding and the family”;
“Safeguarding and communities”;
“Safeguarding in residential settings”;“Skills
for safeguarding and protection”; and “Key
themes for safeguarding practice: challenges
and priorities”.
There is consistence as well as variations
within and across c hapters. The authors use
case studies, activities and research
summaries to enable the reader to make
sense of key conce pts and themes
discussed within the chapters. The cha pters
are balanced in terms of coverage on
discussions focu sing on children an d adults
safeguarding practice. There are some
variations too in t erms of length and breadth
of the contents, whi ch ranged from 1 to
15 different topic s. For example, Chap ter
1 covers 15 different t opics whilst Chap ter
2 covers 7 in contrast to Chapters 3 and 4,
which cover 3 topics, respectively. Content
discussions are li nked to the Britis h
Association of Social Work (2018)
Professional Capabilities Framework, a
framework used for defining professional
capabilities in En gland. It is worth mentioning
that whilst this limits the scope of applying
the content beyond England to some extent,
the context of discussions within the
chapters are still relevant to social workers,
academics, researcher and practitioners
engaged with or who are interested in
safeguarding practice across the lifespan in
the UK and internat ionally. For exam ple,
Chapter 1 provide s insightful disc ussions
about the historical construction of child
protection and how this led to poli cy
development in safeguarding children.
The chapter also considers the historical
development of safeguarding adult practice,
locating this in societal views and
marginalisatio n. Chapters 2 and 3
considered the prevalence of abuse
including, defini tions of differe nt categories
of abuse, relevant t heories, policy and l aw
underpinning saf eguarding pract ice across
the lifespan.
Chapters 4–6 covered family and
safeguarding in domestic settings,
communities and r esidential sett ings.
The discussions inc lude what are now
considered new areas of safeguarding
practice such child sexual exploitation,
grooming and traffic king and contempora ry
policy and practice approaches such as
Making Safeguard ing Personal, an
outcome-focused approach that views the
individual as exp ert in safeguardi ng and
Signs of Safety. Chapter 7 considers the
skills required in safeguarding practice and
decision making around risks across the
lifespan. Emphas is is placed on assessment,
critical thinkin g, having a focus; deve loping
hypotheses; reflection; analysis; knowledge;
risk management and recording. C hapter
8 discusses challenges in safeguarding
practice, particularly focusing on the impact
of financial chall enges arising fr om austerity
policy, ideologies and discourse. The
authors encourage p ractitioners to t ake
social, economic and political factors into
context when assessing needs and risk as
well as upholding hu man right, equali ty and
promoting social j ustice.
The book adds to the body of knowledge
in the field of safeg uarding childre n and
adults by arguing for adopting a lifespan
approach in safeguarding practice.
Safeguarding in Social
Work Practice: A
Lifespan Approach
VOL. 22 NO. 1 2020, pp. 49-50, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1466-8203
j
THE JOURNAL OF ADULT PROTECTION
j
PAG E 49
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