The victim's voice: how is it heard? Issues arising from adult protection case conferences
| Published date | 01 April 2004 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14668203200400003 |
| Pages | 12-19 |
| Date | 01 April 2004 |
| Author | Katharine Jeary |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Sociology |
12 © Pavilion Publishing (Brighton) Limited The Journal of Adult Protection Volume 6 Issue 1 • April 2004
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Introduction
During a recent Nuffield Foundation-funded study of inter-
agency adult protection case conferences, directed by Professor
Olive Stevenson, it emerged that one group of people was
consistently missing from this part of the decision-making
processes, namely the victims of the alleged abuse. This
modest-sized study, undertaken within a city social services
department and with the active co-operation of the local adult
protection committee, used qualitative research techniques to
examine in detail the process, content and dynamics of adult
protection case conferences. The focus here, though, is on the
specific complexities and dilemmas which were found to arise
when consideration was being given, by the professionals
involved, to how the victim’s voice should be heard in the
formal adult protective planning processes. The following
observations reflect views expressed by over 50 adult
protection case conference participants or policy-makers, who
represented a wide range of public, private and voluntary
sector organisations.
Victims and decision-making
When involving the victim of alleged abuse in decision-
making, what general principles apply? Among the guiding
principles which No Secrets (Department of Health, 2000)
advocates in inter-agency adult protection work are to ‘act in a
way which supports the rights of the individual to lead an
independent life based on self-determination and personal
The victim’s voice: how is it
heard? Issues arising from
adult protection case
conferences Katharine Jeary
Principal Research Fellow
Centre for Social Work, University of
Nottingham
Research paper
key words
victims’ views
case conferences
ethical dilemmas
advocacy
decision making
abstract
This paper reports findings from
a recent study of adult protection
case conferences, focusing on how
the victim’s views may be
represented or heard.
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