‘These Are Vulnerable People Who Don’t Have a Voice’: Exploring Constructions of Vulnerability and Ageing in the Context of Safeguarding Older People

Lonbay, Sarah

doi:10.1093/bjsw/bcy045

Cited by 14 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…In the context of homelessness, identifying an individual as vulnerable may determine a priority need for housing (see, for example, the Homelessness (Priority Need for Accommodation) (England) Order 2002). The concept has also underpinned much adult safeguarding policy and practice in England (Lonbay, 2018), and being identified as vulnerable has sanctioned state intervention (Brown et al, 2017). Notwithstanding the change of terminology in English adult social care legislation from 'vulnerable adult' to 'adult at risk' (s42 Care Act 2014), the way in which vulnerability is understood influences both relationships between social workers and service users, and approaches taken to intervention (Brown, 2017;Fawcett, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vulnerability among older people ageing with deafblindness

Simcock

Manthorpe

Tinker

2022

Journal of Social Work

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Summary Vulnerability is an underexamined concept in social work. Scholarly activity principally concentrates on policy analysis and theoretical debate; less attention is given to lived experience of vulnerability from the perspectives of particular groups, impoverishing understanding of the phenomenon. This article presents findings from the first United Kingdom-based study of the lived experience of vulnerability from the perspectives of older deafblind adults. Adopting a qualitative design, data were collected via 18 semistructured interviews with eight participants (aged between 49 and 83), undertaken between October 2014 and July 2016. Data were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Findings Participants interpret vulnerability as layered, describing what they feel vulnerable about, what they feel vulnerable to, and when they feel vulnerable. The latter layer is predominant: vulnerability experiences are time-limited, and situation and setting specific. Situational and pathogenic sources of vulnerability include the responses of other people, particularly the experience of being misunderstood or perceived as incapable. The layers of vulnerability are not discrete: they can be combined and avoidance of one vulnerability can exacerbate another. Applications Findings strengthen arguments against categorizing particular groups, including deafblind people, as permanently and immutably vulnerable. Such categorization, focused solely on impairment, provides an inadequate understanding of experience. Policymakers should consider adopting a layered approach to defining vulnerability. Assessment of these layers and how they interact may offer social workers an enhanced understanding of deafblind people's experiences and assist in determining what matters to them. Assessment should explore coping strategies, and assumptions of incapability based on impairment be rejected.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vulnerability among older people ageing with deafblindness

Simcock

Manthorpe

Tinker

2022

Journal of Social Work

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“…The conditions that permit elder abuse to happen are recognized to be socially and politically constructed (McCreadie, 2006) and broad based (Lindenberg et al , 2013). Lonbay (2018) recognized that structural barriers existed in the UK to older people participating in the safeguarding process. It has even been suggested that research has been characterized by the marginalization of the individual and replaced by a more palatable statistical approach, what Garnham and Bryant (2017) call “epistemological erasure.”…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Structural discrimination and abuse: COVID-19 and people in care homes in England and Wales

Parker

2021

JAP

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the significant and high death toll of COVID-19 on care home residents and social care staff in England and Wales. These mortality figures, alongside differential treatment of residents and staff during the pandemic, are conceptualized as a form of structural abuse. Arguments are made for the inclusion of structural abuse as a separate category of elder abuse. Design/methodology/approach This paper is predominantly conceptual but it also draws on available secondary data, such as mortality statistics, media reports and developing research. Findings The lack of appropriate personal protective equipment, paucity of guidance and high mortality rate among care home staff and residents during the pandemic is indicative of social discourses that, when underpinned by ageism, reflect structural elder abuse. Research limitations/implications The research is limited by its focus on a specific time period and its recency. It is also limited in not being based on primary empirical research but it remains exploratory and conceptual and provides a base for ongoing research in this area. Social implications If structural elder abuse was to be included in classifications, it demands a rethink of social and health-care services and the policies and practices associated with them and reinforces the government message that safeguarding is everyone’s business. Originality/value Research concerning the effects and impact of COVID-19 are still in their early stages. However, the central element of originality in the paper concerns the linking of practices, policies and underlying social assumptions and structural, or societally ingrained, elder abuse.

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“…Specifically, people may not come forward for support, or they may resist support when offered, because they do not class themselves as vulnerable (Spiers, 2000). They might also be concerned that safeguarding services will disempower them and take away their choices (Lonbay, 2018;Sherwood-Johnson et al, 2013). This part of the paper has demonstrated that some people experiencing dangerous care may not recognise themselves in theories of vulnerability and carer strain and may not feel well-matched with safeguarding services.…”

Section: Abuse As Carer Strainmentioning

confidence: 97%

Dangerous care: developing theory to safeguard older adults in caring relationships in the UK

Sherwood-Johnson

Rummery

Lawrence

et al. 2023

JAP

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Purpose Most abuse affecting older adults in the UK, as across Europe, takes place within caring relationships, where one person is disabled and needs care/support. This paper critically appraises two of the key theoretical explanations. First, feminist theories of “intimate partner abuse” tell us that it is mostly men who perpetrate abuse against women. Second, “carer strain”: the stress caused by caring responsibilities, often with inadequate help from services. Neither fully reflects the complex dynamics of “dangerous care” leading to a lack of voice and choice in safeguarding responses. This paper aims to articulate the need for an overarching theoretical framework, informed by a deeper understanding of the intersectional risk factors that create and compound the diverse experiences of harm by disabled people and family carers over the life course. Design/methodology/approach The critical synthesis of the theoretical approaches informing UK policy and practice presented here arises from a structured literature review and discussions held with three relevant third sector agencies during the development of a research proposal. Findings No single theory fully explains dangerous care and there are significant gaps in policy, resources and practice across service sectors, highlighting the need for joint training, intersectional working and research across service sectors. Originality/value Drawing both on existing literature and on discussions across contrasting policy and practice sectors, this paper raises awareness of some less well-acknowledged complexities of abuse and responses to abuse in later life.

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‘These Are Vulnerable People Who Don’t Have a Voice’: Exploring Constructions of Vulnerability and Ageing in the Context of Safeguarding Older People

Cited by 14 publications

References 23 publications

Vulnerability among older people ageing with deafblindness

Vulnerability among older people ageing with deafblindness

Structural discrimination and abuse: COVID-19 and people in care homes in England and Wales

Dangerous care: developing theory to safeguard older adults in caring relationships in the UK

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