UK REPORT

Childcare workers tell of attacks by parents

Report reveals daily violence, abuse and threats against beleaguered welfare specialists By Liam McDougall, Health Correspondent

Child protection specialists are facing verbal threats, assaults and malicious complaints on a daily basis as they investigate allegations of abuse. Internal research by the British Association For The Study And Prevention Of Child Abuse And Neglect (Baspcan) has revealed a catalogue of violence and threats against health and social workers, including cases where guns have been pulled on them. They have also been attacked with scissors and been victims of stalkers.

The report — which surveyed paediatricians, social workers and child welfare officers — warns that the threats were hindering proper investigation of abuse claims and leading to many leaving the area of work. It comes as senior social workers give evidence to the Scottish parliament this week about the violence they face in the job. Ruth Stark, of BASW Scotland — the professional social work body — who will give evidence to the justice committee on Wednesday, said she had to be rescued by police in riot gear after being held at knifepoint for four hours by a woman in an Edinburgh flat. In a separate incident, she was forced to contact the police after a convicted paedo phile began making malicious phone calls to her home in the middle of the night.

Stark said: “Abuse is something that happens every day. Only yesterday I heard of a case where a female child protection officer was punched in the face by a parent during a meeting. I know of members who have taken early retirement as a result of being stalked by unhappy patients and their family put at risk. Very few of us will go through our working lives without being assaulted. We are dealing with the most distressed people in society in very stressful situations, but there seems to be a culture where assaulting a social worker is more acceptable than an assault on someone who is walking down a street in their community.” Stark said that following her ordeal at knifepoint, the charges against her attacker were downgraded when the case got to court.

“I had been seriously assaulted and it was a very frightening experience but at court there was a plea bargain made and the woman had her charge reduced to something far less than serious assault. I was held at knifepoint for two hours and the police had tried to negotiate with her for another two hours before I finally got out. They had to come into the flat with riot shields to try to disarm her. Even in the courts there is a notion that assault on social workers is less important. What is needed in Scotland is a culture change that it is not acceptable to abuse social workers.”

Stark will give her evidence to parliament as politicians consider the emergency workers bill, which aims to make it a specific offence to assault an emergency worker. The bill is designed to curb the increasing number of attacks on emergency services crews, such as firefighters, but there have been calls to extend the legal protection to any worker dealing with the public.

According to the unpublished Baspcan report, its findings “provide clear evidence that [threats and violence] were not uncommon for child protection professionals and that they are subjected to high levels of violence, threats and complaints as part of their work”. Almost 70% of those surveyed said they had experienced threats of violence. Some said they had been forced to involve the police after they and their children were threatened. Other examples in the report include clients pulling scissors, knives and even a gun on child protection workers before the attackers were calmed.

One anonymous worker quoted in the report talks of being “physically assaulted in court, threatened with assault, verbally abused and spat at. I have also been locked in a house by an angry client and not allowed to leave”. Another said they were stalked by a man after they had appeared as an expert witness in court. More than half who had experienced violence said they had been working alone when the incident occurred and that employers expected them to see families on their own.

Dr Helen Hammond, a consultant paediatrician and chair of the Scottish child protection sub-committee for the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said: “Most of us can recall one or two situations where we have been physically threatened. It’s often the paediatricians who have to tell parents that the police should get involved in their case. They are the bearers of bad news to people who have drug and alcohol problems.”

One area of concern to workers was the growing number of malicious complaints made against them. Many said they had been subjected to lengthy investigations after unfounded allegations were made.

Tomorrow, a General Medical Council hearing will begin into the conduct of Professor David Southall, a consultant paediatrician who attracted controversy after he used surveillance cameras in hospital to secure evidence that parents were harming their children. This week, allegations will be heard that Southall “abused his professional position and acted inappropriately and irresponsibly” after he produced a report on a case with which he was not connected based on his viewing of a television programme. While there is no suggestion that the latest allegations are malicious, there is support for his position among colleagues.

One consultant paediatrician, who asked not to be named, said: “It is a real concern that many people now make complaints about professionals, which are unfounded. It can be parents just blowing off steam but when you look at the complaint closely it comes down to them disagreeing that there should be a concern about their children rather than any question of the paediatrician using bad practice.”

Dr Lorna Bell, of London’s Kingston University, who conducted the Baspcan research, said the charity was looking at starting a study to examine why people resorted to violence against child protection workers. She urged agencies to better support and protect staff who were vulnerable to abuse. She said: “Nobody should be expected to endure this level of violence and threats as part of their working life.”

Liam McDougall
9 June 2004

http://www.sundayherald.com/42409

home / Previous feature