New report exposes deeply concerning picture of violence against social workers

The British Association of Social Workers (BASW) Northern Ireland has published deeply concerning research findings detailing social workers’ experiences of being subjected to intimidation, threats and violence.

Their report, Insult and Injury, presents the results of a survey open to all social workers in Northern Ireland. Eighty-six per cent of those who took part have experienced intimidation, seventy-five per cent have received threats, and fifty per cent have been subjected to violence.

Speaking on the report’s launch Carolyn Ewart, BASW Northern Ireland Country Manager, said: “In supporting some of the most vulnerable people in society, social workers all too frequently become targets for abuse and violence. Our research details the scale of threats and violence experienced by social workers, which includes physical attacks and threats to kill.

“Social workers also told us about the debilitating impacts of intimidating behaviour, often in the form of implied threats, for example, a service user seeking to instil fear of attack by explaining they know where their social worker lives or where their children go to school. The scope of the problem and the consequences for social workers, as well as their families, is very worrying”.

BASW Northern Ireland’s research highlights a culture of perseverance, with few social workers taking time off work as a result of threats, intimidation or violence they have experienced. This is often despite staff receiving insufficient support from employers.

Commenting on this finding, Carolyn Ewart said: “In some instances, this appears to be the result of professional resilience. However, in many cases social workers have described feeling a pressure to continue under the perception that threats, intimidation and violence are an unavoidable part of the job. This should not be the case and keeping staff safe requires a cultural shift.”

As well as detailing the types of incidents encountered by social workers and exploring the associated impacts, the report presents a series of recommendations for employers, aimed at improving social workers’ safety. These include providing social workers with mandatory skills training for dealing with potentially violent or dangerous situations, improving security features of workplaces, and enabling social workers to undertake home visits in pairs or facilitating office-based contact with service users. For many employers there is also a clear need to improve support for staff who have experienced intimidation, threats or violence. 

Ms Ewart finished by saying: “Our recommendations are a first step towards addressing the dangers faced by social workers. If significant progress is to be made, social work employers in all sectors must demonstrate leadership by prioritising protection of their staff. Doing so will take us closer to the ideal scenario in which social workers can improve the wellbeing of service users, while suffering no ill-effect to their own”.

NI Chief Social Work Officer, Sean Holland, responded to the report: “Quite rightly in recent years there has been growing awareness that healthcare workers providing vital public services can be subject to appalling verbal and physical abuse.

“Incidents involving for example, ambulance and Emergency Department staff being attacked by the very people they are trying to help are met by most people with incredulity and outrage.

“Less well known are the challenges faced by social workers. Most people who use the services of social workers value them and have a positive relationship with them.

“However, it’s also the case that social workers often have to work with people in situations where their interventions are not always welcome.

“Trying to explain why a parent may not be able to continue to care for their child or why someone may need to be deprived of their liberty while they receive treatment are difficult situations. In most cases, even these conversations are managed without threats or violence.

“Unfortunately sometimes, as this study has revealed, social workers can be subject to threats, intimidation and physical violence. Half of all social workers report that they have been attacked and over three quarters have experienced some form of threat or intimidation.

“Those are shocking figures and its worth remembering that social workers do most of their work on their own, in people’s homes where there may be limited or no opportunity to call for help or even easily get away.

“For some, the threat extends beyond the working day and can extend to the social worker’s own home and family. Today there are social workers in the Probation Service living under credible paramilitary threat.

“This makes it all the more important that employers take their duty of care towards this group of staff seriously. Interestingly the study reveals that, when social workers have reported a threat, 54% have been satisfied with their employers’ response. That shows there are things that can be done to reduce risks and manage threats but it also means more needs to be done.

“Social workers in every setting really work on behalf of all of us dealing with some of the most difficult challenges that human beings experience. They understand this is not easy work and they accepted that when they became social workers.

But they have a right to be protected and supported in their vitally important work.

“Government, employers, staff and the general public all need to do their part to back our social workers and ensure that they can go about their work safely.”