Prison Welfare and Voluntary After Care

Summary Some findings of a survey into the experiences of men releasedfrom prison are reported, where they relate to their use ofprison welfare and after care services. These are discussedin the context of issues such as through-care, rate of take-up,and the factors which may be influential in determining whethera man makes use of after care on release from prison. It isproposed that for more isolated men the probation service shouldadopt a ‘reaching-out’ strategy.     

Accommodation without Resident Staff for Ex-Psychiatric Patients: Changing Trends and Needs

Summary This paper deals with accommodation without resident staff providedin the community for ex-psychiatric patients. Existing evidenceabout this kind of accommodation shows that it is provided largelyfor an elderly, institutionalised, chronically handicapped group.Recent trends in hospital provision (especially the closureof long stay beds) would seem to suggest that in the futuresuch accommodation may have to provide more for a younger, morelively population coming from the community itself. A survey of such accommodation in one metropolitan local authorityarea was carried out in 1977–78 to investigate if suchchanges were being reflected in the population and regimes ofhomes. The results indicate that to some extent, this is thecase. Policy implications arising from these findings are discussed.     

Children in Secure Accommodation

Correspondence to Professor Robert Harris, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Department of Social Policy and Professional Studies, The University of Hull, Hull HU6 7RX. Summary This paper describes the characteristics of a sample of children(N = 399) being held in secure accommodation in eleven localauthorities prior to the implementation of the Children Act1989. It is argued that secure accommodation cannot be divorcedfrom other aspects of child care policy and practice; that anyconfidence that problems of excessive or variable usage canbe removed by more restrictive legislation is largely misplaced;that when social workers resort to secure accommodation it isoften through a combination of ‘worry’ about anunpredictable child and uncertainty as to what else to do; andthat since not all children in secure accommodation wish toleave it (and the more secure accommodation constitutes goodquality child care the more children are likely to want to stay)a ‘rights’ framework, though necessary, is not asufficient moral or conceptual basis for developing secure accommodationpolicy and practice.     

Working with Sex Offenders: A Social Skills Training Group

Summary The paper presents an account of a group of sex offenders ina local prison. Nine sessions of social skills training weregiven with the aim of facilitating relationships within theprison and possibly after release.     

Accommodation and Employment: A Survey into the Circumstances and Expressed Needs of Users of Mental Health Services in a Northern Town

Correspondence to Barbara Hatfield, Mental Health Social Work Research and Staff Development Unit, University of Manchester, Department of Psychiatry, Mathematics, Tower, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL. Summary A sample of 120 mental health service users in a Northern Townwas interviewed about satisfactions and expressed needs in arange of life domains. Most of the 120 users were male, in theolder age ranges, and not in current partnerships. Most hadservere and long-term conditions. Living situations includedhospital wards, hostels, a group home, living with family orfriends, and living alone. The domains of accommodation andemployment are discussed in this paper. The majority of peopleexpressed themselves as ‘satisfied’ with their accommodation,although a sizeable monority were not satisfied. Lack of choiceof alternatives emerged as an underlying feature of ‘expressedsatisfaction’. A sizeable group expressed the need forhelp in obtaining employment, particularly those living in thecommunity. It is argued that for consumer choice to have a realisticmeaning, people with severe mental illnesses need the experienceof choice from more than one alternative.     

Social Work with Single Parent Families: Consumer Views

Summary The article describes a research project undertaken to determinethe satisfaction of a particular client group—single parents—withthe service they were given. The research examines five kindsof problems—legal, accommodation, financial, child care,and emotional-and concludes that problems were likely to arisein all these areas, and that, whatever the problem, the socialworker's ability to help solve it depended to a large extenton the quality of the relationship with the client.     

An Assessment of the Potential for Community Living of Mentally Handicapped Patients in Hospital

Summary The paper examines the possibility of discharging mentally handicappedpatients from hospital to a wide range of community resources.Following the assessment of a sample of hospital patients theywere matched to appropriate care settings ranging from independentliving to relatively expensive hostel accommodation. A highproportion of patients were found to be capable of dischargefrom hospital, although for many this would be to relativelycostly settings. Factors which appeared to make some youngerpatients difficult to discharge from hospital were identified,suggesting that newer admissions were more disturbed, which,apart from resource considerations may account for some of thedifficulty experienced in plans to reduce hospital populations.     

Parental Contact with Children Fostered and in Residential Care after the Children Act 1989

Correspondence to Andy Bilson, Department of Social Work and Social Policy, University of Northumbria, Newcastle NE7 7XA. E-mail Andy_Bilson{at}Unn.AC.UK Summary Research carried out since the implementation of the ChildrenAct 1989 based on a sample of 848 children looked after by localauthorities indicates that previous estimates of the numberswho have no contact with parents may have underestimated theextent of the problem, and that despite the emphasis placedon contact by the Children Act there is still much work to bedone to improve practice. The research not only confirms earlierfindings about the instability of placements in care but alsoshows differences in face to face contact which depend on thelength of time in care or accommodation and the reason for entry,as well as differences between children placed in residentialand foster care. Finally it was found that where children havespent long periods in care they tend to have little contactwith fieldworkers, and it is suggested that there is a needto redefine the social work agenda for this vulnerable groupof children.     

Is Social Work a 'Non-Traditional' Occupation for Men?

Correspondence to Alastair Christie, Department of Applied Social Studies, University College Cork, Cork. Email: A.Christie{at}ucc.ie Summary The European Commission and the Equal Opportunities Commissionhave called for the increased employment of men in occupations,such as social work, where men are numerically under-represented.In Britain, men's employment in social work is contentious but,as yet, little discussed. This article draws on Williams' (1993,1995) concept of ‘non-traditional occupations for men’to explore the positions of men in social work. It focuses inparticular on continuities and dissonances between dominantconstructions of men's gender and professional social work identities.These are discussed in relation to particular areas of practiceand an agenda for further investigation is considered.     

Men and Anti-Sexism

Correspondence to Dr Neil Thompson, 1, Worcester Road, Bangor on Dee, Wrexham, Clwyd, LL13 0JB. Summary This paper explores the negative impact of sexism on both womenand men and considers what active part men can play in challengingand undermining sexism. The costs of living and working in apatriarchal society are outlined, and related to the differingexperiences of women and men. It is argued that, although womenclearly bear the brunt of sexism, gender stereotyping is notwithout significant costs for men. This leads us into an exploration of possible anti-sexist strategiesthat men can promote and implement as part of the developmentof anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive practice. The aimis not for men to ‘colonize’ or take over the struggleto achieve emancipation from oppressive gender norms. Rather,it is for men to play a part in the collective struggle to removethe inhumanity of patriarchal social relations. The paper is grounded within a professional value base premissedon a commitment to combating discrimination and oppression,and within a theory base informed by existentialist philosophy(Thompson, 1992a).     

Man-made Care: Community Care and Older Male Carers

Correspondence to Mike Fisher, Department of Social Work, University of Bristol, 8 Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1TN. Summary Recent evidence about the extent of caring for older peopleby older people themselves, and about the importance of spousecare, has challenged existing debates about gender and care.Male carers, particularly older husbands, have been ‘discovered’.This paper attempts to reconceptualize the debate about genderand caring to take account of these developments, particularlyto develop an understanding of the caring activities of oldermale carers and to elaborate the implications for communitycare policy. The evidence suggests there are circumstances where men acceptthe obligation to care, undertake intimate personal care, andderive identity and reward from their caring work, driven bysimilar motives and experiencing similar struggles as women.Rather than seeking maximum distinction between the motivesand experiences of women and men carers, the paper suggeststhat one important way to promote non-sexist community careis to explore the conditions where men's caring is undertakenand how it can be understood and developed.     

Parenting by men who abuse women: issues and dilemmas

Summary Enabling children of abused women to maintain a positive relationshipwith the perpetrator is extremely complex in the light of thepotential danger for women and children and the conflictingneeds, interests and rights of different family members. Nevertheless,we can no longer ignore the role of abusive men as fathers.Holding such men accountable for their children's well-beingmay, under certain conditions, contribute to the healthier emotionaldevelopment of their children. This article critically discussesthis controversial issue by examining available literature on(a) children's perceptions of their violent fathers, (b) abusivemen as parents, qualifications for abusive men's access to theirchildren, and (d) intervention with children of abusive menand their fathers.     

Adolescents Who Sexually Abuse and Residential Accommodation: Issues of Risk and Vulnerability

Summary This article, arising out of quantitative and qualitative researchstudies conducted by the authors, begins with a brief overviewof current knowledge about male adolescent sexual abusers andassociated policies, procedures and services. A particular concernraised by professionals and welfare agencies, who are strugglingto develop appropriate responses to young sexual abusers, concernsthe circumstances and problems of young people who are placedin residential accommodation as a result of their sexually abusivebehaviour, often where there are also child victims of sexualabuse. The vulnerability of young sexual abusers and the riskthey pose to others is considered in the light of the findingsof qualitative research by one of the authors into the constructionand control of children and their sexualities in residentialchildren's homes. This research suggests that the inadequateways in which sexual behaviour in children's homes is perceivedand managed, serves to compound the problems of both the sexuallyabusive and non-abusive adolescents placed there. The findingsfrom both authors' research are then theorized within broaderconceptual frameworks about the nature of childhood, childhoodsexuality and institutionalization and its links with peer sexualabuse.     

Sexual Abuse by Men who Work with Children: An Exploratory Study

Correspondence to Dr Matthew Colton, Department of Social Policy and Applied Social Studies, University of Wales Swansea, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK. Summary This paper reports findings from an exploratory study on sexualabuse by men who work with children. As a first step towardsfilling a major gap in the relevant research literature, in-depthinterviews were carried out with a small sample of men servingprison sentences for sexually abusing children in their trust.The paper focuses on their accounts of their life histories,including their experiences of prison treatment programmes,and provides a detailed picture of their thinking, feelingsand motivations. In revealing how the men construct their ownsense of masculine identity within social and professional contextsthat are dominated by a heterosexual, white male hegemony, thepaper challenges purely psychological explanations of why mensexually abuse. It concludes that sexual abuse in organizationalsettings is less likely to be challenged if masculinity is notfocused on as an issue of power.     

Abuse of Elderly Men and Women among Clients of a Community Psychogeriatric Service

Correspondence to Gail Wilson, Department of Social Science and Administration, London School of Economics, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE. Summary This paper reports on a study of elder abuse among clients ofan outer London community psychogeriatric service. Staff reportedelder abuse in their caseloads over a period of one year. Reportedcases were linked with referrals. Rates of abuse for differentstaff and for different age and ethnic groups were calculated.Women were very much more likely to be abused than men and wereless likely to be abusers. Clients were frequently reportedas abusing their carers. Staff reporting rates varied widely.Training and the time available to win the trust of clientsappeared to be important variables. The staff response was limitedby lack of managerial support and by lack of developed strategiesfor dealing with abusive situations. Separation was the mostcommon response to physical violence in the home. Financialabuse was mainly dealt with by social services. Staff abusewas largely ignored.     

Gender and Psychotropics: Toward a Third Wave Framework

Correspondence to: Dr R. L. Farmer, School of Social Work, Virginia Commonwealth University, 1001 W. Franklin Street, Richmond, Virginia, 23284–2027 USA. E-mail rfarmer{at}atlas.vcu.edu Summary This paper highlights the fact that women are much more likelythan men to use psychotropic medications. It proposes the developmentof a new intellectual framework for understanding and respondingto the high use of psychotropic medications by women. The frameworkis developed using the conceptual space provided by Third Wavefeminisms and a Lacanian interpretation of the Hegelian dialectic.The Third Wave is seen as a viable lens for this endeavour sinceit tolerates contradictions and ambiguity and is radically opento difference and diversity. This new framework can incorporaterelevant aspects of the Discourse Model and the Medical Model.It is argued that the Third Wave framework, which includes apostmodern attitude, allows us to make use of both perspectives,since either model alone is inadequate to inform our understandingof why women are prescribed psychotropic medications so muchmore frequently than are men. The point is that each model byitself is inevitably inadequate. The answers have to be soughtfrom both models, even though these models conflict.     

Child Sexual Abuse and the Male Monopoly: An Empirical Exploration of Gender and a Sexual Interest in Children

Correspondence to Mike Freel, Child Protection and Review Unit, Kirklees Children and Families Services, Westfields, Westfields Road, Mirfield, WF14 9PW, UK. E-mail: mike.freel{at}kirkleesmc.gov.uk Summary Researchers argue there is a male monopoly in the perpetrationof child sexual abuse, and that a male sexual interest in childrenis relatively common in society. Government and organizationsworking with children have done little to address possible implicationsof such research. This study explores gender differences inan expressed sexual interest in children, a history of childhoodsexual abuse, and the relationship between these two factors.A self-administer questionnaire was given to a sample of 92female and 91 male public sector child care workers. Resultsshowed a significantly higher percentage of males (15 per cent)than females (4 per cent) expressed a sexual interest in children.Females (20 per cent) were more than twice as likely as males(8 per cent) to report childhood sexual abuse. More than twiceas many men who had been sexually abused as a child (29 percent) expressed a sexual interest in children compared withnon-abused men (14 per cent), but this did not reach statisticalsignificance. In summary, this study found that a sexual interestin children is relatively common among male public sector childcare workers. Prevalence findings for childhood sexual abuseare broadly in line with other research. Experiencing childhoodsexual abuse was not related to a sexual interest in children,but this finding is based on small numbers reporting such aninterest.     

Gender and the Child Protection Process

Correspondence to Dr Elaine Farmer, Centre for Family Policy and Child Welfare, School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol, Block F, 8 Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 ITN, UK. Summary In the debates about finding a new balance between child protectionand family support, there has been silence on the issue of theimpact of gender on child protection work. Using data from oneof the studies in the Department of Health (1995) child protectionresearch programme, this article examines the impact of genderat each stage of the child protection process. It shows thatmothers have tended to be under-represented in relation to offersof service and over-included in respect of agencies' effortsto control them. When social work practice in cases of physicalabuse by men focuses exclusively on mothers, this allows men'sviolence to their female partners to be ignored. This practicehas been sustained in recent years, even though the child protectionsystem itself developed in response to public anxiety aboutchild deaths caused by men.     

General Practice, Social Work, and Mental Health Sections: The Social Control of Women

Michael Sheppard, Senior Lecturer in Social Work, Polytechnic South West, Drake Circus, Plymouth, Devon PL4 8AA. Summary A survey was undertaken of all referrals for compulsory admissionreceived by a city mental health centre over a one year period.The centre receives the overwhelming majority of all these referralsin the city. Referrals from GPs were compared with other referralsfocusing particularly on women. The results indicate GPs discriminatedagainst women, referring considerably more women than men withless emphasis on major (psychotic) mental illness. The involvementof approved social workers (ASWs) in the assessment processwas associated with diversion of many of the women away fromcompulsory admission, although even they appeared affected bypatriarchal assumptions. GPs' behaviour with regard to sectionsis consistent with reports about sexist practice in other areasof work. This, however, is particularly grave with sectionsbecause of civil liberties implications. The article concludesthat ASWs need be aware of potential sexist GP practice, thattheir psychosocial perspective is critical to assessment andthat ASW training should include gender issues.     

The problem of engaging men in child protection work

Correspondence to Kieran O'Hagan, Department of Social Work, The Queen's University of Belfast, 7 Lennoxvale, Belfast BT9 5BY Summary Child protection workers often concentrate upon mothers, andignore or avoid fathers and male cohabitees. This article attemptsto explore such tendencies, with the help of literature, researchand the author's own experiences. It asks: when does this ignoringand avoidance take place? How and why is it done, and what arethe likely consequences for child, mother, father/male partner,and child protection worker? It suggests that ignoring or avoidingmen constitutes a serious problem in child protection work.It makes suggestions on how trainers and managers may prepareworkers more effectively, enabling them to engage men who aresignificant in the lives of abused children.