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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.

This article has three aims: to develop understanding of the case conference in the protection of vulnerable adults; to focus on the role of the chair in order to help those assuming such a position and those who work with them; to consider the case conference as one element of No Secrets and its rolling out into local policy and procedure documents.

As Safeguarding Adults, the national framework of standards of good practice in adult protection, begins to take root in the language and culture of organisations, the need for an evidence base for best practice becomes increasingly important. This article examines the practice data currently generated in three safeguarding adults partnership areas with specific regard to the Safeguarding Adults plan. This process, prior to the clarification of language by Safeguarding Adults, may have been referred to as the ‘case conference’ or ‘review’. Data was gathered from focus groups of safeguarding managers from local unitary authorities. Themes emerged across the groups and, via the use of grounded theory (Strauss & Corbin, 1998), the themes were analysed to highlight the key issues and pressures for those operating within this role.

The Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007 (ASP Act) mandates public bodies to investigate situations of harm and to support and protect adults at risk. One of the fundamental principles of the legislation is to involve the person in the adult protection process. Older people are highly represented among those defined as adults at risk and have the right to participate in decisions about their lives. However, contextual factors can impact participatory parity, and participation can be tokenistic. Drawing on the author’s practice experience, this paper aims to explore the supports and barriers to meaningful participation in adult protection.

Based on practice during the first decade of the ASP Act, this paper uses amalgamated scenarios involving older adults at risk to illustrate some of the key themes emanating from literature.

Despite Human Rights Conventions and law promoting participatory principles, research evidence and practice experience suggests that ethical principles do not always translate to practice. Within adult protection case conferences (APCCs), participation is nuanced and multifaceted, involving individual and structural facilitators and impediments. APCCs can be inhospitable environments for the adult at risk. But they also have the potential to be collaborative and supportive spaces, promoting the person’s self esteem and agency. The author plans to conduct research with service users and practitioners exploring the extent to which APCCs can facilitate meaningful participation.

This paper contributes to the wider debate about the participatory rights of service users and the value of experiential knowledge.

The parallels between child abuse and adult abuse have been frequently noted as public awareness of both has increased in recent decades. Both can involve the concealed victimisation of a weaker family member, for both interventions are difficult to implement because practitioners are loath to intrude into the privacy of the family and risk causing harm, and combating abuse of either type demands multi‐agency working. Significant differences between the two abuse constituencies have also been stressed, namely that adults are not invariably dependents reliant for care on the persons mistreating them and have the autonomy to resist efforts to intervene on their behalf.

This article updates a review submitted to the Department of Health (DH) in the light of the House of Commons Health Select Committee report on Elder Abuse. The review drew on recent research about elder abuse in the UK, including research published after the Select Committee's hearings, that made specific recommendations for areas of development in research and policy. The aim of this paper is to address specific questions posed by the Select Committee in light of developments up to mid 2005.

This article discusses two theoretical constructs ‐ ways of understanding complex phenomena ‐ developed from a research study. The study, which explored the perceptions of adults who had been on the receiving end of adult protection procedures, uncovered that ambivalence about professional intervention accompanied a profound desire to have mistreatment ceased. It also found that sensitive intervention can make a positive contribution to people's lives.

At the core of raising awareness about adult protection lies the formidable task of introducing social and health care staff and others to what abuse is and what can be done about it. This is a task that may appear overwhelming in terms of numbers, time and cost. Here the lead training manager for East Sussex describes how one county has developed a multi‐agency programme of adult protection courses.

This article discusses the Law Commission's proposals for the reform of adult social care, with a particular emphasis on the specific proposals relating to adult protection. It argues that a future adult social care statute should clarify the existing legal position by placing a duty on local social services authorities to make enquiries and take appropriate action in adult protection cases. The definition of an adult at risk for the purposes of the duty to investigate is also considered and a proposal is put forward for how this might be defined in the statute. The article also proposes that the compulsory removal power under section 47 of the National Assistance Act 1948 (HM Government, 1948) should be repealed, that adult safeguarding boards should be placed on a statutory footing and that duties to co‐operate in adult protection should be introduced. Finally, concerns are raised that the current lack of statutory provision for adult protection may mean that there is confusion over the precise legal status of the guidance No Secrets (Department of Health & Home Office, 2000) and In Safe Hands (Welsh Assembly Government, 2000) and what actions this can authorise.