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Discriminatory abuse has been a distinct category of abuse in safeguarding adults policy since 2000, but it is rarely used in practice, according to recent official statistics. As part of a larger project, the authors undertook a literature review to clarify the concept, explore reasons for low reporting and consider recommendations for practice. The purpose of this paper is to present the findings of this literature review.

This literature review comprises 35 sources, which were identified using three academic databases, reference harvesting and sector-specific websites. Findings were developed through thematic analysis of the data.

The literature review demonstrates that definitions of discriminatory abuse stretch from an interpersonal emphasis in policy documents to a more structural approach. There are open questions about the status of discriminatory abuse as a category of abuse due to the complicated interface between discriminatory motivations and the abusive acts through which they are experienced. A range of factors can obscure its identification, particularly the hidden, stigmatised and normalised nature of discriminatory abuse. Some recommendations for practice are identified, but more work is needed to develop the practice vocabulary and required skills.

This study brings together existing research on discriminatory abuse to argue that it is time to revive this understanding of abuse and develop safeguarding practice with adults who have protected characteristics.

The safeguarding and protection components of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 offers the culmination of four years consultation in England and Wales by the Law Commission and many years of evolving policy and practice with a view to protecting adults from harm. The purpose of this paper is to offer both scrutiny and challenge for Wales’ policy makers and practitioners alike.

The paper is a critical analysis of both current responses and forthcoming changes.

The paper proposes that Wales has failed to implement previous recommendations in relation to institutional abuse. Currently in Wales, there are individuals employed in safeguarding lead roles who have no social care qualification. This apparent “loophole” has not to date been highlighted to date by either of the regulatory bodies within Wales (CSSIW/CCfW).

The paper offers a viewpoint but leaves some questions unanswered.

The Williams Review in April 2014 is set to change the local authority landscape in Wales. There is scope for developing the function of adult safeguarding.

Wales’ failure to recognize institutionalized abuse as a distinct category may have had impacted on its ability to respond to abuse in nursing and care as well hospital settings.

The failure to recognize institutional abuse is not the only safeguarding anomaly within Wales’ arrangements for protecting those are risk of abuse. This paper describes gaps in the NHS and of professional accountability.

The purpose of this commentary is to examine the prevalence in which pregnant women are exploited in the production of apparel goods.

The labor laws of four countries, including China, Mexico, Nicaragua and the Philippines, are assessed and discussed in relation to cases of documented abuse occurring against pregnant women working in the garment industry in these four countries.

An analysis and consensus of the literature reveals that although all four countries have established labor laws to protect workers, pregnant women continually face abuse and discrimination in the garment industry. Many forms of exploitation occur, including forced abortions, unpaid and/or required overtime, lack of adequate benefits, unfair hiring and promotion practices, and forced job assignments requiring intense physical labor which proves detrimental to the health and well‐being of the worker and unborn child.

Labor abuses in the production of apparel goods are often widely espoused as a result of media campaigns executed by human rights and labor organizations. The focus of such movements, however, is often on the disregard for child labor laws, workers' rights to join unions, and minimum wage violations. Less focus has centered on the treatment of pregnant women in the production of apparel goods. In an attempt to educate consumers, industry and academic professionals, this paper addresses the issue of discriminatory abuses occurring against pregnant women in the garment industry.

The purpose of this paper is to report the key findings from a study of adult protection referrals collected by two English local authorities during 1998‐2005.

Referrals were analysed for patterns relating to risk with client level data supplemented by information from the local authority databases and from the Care Quality Commission. The analysis also examined associations between adult protection processes and outcomes and looked at how adult protection monitoring data could be improved to better inform safeguarding management and practice at local and national level.

Sexual abuse was most frequently reported for people with intellectual disabilities, who were also at higher risk of abuse when living out of area. Older people were most at risk of financial abuse in community settings and of neglect in residential care.

The study identifies patterns of risk in the abuse of older people and those with intellectual disabilities and informs preventive interventions. It also indicates priorities for improving the quality and comparability of adult protection monitoring data.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate how the proceedings of a vulnerable adult protection policy is understood by referrers to affect the psychological and emotional well‐being of adults with a learning disability. During the research process seven referrers of vulnerable adults discussed twelve different cases in in‐depth interviews. The interviews and matching case notes of protection meetings released by social services were analysed by the application of grounded theory techniques. The result is a model that highlights how appraisals of the experience the emotional and behavioural reactions of the vulnerable adults are shaped by the nature of the abuse, the actions taken by protection meetings, the expectations of the vulnerable adults and the availability of support.

Vulnerable adults have recently gained greater protection. A lot of attention has focused on the effect of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006, but many significant provisions can be found elsewhere. It may be that those provisions, and the possibilities they introduce, are not fully understood by those who could make the best use of them. That would be unfortunate. Where it enjoys powers for adult protection purposes, a public authority might have to explain any failure to use them, particularly where that failure has unfortunate consequences. This paper does not deal directly with the law on adult social care. Nor even, in general terms, does it describe the law relating to the safeguarding of vulnerable adults. It does, however, discuss some of the more significant adult protection provisions and in the process, refers to the No Secrets guidance, which was published in 2000 and remains the chief resource for adult protection work. (Department of Health & Home Office, 2000).

The inclusion of modern slavery in the Care Act 2014 as a form of abuse means that the subject of modern slavery is now included in the remit of adult safeguarding in England. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the background to the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and its provisions.

A policy analysis was undertaken in 2016 drawing on research and commentary related to the interface between modern slavery and adult safeguarding.

There is little material as yet focussing on adult safeguarding and modern slavery but the inclusion of modern slavery in this area of practice and organisations will require practitioner responses, organisational collaboration and revisions of data collection and analysis. Newspaper accounts of criminal charges under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 may be important first evidence of the interface potentially between modern slavery and adults at risk of abuse and neglect that are the focus of adult safeguarding concern.

Information about modern slavery may provide relevant background and contextual detail for adult safeguarding communities, furnishing links and resources for this new area of their work.

This paper is likely to be of interest to policymakers, researchers and practitioners in examining their new duties under the Care Act 2014 and the Modern Slavery Act 2015, and to wider public and private bodies considering their responsibilities in responses to modern slavery more broadly.

The purpose of this paper is to interrogate and develop the conceptualisation of discriminatory abuse in safeguarding adults policy and practice beyond the current interpersonal definition. The paper draws on Safeguarding Adults Reviews (SARs) that refer to discriminatory abuse or safeguarding practice with adults who have care and support needs and protected characteristics.

A search of the national network repository of SARs identified 27 published reviews for inclusion. The contents were thematically analysed to understand how discrimination was experienced in these cases. Fricker’s “Epistemic Injustice” theory was adopted as a conceptual framework, informing the analysis of findings.

Evidence from SARs provides a challenge to the interpersonal emphasis on language and behaviour in national policy. Although the reviews acknowledge that interpersonal abuse occurs, a close reading spotlights practitioner and institutional bias, and inattention to social, structural and contextual factors. The silence on these matters in policy provides a narrow frame for interpreting such abuse. This suggests significant potential for epistemic injustice and signals a need to acknowledge these social, structural and contextual factors in safeguarding practice.

Discriminatory abuse is an under-researched and under-utilised category of abuse in safeguarding adults practice. The paper adopts Fricker’s theory of “Epistemic Injustice” to highlight the silencing potential of current policy approaches to discriminatory abuse to suggest a more inclusive and structural framing for safeguarding practice with those targeted due to their protected characteristics.

The purpose of this paper is to consider what safeguarding responses to discriminatory abuse and hate crime might learn from existing research on restorative justice and to drive practice development based on available evidence.

This paper is based on a scoping review of literature using four academic databases and reference harvesting. This comprised a critical appraisal of 30 articles, which were thematically analysed to appreciate the benefits and challenges of restorative justice responses to hate crime and how this might inform safeguarding responses to discriminatory abuse and hate crime.

The analysis identifies four domains where learning can be drawn. These relate to theory on restorative justice; restorative justice practices; perspectives from lived experience of restorative justice and hate crime; and an appraisal of critiques about restorative justice.

This paper connects the emerging evidence on restorative criminal justice responses to hate crime to the “turn” towards strengths-based practices in adult safeguarding. Although this provides a fertile environment for embedding restorative practices, the authors argue certain precautions are required based on evidence from existing research on hate crime and restorative justice.