Preventing the Abuse of Vulnerable Adults: Social Policy and Research

Abstract

While emerging UK policy in relation to adult protection confirms the theoretical primacy of prevention, the meaning thereof is unevenly elaborated. In residential and nursing care, prevention is explicitly promoted via a combination of transparent standards and rigorous regulation. In the domestic and civil spheres, however, the limits of public law protection mean that prevention cannot be conceived in terms of such a unitary model. Drawing on tentative messages from research, this paper explores a range of policies which, while diverse in their explicit aims, could claim to pursue an implicitly preventive objective in relation to abuse. These include community care provision, both generally and with an eye to national service objectives, together with specific funding for the promotion of independence, extending into wider self-help and social inclusion initiatives.