Connect Centre seminar: From Genograms to Peer-Group Mapping…
By: UCLan, School of Social Work, Care and Community
When: Wednesday, 2 November 2016 from 16:00 to 17:30 (GMT) – Add to Calendar
Where: Brook Building room 213 – Adelphi / Victoria Streets University of Central Lancashire, Preston, PR1 7QR – View Map
About ‘From Genograms to Peer-Group Mapping: Building Peer-Influence into Child Protection Assessment and Intervention’ by Carlene Firmin, University of Bedfordshire:
Research into peer-on-peer abuse indicates that it is often a highly social, public and networked phenomenon, manifesting in young people’s peer groups, schools and in their engagement with public spaces. This paper shares the findings of three studies concerned with building responses to peer-on-peer abuse by exploring the importance, and challenges, of integrating information about peer group influence into child protection assessments and interventions. Firstly, analysis of peer group interplay in 18 contextual case reviews of peer-on-peer abuse will be used to illustrate the ways in which young people’s peers play a significant role in escalating their vulnerability to abuse and potentially acting as partners in safeguarding. Secondly, the findings of these contextual case reviews will be considered in light of analysis of serious case reviews which have acknowledged, but failed to identify solutions for addressing, the impact of peer group influence. Finally, this paper will outline steps taken by professionals in 11 action research sites who have been developing contextual responses to peer-on-peer abuse since 2013. Examples of their approaches towards, and the challenges of, designing interventions and assessments that recognise peer group influence in these sites will be explored including: the ethics of mapping and naming networks of children; weighting peer group influence against familial influence during assessments; and designing peer group intervention. Taken together, these three areas of work will be used to discuss a conceptual transfer of child protection principles from intervening with familial environments to intervening with peer groups. This discussion will be used to conclude that despite the practical, ethical and legal challenges, approaches are required that incorporate peers into assessment of, and intervention with, matters of adolescent vulnerability. Without such a development, the child protection system will remain ill-equipped to safeguard young people from extra-familial harm
Register for the event: here via Eventbrite
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