This thesis examines the causes and effects of violence against social workers. In particular, it addresses issues of conflict arising from certain social workers' roles, and the nature, extent and effects of aggression and violence against social workers in both probation and child protection work. The management of these issues is also examined in depth. The thesis contains critical reviews of the literature available at the time of the preparation of the publications, which drew out key issues for theory, policy and practice. It also contains three empirical research reports, which utilized a mixture of qualitative and quantitative approaches. The first piece of research was undertaken within a probation service, and the last two pieces were carried out with child protection social workers and managers in a large social services department. The work highlights the importance of incorporating the experiences and views of social workers and managers concerning the management of aggression and violence from service users within their agencies' policy development. The issues addressed within the research reports include the effectiveness of support available for staff and managers, and how policy and practice relate to the dilemmas and problems raised for workers and managers dealing with threats within what can be ambiguous roles, particularly within child protection work. The work within the thesis addresses how policies and practice relate to the protection of children when parent service users display violence and aggression. It analyses the place of risk assessment both in relation to threats to workers and in the potentially negative effects on the protection of the child(ren) and others involved. The possible effects on the protection of children as a result of such threats, particularly within the Developing Violent Scenarios identified within the thesis, are also explored. The work incorporates possible ways of dealing with those clients who present aggressive and violent behaviour, within a consideration of how issues of power, control and gender affect the nature and effects of threats to workers. On the basis of original research and analysis of the relevant literature, the work offers a model of how issues of under-reporting, effects on victimized staff, and support for staff individually might most effectively be incorporated into the development of agency policies and risk assessment procedures to reduce risk to both children and staff.

Social work, as a profession, is critical for societies as it aims to promote social change and development, as well as social cohesion and the empowerment and liberation of people. Whereas the working conditions of social workers have been the focus of previous research, the topic of social workers’ personal safety challenges and the coping strategies employed during social work service delivery seems to be sparsely researched and documented in indigenous literature. In view of this, I designed a research project aimed at exploring the personal safety challenges that social workers encounter and the coping strategies they employ during social work service delivery from a qualitative research approach with a collective case study design, coupled with an explorative, descriptive, contextual and phenomenological research design, with a view to proffer suggestions for promoting social workers’ personal safety. From the conception of the research project, up until its finalisation which culminated in this research report, I observed the ethical principles of informed consent, anonymity, and confidentiality in the context of the management of information. I employed semi-structured interviews as a data collection method from a sample of 14 purposively selected social workers in the employ of one government Department and three non-profit organisations in the Tshwane region. Data was analysed using Tesch’s (1990) steps and data verification was done through Gibbs’ (2008) model. I utilised Schlossberg’s (1981) Transition Process Model as the theoretical lens in this study. Based on the findings presented in this research report, it is evident that social workers face various challenges in terms of their personal safety, ranging from being physically attacked and being at the receiving end of aggressive behaviour from distressed, frustrated, and hostile service users, to facing risks to their personal safety in the social work offices and whilst on the road during fieldwork or in the communities they serve. The various coping strategies that social workers employ as way of dealing with the incidents and situations in which their personal safety is compromised include speaking to a supervisor, colleagues, friends, or a therapist; using their personal faith; remaining calm and withdrawing from the unsafe situation; and enlisting the help of the police or ensuring that they are accompanied by colleagues when doing fieldwork. The research findings included the suggestions proffered by the research participants on how to promote the personal safety of social workers and these are directed at employer organisations and social workers themselves. In addition, recommendations are provided which are directed towards social work practice; social work education and training; and continuous professional development. There are also recommendations for areas of further research. / Social Work / M.A. (Social Work)