Carer harm: a challenge for practitioners, services and research

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to consider how carer harm is understood, surfaced and responded to in contemporary policy, practice and research.

Design/methodology/approach: This paper offers a reflective commentary on the current “state of play” relating to carer harm drawing on existing research and related literature. This study focuses on how we define carer harm and what we know about its impact; lessons from, and for, practice and service provision; and (some) considerations for policy development and future research.

Findings: The authors highlight the importance of engaging with the gendered dimensions (and inequalities) that lie at the intersection of experience of care and violence and the need to move beyond binary conceptions of power (lessness) in family and intimate relationships over the life course. They suggest that changing how we think and talk about carer harm may support practitioners to better recognise the impact of direct and indirect forms of carer harm on carers without stigmatising or blaming people with care needs. The findings of this study also consider how carer harm is “hidden in plain sight” on two accounts. The issue falls through the gaps between, broadly, domestic abuse and adult and child safeguarding services; similarly, the nature and impact of harm is often kept private by carers who are fearful of the moral and practical consequences of sharing their experiences.

Originality/value: This study sets out recommendations to this effect and invites an ongoing conversation about how change for carers and families can be realised.