Friend or Foe?

Abstract

Adults with learning disabilities are often the targets of acts of violence, aggression, bullying and humiliation. This review of the literature considers as problematic the prevention and detection of abuse, and the effect it has on relationships between carer and client, the therapeutic environment and the culture of wider society. This article seeks to inform prevention strategies by identifying not just the characteristics of the abusers and the victims but the reality of relationships between them and how this can be the most effective safeguard against abuse. The article suggests that at the core of a valuing relationship between a carer and a person with learning disabilities is a concept of humanness, and a willingness to see reciprocity and warmth in their alliance with one another. The article concludes that a challenge facing leaders and managers of services is how to replicate, cherish and maintain that connection and interdependence between `carer' and `cared for'.