Exploring the Ethics of Forewarning: Social Workers, Confidentiality and Potential Child Abuse Disclosures

Abstract

This article reports on exploratory research into social workers’ perceptions and actions regarding “forewarning” clients of their child abuse reporting obligations as a limitation of confidentiality at relationship onset. Ethical principles and previous research on forewarning are discussed prior to stating the research methods and presenting findings. Data obtained from South Australian social workers engaged in human service work with adult family members articulate a strong desire to practise in accordance with professional codes of ethics. However, the findings suggest that proactive forewarning is extremely infrequent, with minimized forewarning accomplished only in response to client-initiated inquiry and where prior suspicions of child abuse may exist. Generally, discomfort with forewarning was found to result in its avoidance due to concerns about client retention, working in tense relationships and personal uncertainties about client's reactions towards participants. Through the avoidance of forewarning, participants are potentially supporting their own personal feelings and viewpoints more actively than the rights of others. This may correlate with having a private model of professionalism in opposition to a public model, in which relationship parameters are presented honestly and openly to clients when establishing the practice context—a problematic issue for ethical social work.

Keywords:

• Code of Ethics
• Social Work
• Child Abuse
• Confidentiality
• Informed Consent
• Rights
• Trust
• Self-determination
• Empowerment

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Helen McLaren

Helen McLaren is a PhD candidate at the University of South Australia