What are the best ways to protect vulnerable individuals from mate crime?

Photo: John Birdsall/REX Shutterstock

What is mate crime and what do social workers need to know?
Mate crime happens when people in vulnerable situations are befriended by others who use that friendship as a vehicle for the exploitation or abuse of their victim. Mate crimes stretch from perpetrators ‘borrowing’ money or phones through to sexual exploitation and even murder. In my workshop I’ll be addressing:

• What is mate crime?
• What makes it different from hate crime and other abuses?
• What makes some people particularly vulnerable?
• Reporting issues
• What can we do about it?

Why do you think this topic is so important?
Mate crimes are hidden crimes, and very rarely reported. Whilst the ARC ‘Safety Net’ project was entirely concerned with people with learning disabilities, mate crimes happen to many other groups (including elderly people and people with mental health issues), and the lessons learned have general applications for all social workers.

What is your favourite thing about working in / with social care?
If you’re lucky, like me, working with both people with learning disabilities and social care staff, you just get to hang out with everything that is best about humanity on a daily basis.

For full details on this session and the rest of the programme visit the Community Care Live website.