REF 2021: Unit of Assessment 20

UOA 20: Social Work and Social Policy

REF 2021

This is the first time we have submitted to this Unit of Assessment. Social work and social policy research at Bournemouth University focuses on marginalised or seldom heard voices; making lives better for people who are silenced, excluded and marginalised from and within society. The key purpose of our research in the unit is to grow sustainable and interdisciplinary collaborations that demonstrate the application of social science in contemporary society, both nationally and internationally, by challenging discrimination, oppression, inequalities and abuse whilst championing safeguarding and social justice.

Find out about the impact of our research:

Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults from Financial Scams

Staff conducting research: Professor Lee-Ann Fenge, Professor Keith Brown, Dr Sally Lee, Emily Rosenorn-Lanng, Davide Melacca

BU’s National Centre for Post-Qualifying Social Work is widely regarded as a leader of research into financial scamming and fraud. Beginning with a grant from the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) to explore the extent of financial scams that target vulnerable individuals, the team then worked with Age UK, the London Borough of Croydon, CTSI’s National Scams team, the Royal Mail, and the Burdett Trust for Nursing, as well as the victims of scamming and their families.

BU developed key learning resources based on this research, which have been distributed nationally, raised awareness of scamming, and increased the protection of vulnerable groups. Nationwide charities, local authorities, the NHS, financial institutions and government all use BU’s research and materials to protect vulnerable people from being defrauded, helping to save consumers from scams worth more than £22 million.

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Improving the lives of sex workers in Brazil

Staff conducting research: Professor Michael Silk, Dr Amanda De Lisio

Media speculation often points to heightened demand for sexual services around sporting mega events, such as the Olympics. These reports tend to be used to justify policing and rationalise displacing sex work from the public spaces.

Professor Silk and academic collaborators from Rio de Janeiro, Toronto and Kings College London undertook the first ever funded academic study that looked at the impact of the Olympics on sex workers. The project was centred on Rio de Janeiro during the 2016 Olympics and found that sex workers were forcibly evicted and displaced, with public discourse conflating forced migration and sexual exploitation with adult, consensual sex work.

Displacing sex workers during sporting mega events can have wide-reaching consequences for their safety, particularly in Brazil, where sex work is a legal profession. By providing an evidence base on the regulation of informal sex economies during these events, this project elevated the voice of sex workers in Brazil and shaped policy.

The research findings informed a submission to the United Nations Human Rights Council, which documented human rights violations against sex workers in Brazil during the staging of sporting mega events, leading to a number of recommendations being adopted by the Brazilian government.

These recommendations have now been incorporated into federal law, committing themselves to including human rights education in schools, creating domestic violence centres across the country, running an awareness campaign and setting up a hotline to report cases of violence against women.

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Changing hearts and minds: How the stories of older LGBT people are changing attitudes, education and care

Staff conducting research: Dr Kip Jones, Professor Lee-Ann Fenge, Dr Rosie Read, Dr Marilyn Cash

The team's research explored the experiences of older LGBT people, discovering common themes of identity issues, isolation and exclusion and, in particular, a lack of participation from rural residents and limited understanding of participants’ life stories.

Based on these insights, Dr Jones wrote and produced a short film, RUFUS STONE, which tells the story of two young boys’ experience of anger and rejection from a rural 1950s community when they develop feelings for each other. The film was screened around the world, winning international accolades, and has been used in teaching materials internationally. By December 2020, the film had been viewed online more than 17,800 times in 73 countries.

Professor Fenge collaborated with a group of older LGBT people to produce a card deck called ‘Methods to Diversity’ for care agencies and service providers. The cards detail activities and exercises to prompt staff to think about inclusivity and the diversity of the ageing population.

The film and card deck have been used in staff training by organisations including Hampshire County Council, Help and Care UK, and the Alzheimer's Society.