Social workers’ experiences with whistleblowing: To speak or not to speak?

Abstract

In professional practice social workers have a responsibility to uphold ethical standards. Reporting on poor or dangerous practice has become known internationally as whistleblowing. My thesis reports on a small-scale study that explored the experiences of social workers who observed poor or unsafe practice and considered reporting this to supervisors, managers and professional bodies. Having experienced retaliation after speaking out, becoming a whistleblower, the decision was made by the author to research this subject and discover what other social workers had experienced as a consequence of deciding to speak out. This study provides a brief overview of the literature on whistleblowing in social work and related professions and reports on a qualitative study in which ten social workers participated in semi-structured interviews. All the participants in this study had identified unsafe practice and had tried to have their concerns addressed. The interview data revealed common experiences of a lack of support for those who speak out, retaliation from both colleagues and organisations and inadequate professional supervision. There were both personal and professional impacts suffered by the participants in this study, some of which are ongoing. The thesis identifies issues for consideration regarding the education, registration, employment and supervision of social workers. The thesis further identifies the need for an effective accountability framework for both social workers and their employing agencies.