social work

Social worker fired after allegedly asking child to reveal genital scratch

A social worker has to appear before a General Social Care Council conduct committee after she was accused of asking a child to reveal a scratch near her genital area.

Mabel Rose qualified as a social worker in 2004 and was working for an agency in south east London at the time of the alleged incident. Her contract was terminated later even though Rose has denied the allegations.

The incident is said to have occured in 2006. At that time, Rose was dealing with a child protection case, involving a six-year-old girl that had allegedly disclosed abuse by her father and showed another social worker, Marinda Beaton, evidence on a mobile phone.

During a home, Rose interviewed the child alone and saw a scratch on the child’s face. She was then told by the child about another one on her genital area, and asked to see it.
It was also claimed that the following day she told three colleagues what she had done, but later changed her story and said that the child had voluntarily revealed the scratch.

Rose's manager, Ian Smith, told the hearing that anyone with basic social work training should know that it is not appropriate to physically examine a child. I would have expected her to suspend the interview and I would have expected her to call the office. He added: “I was sorry to see Mabel go as she was well-liked. I felt a bit sorry for her as everyone makes mistakes but this was a serious mistake.”

Do you agree with the company's decision to fire Rose after the incident or was it an innocent mistake that did not really do any harm? A social worker has to appear before a General Social Care Council conduct committee after she was accused of asking a child to reveal... more

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