Recognising and Addressing Links Between Cognitive Impairment and Exploitation in England

Rights Lab project lead: Alison Gardner
Funder: Nuffield
Duration: September 2022 - September 2024
Programme: Health and Communities Programme

 

Modern slavery and wider forms of exploitation are increasingly recognised as a social problem, but these issues do not affect everyone equally.

A pilot study in Nottingham highlighted that cognitive impairment was present in 31% of cases of adult exploitation, but the extent and nature of the connection is not yet understood, as it is not routine in England to record the presence of cognitive impairment in relation to exploitation.

This project will provide the first robust description of the connections between cognitive impairment and diverse forms of exploitation of adults in England,exploring potential causal relationships, and proposes a multi-layer framework for policy and action to respond to these issues. We will conduct the most comprehensive study of this issue to date, including:

• A rigorous scoping review of UK and international literature, concerning links between exploitation and cognitive impairments.

• Quantitative analysis of all-England data on exploitation recorded as part of statutory safeguarding enquiries under section 42 of the Care Act 2014.

• A survey of English police forces, local authorities and Safeguarding Adults Boards, examining current approaches to identifying, recording and acting on connections between cognitive impairment and exploitation.

• Targeted narrative interviews with individuals with lived-experience, policy makers and professionals, to identify barriers and opportunities for intervention.

We will detail findings in an open-access online report for policymakers, a plain English summary for people with cognitive impairment, a podcast and training materials for practitioners, and two academic articles, as well as trade-press publications, blogs and workshops.