Social workers seek 'sensitive' police aid

Police assistance needs to be more sensitive towards the needs of social workers, especially those working in a volatile environment, the Maltese Association of Social Workers (MASW) said yesterday.

Last week a social worker suffered a broken leg after she was allegedly assaulted by girls whom she was working with at Programm Fejda, a therapeutic programme for adolescent girls with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

The social worker had claimed that the police had gone to Programm Fejda but had to leave because of other commitments.

"Coordination and a good back-up from the police are essential as they can determine the outcome of such incidents," the association said.

Condemning such incidents, it expressed its solidarity with the social worker.

"The MASW in no way accepts the occurrence of such incidents and wishes to reiterate its commitment to address such incidents for the benefit of the social work profession and people using social work services," it said.

Last year, the association drew up a policy and a set of procedures on safety at the workplace for social work services. The MASW said the idea behind the policy was to promote awareness and encourage the setting up of systems to address such situations.