In March 2014 the East Midlands Salon hosted a discussion entitled ‘Safeguarding vulnerable adults – the State in your living room?’.

This Salon discussion was introduced by Barbara Hewson – a leading barrister based in London who practises civil liberties, public and regulatory law. She has a particular interest in autonomy and in reproductive rights. She has long been an outspoken critic of legal paternalism, and fought a successful campaign to halt the practice of court-ordered Caesareans in the U.K. She regularly writes for spiked.

Read her article The judges playing doctors and nurses by clicking on the link.

By way of introduction to her talk Barbara says: “‘Safeguarding‘ is now big business. It covers both children and adults who deemed to be ‘vulnerable’. Local authorities have extensive policies relating to safeguarding. Last year, the Government consulted on whether the state should have a power to enter private residences on safeguarding grounds. 77% of the public opposed this, while a majority of health and social services authorities were in favour. What does this tell us about the mismatch between public expectations, and elite professional opinion?”