ABSTRACT
Risk, and ideas associated with risk, do seem to appear frequently, and often centrally, in much of the recent social-work literature. Vulnerability is a risk-related concept which is introduced and developed by the BASW working group. In the sense that they have relatively little power, many minority groups are vulnerable to restriction, imposition, or exploitation by the majority. The unpredictability of some forms of mental disorder, for instance, may create a situation in which the social worker can see several possible loss outcomes but cannot be sure of their relative likelihood: there is a high risk. One of the main preoccupations in recent years has been with children at risk of non-accidental injury and further illustrations from this field will be given to explore the concept of individual danger. The implications of the developing emphasis on children at risk of injury have been considerable in recent years in terms of caseload pressures and priority decisions.
