The Duty senior social worker is contacted by Police in East Lothian who have received information from the child’s grandmother Mrs T. Mrs T told them that she cares for Jenny every weekend and at bedtime she noticed bruising to Jenny’s foot that went from the top through to the sole. She asked Jenny how this had occurred and Jenny said that her father, William, did it to her. Mrs T explained that her daughter Shona and her partner William lived within Wester Hailes. Mrs T had ‘never taken’ to William. Mrs T did not believe that William was Jenny’s father, although the couple had reunited following Jenny’s birth. Jenny had had a bruise to her face several weeks previously and Jenny had explained that she had fallen. Mrs T wished to remain anonymous. Jenny was interviewed at the social work centre. She said that her daddy had caused the bruising but it was an accident when they were playing football. Although the interview did not determine that the cause of the injury was deliberate, given the extent of the bruising, the social worker asked that a doctor examine the injury. Shona complied with this request. The examination was not conclusive – the GP felt that the injury could have happened as a result of an accident but was concerned that Shona had not sought medical advice as the bruising on the foot must have caused Jenny pain and difficulty in walking. Shona and William said that Jenny had been trying to get attention and had lied to her grandmother about the injury as she knew that Mrs T did not like William. Shona said Mrs T spoiled Jenny. Without further information the investigation did not proceed further. Mrs T was insistent that Jenny had told her that her father had caused the injury deliberately.
http://www.socialwork.ed.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/case_studies/case_study_2
