This article presents the results from a qualitative study that explored how legislation in British Columbia, intended to protect vulnerable adults from harm, is implemented in practice. The legislation contains guiding principles that require the least restrictive and minimally intrusive form of support or intervention be used and that the adult’s wishes be respected. Sixteen professionals who work as elder abuse responders in British Columba participated in this study through interviews and a focus group. Fifteen of the study participants were social workers. Grounded theory method was used, and themes were identified. The first theme reveals that responders prefer to obtain older adult consent to service provider involvement, rather than forcing compliance by using statutory authority. The second theme reveals that responders may not be able to intervene in a minimally intrusive manner because of resource shortages and organizational structural issues. These findings have human rights and social justice implications.

本文介绍了定性研究的结果，该研究探索了不列颠哥伦比亚省旨在保护易受伤害的成年人免受伤害的立法是如何在实践中实施的。立法包含指导原则，要求使用限制或干预最少的形式的支持或干预措施，并尊重成年人的意愿。通过采访和一个焦点小组，在不列颠哥伦比亚省的16位担任老年人虐待回应者的专业人员参加了这项研究。研究参与者中有15名是社会工作者。使用扎根的理论方法，并确定了主题。第一个主题表明，响应者更愿意获得服务提供商参与的成年人同意，而不是通过使用法定权限来强迫服从。第二个主题表明，由于资源短缺和组织结构问题，响应者可能无法以最低限度的干预方式进行干预。这些发现对人权和社会正义具有影响。