International guidelines to inform policy development to address client violence in South Africa: an ATA-document analysis

BACKGROUND: Research shows that the most typical response to client violence has been to implement policies that safeguard social workers at their workplaces. This article examined, through a document analysis, the international norms for the protection of social workers. The goal of the document analysis was to inform policy development in South Africa against client violence. METHODS: The researchers found, selected, analysed, and synthesised 17 international policies, frameworks, protocols, guidelines, and legislative frameworks using the applied thematic analysis (ATA) approach. The data was analysed at three levels, and open coding yielded 18 codes. RESULTS: The codes were refined into three main themes and subthemes related to protecting social workers from client violence: (1) employers inspired a culture of safety and security within the work-environment, (2) social workers prioritised their safety by using their clinical skills, and (3) actively implementing initiatives to ensure the safety of social workers. CONCLUSIONS: The research highlighted social work safety while providing services at an office, visiting sites, or traveling. Examining these practicalities provided valuable data that can inform policy development processes in different countries. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12913-022-08196-8.