Boundaries in carework: a case study of domestic violence shelter advocates in the USA.

Recent decades have witnessed the professionalisation of carework in the USA, including the work of caring for the elderly, people living with mental/physical disabilities and other vulnerable populations. In the past, carework was primarily performed by family members or others as a service. Using an ethnographic case study of domestic violence shelter advocacy as a sector in the carework industry, this article defines boundaries as a mechanism for creating and maintaining organisational and attitudinal professionalism. The discourse of boundaries is also a lens through which domestic violence advocates articulate the multiple pressures they negotiate, as they embrace and resist their professional identities.