I think the references system is a good method in general, but of course it has flaws.
I don't think SW's are less trustworthy than the average person, but there are good and bad people in life generally, and whether a client or SW is the subject, there's no foolproof way to tell the honest from the dishonest with certainty (except bitter experience).
SW's who ask for references are asking other SW's "please assure me this guy was not a time waster, a ripoff artist, or an abusive psycho when he saw you". That's reasonable to ask.
If references are to work as a system of safety, they have to have not just assurance of trust between the two, but also some kind of "pay it forward" reciprocity - every SW who relies on references is taking a chance that the other one is being honest & responsible, not some sort of unreliable source. Still, even a flawed method of research still provides a filter; better than no reference at all, even if never considered a foolproof guarantee.
BTW: when an SW asks for your social media / PERB user name, etc., the object is also the same: security. They do not want a detailed account of your lusty exploits; they are trying to see if you're some kind of obnoxious asshole, because that's a red flag which correlates with inflicting abuse.
(So, if I ever give my PERB handle to an SW, it is for that reason. The SW can "get to know you" in terms of even more screening. It is NOT for bragging purposes, or acting like some over-demanding Yelp reviewer/influencer.)
All that being said, I hope that references remain as a screening method and do not disappear.
Here's my conundrum:
Two ATF providers that I see repeatedly, love spending time with, and who always have great client reviews (therefore enhanced assurance of trust in them), recently switched to not providing references at all (to anybody). Other reference-friendly SW's, I have not seen in years (thanks to COVID and other things); some might even be retired.
Now I have really only 1 reliable reference left, and she travels overseas frequently and is not very active online. I do not want to rely on only her, and then she will say "why does he see ask me for help with them more than repeating with me?" I certainly would not risk losing her just to take a chance with someone new.
Some I cannot use because they're the sort of lady you contact by text and might not have a web presence at all. And I can't use anyone from a group or agency, because no SW asking for references wants to be talking to someone else's agent/handler.
Do I need to ask out-of-town visiting SW's for a reference? Or those local ladies I might have seen only once? I do not want to break some reference-asking etiquette, and end up not only not getting the reference for the new SW, but annoying the previous one to the point where I can never get a repeat visit. And I would not ask a reference from any SW I did not have a good session with.
Lately, it gets desperate, every time I see an appealing ad and then have to figure out if I can even get through the screening process. The plain fact is, I do not see that many ladies, and only about half of those are ladies I see for the first time. How do I keep the chain of current references going, without taking the crass step of choosing to see ladies based only on whether they provide references in turn? Hmm.