'Mingling together': promoting the social inclusion of disabled children and young people during the school holidays

The promotion of social inclusion of disabled children and their families is currently high on the UK political agenda. Research shows that disabled children and their families are highly disadvantaged, both economically and socially. This paper reports some of the findings of a qualitative study, entitled On Holiday! , which involved analysing the views of 297 people across six local authority research sites in England including 86 disabled children and young people. The study showed that many disabled children and their families experienced high levels of social isolation and exclusion during out-of-school periods and during the school holidays in particular. The paper recounts some of the experiences of disabled young people and their families and ways in which local authorities can promote their social inclusion. We argue that disabled young people and their families can only be truly socially included and empowered when all levels of the local authority (managers, officers and elected members) recognize the rights and entitlements of disabled children and have the political will and commitment to implement them.     

Rebellion and revenge: the meaning of suicide of women in rural China

The current literature on suicide in China shows that the female suicide rate is extraordinarily higher than the rate for males. Many studies have been conducted on the prevalence and perpetrating factors for suicidal incidents. Few have attempted to understand women's suicide acts. In this article, the ethnographic data are used to explore the special meaning of the suicide act in a Chinese family and its impact on the other family members. Research has shown that suicide may have a different meaning in the Chinese context, especially for women with an inferior status within the family. Suicide is taken as an act of revenge in a moral and spiritual sense. The act of suicide is very powerful; it grants the woman so much power that she may achieve what she could not during her lifetime. The suicide event remains in the collective memory of the relatives and other people who knew the person. Its powerful meaning is related to the memory of the transgressive event of taking one's own life as well as to the collective and personal guilt connected with the event.     

Children's experiences with an intervention aimed to prevent further physical abuse

Although many children across cultures are victims of physical abuse, few treatment models target these children and their parents. In Sweden, Combined Parent–Child Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for families at risk for child physical abuse has been successfully used according to pretreatment and posttreatment studies. However, few studies have explored how physically abused children experience treatment. This study includes 20 physically abused children aged 9–17 who completed Combined Parent–Child Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. Children had a positive overall impression of the treatment and highlighted addressing the abuse, as well as processing their experiences as particularly essential. Children described a positive transformation in their family life as a result of treatment, including violence cessation and bonding among family members. Children experienced the intervention as inclusive and child‐friendly. The implications of the promising findings are discussed.     

A critical review of the developmental approach to disability in South Africa

The article describes the policies, legislation, institutional structures and programmes of the developmental welfare system for physically disabled people in South Africa that have developed since 1994. In so doing, it examines resources and constraints and suggests ways in which improvements might be made following the experiences in the first 12 years of social development in South Africa. The author believes that it is timely to pursue this topic given the barriers experienced on the ground where social developers are attempting to empower and improve the circumstances of physically disabled people. Thus, this article should be of interest to policy makers, social planners, practitioners, human rights activists and disabled people alike.     

Consequences of Domestic Violence against Women: Some Reflections from Rural Bangladesh

The aim of this study was to explore the consequences of domestic violence against rural Bangladeshi women. Drawing on in‐depth qualitative phenomenological interviews with 39 female victims of domestic violence from 8 rural settings of the Netrokona and Mymensingh districts, it was found that domestic violence not only causes serious consequences to the overall health and wellbeing of victims, it also causes negative impacts to their children and family members. For victims, consequences were physical, sexual, reproductive, psychological, and economic. For the children of the victims, consequences were mostly behavioral and psychological, while for family members of the victims, consequences were mainly economic and psychological. This study has significant academic implications because it could trace the consequences of domestic violence in a three dimensional manner. Based on empirical findings, this study proposes policy recommendations, such as campaigning against domestic violence and the proper implementation of laws related to domestic violence.     

自杀倾向者的社会支持网络研究

社会支持网络是自杀倾向者维持生存的必需条件,它的构成和功能制约着他们在社会中存在的状态。通过对11位有过自杀倾向的人进行深入访谈发现,被访自杀倾向者在出现自杀的心理倾向后,均可以得到来自社会支持网络的多种支持：经济和物质的支持,保证了被访自杀倾向者的基本生活需求;社会交往的支持帮助被访自杀倾向者走出封闭的生活空间;心理辅导的支持帮助自杀倾向者放弃自杀的念头;自助能力的培养为自杀倾向者重建生活的信心提供了帮助。     

Mental health and social support: a pioneering study on the physically disabled in southern China

This is a pioneering study examining the effect of different types of social support on the mental health of the physically disabled in mainland China. With a random sample of 204 physically disabled people in Guangzhou, the biggest metropolis in southern China, results of this study showed that perceived social support was more effective in maintaining the mental health of the physically disabled than received social support. With respect to received social support, the attitude of the supporters, satisfaction with the support, the reciprocity of support relationships and the personal agency of the support recipients were found to be predictive of mental health. However, received daily-care support unexpectedly showed a significantly negative effect on mental health, while received economic and emotional support appeared to be irrelevant to the mental health of the physically disabled.     

Being there for my grandchild – grandparents' responses to their grandchildren's exposure to domestic violence

Grandparents whose grandchildren are exposed to domestic violence are faced with some unique challenges in their grandparenting, which have thus far been little discussed in research. This paper discusses the narratives of 10 Swedish grandparents whose grandchildren have been exposed to violence towards their mother. The aim was to explore grandparents' narrations of their responses in the face of violence, and their understanding of the role they play in their grandchildren's social networks. Two significant responses are discussed: ‘being there’ and ‘acknowledging the independence and self‐determination of the adult children’. Grandparents experienced these responses as contradictory and felt powerless when it came to their possibilities to protect their grandchildren. The paper suggests that grandparents could be a resource for domestic violence services, and social work practice needs to assess the roles of grandparents of children exposed to domestic violence. Social workers should consider the challenges these grandparents are facing and what support they may need in order to support their grandchildren.     

Webs of empire: locating New Zealand's colonial past

This article reports on the views of non-medical interest groups about sterilization and intellectually disabled people in New Zealand. The rationale for undertaking a study in this sensitive area is presented. Notes about survey distribution method are included and participants’ responses outlined. The study found that a majority of participants agreed that intellectually disabled people should make their own decisions about reproductive capacity. Yet a clear tension between an overall endorsement of individual choice and a majority who also considered that sterilization could be warranted in at least some cases emerged from the data. Reasons for sterilization included: the best interests of intellectually disabled people and carers; concerns about sexual health/well-being; lack of sexual control; and concerns about sexual abuse. The extent of agreement with sterilization as a desirable practice for intellectually disabled boys/men was an unexpected finding. The article concludes with questions posed to promote further discussion.     

Being counted? Examining the prevalence of looked‐after disabled children and young people across the UK

Since the 1970s, there has been growing academic interest in children and young people living in state care and, more recently, in the lives of disabled children. However, there has been little attention on the lives of disabled children who are looked after by the state. This paper compares and critiques what is known about the numbers of disabled children who are looked after in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. We discuss the conceptual and methodological limitations of systematically collecting data on disabled children in state care across the UK. We argue that to ensure that the rights of disabled children in state care are identified, acknowledged and upheld, ‘being counted’ is a fundamental first step.     

Advocacy for disabled children and young people: benefits and dilemmas

Recent policy has emphasized the need for advocacy services for children and young people, developments that have gone hand‐in‐hand with greater levels of participation of young people in decision‐making. Advocacy for disabled young people is especially important, as they are a particular vulnerable group and have, traditionally, been even more excluded from decisions about matters affecting their lives. This paper reports the findings, as they relate to disabled young people, from a study that investigated the role of advocacy for looked‐after children and children in need. The paper highlights some of the benefits of advocacy for disabled children, the dilemmas facing advocates between advocating and acting in someone's ‘best interests’, identifying the client and the boundaries between advocacy and social work. It argues that time given to establish a close relationship with a disabled child or young person is crucial if advocacy is to be effective and participation in decisions affecting their lives a reality.     

Discourses of blame: deconstructing (hetero)sexuality, peer sexual violence and residential children's homes

Little research exists on sexuality and residential care, even less that position gender inequality as a central analytical component. This paper, based on a wider research project that focused on children’s and young people’s experiences of peer violence within residential care, seeks to help redress this disparity. The main aim of this paper is to explore how (hetero)sexuality, discourses of blame and male peer sexual violence are constructed and interrelated in residential child care. Young people’s and staff’s conceptualizations, evaluations and experiences are compared and contrasted to illuminate the range of discourses surrounding sexuality and sexual violence operating within residential settings. Findings relating to female culpability for male violence, normative male violence, female duplicity and challenges to traditional gender roles will be presented, and contextualized, in relation to previous studies. In addition, some broader implications of the research findings for residential practice are explored.     

Young people's gendered interpretations of suicide and attempted suicide

This paper aims to uncover gendered interpretations of various kinds of suicidal behaviour. Its empirical basis is focus group discussions with a range of young people, including users of social work services. In support of Canetto's research, the authors found some of the young people to be associating ‘successful’ suicides with masculinity and ‘failed’ suicide attempts with femininity. These feminized suicide attempts were subject to some fairly pejorative interpretations, such as being motivated by revenge or manipulation. There was no particular pattern of viewpoints in terms of the sex of respondents. The implications of these findings for social work are discussed.     

Human Capital Attainment and Gender Empowerment: The Kerala Paradox*

Objectives. The State of Kerala in southwestern India shows the highest gender development index in the country. Despite having the highest literacy rate and educational achievements of women, the suicide rate among females is very high, and domestic violence committed against women is increasing every year in Kerala. This article attempts to analyze the demographic, social, and cultural changes that are occurring in order to understand this apparent paradox of high human capital attainment and high violence and suicides experienced by women in Kerala. Methods. The study uses data from the Census of India (1991, 2001) , National Crime Records Bureau (1998–2000), and Reproductive and Child Health ( District Level House Hold Survey—2001 ) to analyze trends in crime, violence, and suicide rates, and demographic profiles of the different districts in Kerala. Results. High educational attainment has fostered new aspirations and attitudes among women in Kerala. Yet, societal and cultural norms still dictate that women should be subservient to men both at home and in the labor market. This imbalance often contributes to family violence and suicides in Kerala. Thus, beneath the veil of development lie some disturbing social, cultural, and economic issues that may be contributing to high rates of suicide and family violence in Kerala. Conclusions. This study demonstrates that high educational attainment alone will not promote gender empowerment unless the social and cultural fabric of a country or state ensures equality of women in all areas of life.     

Pictures and silences: memories of sexual abuse of disabled people

The article de–individualises the debate about sexual abuse of disabled people, especially women, by showing that both the sexual and asexual identity of impaired persons are invariably fashioned within the institutional arrangement of domination and subjugation. It shows that if disabled persons are seen as asexual or if they are sexualised, they cannot escape sexual violence, which is not an aberration, but is intrinsic to the social construction of disability. The article includes personal testimonies of women with different disabilities from Slovenia, who were abused either at home or in public care and shows some responses of the professionals and caregivers who minimise the importance of abuse. It claims that ignoring the memories of sexual abuse is part of a subtle and unintentional discrimination, which reflects a continuity of prejudices and hatred toward disabled children and adults in the private realm as well as in public care. People from ethnic minorities, such as Roma, are still today more often diagnosed as mentally disabled, which shows that the disability diagnosis has to be seen as part of cultural responses towards an economically and socially marginalised group. The author uses different perspectives: historical, social work theories, cultural studies and feminist analysis.     

Child protection and fathering where there is domestic violence: Contradictions and consequences

Children live in different contexts of protection and vulnerability when exposed to domestic violence. The negative impacts for many children are consistent and widely acknowledged. However, the implication that this requires men who use violence to address their fathering has been slower to emerge. This article draws from 69 in‐depth qualitative interviews with men, women, and workers across four men's behaviour change programmes in rural Victoria, Australia. Particular attention is given to men's attitudes to their fathering and the formal and informal consequences they experienced as a result of their violence and its impact on their fathering. Although most men came to recognize that their violence impacted their children, they failed to make the connection that the involvement of statutory child protection services in their lives was a direct consequence of their abusive behaviour. This article explores this disconnection by fathers who use violence, their attitude to the involvement of statutory child protection services, and identifies the implications for social work practitioners in addressing this issue.     

‘Do you want to do some arm wrestling?’: children's strategies when experiencing domestic violence and the meaning of age

The aim of this study is, by analysing children's and young people's discourses, to investigate their strategies in response to domestic violence episodes, in relation to their age. The empirical data come from individual interviews with children and young people (ages 8–20 years) who had experienced domestic violence and lived at refuges for abused women. The thematic analysis shows that the children describe a wide range of strategies before, during and after a violent episode, that all children act regardless of age and that strategies vary according not only to age but also to situation and context. The theoretical framework used is the sociology of childhood, and the analysis engages with theoretical concepts of age, agency and positioning.     

Children and young people with a hidden disability: an examination of the social work role

Summary There has been little research attention paid to the natureand extent of social work intervention with children and youngpeople with invisible impairments. The recent study describedhere found that children and young people with a hidden andstigmatizing impairment received a social work service whichwas at a minimal level. The children and young people were affectedby physically induced incontinence, and described how they facedan environment which created particular tensions. Their parentsconcurred with this overall picture and reported unmet needs.Recommendations are made about social services input, but itis recognized that the level of social services interventionavailable to these families may, in part, be a reflection ofa low priority assigned to disabled children generally. It isargued that, although such an assignment is a common picturein recent research about social services provision to disabledchildren, a change in priorities is needed which recognizesthe importance of coherent support to disabled children as ameans of improving their environment and thereby reducing families'stress levels and the likelihood of abuse or rejection.     

Resilience of Young People in Residential Care

Children and young people in residential care may have experienced or may experience various difficult, life-threatening events, such as neglect, abuse, or violence and maltreatment known as adversities. Despite this, some of them are able to function and even prosper and this has been attributed to the development of resilience. In this qualitative empirical study, we focus on the under-researched area of how young people in care reflect on and cope with such adversities. The exploratory research comprised of semi-structured interviews with young people in two different care settings – re-education centres and children’s homes. The results showed that the sample of 34 young people had experienced 73 adversities prior to leaving residential care and that half of them were not able to resolve some of these adversities. It was found that methods for dealing with adversity change during time spent in care and that a combination of various individual strategies, adaptation and accepting support are effective. The findings also indicate that the development of resilience may vary according to type of residential care setting specifically, whether these facilities allow the development of multiple individual strategies for dealing with adversities, or whether they provide social support. The article discusses implications for future research and practice in residential care.