Commentary on 'Managing the process of change in residential child care: A consultancy approach'

This paper draws on a ten month British study completed in April 2001 investigating service responses to women of South Asian background who had attempted suicide or who self-harmed. The scope of the study is briefly outlined and an analysis of perspectives documented in the study is presented, drawing on research interviews with 18 staff from a variety of health and social care disciplines and with seven survivors of attempted suicide/self-harm. The implications of this analysis for improving practice are considered. Attitudes surrounding attempted suicide and self-harm are discussed. The issue of ‘race anxiety’ is also discussed. The factors seen by workers as contributing to South Asian women's attempted suicide are considered, with a particular focus on the difficulties caused in the delivery of services by common-sense accounts of cultural issues. Current approaches to the delivery of services to South Asian women are identified and analysed, showing how their current organisation can lead to circularity in referral systems and consequent non-intentional neglect of the needs of this client group. It is urged that proper consideration be given to the support and professional supervision of staff in this complex area of work.     

Complexity of domestic violence in a South Asian context in Hong Kong: cultural and structural impact

With the dearth of empirical research related to the experiences of domestic violence among South Asian communities in Hong Kong, this study engages with migrant South Asian women’s subjective understanding and experience of domestic violence. Presenting women’s narratives of their experiences with domestic violence allow for a better understanding of the complexities that inform and shape women’s experiences and decision-making in the face of partner violence. This empirical study investigated South Asian women’s experience of domestic violence in the context of Hong Kong through in-depth interviews with 14 South Asian women who had experienced abuse and 6 helping professionals from 4 social service agencies. Analysis of the data revealed that the nature and context of abuse posed as a barrier in their help seeking. The findings highlight the importance of understanding the influence of cultural and structural conditions and the difficulties and complexities women face that increases women’s vulnerability to abuse. This paper offers an analysis of how structures thereby come to impact on women’s distress and vulnerability. The study also highlights the need for inclusive service provision for minority ethnic women experiencing domestic violence.     

'Woman,Speak with a Loud Voice!'

This paper seeks to contribute to the critique of mainstream development discourse by conveying the ideas and issues raised by rural South African women. Building upon feminist and post-colonial discourses, this paper shifts the epistemological location of knowing to the women affected by development programmes and policies. Based upon interviews and discussions with over 600 women in rural communities, we offer a brief characterization of the South African context of rural women's lives, followed by rural women's comments about development, their daily struggles, and empowerment. Rural women's comments reveal a conception of development that is tied to their localized problem-solving skills and opportunities. Their response to the absence of development opportunities within their communities is to forge a space where they can negotiate between institutional spheres of power in order to address their needs. We argue that traditional development approaches overlook the space, or interstice, rural African women occupy between the modern state and traditional authority. For persons interested in development issues, rural women's experiences direct our attention to the in-between spaces as potential sites of empowerment.     

Researching an-'other' minority ethnic community: Reflections of a black female researcher on the intersections of race,gender and other power positions on the research process

There is a dearth of discussion on the methodological dilemmas faced by minority ethnic researchers who research minority ethnic communities of which they are not a part. The paper explores the political and ethical issues involved in a black woman researching South Asian women's lives, analysing the research process, and focusing on issues of choice of research group, access and placing. This paper represents a reflexive account of the research relationships developed in longitudinal qualitative doctoral research between a black (of African descent) postgraduate student and sample of 19 South Asian female student teachers in England and draws on literature of women interviewing women and ethnic or 'race' matched research. The methods employed were documentary analysis, observing meetings, a focus group, two student questionnaires, one-to-one interviews with staff and group and one-to-one interviews with South Asian female student teachers. It is argued that whilst social characteristics such as gender, language, religion and culture are important in determining notions of commonality and difference, a shared experience of racism between the researched and the researcher may affect the research relationship most significantly.     

Negotiating Gender in Uncertainty: A Mechanism of Women's Marginalization in the Japanese Workplace*

Abstract Women have been long absent from important white-collar positions in large Japanese organizations. Two approaches have been made to understand women's work experiences and career outcomes in these organizations, namely, the structuralist and the rational choice approaches. The underlying assumption of both approaches is that individual women's career orientations are basically fixed and larger factors outside the workplace play central roles to determine women's career outcomes. In order to understand women's work experiences and perspectives more realistically, however, we need to turn our attention to the workplace itself and to examine the mechanisms through which women are constantly marginalized, if inadvertently, in everyday interactions with others. Drawing on a developing perspective that focuses on the dynamic nature of women's career experiences. this paper, based on a case study, demonstrates a major way in which the influences of outside factors, specifically of women's attitude toward work, are in fact reinforced within the workplace. A major component of this mechanism is women's sense of uncertainty generated through their day-to-day work lives.     

Sustaining and Developing Women's Trade Union Activism: A Gendered Project?

Against the background of heavy membership decline, the increasing importance of women as a source of members for unions and union efforts to attract women into membership, this paper explores the nature of women's union activism. The focus is on why women stay active in unions. The paper employs Klandermans' model as a framework for examining senior union women's activism. This study suggests that the model is gendered in that women's experiences and perceptions of trade unions are highly gender specific and further that their union activities are underpinned by a feminist paradigm. The women in the study expressed a strong desire to ensure that the union works for women, indicative of the gendered nature of their commitment to the union. They revealed gendered bargaining priorities and thus gendered perceptions of union instrumentality. Their social integration within the union is shown to be highly or partially contingent upon, formal and informal women's support networks.     

Migration as a window to empowerment: Nepalese women's experiences in South Korea

ABSTRACT

Migrant women are often described as victims of the global economy: accounts of human rights abuses and economic exploitation have eclipsed more positive accounts of the impact of migrant work on women's lives. Some migrant women are positioned to make use of new opportunities which they see as empowering, in contrast to earlier experiences in their homes or sending countries. This study, based on qualitative interviews with 13 young Nepalese women working in manufacturing and agricultural sectors with Employment Permits in South Korea, highlights a rather positive window of women's empowerment. It shares the perspectives of young, mostly single women who gain self-confidence through their new ability to take care of their family (some becoming primary breadwinners). The women are also able to plan for their economic futures, and report their voices being heard more in important family decision-making. These material, relational, and perceptual improvements are all important dimensions of empowerment. In these experiences, gender intersects with age and other factors to produce a nuanced view of specific young women's experience of migrant work.     

The disconnection between policy practices and women's lived experiences: combining work and life in the UK and the Netherlands

Combining work and family life is central to women's participation in the labour market. Work–life balance has been a key objective of UK and Dutch policy since the 1990s, but policies created at the national level do not always connect with the day to day experiences of women juggling caring and domestic responsibilities with paid work. Using qualitative data from a European Social Fund Objective 3 project the paper explores women's lived realities of combining work and family life in the UK in comparison to the Netherlands as a possible ‘best practices’ model. We argue that women in both countries experience work–life balance as an ongoing process, continually negotiating the boundaries of work and family, and that there needs to be a more sophisticated appreciation of the differing needs of working parents. Whilst policy initiatives can be effective in helping women to reconcile dual roles, many women in both the UK and the Netherlands still resolve these issues at the individual or personal level and feel that policy has not impacted on their lives in any tangible way.     

Italy is not a good place for men: narratives of places,marriage and masculinity among Malayali migrants

Abstract Immigration from South Asia to Italy is a recent phenomenon and novel in that the pioneer migrants are often married or single women rather than men. In this article I explore the relationship between a ‘feminization of migration’ and the construction of masculine identities among Malayali migrants from Kerala, South India, who experience migration directly or indirectly through marriages with Malayali women living and working in Rome. The interest in focusing on the relation between women's pioneer role as migrants and their husbands' experiences of migration is to show how men's identity is represented through their conjugal bond with migrant women working in the domestic sector and to understand how masculinity is constructed and contested within and with reference to different places.     

Beyond a Strong State and Docile Women Reproductive choices,state policy and skewed sex ratio in South Korea

The rapid decrease in South Korea's fertility rate since the 1960s has often been noted as an extraordinary case of a demographic transition due to an extremely successful state population policy. This common observation fails to address how women actively and deliberately negotiated with different kinds of authorities within social and material constraints. The two most glaring examples of women's agency in reproductive decision making are (1) the consistently high abortion rate in a country where abortion has never been legal and (2) the persistent boy preference. The persistent boy preference combined with sex discerning technology, which became readily available in the 1980s, produced a skewed sex ratio at birth. Using Guttentag and Secord's theoretical model, this article explores how a broad range of cultural norms relating to women's roles, marriageable age, ethnic exogamy/endogamy and homosexuality will be affected when the birth cohorts of twenty years with the skewed sex ratio begin to enter the marriage market. This article also suggests a different way of thinking about the issues of women's reproductive behavior and state control. Population research often overlooks the thinking processes of individual women, and consequently misses how women negotiate with complex local conditions. This article discusses women' s reasoning and decision-making processes, their world views and values and dynamics within their intimate environments. Oftentimes women's own accounts defy clichéd understanding and popular imaginations.     

Farm women in Canada,New Zealand and Australia redefine their rurality

This paper focuses on rural women's networks in Ontario, New Zealand and Australia. It investigates three issues: the social contexts in which farm women in Canada, Australia and New Zealand have developed new networks since the late 1970s; the responses of farm women in each country to the changes in the agricultural industry in the last two decades; and the way farm women's organisations are responding to contemporary changes in rural society. In the concluding section, the farm women's movement is interpreted in terms of agency and structure. It is suggested that the establishment of organisations that can speak for farm women at government levels has countered their deep sense of marginalisation and alienation within their industry. In keeping with the dynamic nature of contemporary society, farm women's organisations will need to be flexible and adaptable in order to facilitate quick responses to rapidly evolving economic an social issues.     

Aboriginal Women's Perceptions and Experiences of a Family Violence Transitional Accommodation Service

Abstract

This article presents a qualitative study of Aboriginal women's perceptions and experiences of a transitional housing program in South Australia that was established to assist long-term homelessness and family violence. The aim of the study was to explore the experiences and service outcomes for Aboriginal women and their children and to identify both facilitators and barriers to the effective operation of the program. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 13 Aboriginal women and thematic analysis was used to report their collective stories. The women's stories showed individualised, flexible, and open-ended support as well as practical outcomes of stable, safe housing for themselves and their children were particularly valued. The women reported that these features of the program augmented feelings of strengthened confidence and self-efficacy. The authors argue the domestic and family violence sector has the opportunity to learn from the perceptions and experiences of Aboriginal women, particularly allowing time and commitment to working long-term with families.     

Contributing Factors in Trafficking from South Asia

This pioneering research in the field of human trafficking from South Asia is an important study as the subject population has not been studied in social work literature. Victims of trafficking who were working as exotic dancers in South Asian bars in the United States were studied qualitatively. The method of recruiting, transporting, putting to work, and maintaining victims within the trafficking system is explored through interaction and observation revealing victims' personal accounts. Data analysis was conducted using NVivo and experts' analysis. The study results support a dynamic theoretical framework in which social exchanges and choice of migration networks increase South Asian women's vulnerability to trafficking.     

The contextual and social locations of older women's experiences of disability and decline

Understandings of disability and decline within health and social care seem to focus mainly on the bodies and function of older persons. However, the way that older people's experiences of disability and decline are fixed into rigid functional classifications such as ‘frailty’ are problematic. Drawing on the narratives of twelve diverse older English-speaking women in Montreal, Canada, I will argue that older women's experiences are more connected with the contexts within which they experience disability and decline, and the social locations they bring to these experiences, than the functional limitations of their bodies. Older women's stories – particularly those related to the home and the bus – reveal the clash between dominant understandings of ‘frailty’ and older women's contextual and social experiences of disability and decline; expose tensions within health and social care practices; and highlight the potential which exists in both context and social location.     

Support Among Women for the Issues of the Women's Movement*

Using both data from a national and community sample, this paper explores support among women for issues relevant to the women's rights movement, and the extent to which the issues of the movement are perceived as a coherent whole by women. Five distinct issue dimensions emerged. Support for or agreement with each of the issue areas was only slightly correlated with support for the others. Thus some types of women are supportive of the variety of issues and in agreement with the basic assumptions of the movement while others are more selective in their support. In general, support for any particular issue area is greater than support for women's liberation, yet even those opposing women's liberation agree with the position of the women's movementon on a majority of issues examined.     

Nigerian women seeking asylum in England on grounds of sexual violence

This study aims to give voice to the experiences of Nigerian women seeking asylum in the UK on the grounds of sexual violence. It draws upon in-depth narrative interviews with 10 Nigerian women, aged between 27 and 46, seeking asylum on the grounds of sexual violence. Women's accounts were analysed thematically, and the contextual factors that influenced the outcome of their asylum claims were explored. Findings show that women's asylum applications were affected by factors relating to lack of evidence, use of words and/or phrases that do not align with the English language meaning of sexual violence, Home Office's lack of understanding of cultural issues specific to women and peculiarity of women's narrative construction and the decommissioning of legal assistance. Findings also suggest that asylum organisations play a key role in providing holistic support to women. Recommendations are made for the Home Office's policies following these findings.     

Bridging inequalities through inclusion: women's rights organisations as the ‘missing link’ in donor government-led participatory policy development and practice

This article focuses on women's rights organisations and their role in challenging inequality within the development process. Women in poverty are excluded as a result of their unequal societal position, geographic location, and the predominance of ‘top-down’ and piecemeal policymaking processes carried out by donor governments. We argue that in-country women's rights organisations provide the ‘missing link’ to bridge the disconnect between grassroots, marginalised women and donor decision-makers. This article focuses on the UK government's approach to developing policy and practice aimed at furthering international women's rights, focusing on the Women, Peace and Security agenda. Engaging with women's rights organisations not only ensures that donor policy and practice responds fully to the interests and needs of the poorest and most marginalised women in the global South, but renders the decision-making process itself empowering to the women involved.     

Coverage of Women's Issues in Social Work Journals: Are We Building an Adequate Knowledge Base?

Abstract

The authors of this article conducted a review of selected social work journals published between 1982 and 1991 to determine the coverage given to women's issues during this period. Because this study was similar to one conducted for the previous decade, the authors were able to analyze trends over time as well as differences among various journals. The findings indicate that articles focusing on women's issues comprised less than 10% of all articles published in the sampled journals during the decade. The study also found that women authored over 75% of the articles and books on women's content, but that only about 15% of the articles women write are on women's issues.     

Conference of the Australian Association of Hospital Almoners

This paper offers a rationale for the comprehensive inclusion of women's issues in social work education. The development of women's studies is traced, with particular reference to a current social work programme at the University of New South Wales. It is asserted that women's studies has something distinctive to offer the social work curriculum.     

Domestic violence and child protection: issues in safety planning

There is strong evidence for the link between domestic violence and child abuse. Agencies' policies regarding domestic violence and child protection are critical in determining the dimensions of practitioner intervention, including safety planning for women and children. This paper explores the issues identified in research around safety planning where there are domestic violence and child protection concerns which was conducted with practitioners in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, in 2001. In particular, the paper focuses on three of the factors that influence practitioner intervention with women and children. These are: definitional understandings of domestic violence and child abuse; child protection legislative changes, including mandatory reporting and domestic violence as a child‐at‐risk category; and the NSW child protection statutory authority's response to domestic violence. The interplay between these factors results in complexities of practice for practitioners as they attempt to maximize women's strengths and minimize risks to children's safety. The resultant inconsistent response to domestic violence and child protection by government and non‐ government agencies suggests the need for domestic violence interagency guidelines. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.