Social Work & Policy Studies: Social Justice, Practice and Theory
Social Work & Policy Studies: Social Justice, Practice and Theory (ISSN 2209-0878) aims to provide a platform for those advancing knowledge and debate on any aspect of social justice-informed social work, social policy, practice or theory. With a goal of publishing yearly, the journal welcomes submissions that explore questions of: social injustice; inequity; systemic and/or individual oppression; the power dynamics of social relations such as race, class, gender, disability, sexuality, Indigeneity, age, region, political economy; questions engaging with intersectionality and multiple oppressions; and various forms of resistance, social change, social policy and social justice initiatives. An online, open access social work and social policy journal published by Social Work and Policy Studies, University of Sydney through the University of Sydney Library. Please register to be informed when submissions are open or a new issue is published.
A scoping review of child well-being in Educational environments
The issue of children's well-being has emerged as an important topic in both the education and social sectors in recent years. Findings from previous studies show that children's psychological well-being is not only an indicator of mental health but also a significant predictor of academic achievement and social skills. This scoping review examines the multi-faceted concept of child well-being, particularly emphasising psychological and subjective well-being in school-aged children in Mongolia and beyond. This review synthesises major aspects influencing children's well-being, including perceived social support, school environment, parental connections, autonomy, and socioeconomic position, based on 19 empirical research obtained via extensive searches in eight databases. The findings underscore that supportive social environments, particularly those fostering autonomy, competence, and belonging, significantly enhance children’s life satisfaction and mental health. Conversely, environments characterised by discrimination, negative teacher attitudes, internal class conflicts, and hostile interactions negatively impact children’s psychological well-being. Notably, only one study was based in Mongolia, highlighting a critical research gap. This review contributes to a nuanced understanding of the relational and contextual determinants of child well-being and lays the groundwork for more culturally grounded research in Mongolia. It also emphasises the need for ethical, participatory, and methodologically diverse approaches in future studies.
Undergraduate and Post graduate Student papers
Copyright (c) 2025 Social Work & Policy Studies: Social Justice, Practice and Theory
Social Work Practicing Social Justice for the Collective Trauma of the Hong Kong Diaspora Community in Canada
This paper explores how social work can address the collective trauma experienced by members of the Hong Kong diaspora in Canada following their migration in the aftermath of the 2019 protests and the enactment of the National Security Law. For many, migration is not only a search for safety but also a means of resisting political oppression and preserving cultural identity. Drawing on trauma-informed and culturally responsive social work frameworks, the paper argues for an integrated approach that combines advocacy for social justice with community empowerment. Through a case study of Echo Theatre in Calgary, a cultural organisation, the paper illustrates how community-led initiatives can foster healing, solidarity, and resilience. Echo Theatre’s programming, including documentary screenings, cultural events, and dialogue spaces, exemplifies trauma-informed practices that validate the lived experiences of Hongkongers while reinforcing their collective identity. The discussion is framed by social justice concepts such as human hierarchies, institutionalisation, and non-performativity, highlighting the systemic barriers faced by the diaspora, including precarious immigration status, employment inequities, and mistrust of institutions. The paper concludes by offering practice-based recommendations for mental health support, culturally sensitive outreach, community engagement, and policy advocacy. Emphasising the value of participatory approaches and solidarity-building, it underscores the vital role of social work in supporting the long-term healing and integration of trauma-affected migrant communities. This research contributes to the growing body of literature on diasporic trauma and highlights the transformative potential of social work in fostering justice, dignity, and belonging.
Exploring the leadership discourse in health-based social work: a scoping review
Social work leadership in the health context is under researched with no clear definition or scope of practice. A scoping review was undertaken, in accordance with the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology, to explore key concepts in the literature related to social work leadership in health, to understand how social work health leadership is defined, and to identify research gaps and limitations. A review of EBSCO, ProQuest, Scopus, Web of Science, Informit, SAGE and Cochrane Library databases identified 1499 articles for inclusion, with 17 papers moved through to data extraction alongside 13 articles from a grey literature search on Google. Following thematic analysis, five themes were identified: there is difficulty defining social work leadership overall and in the health context; the unique style of social work leadership is valued in the literature; there is a lack of leadership education in social work qualifying degree programs, and a lack of professional development tailored to the needs of social work; and there are limitations in leadership development opportunities which then constrain the growth of social work leaders. These gaps in the current literature pose a broader risk to understanding leadership within the profession, as well as providing an evidence base for future research.
Health leadership; social work leadership; social work education; curriculum; student; scoping review
Beyond Formal Equality: The Cashless Debit Card and the Myth of Equal Opportunity in Australia
The concept of ‘equal opportunity’ and a ‘fair go’ are cornerstones of Australia’s national identity but in practice these are not realities for all Australians. Using the Cashless Debit Card (CDC) scheme as a case study, this article argues that First Nations Australians have been systematically denied equal treatment, instead being subjected to enduring dynamics of control, assimilation, and structural oppression. This paper contends that the prevailing conception of equality embedded in Australian law and policy, rooted in classical liberalism, is insufficient in upholding First Nations equality. To achieve genuine equality, alternative approaches grounded in substantive equality, self-determination, and sovereignty are both necessary and urgent.
A Brown Girl’s Journey Through the Canada Summer Jobs Program
This critical feminist autoethnography explores the tensions between empowerment and exploitation in Canada’s Summer Jobs (CSJ) program through the lens of a brown girl, descended from migrants, two generations removed from the Partition of India. Tracing my trajectory from CSJ participant to nonprofit employer administering the program, this paper situates my experiences within broader structures of postcolonial displacement, economic precarity, and gendered care work. While CSJ is framed as a state mechanism for youth empowerment and equitable labour market entry, this article argues that it also reinforces age-coded, racialized, and gendered inequalities. Drawing on Baines et al.’s (2004, 2017) framework of compulsion and coercion in unpaid caring labour, the paper reveals how youth, particularly gendered, racialised youth are structurally positioned to absorb affective and relational labour, often invisibilised and devalued. Through three case studies, I examine how mentorship is often a discursive cover for emotional overextension, and how organisational austerity enables the reproduction of exploitative dynamics under the guise of opportunity.
An Alternative to the Narrative of Burnout in Social Work
This qualitative research project explores how social workers can sustain a sense of ongoing aliveness in their work, offering an alternative to dominant burnout narratives. Using a feminist methodological framework, I have combined my autoethnography with a semi-structured interview with a long-time colleague. Rather than positioning burnout as an individual failure to cope, this research centres the moral and political complexities of practicing social justice within systems that often produce harm. Rooted in the work of Richardson & Reynolds, and drawing on theories of moral injury, radical care, and activist sustainability, I ask: What are the aliving practices that can help social workers stay connected to themselves, each other, and their values in the face of structural violence and injustice? Thematic analysis of field notes, transcripts, and reflective writing revealed key themes including a shared sense of purpose and politicized passion; the protective and generative role of connection with colleagues and communities; and the role of language and theory in building collective meaning and resistance. The findings suggest that social workers resist burnout not through a focus on individual self-care, but also through collective practices of meaning-making, solidarity, and ethical accountability. These aliving practices function as both a buffer against moral pain and a site of ongoing resistance and relationship. Rather than asking "How do we avoid burning out?" this study reframes the question to: "What keeps us alive in this work?" This project contributes to the growing body of research that challenges depoliticized understandings of burnout in social work and foregrounds collective, relational, and justice-oriented strategies for sustainability. It is intended as a starting point for those seeking to stay ethically and emotionally engaged in social (justice) work over time.
How Structural Barriers and Cultural Expectations Shape International Students’ Wellbeing: A Social Justice Analysis of International Students’ Lived Experiences in Australia.
Mental health challenges among international students are a pressing social and public health concern in Australia. Although, these students have a significant contribution in bolstering the country’s economy, their emotional well-being has been overlooked due to structural barriers and neoliberal policies. These policies often view mental well-being through an individualised and biomedical lens, which neglects the subtle impacts of structural inequities like financial precarity, racial discrimination, immigration policies, and cultural dislocation in exacerbating students’ mental health challenges. The scarcity of literature that critically explores the roles of these determinants in shaping students' mental health while acknowledging their lived experiences contextualises the need for this research. In this paper we will draw upon reflections on our lived experiences integrated with an analysis of existing literature to establish how social determinants contribute to psychological distress among international students. The critical analysis of autoethnographic vignettes and existing literature reveals students’ mental distress as a deliberate consequence of policy and structural biases, rather than individual deficits. The addition of every intersecting layer of a student’s identity further compounds their psychological vulnerability, which is already compromised due to limited working rights, impeded access to services, and erosion of former identity. In alignment with the Australian Association of Social Workers’ (AASW) Code of Ethics, these reflections mandate social workers to remain committed to critiquing systemic inequities and upholding human rights values. The findings suggest the urgency of including student voices in policy formulation and service design while keeping human rights and intersectional frameworks at its core. Policy changes that facilitate subsidized and fast-tracked qualification recognition, post-study visa stability, adequate provision of support services, and extended student health coverage equivalent to Medicare benefits should be prioritized to create a fair, inclusive, and equitable society for international students.
This article emerges from the profound experience of losing my best friend, Annie - the loss that reshaped my identity as a person, clinician, and researcher. Though the grief remains vivid, time has allowed me to deeply connect with what I describe as the emotional state of “friendship orphanhood” and to explore the transformative potential of loss. Through a blend of personal autoethnographic and visual narratives, this article invites readers into a journey of meaning reconstruction following loss. It sheds light on the often-overlooked realities of non-kinship grief, examining the complex interplay between migratory losses and the death of a close friend while navigating life in Western Society. Through a critical lens, this paper delves into the social construction of grief in a contemporary context, shaped by deeply internalized values of capitalism, productivity, and youth. These norms function as mechanisms of compliance that uphold the interests of the dominant group, producing a distinct form of oppression that marginalizes immigrant friends as less recognized mourners. The discussion is grounded in constructivist, disenfranchised grief, and cultural bereavement theoretical frameworks, as well as art-based methods. It presents a method that uses expressive narratives and art to externalize inner realities and support healing through cohesive meaning-making in loss. Offering a glimpse into the silenced grief of immigrant friendships, this work contributes to scholarly and professional discourse by proposing new ways to understand, restore, and repair fragmented life stories. It underscores the urgency of acknowledging these often-voiceless bereavement experiences while addressing social injustice, confronting systemic oppression, and advocating for grief diversity.
Governing Abortion Talk: The Influence of Medication Abortion Policy on Discourse in Australia
This paper critically examines the enduring influence of historical medication abortion policy in Australia on contemporary access to abortion, with particular attention to the role of discursive practices. Drawing on the Post-structural Interview Analysis (PIA) methodology, grounded in Bacchi and Goodwin’s “Post-structural Policy Analysis”, this article illuminates how language shaped by restrictive knowledge practices continues to perpetuate inaccessibility to medication abortion. The central argument presented is that policy not only regulates access at a structural level but also fundamentally shapes the epistemological frameworks through which medication abortion is understood and represented. These discursive representations—rooted in historically restrictive policy —have permeated public and institutional narratives, producing a discourse that limits the scope of abortion care and reinforces barriers to access. The paper contends that addressing inequities in abortion access requires more than policy reform; it necessitates a critical interrogation and transformation of the knowledge practices that sustain restrictive discourses. Visibility on discursive representations and their foundation in restrictive knowledge practices is essential for enabling expansive abortion care in Australia.
Citizen participation and place-making in the process of ger area redevelopment in Ulaanbaatar
This article examines the relationship between citizen participation and place-making in the process of ger area redevelopment in Ulaanbaatar. Although Mongolian legislation mandates public participation in redevelopment projects, in practice the process remains predominantly expert-driven and top-down in nature. This gap between formal planning and the everyday spatial needs and experience of residents result in a disconnect between policy and lived reality. Guided by the theoretical framework of Henri Lefebvre’s Right to the City and David Sim’s Soft City concept, this study used a mixed-method approach, combining quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection in two redeveloped cases in Ulaanbaatar. Findings indicated that current redevelopment plans often fail to reflect residents’ everyday needs, social relationships, and expectations for public space. Rather than enjoying their living in apartment blocks, residents emphasized the importance of safety, comfort, and inclusivity in living environment. This article concludes that citizen participation must move beyond formal compliance and be integrated meaningfully into the place-making process, recognizing residents as co-creators of urban space.
This article presents a critical literature review of abolitionist and anti-carceral feminist scholarship, with a focus on its relevance to social work theory, practice, and education. Drawing on a postcolonial feminist framework, the review interrogates how carceral logics shape dominant responses to domestic and family violence, particularly in settler-colonial contexts such as Australia. It explores critiques of carceral feminism, the profession’s historical complicity in systems of criminalisation and surveillance, and the ideological distinctions between anti-carceral and abolitionist perspectives. Central to this review is a consideration of transformative justice as a community-led, decolonising framework that resists punitive state responses and reimagines justice through healing, accountability, and collective care. While the literature offers rich theoretical insights, it remains largely American and conceptual in scope. An emergent body of Australian scholarship highlights the interconnections between colonialism and carcerality, particularly the disproportionate incarceration of First Nations women and the ongoing removal of First Nations children. However, significant gaps remain, including limited empirical applications of transformative justice and the absence of lived experience perspectives. This review argues that abolitionist social work provides critical tools for confronting the contradictions of a profession which is both committed to social justice and deeply entangled in state violence. It calls for future research that centres First Nations voices and community-led strategies to address intersecting forms of violence, positioning abolitionist praxis as central for reimagining justice in ways that are emancipatory and transformative.
Gender issues faced by women farmers in climate change adaptation (in case of Tuv Province)
This research examines how the increased frequency of natural disasters driven by climate change has undermined the livelihoods of women farmers and adversely affected their socio-economic status, thereby weakening their resilience and capacity to cope with climate change. Using mixed research methods, the study focused on women farmers in Bayanchandmani and Jargalant soums[1] of Tuv[2] province of Mongolia, who primarily grow potatoes and vegetables. The study was grounded in the Feminist Political Ecology Framework and Sustainable Livelihood Framework, incorporating methods for calculating vulnerability and climate adaptation and resilience, and examining the interlinkages between climate vulnerability and gender. In doing so, the study analysed both primary and secondary data, drawing on findings from document review as well as quantitative and qualitative research. The findings indicate that climate change has heightened the vulnerability of marginalised groups who depend on agriculture for their livelihoods and have limited capacity to adapt and respond to climate-related challenges. Although farm households experience increased burdens during natural disasters regardless of their capacity to cope with and withstand climate change, vulnerable groups with lower resilience are more severely affected. This study expands the existing body of literature on gender and climate change in the context of Mongolia. [1] Administrative unit of Mongolia in rural areas. [2] Tuv province is located in the center of Mongolia and includes the Capital city of Mongolia in its territory.
Climate change; natural disasters, natural disasters, women farmers, climate adaptation and resilience
An examination of the leadership and governance responses of Australian Jewish community peak body leaders to Institutional Child Sexual Abuse (ICSA)
Minimal research has been undertaken into Institutional Child Sexual Abuse (ICSA) within Jewish communities. Internationally, scrutiny has predominantly considered the ultra-orthodox sector of the community. The Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse likewise focused upon the ultra-orthodox within their Jewish community reviews. No research to date has considered the far larger, mainstream Australian Jewish community leadership, nor their leadership practices, though it is broadly acknowledged, that institutional child safety is embedded in institutional leadership, governance and culture. This is the first study to address this section of the Australian Jewish community regarding ICSA. It examines the responses of Australian Jewish community peak body leaders, regarding their leadership and governance relating to ICSA, between 2012-2024. This qualitative study utilised a deductive process; data was analysed thematically, from which findings were developed. Results indicated leadership and governance deficiencies including minimal awareness of institutional child sexual abuse or communal concerns for survivors. Impacts of poor conflicts of interest practices, failure to drive changes to promote child safety and advance survivor support across the community were highlighted. The importance of greater communal support for survivors, of late, has been noted. Findings suggest the need to reform leadership and governance policy and practice within Australian Jewish peak bodies, including through enhanced internal governance and child safety education at leadership level, to provide improved child safety and greater survivor support across the community. Outcomes were found to be applicable to additional communities and cultures, including for example the Catholic church.
Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse
How have daily newspapers constructed the introduction of the Medically Supervised Injecting Room in Victoria, Australia?
This paper aims to compare the perspectives presented via opinion pieces published in the two daily Melbourne newspapers, the Herald Sun and The Age regarding the Medically Supervised Injecting Room (MSIR) in Victoria from November 2017 until March 2024. A content analysis methodology based on the Bacchi WPR framework was used to explore the nature and content of the views expressed in opinion pieces by the Herald Sun (N=35) and The Age (N=11). Both papers presented a diverse range of perspectives. However, The Age opinion pieces were more likely to present a pro-MSIR viewpoint, and the Herald Sun opinion pieces were more likely to be critical of the MSIR. Those authors supportive of an MSIR were more likely to be compassionate to People who inject drugs (PIDs), and to attempt to reconcile the health care needs of PIDs and the concerns of local residents. Critics of the MSIR, however, prioritized the rights of local residents and businesses ahead of the needs of PIDs. This is the first Australian study to specifically compare the opinion pieces published in two competing daily newspapers regarding an MSIR.
Reimagining Canadian Citizenship in Newcomer Serving Sector
Drawing on reflections from a community action research project on Indigenous-refugee relations in the context of settler Canada, this paper critiques the current script of Canadian citizenship that shapes the newcomer-serving sector. We call for a discursive shift of Canadian citizenship, from the one that is built on white civility, to the one that is centred on land stewardship. We highlight a personal story of migration, immigranthood, and work with newcomer communities and argue that when the script of citizenship operates within racial and colonial politics, it invisiblizes racism, settler colonialism, and global geopolitics of migration and evokes a sense of disconnection and placelessness. We draw on the teachings of the Hodinohso:ni Thanksgiving Address from Cayuga Elder Gae Ho Hwako Norma Jacobs and theorization of landed citizenship by Annishinaabe legal scholar John Borrows and discuss the transformational potentials of land-centred citizenship for the newcomer-serving sector, specifically regarding Citizenship Test preparation, Official Language Education, and Community Connection Program. We suggest that when newcomers are equipped with land-centred knowledge and experiences in their integration process, they are more likely to foster a sense of belongingness that honours Indigenous history, presence, and sovereignty, which ultimately contributes to meaningful truth and reconciliation work.
Decision-making among transgender women who are victim-survivors of intimate partner violence: An integrative review
This integrative literature review examines intimate partner violence experienced by transgender women and the factors influencing their decision making in maintaining their continued relationship. Six online databases have been systematically searched to identify and analyse published peer reviewed journal articles on the topic. A total of seven samples were identified for the study, and data from which were thematically analysed, generating three primary themes: transgender-specific intimate partner violence complexities; experiences with care services and legal protections; and navigating trans-specific intimate partner violence. These findings provide valuable insights for social work and social service providers to ensure safety and well-being of victim-survivors of intimate partner violence among transgender women.
Is there an emerging need for the role of the Practice Specialist in supporting best practice in the current New South Wales child protection climate?
The complexities in social work practice, particularly child protection, in New South Wales is ever growing. As we deal with rising living costs and the growing nature of psychosocial stressors related to this, families are presenting with more complex needs than ever before. Leaders of frontline practitioners in child protection practice often lack time to focus on the ongoing development of skill sets practitioners require to support growing complex needs of families. The role of the Practice Specialist is a role that is beginning to emerge in various organisations. This role has been pivotal in the overall growth of practitioners and the programs they work in, creating a culture of critique, self-reflection and shared decision making for children and young people. Most Practice Specialist roles focus on supporting practitioners to ‘slow down’ in the fast-paced and anxiety-driven culture of child protection practice. This slowing down can be seen as a fundamental component of practitioners striving for best practice approaches in child protection and is believed to facilitate more thought-out, collaborative, and less reactionary interventions for children, young people and their families. What do organisations need to know more about on the unique role of the Practice Specialist to establish or invest more in these roles?
To start I must state my positioning in this topic, while using autoethnographic research, the research of yourself, the first role, it to explore how I relate to the research. Like many social workers, I came into social work due to my history of trauma. My childhood was marked by severe trauma, impacting my sense of safety, identity, and voice. In my 20s, I faced the toll of surviving this trauma, and during my healing journey I encountered professionals that supported my desire to help support those that have walked a similar journey. I wanted to be the voice for those who felt silenced. However, early in my career, I faced situations that mirrored my past—where my background was suppressed rather than seen as strength. This led to vicarious trauma and burnout. With supportive supervision, I found my voice and became determined to advocate for others. Hence my research and this article that stems from my passion to share a more empowering narrative around those of us that chose social work out of deep personal understanding of trauma.
The Truth Of Our Stories: A mixed method evaluation of Elder and community-led cultural training for out-of-home care agency workers and non-Indigenous foster carers in Australia
Globally, Indigenous peoples have incurred significant harm due to colonisation of their lands. Dispossession of culture, language, family and land, and the historical, systematic removal of children in Australia (the ‘Stolen Generation’), has resulted in evident ongoing negative outcomes in the contemporary lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The trauma of child removal has been felt across generations and the rising rates of child removal is an ongoing concern, as well as an insult for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Centring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in care processes can repair harm and promote healing. Truth-telling is emerging as an important approach to healing and repairing colonial harms. This out-of-home care research study provided truth-telling as a form of cultural training to mainstream out-of-home care agencies. The delivery and evaluation of ‘The Truth of Our Stories’ cultural training was co-designed with Elders and Aboriginal community advisory groups. A mixed methods approach was used to evaluate the training, inclusive of 42 participants recruited from out-of-home care staff and foster carers. Participants were informed of historical, cultural and social contexts, and the results show that they benefitted from the training, with moderate to large improvements in knowledge and confidence for providing culturally secure service delivery for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care. Qualitative feedback suggested that the training was well-received by participants. We conclude that this type of cultural training provides important opportunities to share information and knowledge. This training may initiate change by supporting cultural, family, and community connectedness for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care.
Unveiling intersectionality: Healing opportunities and challenges in democratizing child welfare policy development process
This study explores the opportunities and challenges of applying intersectionality as both an analytical lens and a practical guide for creating more equitable child welfare policies. Seven participants working in policy and practice roles at a local child welfare agency took part in two focus groups. Through descriptive thematic analysis, three central themes were developed: 1) democratizing policy development, 2) the healing nature of intersectionality, and 3) the politics of mainstreaming it. While participants shared a belief in the healing potential of intersectionality, their understandings of its implementation diverged. Practice consultants emphasized democratizing the system, whereas policy analysts framed its operationalization within a top-down, bureaucratic structure—dynamic, at times uncertain, yet offering potential openings. A key discussion centered on participatory policymaking as a path to restoring trust, addressing colonial harms, and enhancing accountability. Future research could further examine how intersectionality may support effective, context-specific reforms within child welfare systems.
participatory child welfare policy development
Men of colour, family violence and the global North: A critical interpretive synthesis
Through a critical interpretive synthesis method, this paper examines the ways in which empirical research has constructed ethnically diverse men of colour’s use of family violence in the global North. The findings identify six major interrelated themes including (1) women’s employment and men’s fragility, (2) men’s inability to fulfil their breadwinner role, (3) domestic work in the global North, (4) social experiences and relational dynamics, (5) cultural transition and men’s resistance, (6) men’s experiences of trauma and distress. The analysis in this review employs feminist and postcolonial theories to demonstrate a need to increase men’s visibility through abandoning static constructions of masculinities and discursive constructions of cultural othering. A vital implication for social workers is to navigate methods to decolonise their research and practice with ethnically diverse people of colour. In such an approach, men of colour’s use of family violence is not merely an inevitable outcome of their trauma, marginalisation, or inability to transition to the modern world but rather a conscious choice that is underpinned by several intersecting factors. Recognising men of colour’s capability to make choices is vital to working with them towards making safer choices for women and children in their families.
Copyright (c) 2024 Social Work & Policy Studies: Social Justice, Practice and Theory
Kinchela Boys Home Aboriginal Corporation (KBHAC) was established by Survivors of the Kinchela Boys Home, a government run institution that forcibly removed 400–600 Aboriginal boys from their families between 1924 and 1970. Their vision is to improve the social, emotional, and cultural wellbeing of Survivors, as well as their descendants and families. KBHAC delivers a range of services and programs across social and emotional wellbeing, healing, disability, aged care, family reconnection and many other areas. To guide the delivery of these programs for a community who still suffer with the unique, complex traumas associated with institutionalisation, KBHAC identified the need to create a Practice Framework that imbued their values as a Survivor-led, trauma-informed, and culturally strong organisation. To develop the Framework, KBHAC worked with an Aboriginal-led consulting group and developed a partnership built on trust and truth-telling. A series of workshops identified a structure for the Framework that details the healing journey of the KBHAC community, typical experiences of KBHAC service-users, and the required competencies and skills of KBHAC staff. The iterative process, involving continual reflection and ongoing communication between KBHAC and the consulting group, led to the creation of a living document that is user-friendly, visually engaging, and incorporates artwork by a Gomeroi artist. This journal article showcases some of the key pages and elements of the Practice Framework. Through implementing a genuine partnership approach and best research practices, KBHAC created a Framework that serves as their central document, offering a comprehensive guide for staff, service-users, and the community. This Framework, and the process of its development, can be a best practice example for other stakeholders when working with Stolen Generation Survivors, and has potential implications for casework and service delivery in Australia and internationally.
“It’s a community thing!”: Decolonizing Struggles of Taiwan’s Indigenous Elderly Care
Drawing on qualitative interviews, this article explores decolonising struggles and emancipatory knowledge within Taiwan’s Indigenous elderly care services within the context of neoliberal policy restructuring. Informed by anti-oppressive practices, the article captures how increasingly marketised and commodified care policy reinforces the individualisation and isolation of care workers and elders within contested and politicised time and space domains. Workers sought to challenge the individualised trend by integrating the community into the care provision process and viewing care as a collaborative practice, including community engagement and collective political action. This article contributes to the decolonising debate and anti-oppressive practices by analysing empirical experiences in Taiwan and further examining the intersection of aging and ethnicity.
“I don’t want anything to do with research, but I will talk to you”
On the 14th November, 2022 the small village of Eugowra in the Central West of New South Wales was hit by an ‘inland tsunami’ with widespread destruction and the loss of two lives. This small village was the place I was raised and many previous generations of my family had lived. Coincidentally, since 2015 I had been slowly drawn in the world of ‘disaster research’, with a specific focus on the experiences of communities navigating the terrains of disasters. I had heard stories and seen the destruction caused by floods, fires, storms and of course the Covid pandemic. But I had never imagined that my past and my present would collide in such a manner. Some 40% of the homes in Eugowra and all the active businesses were damaged by unprecedented (this type of language seems increasingly wrong) flooding. My initial engagement was as a volunteer, sorting material donations and listening to people still in shock. I wondered though right from the beginning how might my research knowledge of disasters be useful, although aware of its limitations in such a chaotic situation. Over time I realised that research knowledge could be useful in supporting community responses to disasters if it was offered with generosity, caution and humility. Navigating relationships and building trust repeatedly arose as requiring ongoing attention. In this article I aim to explore what there is to learn about disaster research when it becomes personal.
Copyright (c) 2023 Social Work & Policy Studies: Social Justice, Practice and Theory
The repeated occurrence of natural disasters is impacting communities globally and these effects are expected to worsen as the global temperatures continue to rise. In Australia, communities on the East Coast are now bracing for another dry hot summer along with the accompanying threat of bushfire. In this context, many governments have promoted the idea of building resilient communities in order to try to mitigate the danger and threat to communities. The idea of enhancing resilience is both appealing and problematic: appealing, because it signifies the power of the human spirit to overcome adversity: problematic, because such a term can easily be exploited to support ideological beliefs about independence and self-sufficiency. This paper explores the notion of enhancing resilience in smaller rural communities, specifically in the context of recovery from the fires in 2019/2020. By adopting a case study approach, we argue first, that whilst the idea of resilience has value, it needs to be equalised by a robust understanding of the contextual factors that may increase vulnerability (Solangaarachchi Griffin & Doherty, 2012); with this in mind, we suggest that developing adaptive capacity is more fitting because of the way it draws our attention to the changes that are necessary for responding to the changes in climate. Second, we argue that if communities are to be assisted to adapt in order to survive the effects of climate change, this work will require an increased focus on community development in the medium and long-term stages of recovery, so that communities are assisted, supported and empowered to engage preparedness projects in the event of disasters occurring in the future.
Bushfire, resilience, adaptive capacity community, community development
Involuntary mental health treatment is when a person undergoes an unwanted intervention in a hospital or in the community due to an authorised medical officer deeming the person to be ‘mentally ill’ or ‘mentally disordered’ (NSW Government, 2021). The Mental Health Act NSW (2007) frames involuntary mental health treatment as a ‘necessary’ and ‘effective’ approach to supporting people experiencing mental distress. This study critically engages with women’s experiences of involuntary mental health treatment, exploring the potential implications of a biomedical and carceral response to women’s distress. Six women with experience of involuntary mental health treatment in NSW were involved in my Honours project. In alignment with both feminist and critical mental health frameworks, semi-structured, in-depth interviews were chosen as they provide a loose structure and allow for flexibility to discover new areas of significance identified by women (Dcruz & Jones, 2013). The project was approved by the University of Sydney Human Ethics Committee. All women involved in this study described involuntary mental health treatment as a profoundly harmful experience which produced ongoing implications. Women described the ways in which psychiatric and gender oppressions intersected to perpetuate the silencing of women. Collectively and individually, all women displayed acts of resistance towards psychiatric and patriarchal hegemony. Three major themes were identified in the analytical process: The Censorship of Knowledge; The Censorship of Emotions; and The Censorship of Acts of Resistance.
From Worst-Practice Disaster Recovery to Best: Lessons from Ōtautahi Christchurch
The Canterbury Earthquake Sequence (2010, 2011) devastated central Christchurch, necessitating wholesale urban renewal. But national government’s ensuing recovery efforts were castigated for exemplifying global worst practice, providing a textbook case in how not to undertake recovery. Alliteratively, I argue that the issues underpinning this failure to build back better cluster around questions of complexity, control and coherence. The government’s blueprint, the Christchurch Central Recovery Plan, illuminates several fantasies of mastery associated with the technocratic mindset: that a central authority can dictate local interests, that community is homogenous, that their wishes can be proscribed from the top down, and that a fixed recovery plan can deal with emergent complexities. For, while we can formulate blueprints, design buildings and even mandate precincts, we cannot engineer urban life. Having identified problems, we can look to community activities in Ōtautahi to recommend three best-practice solutions: enacting co-governance (between Crown and iwi – Māori kinship group, tribe, nation), undertaking meaningful collaboration (between authorities and affected communities) and harnessing communitas (the distinctive social energy that emerges after disaster). All three elements often combine as social infrastructure.
Interrogating resilience and exploring the agency within affect
In this article I discuss the role that emotions have on shaping responses to disasters, based on interviews with people who experienced bushfire and flood in 2019 and 2020 in New South Wales, Australia. At the time of the research, state and federal disaster management strategies implored individuals to be self-responsible, independent, and accountable, under the broad concept of ‘resilience’. I argue that resilience rhetoric enforces notions of acting 'stoically' and being self-reliant in the context of disasters, which I locate as being connected with historical understandings of Australian national identity and can be dismissive of emotions, as barriers or non-pertinent in recovery efforts. I problematise the notion of resilience by challenging the presumption that its corollary, vulnerability, and emotions more broadly, belong to a non-agentive category. I consider how emotions can mould both personal and collective responses to disasters and find that experiences of anger, feeling forgotten, and being traumatized can be factors that motivate people to act.
Climate change is having profound effects on natural and built environments, creating unstable living conditions for both flora and fauna. It holds implications for all humankind, however, is disparately impacting people living in Low Socioeconomic Status (SES) communities. This paper seeks to discuss what current literature finds to be the most prevalent themes of climate change related disadvantage experienced by these communities. It will then discuss the relevance of these findings in relation to the social work profession and its role to challenge policies and practices that are oppressive and fail to meet standards of environmental sustainability and human rights. Furthermore, it highlights critical social work theory and strengths-based approaches as key considerations for working alongside low SES communities. This paper was written as part of a final capstone unit of study for a Bachelor of Social Work degree.
This article draws on thesis research to critically analysis top-down management of disasters that positions informal, localised responses as subordinate in relation to formalised disaster agencies (Darab, Hartman & Pittaway, 2020). This research project has focused on the specific experience of community residents recently impacted by the 2019 Gospers Mountain Fire in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales. It has utilised theoretical understandings of community development to promote the knowledge of ‘ordinary’ community perspectives often excluded in disaster management. It has identified taken for granted representation of community as ‘vulnerable’, ‘passive’ and ‘receivers’ of information. Rather it has found that post-fire the community has actively built social capital. Social networks strengthened and took on new meaning as the community continued to be active in disaster planning and recovery years after the disaster. Increased social capital also changed power relationships through increased community representation and the development of a ‘local voice’. Self-organised and informal groups became better able to identify and advocate for their interests and engage in democratic decision making. This research indicates the significance of localised, contextual knowledge and understanding in fire responses. It argues that this knowledge should be equally included in formalised disaster management and planning. This research hopes to facilitate structural change in disaster policy and practice through shifting hierarchical power relations in disaster responses.