Summary

Homelessness is a multifaceted social issue that requires collaborative efforts and joint social action to effectively address its root causes and provide solutions. Individuals who are homeless are not limited to a specific demographic or community, thus understanding and respecting diversity within the homeless population is an essential part of finding new solutions. Recognizing that addressing the issue of homelessness requires multiple solutions is the first step towards diminishing the issue. \ \ \ \ This qualitative research study focuses on the homeless population in the Tenderloin District—a specific region in San Francisco. Historically, the city government of San Francisco has tried various efforts to end homelessness, none of which have worked. One approach, Housing First [HF], has been considered effective at addressing homelessness based on literature and studies. HF guarantees permanent housing as a human right without any conditions. There have been many attempts to implement HF in San Francisco, however, it has been opposed by conservative forces because of the ideological underpinnings about the root causes of poverty.\ \ In this research, we provide an in-depth qualitative study through interviews that assess the needs of individuals and families who identify as homeless, both in shelters and on the streets of the Tenderloin district. The\ interviews will focus on assessing the unhoused population's beliefs on HF to address homelessness in the Tenderloin.\ Implications of social work values and ethics\ will be consistent throughout the research.\ 

Keywords (separate with commas)

homelessness, San Francisco, Tenderloin District, Housing First

Summary

Introduction: Trafficking of children is a rights violation and a development challenge.\ The criminal justice system offers both a prosecutorial and a protective mechanism. This paper highlights how the criminal justice system seems to fail child victims of trafficking and offers insights for consideration for future interventions.Method: Data was extracted from social work files of child victims/survivors of trafficking. Case file analysis is a valuable method to study child victims of trafficking in a cost-effective and non-intrusive way and avoiding re-traumatizing the children involved. Few of the children were still in care, whereas a majority had left care. The University of the Witwatersrand Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) granted ethics approval. Due to confidentiality and privacy concerns, de-identified data was extracted from paper records only, held in the care centre. The data was analysed using thematic analysis.Results: The file reviews generated an understanding of a range of criminal justice issues including: (i) challenge with definition of trafficking, (ii) passive involvement and unwillingness of the police to assist, (iii) incomplete assessments and release of children back to perpetrators, (iv) prosecutions and (v) compensation. Included were reassuring and empathic responses provided by the magistrates presiding over the cases.Conclusions: Information contained within files provided only a snapshot of select criminal justice issues that the researchers came across in the files – and based on the limited written feedback that was available. Despite the data quality, case files provided valuable assistance provision insights on interventions with child victims/survivors of trafficking and their complex needs and therapeutic jurisprudence concerns in South Africa. Further research should be conducted in the areas identified.\ 

Keywords (separate with commas)

Child Trafficking, Criminal Justice System, Safeguarding Children

Summary

Background: Emerging adults are at significant risk for intimate partner violence (IPV) with consequences for academic performance and disengagement. This study explored campus-level protective factors that mitigate the relationship between IPV and academic challenges. The study also examined the relationship between academic challenges and health-related service utilization among college student survivors of IPV.\ Methods: We analyzed Fall 2019 panel data (n=38,679) from the National College Health Assessment (NCHA) in the U.S. On average,\ participants were 22.52 years of age and were majority cisgender (98.25%) women (62.43%) who identified as heterosexual (82.11%). The study assessed the mediating role of perceived campus belonging and safety on the relationship between IPV experience and academic challenges.\ Logistic regression models tested the association of academic challenges on service utilization among survivors of IPV.\ Results: Over 54% of those who experienced IPV victimization reported academic challenges compared to 44.81% of those with no IPV victimization experiences (χ2 = 156.83,\ p = 0.00). Perceived campus belonging and safety both partially mediated the relationship between IPV and academic challenges. IPV survivors who reported having academic challenges had higher odds of lifetime use of mental health services, mental health services utilization in the last 12 months, and health services utilization in the last 12 months compared to IPV survivors without academic challenges.\ Implications and Conclusions: IPV has significant consequences for survivors’ academics requiring institutional support to ensure student success. This study points to the importance of going beyond individual-level risk factors to harness campus-level strengths and connections. Overall, the study findings point to the importance of harnessing campus belonging and safety to mitigate the impact of IPV on academics for college students. Many student survivors are accessing health-related services, representing an opportunity for institutions of higher education to intervene.

Keywords (separate with commas)

domestic violence; campus belonging; safety; academics; help-seeking