Summary

This study aimed to assess and develop safeguarding practices and policies for Transgender Community-led Health Services in Thailand, focusing on reducing HIV transmission and improving the quality of life for transgender women. Funded by international funding, it aimed to ensure adherence to ethical standards and protect program participants. The assessment identified several areas requiring attention and improvement. The\ evaluation revealed that although community-based\ organisations (CBOs) had policies to address harassment and discrimination, a specific child safeguarding policy was lacking. Additionally, while the\ organisations had a code of conduct prohibiting romantic relationships or the exchange of goods or money with clients, the need for a child safeguarding policy was identified as crucial. Training on safeguarding program participants from sexual exploitation and abuse was found inadequate, with no specific training on this topic. Although an annual meeting covered sexual exploitation and conflict of interest, new staff members, including an outreach officer, had not received training. The recommendation was to provide access to an eModule on safeguarding program participants and develop a dedicated training course on sexual exploitation and abuse. In conclusion, the assessment highlighted the need to improve safeguarding practices within Transgender Community-led Health Services in Thailand. Key recommendations included developing a child safeguarding policy, implementing reference and background checks in the recruitment process, addressing sexual exploitation and abuse in vendor policies, providing specific training, and establishing protocols for investigations and corrective actions. Addressing these gaps and needs would strengthen the safeguarding policies and protect program participants.

Keywords (separate with commas)

Transgender, Safeguarding, Community-led Health Services.

Summary

The predominant definition of motherhood in Canada, and Western Society, reflects middle-class Eurocentric notions of intensive mothering, whereby mothers are expected to manage their responsibilities as the primary caregiver of their children and household, while maintaining employment outside of the home. This ideology leaves little consideration for the experiences of mothers from diverse socio-economic and ethno-racial backgrounds. We completed a qualitative, exploratory study with three mothers in Calgary, Alberta, who, over the course of a series on in-depth interviews shared stories of the mothering they experienced in childhood, the challenges in their own mothering which resulted in having their children apprehended by the state, and finally their journey to regaining custody of their children. These women’s narratives highlighted their resiliency in their reclaiming identities as good mothers while challenging socially constructed beliefs about women, and mothering. Our intention to disseminate the study findings and specifically ides about ‘good mothering’ to a wider audience led us to employ an arts based-research practice to develop a children’s book based on Canadian animal models who exhibited mothering behaviors ranging from less to more intensive mothering in the hopes of entertaining and informing our ideas of the multiple ways of being a good mother. 

Keywords (separate with commas)

mothering, creative arts, story-telling, diversity

Summary

This autoethnographic presentation explores the personal and professional journey of a female researcher within her own research on Nepali women and social work. In this, I explain the challenges and struggles of women while doing research about women. While commencing my research journey, I thought I would be a subject (knower) and Nepali female social workers who I was going to interview with would be an object (known) in the research. But, surprisingly, given my own gender and affiliation to Nepali society and culture, I discovered I am both the subject and the object in my own research. And hence, using an autoethnographic approach, I present my own experiences, perspectives, and narratives. Although, in the beginning I assumed my social and economic privilege would position me in higher status, but as I continue to interact and interview with my female participants, I found the experiences, identities and patriarchal struggles to be rather similar than different in both personal and professional lives. The literature review and my preliminary findings concurred with my experiences as a Nepali woman and highlighted the impact of societal expectations as a ‘female’ in Nepali society is so enormous that heavily shapes how she thinks, behaves and present herself within family and social boundary. With such shared experiences, I reinvigorated my ‘self-identity’ with which calls for reflexivity and self-awareness in transformative practices that challenge dominant systems perpetuating inequalities in Nepali society. The prevalent unequal footing needs addressing through increased self-actualization of their own identity. In conclusion, this journey has been rewarding as well as a learning experience indicating shared reality of being a Nepali woman with my own research object.

Keywords (separate with commas)

Gender, social work, qualitative research, autoethnography, Nepal.

Summary

This article focuses on family social work knowledge production in the context of changing family structures and forms in China. Taking the lesbian family in a diversified family as an example, it is hoped that through the “Thick Description” of three different forms of postmodern families: contract marriage family, extra-marital family and planned lesbian family to help social workers “see” more family patterns, re-imagine the concept of future, pluralistic families, and expand the imagination of family social work. This paper points out that social work, as a profession and occupation that “uses itself as a diversity to assist diversity to form or constitute diversity”, should remove restrictions, protect and develop diversity. The imagination of the family in research and literature is still mainly limited to the family situation of the mainstream population, and the lack of attention to family structural changes and multiple family issues has contributed to systemic inequality. Therefore, this article hopes to pay more attention to the “living entity”, that is, people’s daily life practice, so as to realize family social work that is closer to life and subjective feelings. Admittedly, moving beyond the cisgender frame is a challenge for social workers and social work practice, but not doing so limits our own view of what is possible.

Keywords (separate with commas)

Diversified family, family social work, lesbian, kinship