Social Work Student Views on Palliative Care Learning Resources
Many social workers are expected to work with individuals and families who are dealing with life-limiting illnesses, yet during their university education they may not have been exposed to materials that address issues related to death and dying. The Social Work Department of University of New England in Armidale, Australia designed and delivered a palliative care teaching and learning session using publicly funded online materials. Themes emerging from questionnaire and focus group data analysis included appreciation for the importance and emotional demands of the materials, sensitivity and flexibility among educators who ideally have work experience in the field, expanding presence of social work philosophy in curriculum materials and exploring spirituality, and examining culture-informed practice in greater depth. Among the implications is the need for concerted efforts to teach about death and dying using high quality accessible materials, while ensuring social work values and approaches are reflected in the content.
Protecting the abused from further trauma during the Royal Commission
There is great support within the community for the Royal Commission into child sexual abuse. Many people have high hopes it will right the wrongs of the past and help us, as a nation, to eliminate future child sexual abuse. But how will the Royal Commission affect those who were abused? Research from Australia and around the world has told us a great deal about the impact of child sexual abuse. We know, for example, that people who have been sexually abused as children are 2.4 times more likely than others to suffer from a mental disorder in adulthood and have a higher risk of addiction. In adolescence, those who have been sexually abused are more likely to become involved in risk-taking behaviour, and are therefore more likely to be re-victimised in early adulthood and experience difficulties in their intimate relationships. We also know that disclosure is a lifelong process. This is because children often feel ashamed of what has happened to them, blame themselves, or are fearful they will be punished if they speak out, or they won't be believed. If the sexual abuse involves same-sex acts, the child or adolescent can feel a great deal of shame and confusion over their own sexuality. These are powerful reasons why a child or young person does not want to talk about the abuse. So most children choose to remain silent for many years. As adults, they often realise that if they do speak out, there will be negative consequences for themselves and their families. Many choose to remain silent in order to protect family members from the reality of what has happened to them. It may be slightly easier for children or young people to speak out, and demand justice, if the abuse took place outside the family or within an institution. But it's important to remember that it requires remarkable courage to make any disclosure, given the stigma that attaches to victimhood. In order for the Royal Commission to live up to society's expectations, it's important the rights of those giving evidence are protected. Survivors of child sexual abuse must be treated with respect and their stories must be honoured, even if the person telling the story is not considered an "ideal witness". Adult survivors should not need to prove they are of good character; they have suffered enough.
Beyond Surviving: Gender Differences in Response to Early Sexual Experiences With Adults
The aim of this research project was to explore how men and women constructed a sense of self through narrative following an early sexual experience with an adult. Using narrative inquiry methodology, 22 in-depth interviews were conducted in New South Wales, Australia, with 13 women and 9 men ages between 25 and 70. All participants had an early sexual experience at the age of 15 or younger with someone 18 or older. Narrative analysis was used to examine the co-constructed stories that emerged. Participants told four evolving narratives about their experiences: narratives of silence, of ongoing suffering, of transformation, and of transcendence. The gender differences between these narratives have been examined in the light of the literature relating to childhood sexual abuse, the victim and survivor discourses, and the social construction of gender.
Child Maltreatment in Remote Aboriginal Communities and the Northern Territory Emergency Response: A Complex Issue
Forty years after the '1967 Referendum' and 10 years after the 'Bringing Them Home' inquiry published its report into the Stolen Generations, in June 2007 the Howard Federal Government launched an Emergency Response intervention in the Northern Territory, having recognised the urgent need to reduce the incidence of child maltreatment in remote Aboriginal communities. This intervention was developed in response to the Northern Territory Government report on child sexual abuse in Indigenous children that described the urgency of the situation. In the present review of the literature, the complexity of the issue of child maltreatment, in particular child sexual abuse, in Indigenous Australia is explored. The Northern Territory Emergency Response1 is examined in the light of research evidence, detailed in numerous government reports, that reducing child maltreatment in Aboriginal communities necessitates both Aboriginal self-determination and extensive consultation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people working in the field. The extent to which the Emergency Response is evidence based and the complexity of making a report about child maltreatment, in particular child sexual abuse, in a remote Aboriginal communities are explored. Implications for policy and practice are also discussed.