Stories Told By, For, and About Women Refugees: Engendering Resistance

In this paper I discuss some of the ways women’s narratives reflect how they make sense of seeking asylum[1] and how narratives can become a means of resistance. The interview data comes from a qualitative study[2] looking at the in-depth narratives of seventeen women who had all made a claim for asylum in the United Kingdom (UK). The women who participated had been living in the UK for different periods of time, ranging from a couple of months to seven years. Aged between early twenties to mid-fifties, they came from fourteen different countries of origin. I utilised an in-depth narrative approach to interviewing women which offered a number of distinct advantages: allowing for women’s narratives to be the focus of the study; capturing the particularity, complexity and richness of each woman’s story; and highlighting women’s agency in storytelling (Mauthner and Doucet, 1998, 2003). Interviews lasted between one and a half to three hours and were conducted in a wide range of different locations in the UK

A human rights approach to training and campaigning to end Female Genital Mutilation

The Centre for Applied Childhood studies at the University of Huddersfield asserts a belief in fundamental inalienable human rights and in the inherent dignity and worth of children. We have a particular interest in the needs of children, women and families and in human rights protection. We have given great consideration to outstanding work being done towards ending Female Genital Mutilation by organisations and organisational bodies, such as yours. We fully support these efforts and the potential changes to practices and policy they may bring about. We want to draw attention to the practice of using video footage and photo-images of FGM being carried out on children and young people. Some organisations in the UK do this as part of awareness raising including, but not limited to, training programmes, through media outlets, as teaching tools and in website campaigns. We recognise this is not the approach of all agencies working on this issue but we are asking all organisations to support our call to reconsider the practice of using video footage and photo-images of FGM being carried out. As a Centre concerned with raising awareness on a host of issues, including child abuse and gender-based violence, we understand that there are a number of good intentions and considered reasons why video-footage and photo-images might be being used. However, we are concerned about the ethical issues involved in this approach and its contradiction with the human rights principles to which we all subscribe

Asylum support for children and young people living in Kirklees: Stories of mothers

The report is based on a one-year pilot study by academic practitioners at WomenCentre, Kirklees, funded by the Nationwide Children’s Research Centre. This study has taken a localised approach to the Parliamentary Inquiry (2013) into asylum support for children and young people. We have placed the views of mothers of children who live or have lived in receipt of asylum support in Kirklees at the heart of the study. All of the mothers interviewed said that asylum support (accommodation and/or financial subsistence) was or had been their only means of survival and many of them have spent several years in receipt of asylum support with their children. Using the themes that arose in the Parliamentary Inquiry into asylum support for children and young people (2013)’, we have examined the mothers’ accounts of asylum support in relation to children and young people living in Kirklees. Consistent with the Parliamentary Inquiry and central to the analysis, a number of areas of concern were raised by the mothers: ‘essential living needs’, ‘home-life’, ‘education’ and ‘societal attitudes’. A further theme emerged around ‘children’s resilience’. As part of this report we have presented the recommendations put forward by the mothers: • Families seeking asylum should be given the right to work. • Section 4 support should be abolished and a cash-based support system introduced for all children, young people and their families. • Families should have a choice about where they live. • The best interests of the child should be central to decisions affecting children

Nursing and midwifery students' encounters with poor clinical practice:a systematic review

The aim of this paper was to systematically review evidence about nursing and midwifery students’ encounters with poor clinical care.We undertook a systematic review of English language empirical research using multiple databases from inception to April 2016. Hand searching was also undertaken. Included papers contained accounts of empirical research which reported on students’ encounters with poor care. These were quality-assessed, information was extracted into tables, and study results were synthesized using thematic analysis.N=14 papers met inclusion criteria; study quality was moderate to good. Study synthesis revealed four themes: i) encounters with poor practice: students encounter poor practice that is likely to be worthy of professional sanction; ii) while intention to report is high in hypothetical scenarios, this appears not always to translate to actual practice; iii) a range of influencing factors impact the likelihood of reporting; iv) the consequences of encountering and subsequently reporting poor practice appeared to have a lasting effect on students.Research is required to determine the frequency and nature of students' encounters with poor care, when and where they encounter it, how to increase the likelihood that they will report it, and how they can be supported in doing so

Learning from triads:training undergraduates in counselling skills

Background:Research has shown that counselling skills training in undergraduate programmes is effective. However, there is potential that premature intimacy and disclosures during triad work may impact on relationships which must be maintained out-with the counselling component of the course. Little research has examined individual pedagogical practices within training.Aim:The aim of this research was to explore the experience of the practical skills training component of a counselling course for a cohort of undergraduate students, and the impact of this learning experience. The objective being an evaluation of the use of this approach for this group and of the impact of personal sharing within cohorts of undergraduates.Method:Semi-structured interviews focusing on the experience of skills training and self-disclosure during training were carried out on 12 undergraduates taking counselling skills modules as part of their BSc Psychology and Counselling degree. Thematic analysis was carried out on the interview transcripts.Results:As a result of engagement in skills training and acting as ‘clients’ for one another, individuals perceived the formation of a positive group identity with implicit ‘rules’, but also an impact of training on relationships within the group which relied on the ability to maintain boundaries and personal identities with peers, and this influenced the learning experience. The ability to manage their engagement on the programme was dependent on ongoing support and guidance from tutors.Discussion:While this pedagogical approach appears appropriate for facilitating learning and potentially provides a rich learning journey for undergraduate students, tutors must act proactively to ensure a safe learning environment