(Euser et al. 2011; Dettlaff 2014). One contributing element is racial bias and discrimination (Roberts 2002; Rivaux et al. 2008), either by individual child welfare staff or through institutional racism in welfare services that is evident in their policies and practices (Barn 2007). This explanation involves what has been referred to as a deficiency approach (Park 2005), in which minority status is itself used as a marker of risk and maltreatment. Examining ourselves and reflecting on our own biases is therefore crucial for trying to enhance our cultural competence in child protection.

Culturally competent work in child protection is therefore the delicate art of balancing the particular with the hegemonic, while reflecting on and taking into account the complex contexts of people's lives, in order to ensure children's safety. Cultural competence is never fully realised, achieved, or completed, but is rather a lifelong process of self-reflectivity and ongoing learning that should be integral to our professional lives.

## References

Abrams, L.S., and Gibson, P., 2007. 'Reframing multicultural education. Teaching white privilege in the social work curriculum', *Journal of Social Work Education* 43(1): 147–60.

Barn, R., 2007. "'Race", ethnicity and child welfare. A fine balancing act', *British Journal of Social Work* (37): 1425–34.

Bowlby, J., 1988. *A secure base. Clinical applications of attachment theory*. London: Routledge.

Cross, T.L., Bazron, B.J., Dennis, K.W., and Isaacs, M.R., 1989. *Towards a culturally competent system of care: A monograph on effective services for minority children who are severely emotionally disturbed*. Washington, D.C: Georgetown University Child Development Center.

Dettlaff, A.J., 2014. 'The evolving understanding of disproportionality and disparities in child welfare', in J.E. Korbin and R.D. Krugman, eds, *Handbook of child maltreatment*. Dordrecht: Springer Publishing Company, 149–68.

Euser, E.M., van Ijzendoorn, M.H., Prinzie, P. and Bakermans-Kranenburg, M.J., 2011. 'Elevated child maltreatment rates in immigrant families and the role of socioeconomic differences', *Child Maltreatment* (16): 63–73.

Henrich, J., Heine, S.J. and Norenzayan, A., 2010. 'The weirdest people in the world?' *Behavioral and Brain Sciences* 33(2–3): 61–83.

Jeyasingham, D., 2012. 'A clarification of "white noise" and some observations about Paul Michael Garrett's response', *British Journal of Social Work* 42: 1416–20.

Kondart, M.E., 1999. 'Who is the "self" in self-aware. Professional self-awareness from a critical theory perspective', *The Social Service Review* 73(4): 451–77.

Korbin, J.E., 1981. *Child abuse and neglect. Cross-cultural perspectives*. Berkeley, Los Angeles: University of California Press.

Korbin, J.E., 1991. 'Cross-cultural perspectives and research directions for the 21st century', *Child Abuse and Neglect* (15): 67–77.

Korbin, J.E., 2003. 'Children, childhoods, and violence', *Annual Review of Anthropology* (32): 431–46.

Korbin, J.E., and Spilsbury, J., 1999. 'Cultural competence and child neglect', in H. Dubowitz, ed., *Neglected children. Research, practice and policy*. Newbury Park: SAGE Publications, 69–88.
Latting, J.K., 1990. 'Identifying the "isms". Enabling social work students to confront their biases', *Journal of Social Work Education* 26(1): 36-44.

Nadan, Y., 2014. 'Rethinking "cultural competence" in international social work', *International Social Work* 57(5): 1-10.

Nadan, Y., 2016. 'Teaching note – Revisiting stereotypes: Enhancing cultural awareness through a web-based tool', *Journal of Social Work Education* 52(1): 50-56.

Nadan, Y., Spilsbury, J., and Korbin, J., 2015. 'Culture and context in understanding child maltreatment. Contributions of intersectionality and neighborhood-based research', *Child Abuse and Neglect* (41): 40-48.

NASW, 2001. *NASW standards for cultural competence in social work practice* [online]. National Association of Social Workers (NASW). Available from: www.socialworkers.org/practice/standards/NASWCulturalStandards.pdf [Accessed 1 October 2015].

NASW, 2007. *Indicators for the achievement of the NASW standards for cultural competence in social work practice* [online]. National Association of Social Workers. Available from: www.socialworkers.org/practice/standards/naswculturalstandardsindicators2006.pdf [Accessed 10 January 2016].

Nylund, D., 2006. 'Critical multiculturalism, whiteness, and social work. Towards a more radical view of cultural competence', *Journal of Progressive Human Services* 17(2): 27-42.

Park, Y., 2005. 'Culture as deficit. A critical discourse analysis of the concept of culture in contemporary social work discourse', *Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare* 32(3): 11-33.

Rivaux, S.L., James, J., Wittenstrom, K., Baumann, D., Sheets, J., Henry, J. and Jeffries, V., 2008. 'The intersection of race, poverty, and risk. Understanding the decision to provide services to clients and to remove children', *Child Welfare* 87: 151-68.

Roberts, D., 2002. 'Shattered bonds. The color of child welfare', *Children and Youth Services Review* 24: 877-80.

Rosenthal, M.K., and Roer-Strier, D., 2001. 'Cultural differences in mothers' developmental goals and ethnotheories', *International Journal of Psychology* 36(1): 20-31.

Saleebey, D., 1996. 'The strengths perspective in social work practice. Extensions and cautions', *Social Work* 41(3): 296-305.

Sisneros, J., Stakeman, C., Joyner, M.C. and Schmitz, C.L., 2008. *Critical multicultural social work*. Chicago: Lyceum Books.
25 Jyoti's case – a study on
transnational advocacy

Abha Bhaiya

The case

The Delhi gang rape case on 16 December 2012 involved a rape and a fatal assault. The incident happened when a 23-year-old girl, a physiotherapy intern, Jyoti Singh Pandey, boarded a bus at 8:30 p.m. with a male friend, after watching a movie. This was an off-duty private bus, with six men on board – five adults and a juvenile. The men beat the friend and each one raped the woman in turn, before assaulting her viciously with an iron instrument which damaged all her internal organs. By the time the police picked her up and took her to hospital she had bled profusely. After being hospitalised for 13 days, she was transferred to a hospital in Singapore for emergency treatment, but died from her injuries two days later.

One of the accused adults died in police custody; it is not clear whether it was suicide or murder (after he had been taunted by fellow prisoners). The four surviving adult defendants denied the charges. They went on trial in a fast-track court and, three days later, were sentenced to death by hanging. In March 2014, the Delhi High Court upheld the guilty verdict and the death sentences. The minor defendant was tried as a juvenile (not as an adult), and therefore, even though convicted for rape and murder, only sentenced to the maximum of three years' imprisonment in a reform institution.

The brutality and ruthlessness of the crime shook the conscience of the people and ignited protests by activist groups, cutting across caste/class divide. The protests that followed included an enormous mobilisation of ordinary citizens including the unprecedented involvement of women's groups, activists and large-scale turnout of young students. The ensuing protests moved beyond the incident – within days the case was in the media; this was most prevalent within India, but a study found one-third of articles in the Anglo-American press (Phillips et al. 2015) with more than 1,500 articles being published in the US in the two months following the incident (Roychowdhury 2013). The questions have to be asked: Why this case (Kaur 2013), and why did it become an international cause (Roychowdhury 2013)?

This then pressurised the Indian government to set up an independent
commission led by a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, J.S. Verma.
Nearly 80,000 people sent in recommendations, including women's organisations,
who also met with the committee. In record time a 600-plus page report was tabled
to the Parliament with extensive recommendations to address sexual violence
(Justice J.S. Verma).

Transnational advocacy networks

Violence against women is a global, and especially in cases of trafficking, a
transnational phenomenon. The issue of violence against women has been taken
up and pursued by what Keck and Sikkink (1999) describe as transnational
advocacy networks: non-state actors who interact with each other, with states and
with international organisations. They are bound together by shared values, a
common discourse, and a dense exchange of information and services. This case
study looks at these advocacy networks (considering the Indian perspective) – of
which Social Work Professionals could and should be part. We will look at the
major areas: research, the legal framework and feminist activism.

Transnational research

All societies consider some form of non-consensual sex as against social norms and punishable. A number of studies have demonstrated that those communities in which there are higher levels of sexist beliefs and norms, also have higher rates of violence against women (McMahon and Banyard 2012: 6). Still there seem to be other factors contributing to this violence, including the use of sexually degrading language, high levels of harassment, combined with violent media images or pornography. A conceptual framework distinguishes six categories of ‘accepted rape’ in non-industrialised societies: marital rape, exchange rape, punitive rape, theft rape, ceremonial rape and status rape (Da Silva 2013: 13). Punitive rape might target women for not respecting a man’s authority, for rejecting a man, for behaving ‘like a man’ or as punishment for her husband’s (or brother’s) wrongdoing.

‘Gang rapes’ occur around the world. Names differ (Da Silva 2013: 10), but they all point to disregard towards women: gang-bang (US/Germany), line-up (UK), streamlining (South Africa) or tournante (France). In academic terms ‘gang rape’ has been defined as any sexual assault committed by a ‘group of individuals who operate together on the basis of a covenant, a certain shared identity and shared norms’ (Bijleveld and Hendriks 2003: 237).

Many authors make a distinction between assaults committed by two
perpetrators only, and those with three and more perpetrators – as in the Delhi
case. Numbers seem to matter (Lambine 2013). Multi-perpetrator rapes account
– across nations – approximately for one in ten rape cases (Da Silva 2013: 12). A
national report on violence against women in the US found that 13 per cent of the
reported rapes were committed by two or more perpetrators, and 8 per cent of
cases registered more than two perpetrators. Similar figures exist for South Africa,
and when it comes to hospital treatment, 27 per cent of the cases suggest multiple
perpetrators. This might indicate that injuries inflicted on the victims are more
severe in these cases (Lambine 2013: 70), and probably suggests significant
underreporting to the police.
International research on multiple-perpetrator rape, including as part of transnational, often feminist, advocacy networks, can help in understanding what happens: studies suggest that key characteristics of rape crimes vary as the number of perpetrators increase. Multiple perpetrator rapes are offences mostly perpetrated by men in their early twenties, also the younger the offenders the bigger the group size. Mackenzie Lambine (2013) suggests that for young offenders, group relationships might outweigh the importance of the sexual act itself. ‘Rape gangs’ have leaders, but their leadership model might also differ by the size of the group: duo rapes often present as an older perpetrator giving orders to a younger one, whilst three-plus perpetrator gangs seem to be ‘led’ by example and direct action, sometimes with two perpetrators competing, making the situation more complex and chaotic, and they take longer and turn out to be much more violent (Lambine 2013). Research findings (Lambine 2013: 72) suggest that multiple perpetrator rapes are mostly committed outdoors, and many involve vehicles at different stages, and as in the Delhi rape, perpetrators are many and they increase the vulnerability of their victims through the ability to block possible exit routes. Lone perpetrators on the other hand commit their crimes indoors by using elements of surprise rather than cornering their victim. Victim and perpetrators of multiple perpetrator rape are more often strangers.

Some researchers (Lambine 2013: 74f) try to classify ‘typical’ interactions between perpetrators and victims of rape – interactions where ‘choices’ are offered to the victim, situations where the perpetrators build up a ‘pseudo-relationship’, others where the perpetrator is in complete control of the situation, and interactions that are defined by their hostility through aggressive and violent behaviour. Clearly, in the Delhi rape case, attention is caught by the hostility of the interactions, and the control of the situation in a driving, off-duty bus with tinted windows. The violence that is used in the situation, the demonstration of sexual prowess, and the excitement of deviant behaviour (Lambine 2013: 15) adds to it.

## Human rights activism

The International Federation of the Social Work Profession (IFSW) defines social work as a practice-based profession and an academic discipline that promotes social change and development, social cohesion, as well as empowerment and liberation of people based on principles of social justice, human rights, collective responsibility and respect for diversities. IFSW and IASSW entrust social workers with a responsibility to promote social justice. They published a Global Agenda to ensure the dignity and worth of the person (see IFSW, IASSW and ICSW). This is why social work is named a ‘human rights profession’.

One important human rights issue is the abolition of the death penalty (Amnesty International). In the Jyoti case many in the streets and in the government called for the death penalty, whereas the Indian women's movement issued a strong statement opposing it. They recognised that every human being has a right to life, and added: ‘Our rage cannot give way to what are, in no uncertain terms, new cycles of violence ... A huge set of changes are required in the system to end the
widespread and daily culture of rape' (Menon 2012). Evidence does not suggest that the death penalty acts as a deterrent to rape. A review of crimes that warrant capital punishment in India had revealed the discriminatory ways in which such laws are selectively and arbitrarily applied to disadvantaged communities, as well as religious and ethnic minorities (as in the United States and other places). The statement also pointed to the problem of the psychological and social trauma that women in India would have to face if they had to report against their own relatives – as an overwhelming number of women are sexually assaulted by people known to them (like everywhere else on the globe). The Indian women's movement also feared that in countries where conviction of sexual assault is notoriously difficult, the death penalty would make conviction next to impossible.

## Women's rights as human rights

The Concept of Women’s Human Rights, developed during the United Nations Decade for Women, (1976–1985) results from women’s voices from many geographical, ethnic, religious, cultural, and class backgrounds who have been actively engaged in challenging structural discrimination against women and transforming their status (Bunch 2000) as well as possibilities of exchange facilitated at the United Nations-sponsored women’s conferences in Mexico City (1975), Copenhagen (1980), Nairobi (1985), and Beijing (1995).

When, in 1993, the World Conference on Human Rights took place in Vienna, the agenda initially did not mention women or any gender aspects. Then a petition to recognise gender violence as a universal phenomenon and a violation of human rights gathered half a million signatures from 124 countries; a whole chapter on ‘the equal status and human rights of women’ was integrated into the final document. The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action called upon the General Assembly to adopt the draft declaration on violence against women and urged states to combat violence. Taking up the human rights framework entailed examining this framework through a gender lens and describing women’s lives through a human rights framework. Eventually, experiences of violence were evaluated against formulations enshrined in other conventions such as ‘no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment’ from the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNHCR 1984).¹

Subsequently, the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women was accepted by the General Assembly in 1993. It defined violence against women as ‘any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women ..., whether occurring in public or in private life’ (Article 1). It urged states to exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate and, in accordance with national legislation, punish acts of violence against women, whether those acts are perpetrated by the state or by private persons, and recognise the important role of women’s movements and non-governmental organisations worldwide (Article 4). In addition, it demanded from the United Nations system, to contribute to the
recognition and realisation of rights and principles in the Declaration (Article 5). This made fighting violence against women a priority of international policies.

The Verma Report, after Jyoti's death, explicitly referred to 'Gender Justice and India's Obligations under International Conventions', i.e. under the Declaration on Elimination of Violence against Women (UN 1993) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (Justice J.S. Verma: 62). The report saw the failure to frame a domestic law, which was considered requisite for dealing with violence against women, as a breach of the international Convention. It demanded implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in a manner that satisfies the criteria of impartial administration of justice.

On 1 April 2014, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women also submitted her report on her mission to India following the 'Jyoti case' (A/HRC/26/38/Add.1). She concluded:

> The Government of India has recognized the need to address violence against women as a human rights violation. It has taken legislative measures in that regard, including measures to address rape and sexual violence. However, significant gaps remain in the legislative framework as regards the failure to recognize all forms of violence against women and to adopt a holistic approach that addresses the root and structural causes of violence against women. The persistence of harmful practices, pervasive gender stereotypes and deeply entrenched patriarchal social and cultural norms is of serious concern. Based on the idea of superiority of men over women, those manifestations exacerbate women's position of dependence and subordination and significantly obstruct effective implementation of relevant legislative and policy measures.

(A/HRC/26/38/Add.1)

Her recommendations to the government cover law and policy reforms, accountability, societal transformation, and statistics and data collection.

In 2014 the CEDAW Committee issued its concluding observations to India's fourth and fifth reports. Based on the report of the special rapporteur, the committee addressed the issue of violence against women, especially 'the stark increase in violent crimes against women, especially rape and abduction, and the high number of cases of rape reported by the National Crime Records Bureau in 2012, indicating an increase by 902.1 per cent since 1971, and continuing impunity for such acts' (CEDAW Committee – 58th Session 2014: 16). It urged India (as other states before) to define gang rape as constituting an aggravating factor meriting a more severe punishment; to establish one-stop crisis centres; to provide systematic training on women's rights to all law enforcement personnel, medical staff and judicial officials, and to ensure that police officers fulfil their duty to protect women and girls against violence; and to put in place an effective system to monitor and evaluate the implementation, effectiveness and impact of legislation to combat sexual violence (CEDAW Committee – 58th Session 2014).
India ratified CEDAW into law in 1993 – after having been amongst the first signatories in 1980. One year earlier the CEDAW Committee had issued ‘General Recommendations’ on (the reporting on) violence against women. The recommendations were based on the assumption that ‘gender-based violence is a form of discrimination that seriously inhibits women’s ability to enjoy rights and freedoms on a basis of equality with men’ (CEDAW: 1). State parties were asked to take appropriate and effective measures to overcome all forms of gender-based violence, whether by public or private act, and report on them. The proposed measures included laws against rape; statistics and research; ensuring media reporting of women; identifying and addressing the nature and extent of patriarchal attitudes, customs and practices that perpetuate violence against women; and establishing support services for victims.

CEDAW was also instrumental in one of India's landmark cases: *Vishaka vs State of Rajasthan*, where Chief Justice Verma issued guidelines and norms: 'TAKING NOTE of the fact that the present civil and penal laws in India do not adequately provide for specific protection of women from sexual harassment at work place and that enactment of such legislation will take considerable time' (Justice J.S. Verma 1997). The Protection of Women against Sexual Harassment Bill followed in September 2012 (PRS Blog 2013).

Gull and Shafi (2014: 53) found that activists were always sceptical regarding any transformative capacity of law, but also aware that there may not be viable alternatives. The women's movement in India was and is involved in campaigns and agitations, actively involved in running shelters for women who are victims of violence, providing counselling, legal aid and medical support. Activists formed alternative justice systems, and projects to make women economically self-reliant, and they conducted training workshops on various issues. Some of these activities are deeply embedded transnational advocacy networks (Keck and Sikkink 1999), for example, women's tribunals and public hearings, campaigns to end violence, and the creation of regional networks for peace and security.

The first International Tribunal on Crimes against Women took place in March 1976 in Brussels. Many more followed, each addressing issues of violence against women. Some of the more significant events include the Women's International War Crimes Tribunal on Japan's Military Sexual Slavery held from 2000 to 2002 in The Hague (Sakamoto 2001). One of the early women's courts was the Asian Court of Women on Crimes against Women and the Violence of Development (Albert 1996). National Tribunals on Violence against Dalit Women in India were conducted in 1994, and again in October 2013 (NCDHR). Nepal saw tribunals on trafficking and tourism (1994) and heard from survivors of sexual violence in armed conflict in 2014 (APWLD 2014; Human Rights Watch 1995). One should not forget the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda or Yugoslavia that have been monumental in exposing the extent and form of sexual violence against women in these wars. All the tribunals covered areas including economic, political, and cultural violence against women. Hearings and interventions also take place on local levels: e.g. the Women's Courts (Nari Adalats) managed by barefoot village-level legal activists (International Center for Research on Women 2002).
India's women's movements also take part in international campaigns to end violence: on 25 November (International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women) the campaign for '16 days of activism against gender-based violence' starts to raise awareness building up to International Human Rights Day, 10 December. Similarly, as a response to the UN data stating that one billion girls and women are subjected to violence globally, a large-scale campaign was launched in 2013. The call of the campaign is simple – One Billion Rising (people and not only women) must rise to stop violence against women. The campaign chose Valentine's Day as the symbolic day to launch the campaign every year. Today nearly 172 countries are actively participating and the circle is ever enlarging (One Billion Rising 2016).

Similarly, a Women's Regional Network was formed in 2011 in Nepal, with the objective of documenting women's voices from the conflict zones of Afghanistan, India and Pakistan – a sub-region, torn by conflicts and counter-conflict where the voices of women are missing in the local and regional peace processes. Based on six key risk areas – sexual violence, non-sexual violence, cultural or religious factors; discrimination and lack of access to resources and trafficking – gender experts ranked Afghanistan, Pakistan and India – together with Congo and Somalia – as the worst places in the world to be a woman (Women's Regional Network 2013: 5). The ultimate goal of the network therefore is to work towards sustainable peace in this sub-region of South Asia, especially for women.

**Conclusion**

Transnational solidarity alliances and networks are a legacy of global women's movements acting through a transformative political agenda to make states accountable, amplify women's voices and concerns in national and international fora, thus providing a critical perspective and innumerable strategic actions. The mounting pressure created by such alliances has led to the formation of international instruments such as CEDAW, the establishment of a UN commission on violence against women, national-level women's commissions, and the inclusion of human rights and multiple identity frameworks to inform the policies and actions of various states.

**Note**

1. This resulted in an evolving jurisprudence of the crime of rape in international criminal law (Weiner 1993).

**References**

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# 26 Combating violence against women

Transnational perspectives on social work in Germany

Comment on the Indian case study from a German perspective

Ute Zillig

A representative study found that 13 per cent of German women above the age of sixteen have experienced a criminal form of sexual violence. In only 14 per cent of the cases were the perpetrators unknown to the women (Müller and Schröttle 2004: 65, 78). German criminal law imposes a sentence of ten years up to life for a convicted rape resulting in death.

The following article covers transnational aspects in German social work regarding violence against women, and key layers of European advocacy.

## German social work addressing violence against women

Since the 1970s the women's movement in Germany has brought the issue of violence against women into public debate. For its current population of around 82 million people, about 350 women's shelters now exist, and around 17,000 women and a similar number of children find support in these shelters each year. There are about 750 rape crisis/counselling centres with different specialisms such as intimate partner violence, sexual violence, sexual abuse, forced marriage, female genital mutilation, trafficking, and stalking (BMFSFJ: 13). As well as providing shelter and counselling, preventative interventions including school outreach, training of professionals and campaigning are an integral part of the work of German support services for women.

## Transnational perspectives – legal implications, racism and cultural competencies

A transnational aspect might enter social work practice when a woman, who was born and/or raised in another country, accesses a German shelter or rape crisis centre. The woman, particularly if she has no permanent residency and therefore lacks insurance/health coverage, might not be able to have all her needs met (e.g. seeing a specialised gynaecologist, having translation support). Other issues such as immigration status intrude and the social worker's time is likely to be taken up
more with talking to the lawyer, writing reports and dealing with bureaucracy,
than focusing on personal support and counselling. This changes the focus from
personal support and counselling to handling bureaucratic procedures that might
allow her to leave her violent partner or an abusive environment.

Racism and everyday discrimination might be another transnational aspect of
social work in the field of gender-based violence. Experiences of sexual violence
are often strongly connected to experiences in the context of racist stereotypes and
discrimination (Crenshaw 1996; Dovidio et al. 2010).

Finally, gender-based violence is always – as any other social situation –
experienced in culturally specific ways. Social work, in its aspiration to be a
diversity-embracing profession, encourages an awareness of the interplay that
ethnicity, culture and religion might have within its different settings.¹ Gender-
based violence is experienced and articulated in culturally specific ways and
experiences of sexual violence have been shown to be strongly connected to
experiences of racist discrimination (Crenshaw 1996; Dovidio et al. 2010). If a
social work professional wants to establish equal communication, which is crucial
for survivors of sexual violence (Herman 1997), she cannot ignore the woman’s
personal biography and the norms and values she is subject to or has grown up
with. In turn, becoming aware of one’s own cultural assumptions can help in the
appropriate appreciation of each woman’s individual story, and be supportive of
the framework of human rights and social justice (Rosenstreich 2007; Ife 2012;
Oberlies 2015). However, among German women’s shelters and rape and
counselling centres, there are only a few² which explicitly address multiple
discriminations when counselling women victims of violence.

Transnational perspectives – advocating across borders

Since the late 1990s national networks on violence against women have been
established in Germany, and shelters and counselling centres have coalesced into
four umbrella organisations.³ Campaigns aiming for changes within German laws
on sexual offences or on practical aspects in terms of court procedures or health
care are often initiated and organised at this overarching level, and carried out by
local and regional institutions. These umbrella organisations are active parts of
transnational networks, especially at the European level.

Germany ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 1985. German umbrella organisations contribute to alternative reports to the CEDAW committee which provide a basis for the committee's recommendations to the German government. In 2009, for example, the committee raised concerns about the lack of sustained funding for women's shelters, and pointed out the need for improving the German Protection against Violence Act. It also highlighted parts of German migration law with particularly negative impacts on migrant women experiencing violence from their husbands (CEDAW 2009). Obviously, these kinds of recommendation provide an important background for lobbying for women's rights at a national level – sometimes in sync with international partners in Europe and elsewhere advocating similarly.
The European Union, and the European Parliament in particular, has adopted various legal measures and guidelines to combat violence against women in recent years (EUR-Lex 2008; European Parliament 2010). The European Commission passed a directive on minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime in 2012. Through this directive, each European state is required to provide specialist support services for victims of gender-based violence including trauma support and counselling, accessible and understandable information and support for family members of victims (European Commission). It implies more concrete rights for victims and clearer obligations for member states than previous legal frameworks.

In 1997, the European Commission started a broad funding programme 'DAPHNE' to support victims of violence and to combat violence against women, children and young people. This is now in its fourth phase, from 2014 to 2020. DAPHNE entails support for a huge number of projects related to social work, research and advocacy: the European NGO 'Women Against Violence Europe' (WAVE) under which many German shelters, rape and counselling centres are organised, was initially funded under the EU-DAPHNE programme. WAVE specifically aims to promote European measures for combating violence against women. In this regard, an observatory evaluates the impacts of developments in member states. Among others, WAVE is working on issues such as European standards of support services and development of training materials. It initiates, and is part of international campaigns, and successfully brought a case to the European Court of Human Rights in 2012 (WAVE).

In 2005, the Council of Europe, a European institution advocating human rights through international conventions and recommendations for its 47 member states, adopted an Action Plan to Combat Violence against Women and established a task force consisting of international experts. One outcome of this task force was a study on minimum standards for support services that has become an important reference advocating adequate funding at national and local levels (Kelly 2008). In 2011, the Council of Europe adopted the Convention of the European Council on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence ('the Istanbul Convention'). This came into force in August 2014. It outlines each state's obligation to implement all necessary measures in order to prevent and combat violence against women (Art. 7, sec. 1) (Council of Europe 2011). It is a crucial document for negotiating improved policy and funding for social services on a national basis. The Istanbul Convention was the result of a long process of advocacy, in which NGOs, the European Union and UN agencies were involved. As a direct impact of this Convention, Germany established a nationwide helpline for women (Bundesministerium für Familie und zivilgesellschaftliche Aufgaben). It is also a crucial document for national umbrella organisations when negotiating for sufficient funding for social services on a national legal basis.

As has been pointed out by Abha Bhaiya and argued in the minimum standards of support services mentioned above, a sufficient transnational strategy in prevention and combating violence against women needs to incorporate not only
helplines, safe shelters, support and advocacy services which are accessible for all women but also training for professionals, work with perpetrators and prevention programmes that address gender relations as well.

By concentrating solely on the individual survival of abused women and children, whether through our own projects or campaigning for changes in law and professional practice, we run the danger of losing sight of our ultimate aim: ending sexual violence.

(Kelly 1988: 238)

## Notes

1. The National Association of Social Workers standards on cultural competence NASW (2001).

2. For example: kargah, IKB, Frauenberatung TARA, LesMigraS.

3. bff, FHK, KOK, ZIF.

## References

bff. *Empowering women and standing firm against violence* [online]. Frauen gegen Gewalt e.V. Available from: www.frauen-gegen-gewalt.de/home.html [Accessed 7 December 2015].

BMFSFJ. *Bericht der Bundesregierung zur Situation der Frauenhäuser, Fachberatungsstellen und anderer Unterstützungsangebote für gewaltbetroffene Frauen und deren Kinder* [online]. Bundesministeriums für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend. Available from: www.bmfsfj.de/RedaktionBMFSFJ/Broschuerenstelle/Pdf-Anlagen/Bericht-der-Bundesregierung-zur-Situation-der-Frauenh_C3_A4user,property=pdf,bereich=bmfsfj,sprache=de,rwb=true.pdf [Accessed 5 October 2015].

Bundesministerium für Familie und zivilgesellschaftliche Aufgaben. *Support for women in need. The Violence against women support hotline* [online]. Available from: www.hilfetelefon.de/en/about-us.html [Accessed 9 October 2015].

CEDAW, 2009. *Concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. Germany* [online]. Available from: www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cedaw/docs/co/CEDAW-C-DEU-C06.pdf [Accessed 7 October 2015].

Council of Europe, 2011. *Übereinkommen des Europarats zur Verhütung und Bekämpfung von Gewalt gegen Frauen und häuslicher Gewalt* [online]. Available from: http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/EN/Treaties/Html/210.htm [Accessed 10 October 2015].

Crenshaw, K., 1996. 'Mapping the Margins. Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color', in K. Crenshaw, G. Peller, and K. Thomas, eds, *Critical race theory. The key writings that formed the movement*. New York: Norton, 537–83.

Dovidio, J.F., Hewstone, M., Glick, P. and Esses, V.M., 2010. 'Prejudice, stereotyping and discrimination. Theoretical and empirical overview', in J.F. Dovidio, M. Hewstone, P. Glick and V.M. Esses, eds, *The SAGE Handbook of prejudice, stereotyping and discrimination*. London: SAGE Publications, 3–28.

EUR-Lex, 2008. *EU guidelines on violence against women and girls* [online]. Available from: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv:dh0003 [Accessed 10 October 2015].

European Commission. *Rights of the victim* [online]. Available from: http://ec.europa.eu/justice/criminal/victims/rights/index_en.htm [Accessed 9 October 2015].
European Parliament, 2010. *The issue of violence against women in the European Union*
[online]. Available from: www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/note/join/2010/
419623/IPOL-FEMM NT%282010%29419623_EN.pdf [Accessed 10 October 2015].

FHK [online]. Frauenhauskoordinierung.V. Available from: www.frauenhauskoordinierung.de/english-summary.html [Accessed 7 December 2015].

Frauenberatung TARA [online]. Fachberatungs- und Interventionsstelle bei häuslicher Gewalt.
Available from: www.frauenberatung-tara.de/spr/eng.html [Accessed 7 December 2015].

Herman, J.L., 1997. *Trauma and recovery. The aftermath of violence - From domestic abuse to political terror*. New York: BasicBooks.

Ife, J., 2012. *Human Rights and Social Work. Towards rights-based practice*. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

IKB [online]. Interkulturelle Begegnungsstätte. Available from: www.ikb-frauen.de/index.php?id=2&L=2 [Accessed 7 December 2015].

kargah. SUANA [online]. Verein für interkulturelle Kommunikation, Migrations- und Flüchtlingsarbeit. Available from: www.kargah.de/index.php?lang=de&Itemid=682 [Accessed 7 December 2015].

Kelly, L., 2008. *Combating violence against women. Minimum standards for support services*
[online]. Available from: www.coe.int/t/dg2/equality/domesticviolencecampaign/Source/
EG-VAW-CONF%282007%29Study%20rev.en.pdf [Accessed 9 October 2015].

Kelly, L., 1988. *Surviving sexual violence*. Cambridge: Polity Press.

KOK. German NGO network against trafficking in human beings [online]. Available from: www.kok-gegen-menschenhandel.de/en/home.html [Accessed 7 December 2015].

LesMigraS [online]. Lesbenberatung Berlin e.V. Available from: www.lesmigras.de/english.html [Accessed 7 December 2015].

Müller, U., and Schröttle, M., 2004. *Lebenssituation, Sicherheit und Gesundheit von Frauen in Deutschland. Eine repräsentative Untersuchung zu Gewalt gegen Frauen in Deutschland. Im Auftrag des Bundesministeriums für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend* [online]. Bundesministeriums für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend (BMFSFJ). Available from: www.bmfsfj.de/RedaktionBMFSFJ/Abteilung4/Pdf-Anlagen/langfassung-studie-frauen-teil-eins,property=pdf,bereich=bmfsfj,sprache=de,rwb=true.pdf [Accessed 5 October 2015].

NASW, 2001. *NASW standards for cultural competence in social work practice* [online]. National Association of Social Workers (NASW). Available from: www.socialworkers.org/practice/standards/NASWCulturalStandards.pdf [Accessed 1 October 2015].

Oberlies, D., 2015. ‘Soziale Arbeit als Menschenrechtsprofession’, *Sozial Extra* 39(2): 6–9.

Rosenstreich, G.D., 2007. ‘The mathematics of diversity training. Multiplying identities, adding categories and intersecting discrimination’, in A. Broden and P. Mecheril, eds, *Re-Präsentationen. Dynamiken der Migrationsgesellschaft*. Düsseldorf: IDA-NRW, 131–59.

WAVE. Current Projects & Activities [online]. Women Against Violence Europe. Available from: http://wave-network.org/content/current-projects-activities [Accessed 9 October 2015].

ZIF [online]. Zentrale Informationsstelle Autonomer Frauenhäuser. Available from: www.autonome-frauenhaeuser-zif.de/ [Accessed 7 December 2015].
## 27 Transnational advocacy networks

The examples of APWLD
and NCWO

Comment on the Indian case study
from a Malayan perspective

Rashila Ramli

Jyoti's case in India is an extreme example of gender violence. However, the way it became a cause of many different groups and coalitions, some of which are based outside of India, is not so unusual: transnational advocacy relating to domestic violence has been happening and continues to take place at multiple levels and in varying spaces. At the international level, the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325) on women, peace and security, are two pivotal international instruments dealing with violence against women and are used at the international level. Article 1 of the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (DEVAW) accepted by the General Assembly in 1993 defines violence against women as 'any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, whether occurring in public or in private life' (Article 1).

The UN also recognises the prevalence of intimate partner violence (both physical and sexual) as well as the prevalence of other forms of violence against women and girls, such as female genital mutilation/cutting and child marriage. It is accepted that 'gendered divisions of violence are the hierarchical dichotomies of self-other, us-them, aggressive-passive, soldier-victim, and protector-protected that divide the world into masculinised offenders and defenders and feminized populations over which they fight and seek to conquer or defend' (Peterson and Runyan 2010: 143f).

CEDAW, UNSCR 1325 and DEVAW are explicit instruments for UN governments and civil society organisations to use in their advocacy work. How civil society organisations advocate transnationally including to the UN bodies themselves, is the focus of this chapter. As a commentary on transnational advocacy, I focus on the role of civil society at the regional and national levels, i.e. the Asia Pacific Forum for Women, Law and Development (APWLD) based in Chiang Mai and the National Council of Women's Organisations (NCWO 2013) in Malaysia. Both organisations work at the regional and national level respectively
to promote gender justice, especially in the eradication of violence against women including people being in an irregular situation¹ (UN Women 2011).

## Regional advocacy: knowing APWLD

The Asia Pacific Forum for Women, Law and Development (APWLD) is a grassroots-based organisation formed in 1987 when lawyers, activists and scholars gathered in Manila for a conference focusing on the role of law. The organisation has members from 25 countries. The grassroots members operate within organising committees answerable to the regional council. The regional council is the elected body, representing six sub-regions in Asia Pacific, providing directions for the programme and management committee members who work with the Secretariat of APWLD. The 28-year-old organisation has developed extensive networks in its member countries with the main aim of enabling legislations to ensure the protection and empowerment of women.

In 2008, there were four major programmes organised by APWLD (APWLD 2016): Beyond Marginalization, Women in Power, Feminist Legal Theory, and Grounding the Global. By 2015, there were two additional programmes – Feminist Development Justice and Climate Change. One of the common threads that binds the programmes together is the desire to eradicate all forms of violence against women. APWLD members see violence against women as a cross-cutting issue that must be addressed by all programmes.

Through the years, many cases of violence against women have been documented by APWLD occurring in rural areas, the workplace, public spaces as well as within the home. Thus, each programme developed approaches to confront violence against women in a targeted manner. For example, the Feminist Legal Theory programme explicitly highlights laws, regulations, and support systems relating to women and violence. Comparative analyses were undertaken to compare and contrast actions taken by state enforcement agencies, as well as support given by NGOs to victims of violence.

APWLD believes in the concept of Women’s Human Rights developed during the UN decade for Women (1975–1985). This is the second common thread running across all APWLD programmes. In at least three cases when women human rights defenders were arrested by their governments’ law enforcement agencies, APWLD would send out Urgent Appeals to state its position and to galvanise support for their release (APWLD). In these cases (see Table 27.1), violence was committed by the states.

APWLD works closely with UN Women and International Women's Rights Action Watch-Asia Pacific (IWRAW-AP) to monitor the progress made by states in implementing CEDAW. APWLD has pressured governments to be accountable for their actions. Different countries address violence against women in different ways – in Malaysia, the government has instituted the following measures: collection of statistics; reform of the laws regarding rape (1989); establishment of a Domestic Violence Act (1994); launching of a Code of Practice on the Elimination of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace (1999); launching a Code of Practice on the Elimination of Sexual Harassment in the public sector (2005).
<table><caption>Table 27.1 Cases of violence fought by APWLD</caption><thead><tr><td></td><td>Name of WHRD, country, violence against women issue in brief</td><td>Date of statement</td><td>Expected outcome/ outcome</td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Case 1</td><td>Imrana Jalal, Fiji, Prominent lawyer criticising the Fijian military regime</td><td>30/10/2010</td><td>Court dropped all charges</td></tr><tr><td>Case 2</td><td>Women Human Rights Defender Statement (adopted by UN)</td><td>26/9/2013</td><td>Creation of awareness</td></tr><tr><td>Case 3</td><td>Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK), Bangladesh, attempted abduction of Nur Khan, Director of ASK</td><td>16/5/2014</td><td>Getting the attention of law enforcement on the matter</td></tr><tr><td>Case 4</td><td>Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipino woman accused of drug trafficking in Indonesia</td><td>27/6/2015</td><td>The death penalty is practised in Indonesia. Her execution was stopped</td></tr><tr><td>Case 5</td><td>Teesta Setalvad and Javed Anand, India. Harassment due to their work supporting victims of violence, predominantly women</td><td>5/8/2015</td><td>Decreased harassment</td></tr></tbody></table>

Source: APWLD (2016)

## National advocacy: knowing NCWO

The National Council of Women's Organisations (NCWO) is one of the leading civil society organisations advocating for the eradication of Violence against Women in Malaysia (NCWO 2013). The efforts made by NCWO coincide with NCWO's participation as member of the national delegation to the UN Conference on Women in Nairobi, Kenya in 1985. As a follow-up to the conference, NCWO presented a memorandum to the government, where substantive recommendations for legal reform on major legislation were made resulting in the following actions by the government (see Table 27.2).

NCWO partnered with other civil society organisations such as the Joint Action for Group for Gender Equality (JAG) and Women's Aid Organisation to lobby the Malaysian government in passing the Domestic Violence Act. Both organisations realised that there is strength in partnership. By combining multiple strategies based on each organisation's strength, NCWO and JAG were able to get the Domestic Violence Act 1994 passed by Parliament.

When NCWO was established in 1963, transnational advocacy was in its infancy. Almost 25 years later, when APWLD was formed in 1987, transnational advocacy gained a foothold in regional women's movements which can then be linked to national organisations. Current issues involving violence against women, such as human trafficking, climate change, armed conflicts and drug mules, are addressed through joint efforts of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs). Many of
<table><caption>Table 27.2 Milestones in claiming rights</caption><thead><tr><td>Year</td><td>Action</td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1986</td><td>The Royal Malaysian Police set up a special unit of women police officers to investigate cases of rape<br>A rape investigation kit is produced by the Ministry of Health</td></tr><tr><td>1987</td><td>A memorandum on the draft Domestic Violence Bill is presented to the government culminating in Parliament passing the Domestic Violence Act in 1994</td></tr><tr><td>1994</td><td>The Domestic Violence Act is adopted</td></tr><tr><td>1994</td><td>A One-Stop Rape Crisis Centre is set up in Kuala Lumpur Hospital. This is further extended to other public hospitals to also cover women victims of domestic violence, and rape of men (sodomy cases).<br>The NCWO-YWCA Shelter is established in Klang</td></tr><tr><td>1996</td><td>The Penal Code is amended to include mandatory five-year jail sentences</td></tr><tr><td>1999</td><td>The Domestic Violence Act 1994 comes into force</td></tr><tr><td>2006</td><td>NCWO launches the Coalition of Citizens Against Crime (CCAC)</td></tr><tr><td>2011</td><td>NCWO, in collaboration with the LPPKN's SEKTA programme to promote safety of the family, conducted 40 workshops nationwide for parents, youth, kindergarten teachers, child care providers and NCWO affiliates</td></tr></tbody></table>

Source: NCWO (2013)

these co-organise programmes such as capacity building workshops, rallies, flash mobs and forums to publicise their stance on violence against women. An example is the One Billion Rising Campaign which started in 2013. The 2016 campaign with the theme 'Rise for Revolution! Listen! Act! Rise!' was launched on 20 October 2015 (One Billion Rising 2016).

## Conclusion

This commentary offers complementary material on ideas of combating violence against women at the regional and national levels. Based on examples given at the regional and national levels, one can emulate actions taken in one's own environment. Moreover, with increasing recognition given to rules and regulations pertaining to violence against women, it will be interesting to see the convergence of CSOs to achieve a common goal. For Malaysia, the cooperation between NCWO and JAG is a good example: the Domestic Violence Act of 1994 provides the foundation for law enforcement agencies and the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development of Malaysia to curb violence against women. At the regional level, APWLD monitors compliance with CEDAW. APWLD views
violence against women as a cross-cutting issue existing in all of its programmes. However, despite laws in many countries, violence against women and girls still persists. One then has to study the cultural, socioeconomic aspects of a community to determine the possible causes and most appropriate solutions to the problem.

## Note

1. Person in an 'irregular situation': 'A person who, owing to unauthorized entry, breach of a condition of entry, or the expiry of his or her visa, lacks legal status in a transit or host country. The definition covers inter alia those persons who have entered a transit or host country lawfully but have stayed for a longer period than authorized or subsequently taken up unauthorized employment (also called clandestine/undocumented migrant or migrant in an irregular situation). The term "irregular" is preferable to "illegal" because the latter carries a criminal connotation and is seen as denying migrants' humanity' (IOM 2011).

## References

APWLD. *Women Human Rights Defenders* [online]. Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development. Available from: http://apwld.org/category/women-human-rights-defenders/ [Accessed 10 January 2016].

APWLD, 2016. *Empowering women to use law as an instrument of change and promoting women's human rights in the Asia Pacific region* [online]. Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD). Available from: www.apwld.org [Accessed 20 January 2016].

IOM, 2011. *Key Migration Terms* [online]. International Organization for Migration. Available from: www.iom.int/key-migration-terms [Accessed 10 January 2016].

NCWO, 2013. *NCWO golden jubilee. Milestones in our journey* [online]. National Council of Women's Organisations. Available from: www.ncwomalaysia.com/ [Accessed 10 January 2016].

One Billion Rising, 2016. *The Revolution Escalates! Rise for Revolution: Sign up to Disrupt!* [online]. Available from: www.onebillionrising.org [Accessed 10 January 2016].

Peterson, V.S., and Runyan, A.S., 2010. *Global gender issues in the new millennium*. Colorado: Westview Press.

UN Women, 2011. *In pursuit of justice. Progress of the world's women (2011-2012)* [online]. United Nations. Available from: www.unwomen.org/~/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/library/publications/2011/progressoftheworldswomen-2011-en.pdf [Accessed 25 January 2016].
## 28 Elderly people in a war zone in Israel

The impact of community resources on psychological well-being and life review intervention in a resilience centre

Irit Regev

In the spring of 2001, missiles were fired toward the southern part of Israel, and the barrage was ongoing, subordinating everyday routine to the physical, psychological, and social realities of life in a war zone, and threatening personal well-being. The stress affects one's sense of physical and emotional security and causes difficulties in adjustment. Elderly people, who have relatively few economic and social resources, are especially vulnerable (Carballo et al. 2004).

Although this study was conducted in Israel, the plight of elderly people who live in war zones worldwide is similar, and aside from their age-related developmental losses they live under extreme stress brought about by the belligerence around them.

The cases presented in this chapter highlight the importance of an environment (in this case: community resilience centres) that is able to provide resources to people in situations of tension and threat. The role played by social workers in these centres is crucial to the well-being of the elderly population experiencing a situation of threat and stress that accompany war.

In response to this reality, resilience centres have been established in Israeli regions bordering Gaza, creating an innovative psychological model for providing clinical treatment and counselling.

### Elderly people in Israel: demographic trends and background characteristics

Elderly people (age 65 and over) constitute 10 per cent of Israel's Jewish population and 8 per cent of its Arab population (Muslims, Christian Arabs, and Druze) (Brodsky et al. 2013). Life expectancy in Israel is relatively high – in 2012 it was 82.8 years for women and 78.5 years for men. According to Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) projections, in 2020 elderly people will constitute 12 per cent of the population, reaching 14 per cent by 2030 (Brodsky et al. 2013; MASHAV 2011).

On the whole, elderly people in Israel are less educated and poorer than the general population (Brodsky et al. 2013). Furthermore, most of the elderly people in Israel are immigrants – about 8 per cent of all those who have immigrated to
Israel since 1948 are aged 65 and older upon arrival. The majority of the elderly population, even those 85 and older, continue to live in their own homes. This fact weighs heavily on the formal community service system, and even more so on informal support systems, which comprise the mainstay of assistance for the aged, especially when they are ill and dependent (Clarfield et al. 2006).

Social services for the elderly in Israel are divided into community services, provided in the home of the elderly person or in day-care facilities, and institutional long-term care services, provided in residential facilities for the elderly. Since the 1980s, a system of services designed to preserve the quality of life for the elderly has been added to long-term care services (Brodsky et al. 2013).

## Elderly people in a war zone in Israel – stress and coping

Comparative studies conducted among different age groups have revealed conflicting findings regarding the responses of the elderly population to traumatic situations (Carballo et al. 2004; Knight et al. 2000; Norris et al. 2000). Some researchers (Carballo et al. 2004) have indicated that elderly people, who have relatively few financial and social resources, are more vulnerable. As such, they may have difficulties coping with a continuous stress situation, which may be a serious risk for developing symptoms of mental illness such as post-traumatic reactions and depression. Other researchers have argued that elderly people are more resilient to symptoms of illness following traumatic events and that they are less afraid, desperate, or worried than younger people (Knight et al. 2000; Norris et al. 2000).

Since 2001, Israel's western border with the Palestinian Authority has been the target of more than 10,000 missile and mortar attacks. This situation calls for dealing not only with the physical and emotional damage in the immediate aftermath of the attack, but also with the long-term stress caused by the ongoing threat (Braun-Lewensohn et al. 2009; Nuttman-Shwartz 2015).

Seeking a response to this reality, five Resilience Centres have been established in the localities along the border with Gaza, serving some 60,000 people. Four are in regional authorities and the fifth in the town of Sderot. The programmes in these centres were designed to increase the social resilience of the local population, and enhance their ability to cope with the ongoing security threat. The centres, which were established in collaboration with government ministries, local authorities, and third sector organisations (the Israel Trauma Coalition), are an innovative psychological model for providing clinical treatment and counselling to residents of the war zone in all age groups at the individual, community, and municipal levels. Since 2007, approximately 15,000 individuals (one-quarter of the population) have turned to the centres where they received treatment or participated in coping seminars (ITC).

## Gerontological social work and social work with trauma victims

The main goal of gerontological social workers is to enhance the psychological well-being of adults who are experiencing aging-related changes such as deteriorating health, decreased mobility, or increased need for social support and
service delivery systems. These social workers provide psychosocial treatments, while also serving as educators.

Social workers in war zones deal with situations in which stress (such as caused by missile attacks) is a threat to the psychological well-being and the sense of physical and emotional security of the population. Social work interventions are based on several psychological methods: behavioural and cognitive methods, trauma and stress management, and narrative therapy (Breckenridge and James 2010; Nuttman-Shwartz 2015).

One unique and efficient method of promoting well-being among elderly persons is narrative therapy, specifically life review. Life review entails remembering one's life events, and relating them as a narrative that has its own significance. During the process, memories of the past, present feelings, and perception of the future combine to create harmony among the various parts of the life stories. Coming closer to the end of one's life can increase the need for life review, as can life-threatening events, in this case, ongoing exposure to missile attacks (Butler 1963; Whitbourne and Whitbourne 2011).

## Life review as a gerontological intervention

Erikson (1963, 1978, 1982) highlighted the importance of looking back at earlier life stages in old age, in an attempt to integrate the past into the present and future and gain a meaningful conception of life as a whole. Guided life review activities help people come to terms with unresolved conflicts from the past in their present life when they face vulnerability, dependency, and death (Blando 2011; Butler 1963; Kenyon et al. 2011).

Social workers who work with life review must be trained in the principles and techniques of the method, and be able to use it appropriately for each age group, in our case, the elderly person (Butler 1963; Greene 2008; Steunenberg and Bohlmeijer 2011). Using this method, the practitioner views the memories that elderly persons share during the structured intervention – whether in an individual setting or in a group session – as a reflection of the self which serves interpersonal and intrapersonal functions that help the narrators connect with themselves and with others, especially with the social worker. In this process, they develop awareness of the journey they have undergone, and gain insights into their own strengths as well as their weaknesses (Haight and Haight 2007).

During the structured sessions, the social worker uses the stories of the older persons to help them form a positive self-identity and facilitate the acquisition of better coping skills that will empower them in their current life struggle and improve their mood disturbance (Steunenberg and Bohlmeijer 2011; Zanjani et al. 2015). Structured interventions with older adults can be based on several methods, including looking at family albums, sculpting, drawing, reading letters from the past, and writing the older person's life story (Haight et al. 1998).

Janoff-Bulman (1992) worked with victims of trauma, and suggested three dimensions that should be covered in the process of life review intervention (Tromp 2011):
* Meaningful order of the world: elderly clients have to tell their story in a way that makes sense to them as a whole, and enables them to see the world they live in as just and understandable.

* Benevolence in the world: the assumption that there are positive intentions in the social context.

* Self-worth: elderly clients have to tell their story in a way that highlights the positive value of their actions and sense of self.

**The person in environment model: two types of communities in one war zone**

As personal and social resources enable people to cope with the aftermath of traumatic events (Ben-Sira 1991; Lazarus and Folkman 1984), the impact of exposure to war may depend on the wider social context in which it occurs. The social context of this exposure can be defined by the capacity of individuals and communities to navigate their way to resources that sustain well-being (Ungar 2008).

Research findings have revealed that communities with high levels of social cohesion, organised social networks, and strong social institutions demonstrate remarkable resilience when exposed to traumatic conditions (Ungar 2008; Wicke and Silver 2009). Kawachi and Berkman (2001) have highlighted the importance of the availability of social connections as a buffer against the impact of disasters. Accordingly, it has been claimed that residents of poor communities and residents of communities with limited economic resources (Cutter et al. 2006) are more vulnerable to stressful conditions.

The population discussed here lives in rural and urban communities. The urban community is the town of Sderot, and the rural communities, for the most part, are kibbutzim (communal settlements), which emphasise socioeconomic equality and cooperation, and have relatively abundant social and economic resources (Dekel and Nuttman-Shwartz 2009).

Following are two cases of working with elderly women living under constant threat to their personal safety. At first glance, these cases seem very specific to the Israeli situation of a civilian population being under missile bombardment, a situation which is not replicated worldwide. However, the personality traits and life histories revealed in the two cases described here are generalisable to other situations involving elderly people.

**Case 1: Monika**

Monika, 79 years old, was born in Argentina, emigrated as a young woman to Israel, and settled in a kibbutz. She was referred to the social worker at the resilience centre because the welfare staff members at the kibbutz were concerned that her emotional condition had deteriorated. She had sleeping problems, and she described anxiety and fears concerning missile attacks. She cared for her husband, who had Parkinson's disease and was disabled. Monika felt responsible for her
husband, and the sound of the alarms as well as the short notice between the alarms and the missile explosions aroused distress and anxiety.

In the first meeting, the social worker asked Monika to tell her about her life. She said that she did not go out of the house much because of her husband's illness, and because she was afraid of the constant shooting. At the next meeting, Monika told how she met her husband in a youth group in Buenos Aires, Argentina. This was before the establishment of the State of Israel, and the youth group prepared them for their emigration. She had been selected for the group because, as she put it, she was 'friendly and dominant in the group'. When she talked about that period, she suddenly looked more energetic and she smiled at the social worker.

In the next two meetings she told the story of her emigration to Israel and her first impressions and experiences. When the social worker asked what helped her in the present, with the ongoing missile attacks, she responded that they were all together and coped as a group: 'We had made a revolution. That's what helped me. I think I had the strength to cope despite the difficulties. Even during the war last month, our war room functioned remarkably well. What really helped was that our community was involved, and we helped each other.'

## Case 2: Annette

Annette is 76 years old. She and her husband were born in Morocco and live in Sderot. Extremely distressed, she arrived at the resilience centre after a day of several air-raid sirens, and asked the social worker to make a home visit to her and her husband, because they are both sick, hardly go out of the house and have no one to talk to.

The social worker asked Annette about family, neighbours, or friends, without using the structured method of life review. Annette said that she has two sons living in the central region of Israel and no family nearby. Her two friends are sick and cannot help her. In the past, she had visited the community club, but today she's afraid to go out of the house. The social worker referred a volunteer organisation to her, and a volunteer came to her home. These visits eased her burden, alleviated some of the loneliness she and her husband felt, and allowed her the time to go out of the house for shopping and on errands.

## Analysis of Monika's and Annette's stories: the person in environment model

Both stories exemplify the relationship between individuals and their social environment in situations of stress resulting from continuous combat. Monika, who lives on a kibbutz, talked about her sense of belonging and about the ideological framework that protected her in the threatening situations that she experienced. In contrast, Annette shared feelings of distance and alienation, and her urban community failed to provide her with the sense of security that could alleviate her anxieties. While Monika described the social support she received, the sense of caring, and the feeling that someone is looking out for her, Annette lacked this support and felt lonely and isolated. The difference in resilience between the two women has much to do with their living environment – collective
living for Monika (rural community), and urban living for Annette. Whereas Monika easily availed herself of the help around her, Annette, due to personal age-related difficulties, failed to do so, although the service was available.

This is consistent with previous findings regarding the protective force of the rural kibbutz community (Nuttman-Shwartz 2014), and is indicative of the importance of the sensitivity and skills that social workers must have when approaching diverse populations. The establishment of formal and informal social support networks, as well as the provision of daily services such as counselling services to vulnerable populations poses a challenge for social workers involved in formulating policies at the social, communal, and individual levels.

When people feel that they are part of a social fabric that is characterised by mutual responsibility, social support, and appropriate organisation of services, the stress experienced in situations of continuous military tension is mitigated. An organised communal environment can inhibit stress situations and alleviate the sense of helplessness, loneliness and anxiety.

The experience gained in the resilience centres in working with elderly people is not limited to Israel. There are many conflict areas in the world, and though the details vary, the human experience of stress is a common denominator. Social workers, working alongside other mental health professionals, could use the life review method to assist younger and elderly people in areas of war and conflict.

## Summary

This chapter dealt with how elderly persons living in a war zone in the southern part of Israel cope with the threat of missile attacks as well as with changes that accompany the aging process. The evidence suggests that communities characterised by a social environment that provides a sense of protection and social support in which the residents feel a sense of belonging to the community can alleviate the feelings of stress that accompany the ongoing security threat and the losses of old age. It is the role of social workers, in such extreme situations, to strengthen community resources and intra-community ties. The resilience centres act as a place to which individuals turn for building their coping abilities and are used by the authorities to help prepare the population for emergency situations. The social worker's close ties with the population, and the use of life review methods of treatment, are significant in maintaining community cohesion, and strengthen individuals of all ages within it under ongoing, life-threatening situations.

## References

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Dekel, R., and Nuttman-Shwartz, O., 2009. 'Posttraumatic stress and growth. The contribution of cognitive appraisal and sense of belonging to the country', *Journal of Health and Social Work* 34(2): 87–96.

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# 29 Elderly people with cancer in hospital in Shanghai, China

Social group work intervention

Comment on the Israeli case study
from a Chinese perspective

Fang Yang and Ziqian Xu

Dr Irit Regev introduced the situation of elderly people in a war zone and the interventions conducted by social workers to help the elderly in Israel. One method she used is the life review method and such an approach is also useful in other stress contexts, such as elderly people living with cancer. In this chapter, we will introduce the stress experienced by elderly patients with cancer and the social work interventions we have conducted among cancer patients in Longhua Hospital, in Shanghai, China. In particular, we focused on strengthening patients' self-efficacy via the life review method and building up their social support; the latter is different from the community-based intervention in Regev's chapter.

According to the World Cancer Report 2014, cancer is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and cancer cases are expected to increase annually from 14 million in 2012 to 22 million by 2032 (Stewart 2014). The elderly with cancer, referred to in this chapter, experience stress and uncertainty due to cancer and the aging process, which is similar for patients in other countries. Research shows that social work interventions would greatly benefit the disease prognosis and patients' quality of life. The case of the elderly with cancer in China might shed light on similar situations in other countries.

## Elderly patients with cancer and social work intervention

In China, the prevalence of cancer is 235 per 100,000 with an increasing trend upwards, and cancer is the second top cause of mortality among chronic diseases. Shanghai, one of the most developed Chinese cities, has a large older population with 18.8 per cent of the population aged 65 years and above (Gerontological Society of Shanghai 2015). Half of these elderly people suffer from chronic illness, and more and more elderly people are diagnosed with cancer in Shanghai.

Elderly people with cancer experience high levels of stress – physical, psychological and social (Ridder et al. 2008). For instance, cancer causes psychological distress and threatens patients' belief in their ability to influence outcomes (self-efficacy). Meanwhile, cancer requires long-term treatment and care, during which patients' psychological health usually deteriorates due to
constant efforts at disease management and lack of improvement in health status. Nevertheless, psychosocial factors play a significant role in the disease prognosis in addition to biomedical factors. Thus it is equally important to target patients’ psychological status and provide psychosocial intervention as well as addressing their physical needs.

In this social group intervention, the methods we used were aimed at building social support and creating a life review. Research has shown that social support is critical to adjustment when people face stress (Nausheen et al. 2009). Social support is important for cancer patients to deal with the emotional stress and uncertainties of the disease. Patients’ self-efficacy is also beneficial to their adjustment (Kreitler et al. 2007). Life review, a process of recalling one’s life experience or retelling critical events and presenting interpretations, can be an important source of self-efficacy and can motivate patients to adopt adaptive coping strategies (Haber 2006).

Drawing on these theories, we designed three social group work sessions, with the aim of making patients aware of social support availability, encouraging them to seek social support, re-building or strengthening their confidence to cope with the disease, and improving their coping capabilities. We recruited participants via a flyer in the ward. Given that patients usually stay in the hospital only for around ten days for a course of treatment, it is difficult to keep the group closed. Instead, the group was open to the patients who were interested in the group. Ten to twelve patients participated in the social work group which lasted about an hour and a half every time.

The first session: this session aimed to make the patients aware that their family, fellow patients, health care professionals, and social workers are there for them. In the sharing session followed by one team task, one female patient said ‘I was so desperate upon the diagnosis, but my family didn’t give up on me, and they encouraged me to take part in the activities in the cancer club. Then I went to the club and met many fellow patients. As we have similar experiences, we support each other. We chat about the food, the daily activities, and other things that are good for cancer recovery. Now I am not that scared any more. For me, family and fellow patients are really important.’

The second session: patients were asked to reflect on critical life events they had experienced in the previous five years and how they had dealt with those events. By doing so, we hoped to strengthen patients’ confidence in their own abilities to cope with the disease. The majority of the patients talked about their experience of living with cancer. One patient, with stage 4 breast cancer, was in a very good state. After she shared her struggle with the disease, she said ‘I am grateful, I am still alive. Cancer hit me and made me realise that my lifestyle is not healthy, I used to take my health for granted. I feel lucky that I still have the chance to make a change. I now slow my life pace down, and maintain a positive mind’. This patient continued to say, ‘Cancer is not a completely bad experience. It can make people rethink and take action to make the change now’.

The third session: patients shared their experiences with the disease and how they went through them. This session aimed to boost patients’ faith in recovery by
listening to and learning from fellow patients' experiences. One male patient used to be the Commissioner of Public Safety in a western city, and was very proud of his job. Unfortunately, the diagnosis of cancer had beaten him. He felt desperate and hopeless because of the lack of effectiveness of the treatment, physical suffering and not being able to work. His wife accompanied him all the way from his hometown to Shanghai, and tried to comfort him, but it did not work. In this group, he learnt of others' experiences in coping with the disease and became positive and confident in himself, and he said, 'If others can make it, I can also make it'.

## Discussion: the cases in Israel and China

Although the elderly in China face different stressors from their counterparts in Israel, they may experience similar physical suffering and psychological distress. Considering the importance of social support in adjusting to stress, social workers can help construct a supportive environment to empower the elderly and instil in them a sense of confidence to deal with the stress. For the elderly in Israel, social workers eased the elderly's physical and emotional burden using community-based interventions, whereas the social group work in this chapter made patients recognise that social support is available and encouraged them to seek social support. A supportive family and community will further benefit patients' recovery when they are discharged from hospital. The importance of community support and resources have been well demonstrated by Regev's work. Unfortunately, such interventions are very rare in China. Along with the department of social work in Longhua Hospital we attempted to establish an alliance between the hospital and the community and to extend the interventions to the community. We believe that such an alliance could consolidate the treatment effect and improve patients' quality of life. So far, what we have done is to conduct education on healthy lifestyle promotion and cancer prevention for the general public in the community. We are still exploring conducting group work for the discharged patients and their family members in the community when we have a better understanding of the needs of patients and their family members.

Furthermore, social workers could use the life review method to assist the elderly who are facing stressors, such as missile attacks or life-threatening cancer. In Israel's case, social workers used life review to help the elderly find their strength and construct a positive attitude. In China's case, we used life review to help cancer patients re-build and fortify their confidence and coping abilities by reflecting their own experience. Patients in the group may also benefit from others' life stories, especially when they face the same adversity. However, there are several factors that limited the effectiveness of the life review method in our group work. First, one session of life review is far from enough, especially for patients with cancer, who experience tremendous stress. These would benefit from a series of life-review sessions. Second, patients in the group mostly talked about their experience of cancer possibly due to the time limit, the group dynamic, or the culture. Such sharing by patients may not fully re-build their self-efficacy in the group work because of the narrow focus (i.e. experience with cancer), although
patients could learn from others’ experiences. Nevertheless, the life review in Regev’s case work might better motivate the elderly to reflect on their past life experience and explore their selves more deeply. It might be better to use the life review method in both case work and group work jointly.

Taken together, as aging is universal and the older population may experience certain forms of stress, social workers could use different methods, such as social support provision and the life review method, to help them cope better with the stress and achieve optimal adjustment. However, more research is needed on how to maximise the effects of the interventions.

## References

Gerontological Society of Shanghai, 2015. *Monitor of aging population and aging services in Shanghai in 2014* [online]. Gerontological Society of Shanghai. Available from: www.shanghaigss.org.cn/news_view.asp?newsid=9687 [Accessed 14 December 2015].

Haber, D., 2006. 'Life review. Implementation, theory, research and therapy', *International Journal of Aging and Human Development* 63(2): 153–71.

Kreitler, S., Peleg, D., and Ehrenfeld, M., 2007. 'Stress, self-efficacy, and quality of life in cancer patients', *Psycho-Oncology* 16(4): 329–41.

Nausheen, B., Gidron, Y., Peveler, R. and Moss-Morris, R., 2009. 'Social support and cancer progression. A systematic review', *Journal of Psychosomatic Research* 67(5): 403–15.

Ridder, D. de, et al., 2008. 'Psychological adjustment to chronic disease', *The Lancet* 372(9634): 246–55.

Stewart, B.W., 2014. *World cancer report*. Lyon: IARC Press.
## 30 Aging and conflict outside and behind your front door

### Comment on the Israeli case study from a British perspective

Charlotte L. Clarke

There are three phrases in Irit Regev's chapter which stand out for me as being of immense significance and which thread through this response:

1. 'the relationship between individuals and their social environment',

2. 'sense of belonging ... feelings of distance and alienation',

3. 'when people feel that they are part of a social fabric that is characterised by mutual responsibility, social support, and appropriate organisation of services, the stress experienced in situations of continuous [military] tension is mitigated'.

The opportunity to respond to Regev's chapter on elderly people in a war zone from the perspective of Britain is a fascinating challenge! Britain has not been an active war zone since the 1940s and the end of the Second World War. However, that does not mean that older people living in the Britain have not experienced living in war zones. There are, arguably, three ways in which British citizens experience sustained conflict and tension which impacts on being an older person: living through war earlier in life; migration into Britain away from conflict; and the introduction of conflict and oppression into everyday life as a result of socially experienced ill-health such as dementia.

### Experiencing past conflict and life course

First, very many of the oldest old in Britain today lived through the Second World War. They may have experienced direct conflict. They may have lost close friends and family. They may have lost their homes to bombing or been forced to relocate away from centres of bombing, often separated from parents and wider families. Second, people may be immigrants into Britain, fleeing from conflict areas – very much in our consciousness at the moment are those fleeing conflict in Syria, but the British population includes many who have fled earlier conflicts such as in Cyprus. For these older people, they may have a complex sense of what and where 'home' is and may have experienced considerable separation from family members (Botsford et al. 2011).

The life-course approach to understanding the experiences of older people is critical, as emphasised by Regev. Britain has developed a range of interventions
that focus on life-story work and which seek to support people to re-tell, or
re-narrate, their lives as a way of integrating their past and present experiences
(Keyes *et al.* 2014). Often this has focused on those whose identity is threatened
through the development of dementia. However, to date, we have a relatively
poor understanding of how childhood and early adult experiences impact on
later life – for example, in what ways does post-traumatic stress disorder
developed during times in a conflict zone impact on well-being in later life; in
what ways does conflict-related separation from family result in attachment
disorder and how does this influence social relationships and help-seeking
abilities in older age? For those older people who have relocated to Britain from
conflict areas earlier in life, how are they to reconcile the sense of belonging to
somewhere that they are unable to return to, with a sense of distance and even
perhaps alienation from their immediate social and physical environment
(Botsford *et al.* 2011). These social connections, developed over a lifetime, are
critical to an older person’s resilience – in a multinational study of people over
the age of 65 years, Moyle *et al.* (2010) found that maintaining community
connections, particularly across the generations, was critical to engendering
positive mental health for older people – and experiences of being in a conflict
area may compromise this.

Experiencing current conflict and exclusion

If we ask ourselves whether any of Britain's older population are living in
situations of conflict in the present day, the answer has to be 'yes' if we draw on
micro-sociological concepts such as domestic abuse and the psychological
undermining experienced by people with cognitive loss such as dementia (Clarke
et al. 2010). What characterises these experiences that individuals may have, is a
loss of power and influence within their own lives and exclusion from participation
from decision-making together with threats to their sense of identity, safety and
security. It results in living with a sense of oppression. Beard and Fox (2008)
argue that a diagnosis of dementia can lead to 'social disenfranchisement' in
which the person with dementia is viewed as having a rupture in their biography,
with habitual ways of living being compromised.

The social and psychological changes that are a consequence of a diagnosis of
dementia mean that the ‘everyday relationships and attachments to, with and
between people and place’, which are significant aspects of how a person may or
may not continue to affirm their identity, are compromised (Bailey et al. 2013).
Indeed, a proportion of people with dementia feel that there are shortfalls in their
inclusion in their community – the Alzheimer Society (Alzheimer’s Research UK
2012) reported that 22 per cent of people with dementia did not feel part of their
community and 38 per cent only sometimes felt part of their community. Similarly,
members of the general public recognised a lack of inclusion in their community
for people with dementia, with 60 per cent indicating that inclusion was fairly, or
very, bad (Alzheimer’s Research UK 2012).
**Conclusion**

The examples above of the ways in which older people in Britain may experience conflict, illustrate the importance of the social fabric and everyday relationship between the individual and their social environment and the tensions, for some, between a sense of belonging and a sense of alienation – some of the key issues highlighted in Regev's chapter.

As well as social networks, in situations of conflict, people draw on their inner resources and resilience, defined by Windle (2010) as ‘the process of effectively negotiating, adapting to, or managing significant sources of stress or trauma’ (Windle 2010: 152). Collins and Smyer (2005) argue that older people use a range of cognitive strategies to protect their self-esteem and well-being and deploy different sources of strength to adapt constructively to stressful life events (Janssen et al. 2011). The mental health of older people can be protected through social support, informal help and resources, and access to social networks (Dowrick et al. 2008; Mehta et al. 2008) and the reduction of loneliness in old age (Victor et al. 2005) – the challenge lies in better understanding the role of past and present conflict when accessing such support.

To understand the complexity of the issues highlighted here requires novel ways of understanding physical and mental health aging which are grounded in an exploration of the contribution of life course, society and culture to conferring risk, resilience and rights in the experience of ill-health and well-being. Critical research questions which need to be addressed are:

1. How do life time accumulated risks and resiliencies, shaped by society and culture, influence later life?

2. How can societies and care services engage with a life-course perspective to optimise well-being?

3. How do older people interact with their social and physical environment to assert their citizenship?

**References**

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Botsford, J., Clarke, C.L., and Gibb, C.E., 2011. 'Research and dementia, caring and ethnicity. A review of the literature', *Journal of Research in Nursing* 16(5), 437–49.

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Janssen, B., van Regenmortel, T., and Abma, T., 2011. 'Identifying sources of strength. Resilience from the perspective of older people receiving long-term community care', *European Journal of Ageing* 8(3): 145–56.

Keyes, S.E., Clarke, C.L., and Wilkinson, H., 2014. '“We’re all thrown in the same boat…”'. A qualitative analysis of peer support in dementia care', *Dementia*. Available online at: http://dem.sagepub.com/content/early/2014/04/04/1471301214529575 [Accessed 10 January 2016].

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Moyle, W., Clarke, C.L., Gracia, N., Reed, J., Cook, G., Klein, B., Marais, S. and Richardson, E., 2010. 'Older people maintaining mental health well-being through resilience. An appreciative inquiry study in four countries', *Journal of Nursing and Healthcare in Chronic Illness* 2(2): 113–21.

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## 31 Migrant workers

### Statute limitation and the missing social work

Kartini Aboo Talib

This chapter examines the conditions of domestic migrant workers in Malaysia due to legal limitations and the absence of a qualified social work service which leads to intolerable abuse. The cases of abuse of migrant workers and the violation of human rights has affected Malaysia's world ranking in the Trafficking in Persons Report of 2014 (U.S. State Department). This chapter delineates the limitations and shares a few feasible suggestions for overcoming the issues.

Migration has been defined as a change of residence which might include states and provinces at the national level or from one country to another at the international level (Voss et al. 2001; Roseman 1971). Migrant workers in Malaysia mainly come from Indonesia, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, and the Philippines. The majority of migrant workers in Malaysia are labourers, who may have low levels of education in their country of origin. In fact, new surroundings, rules, cultures, and values make adaptation a difficult process for migrants. New migrant workers take long periods of time to accommodate into their new society and successful integration requires active participation on the part of local authorities (Jennissen 2007; Schoeni 1998; Pettigrew 1998). Suàrez-Orozco (1991) points out that minority groups – which he refers to as a foreign-born generation in the host society – are often left behind in education and cross-cultural integration. Immigrants in Malaysia are workers migrating from other countries carrying with them hopes of starting a new life and prospering economically in the host country. However, often they are poor and uneducated, which limits their opportunity to find suitable jobs.

Slack and Jensen (2007), and Chandra (1985) propose that local authorities should consider creating an information system for immigrants. The success of integrating immigrants into local society could be increased by the provision by local authorities of a learning centre to help new inhabitants learn the language of the country and to further assist them entering into the labour market. Social work can always add value to this form of assistance to migrant workers, for example by facilitating and assisting in a learning centre for immigrants.

### Missing social work

The well-being of migrant workers in Malaysia can be questioned based on the insufficient protection in the present legal system, for example the Employment
Act of 1995. In Malaysia social work agencies do not deal with migrants. This situation is due to a few reasons: first, social welfare services are provided for citizens only, thus the rules automatically deny access to non-citizens. Second, social work has the focus of helping only those people in need as defined by the social welfare services including elderly people, people with disabilities, people who live below the poverty line, etc. This list does not include migrant workers – although their manner of entrance is legal, their rights are limited. Third, social work in Malaysia is concentrated in the medical and patient context only. It is clear that the need for professional social work in other areas is vital. Social workers could, for example, assist victims by integrating all sources of assistantship and enhancing social justice in a credible manner.

## Cases of abused migrants

From 2000 to 2007, more than 1,000 abuse cases of legal migrants were reported to the authorities (Yuspilman Asli et al. 2007). In the physical abuse cases most victims were maids from Indonesia. Some victims suffered tremendous injury and were treated in Intensive Care Units (ICU) or died (Ibrahim 2010). The abused victims commonly seek shelter and assistance from the Indonesian embassy. The media highlighted several forms of abuse including physical and mental abuse, rape and assault, non-payment for work performed, discrimination, ending of contracts without prior notice, contract renewal by force, insufficient compensation, strenuous workloads in several different places that deviate from the actual contract, the holding of passport and entry paperwork without consent, and life without medical insurance and sick leave (Talib et al. 2012). Highly publicised maid-abuse cases have triggered anger among segments of Indonesian society. Although both states are able to handle such issues separately so as not to let it develop into a serious conflict, relations are strained, and procedures clearly need to be established to curb massive protest¹ by the masses.

Case 1: Ceriyati Daplin,² 37 years old, a mother with a handicapped son, had no choice but to work as a migrant domestic worker in order to support her family and to assist her husband Ridwan, who worked as an Ojek (motorcycle taxi) driver in Central Java. She came to Malaysia in 2006 after being recruited as a domestic worker with a working contract of MYR450³ a month. Problems developed at work when she was frequently assigned to complete administrative office tasks for her employer's wife which were not suited to her skills level. Due to her frequent mistakes, she was regularly slapped, kicked and beaten on the head. She was given only one meal a day with tap water. Ceriyati's weight dropped drastically due to starvation. She ran away after she could no longer stand the continuous physical abuse from her employer. She filed a formal legal complaint with the Malaysian police assisted by the Indonesian embassy.

Case 2: *Nirmala Bonat vs. Yim Pek Ha:* The Kuala Lumpur Session Court sentenced housewife Yim Pek Ha to 18 years in jail after she was found guilty of three charges: four counts of voluntarily causing injury to 19-year-old Nirmala Bonat, incidents with a hot iron, hot water and a metal cup at her house. Each
offence under Section 326 of the Penal Code carries a maximum of 20 years in jail, a fine or whipping. The Court of Appeals has turned down her appeal.

Case 3: In another case in October 2009, the court sentenced a night trader to death for the murder of an Indonesian maid, Mantik Hani. The Muntik case in 2009 was alarming and heartbreaking to most Malaysians. Muntik, also known as Mantik, was a 36-year-old maid from Indonesia. She was physically abused by her employer, Mr. A Murugan from Klang. The victim was pronounced dead after all efforts to save her failed. She suffered extreme physical injury and was found by a janitor on a bathroom floor with her head half-shaved, unable to breathe, and too weak to respond to any medication (Ibrahim 2010).

Different approaches are utilised to resolve these issues through courts, tribunals, mediation, and negotiation. Cases involving rape, assault and battery are processed in the courts, while cases such as insufficient wages, contract breaches, and discrimination are resolved through internal mechanisms including tribunals, mediation, and negotiation. Such cases take years to settle. If a settlement is reached, compensation is often insufficient to cover the physical and emotional damages caused by an abusive employer.

If a legal migrant faces any type of discrimination at work, or unpaid salary, he or she can lodge a report to the labour office. An investigation will be conducted and action will be taken under the employment act. However, this action is impossible for illegal migrant workers. Looking at the processes that took place before the court, none involves a social work agency or unit as a platform for abused legal migrants to channel their complaints and grievances, or to seek temporary shelter.

## Law: the master-servant element

The root of this problem is that the Malaysian legal system does not have the capability to protect legal migrants and especially domestic workers. The law is viewed as a possible way to regulate and discipline the labour force (Snyder and Hay 1987: 7), but regarding coercive enforcement it most often favours a master-and-servant model. Although ironically effective in this regard, on a wider scale it has many times been detrimental to workers (Snyder and Hay 1987: 14ff).

A glaring weakness in the Employment Act of 1955 is that there is no specific definition of domestic work in the Act itself, and this exposes migrant workers such as maids to exploitation. Such absence excludes domestic workers from enjoying rest days, having clear working hours, and employment benefits. As a result they are on call for work 24 hours a day and seven days a week without a break in a year. It is time for the law to grant labour rights and protection to domestic legal migrant workers (Hassan 2007).

Section 2 of the 1955 Act defines a foreign employee as an employee who is not a citizen. Part XIIB of the Act is the only part dealing specifically with migrant workers. Under this provision, the Director General is empowered to inquire into any complaints made by the foreign worker regarding discrimination pertaining to his/her work condition or contract. However, the statutory language was designed
to give the Director General the power to make inquiries rather than to provide the victim with the opportunity to speak for himself or herself in securing his or her claims. In a situation where competing interests might occur, the actual incident could be redefined by the Director General's interpretations, leading to various forms of penalty. Additionally, even if a complaint by a worker is upheld, the employer or state might face a reduced or light sentence with no compensation reserved for the employee or victim of abuse.

The Malaysian Industrial Relations Act of 1967 Section 17(1) and the Trade Unions Act of 1959 both contain provisions that do not prohibit legal migrant workers from participating in trade unions (Hassan 1996; Hassan and Rahman 2009). However, some limitations apply in Section 28 of the Trade Unions Act of 1959 where members of unions must be citizens of the federation. As a result, migrant workers are denied membership on the basis of citizenship although they could be legal alien residents of the state for a number of years.

## Strengthening the legal tool and social work involvement

There are possible strategies to overcome these issues, and prevent future abuse of migrant workers, aside from attention to the legal deficiencies. First, the Malaysian government can enforce license suspensions to agencies that have been identified as failing to conform to the government's rules for supplying maids for household assistance. Violations include recruiting and supplying under-age house maids; failing to declare the proper documents for workers, including real names and health records; failing to provide household training prior to job appointments; overcharging clients; committing fraud by registering a non-existent company that cannot be reached when complaints of unanticipated domestic problems arise (UNODC 2015). A new procedure allows the government to suspend identified licenses and the agency may then appeal to review their suspension within a week after the suspension is in effect.

Second, the government has the authority to black-list identified employers with previous or present records of abuse and to ban them from hiring maids. This black-listed employer list should be updated frequently as and when agencies that face legal charges for abusing their maids are heard in the local courts. In fact, Malaysia and Indonesia signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) in May 2010, to amend the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the recruitment and placement of maids from Indonesia and the agreement granted maids one day off a week and ensured that they can keep their passport while in service.⁴ Another effort by the Malaysian government to curb maid abuse and to reduce wrongdoing by maids is to make compulsory a requirement for foreign maids and employers to attend a half-day course on their respective responsibilities (Izatun 2010).

Rationally, access to justice must be provided to all employees. However, obstacles preventing migrant workers from accessing and filing their grievances are numerous, such as ignorance of the legal system, lack of education, and lack of representation at the trade union level, depriving them of receiving legal advice or representation. Article 60(1) of the Employment Act of 1955 provides access to legal migrant
workers to file a complaint against an employer with the Director-General of Labor, but terms and conditions are applied to qualify such complaints. Illegal migrants, on the other hand, lack locus standi and do not qualify for such access.

Third, introducing mandatory unannounced house visits in any month of a calendar year would help the government keep track of migrant workers' safety and security. Insofar as the Employment Act of 1955 stipulates penalties for failure or non-compliance in relation to rest days, overtime, holidays, annual leave and sick leave, it could be used as a channel to observe the well-being of migrant workers.

Fourth, an interactive telephone hotline was introduced in 2007 following the case of Ceriyati Daplin, the 34-year-old Indonesian maid mentioned above, who attempted to run away after she could no longer stand the continuous physical abuse from her employer. This hotline is responsible to the Ministry of State Affairs and allows both employer and employee to file complaints and grievances.

Fifth, the government must establish a social service and welfare unit that is able to serve the needs and cope with issues of migrant workers. The existing social services are concentrated in the hospital, shelter home, prison, and juvenile departments dealing with citizens within the said contexts (see Talib, Chapter 11). The absence of a unit that focuses on migrant workers will further the agony of this deprived minority. Setting up a team for cross-cultural social work will help the government address practical matters dealing with migrants' cultural competence. This could address issues of social justice including migrants' basic rights to health care provisions, education for migrants' children, and their social security rights as employees.

## Conclusion

The government has to acknowledge that over three million legal migrants presently work in Malaysia and this significant growing force of migrant workers must be viewed seriously. The government must be able to show that a world-class standard of employment conditions exists through the provision of a legal system that will guarantee labour rights to these workers. The government should consider setting up a team for transnational social work to ensure that the health and human rights of the burgeoning number of migrants are protected. If their predicaments continue, then their experience of being part of society will be harsh.

## Notes

1. Street protests were held at the Malaysian embassy in Jakarta. The Indonesian embassy stated that there were more than 1,500 maids seeking help in their offices across Malaysia complaining of unpaid wages and physical abuse. See details at Aljazeera (2008).

2. With the help of Migrant Care, Ceriyati eventually received five months' salary from her former employer, Rp. 40 million in compensation from the government-appointed insurance agency that provides cover for migrant domestic workers, another Rp 11.5 million from the Indonesian embassy and Rp 5 million from the Central Java provincial administration. See details at ILO (2011).

3. Appr. 105 USD in October 2015.

4. Indonesia is expected to lift the maid ban. See details at asiaone news (2010).
References

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asiaone news, 2010. *Indonesia expected to lift maid ban in two months* [online]. Available from: http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Asia/Story/A1Story20100519-217068.html [Accessed 15 June 2015].

Chandra, A., 1985. *The family migration process in peninsular Malaysia*. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Hassan, K.H., 1996. 'Principles of international labor standards and Malaysia law on anti union discrimination', *Industrial Law Reports*, xxvii–xxx.

Hassan, K.H., 2007. 'Sejarah, polisi dan perundangan pekerja asing di Malaysia', in Ngah, Anisah Che et al., eds, *Undang-undang Malaysia. 50 tahun merentasi zaman*. Bangi, 395–435.

Hassan, K.H., and Rahman, R.A., 2009. *Hubungan Undang-undang Majikan dan Pekerja*. 2nd ed. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.

Ibrahim, N.A., 2010. *Peniaga di hukum gantung* [online]. Available from: http://ww1.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2010&dt=0720&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Mahkamah&pg=ma_01.htm [Accessed 8 January 2011].

ILO, 2011. *The story of Ceriyati. Escaping abuse in Malaysia* [online]. International Labour Organization. Available from: www.ilo.org/jakarta/info/public/WCMS_184984/lang--en/index.htm [Accessed 15 June 2015].

Izatun, S., 2010. *Foreign maids, employers must attend course from end of march* [online]. The Star online. Available from: www.thestar.com.my/story/?file=%2F2010%2F2%2F21%2Fnation%2F20100221193954 [Accessed 30 November 2015].

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Roseman, C.C., 1971. 'Migration as a spatial and temporal process', *Annals of the American Geographers* 6(3): 589–98.

Schoeni, R.F., 1998. 'Labor market outcomes of immigrant women in the United States. 1970 to 1990', *Migration Review* 32(1): 57–77.

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Snyder, F.G., and Hay, D., 1987. 'Comparison in the Social History of Law. Labour and Crime', in F.G. Snyder and D. Hay, eds, *Labour, law, and crime. A historical perspective*. London, New York: Tavistock Publications, 1–41.

Suárez-Orozco, M.M., 1991. 'Migration, minority status, and education. European dilemmas and responses in the 1990s', *Anthropology & Education Quarterly* 22(2): 99–120.

Talib, K.A., Hassan, K.H., Isa, S.M., Yusoff, A., Shaikh, S. and Mustafa, C.N. 2012. Labor law and immigrants. Legal impact to minority. *Asian Social Science*, 8(6), 52–62.

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UNODC, 2015. *The role of recruitment fees and abusive and fraudulent practices of recruitment agencies in trafficking in persons* [online]. United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime. Available from: www.unodc.org/documents/human-trafficking/2015/Recruitment_Fees_Report-Final-22_June_2015_AG_Final.pdf [Accessed 8 July 2015].
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Yuspilman Asli, O., Yatim, N., and Kumar, A., 2007. *Adakah kita kejam? Berikutan kes terbaru penderaan pembantu rumah Indonesia* [online]. Available from: http://ww1.utusan.com.my/utusan/special.asp?pr=PR11&y=2007&dt=0618&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Muka_Hadapan&pg=mh_01.htm [Accessed 7 January 2015].
# 32 Domestic migrant workers in China

## Silent victims and social work interventions

## Comment on the Malayan case study from a Chinese perspective

Diqing Jiang

In 2015 a piece of news from Shenzhen drew wide public attention across China; a migrant worker in domestic service suffered serious abuse from her employer, she was unlawfully detained and had been beaten and intimidated for more than two months. Fortunately, she received aid from a social service agency. Social workers from the agency made arrangements for support and therapy, helped her to obtain compensation, and ensured her abusive employer went to prison in the end (Wang 2015). This event not only exposes serious abuses experienced by domestic migrant workers (DMW) but also shows how social work can help in a professional way.

Abuse is far from unusual for DMWs. However, as a form of social violence and injustice it has long been neglected. Why have so many DMWs become silent victims? Why are they unable or unwilling to resort to law or collective action to protect their interest? How can social workers help them? This chapter attempts to address those issues.

## DMWs: gender-based labour division and rapid development

Before 1978 domestic workers in China were only available to members of the most privileged classes like high-ranking officials or celebrities.¹ After China embraced economic reforms the field of domestic service boomed. Since the first of its kind was set up in 1983 (Su 2011), domestic service agencies reached 500,000 in number all over the country by 2008, with about 20 million people engaged in domestic service (XINHUANET 2007).

A variety of economic, social and political factors have contributed to the striking rise of domestic service in China. Within just one generation, the average annual income per capita increased from $195.6 in 1981 to $1,047.5 in 2001 (The World Bank). China's urban middle class has become increasingly able and willing to pay for domestic service. Furthermore, under the one-child policy, the structure of urban Chinese families has transformed as the size of the average nuclear family has decreased to less than 3.1 persons (Family division of the National Health and Family Planning Commission 2015). The country has entered
the aging society and by 2014, the population aged over 60 reached 200 million (Zhang 2015). Ironically, the women's equality movement launched in part by Mao's revolution has greatly increased demand for household services – women, in cities and villages, are called 'half of the sky', a phrase propagated by revolutionary slogans. Since the 1950s many of them no longer stay at home and instead become professionals in offices or factories. They often have to purchase domestic services to take care of the young and aged. Estimates put the demand for domestic services at 40 per cent of China's urban families in large cities (Li 2007).

On the other hand, the ‘Household Contract Responsibility System’ in the countryside has raised agricultural productivity dramatically and generated a huge number of surplus labourers (Zhou 1996). Millions of women in rural areas lacking professional skills have flocked into cities to seek jobs. Since domestic service is often regarded as a profession requiring no special training, it becomes a vehicle for absorption of those rural migrant female workers.

Short of accurate nationwide surveys, we have to rely on regional information to describe the basic characteristics of the social group of DMWs. The first thing to notice is the gender imbalance among DMWs – domestic work is a highly gender-based job (Ma 2011) and, in many large cities, primarily performed by women who are migrant workers. It appears their educational backgrounds are limited: 36.9 per cent have graduated from primary school, 37.4 per cent have dropped out of middle school, and only 15 per cent have obtained a high school diploma. DMWs get jobs either through domestic service agencies or via acquaintances. One-third of them receive pre-job training organised by those agencies.² Typical training programmes cover cleaning, shopping, cooking, care of children, elderly people or nursing home patients. Furthermore, many DMWs are exposed to one or several of the following six common problems:

* Discrimination – DMWs are often treated as being inferior in employers' families, e.g. some of them are not even allowed to take food at the same table with employers.

* No social benefits – the majority of DMWs have no social insurance under current social insurance law (Wang 2005). With the exception of Shanghai, local governments tend to regard domestic services as an informal sector and are reluctant to extend social benefits to the workers.

* Long working hours without overtime compensation – as many DMWs live with their employers and do not have a fixed work schedule, they often have to endure long hours. For example, in Beijing, about 40 per cent of domestic workers work about 10 hours per day and 20–35 per cent of domestic workers have no weekend breaks (Ma 2011).

* Isolation and lack of social life – most ‘live-in workers’ are on constant duty to serve their employers. Their social networks are highly limited. Often, the only opportunity to meet other DMWs is when they take employers’ children to play in community parks.

* Lack of privacy – most ‘live-in workers’ do not have a private bedroom. They frequently live in the same bedroom as the children or the sick or elderly they
attend to. Thus, it is hard to demarcate the boundary between work and life for DMWs (Feng 2004).

* Sexual harassment or physical abuse – because DMWs mostly work in private and isolated environments, the public tend to seriously underestimate the problem, assuming for example that about 10 per cent of DMWs experience sexual harassment (Ma 2011). Since many victims consider sexual harassment as shame the real percentage is likely to be much higher.

## DMWs: why silent victims?

It is common for migrant workers to suffer discrimination and even abuse. Unlike workers in other fields, most DMWs choose to keep silent about their experiences and rarely seek legal advice. Several factors lead to their silence.

First, in China as in many other countries, legal protection for DMWs is needed. The current Chinese Labour Law defines the relationship between employers and DMWs as based on informal service agreements rather than official labour contracts. This makes it difficult for DMWs to obtain legal support – and when there is an open dispute between DMWs and employers, they normally lose the battle on legal grounds (Hu 2011).

Second, since domestic labour is widely regarded as being part of the informal sector, there are few government agencies devoted to the regulation and well-being of DMWs (Sun and Guo 2013). The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security only provides guidelines on their professional skills' training. Many cities establish Domestic Service Associations to provide job information and offer training to DMWs, but, on the whole, these semi-governmental associations are unable to implement regulations protecting DMWs without legislative support.

Third, due to low educational levels, most DMWs lack awareness of their rights. For example, when their employers refuse to give them holidays, DMWs usually do not know their rights and therefore do not push for time off or claim compensation.

Finally, DMWs often have limited time or means with which to communicate with one another or share their experiences (Su 2011). Therefore, it is difficult for them to generate agreements or a sense of common identity, which are preconditions for collective struggles for justice.

## How social work can help

As the abuse case in Shenzhen illustrates, the role of social workers is important – they can act as case managers, counsellors or therapists to protect DMWs or act as resource brokers to connect communities and lawyers to promote DMWs' well-being. On the one hand, the professional skills of social workers enable DMWs to realise and defend their rights and interests; on the other hand, social workers' professional reputation and social status can bring pressure on the government and local communities to offer effective support. The testimony of social work professionals can influence judges' decisions to punish abusive employers.
In sum, social work can help DMWs at different levels; on a micro level, social workers can provide counselling and therapy; on a meso level, social workers can cooperate with domestic service agencies and local communities to implement training programmes for DMWs; on a macro level, social work can influence social policy in favour of the disadvantaged (Adams 2002). Though it is hard to reform policies in the short term, it is possible for social workers to cooperate with NGOs to achieve this goal. For instance, non-governmental organisations such as the Cultural Development Centre for Rural Women, which is affiliated to the All-China Women's Federation, has spent years drafting a legal proposal for the household service sector in Beijing (Shen 2011).

China's economic and social reforms require effective social support for those in need, including children, families and elderly people. The increasing demand for domestic work in urban society requires more legal protection for migrant workers in domestic service. This situation makes it imperative for social workers to contribute to support and protect DMWs.

## Notes

1. Under Mao's centrally planned economy, the government hired domestic workers for officials of rank (Yan 2006).

2. Survey conducted by an NGO named Dagongmei zhijia (Home of female rural workers) in 2005. See Zhao *et al.* (2011).

## References

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Feng, X., 2004. 'zhuanxing shehui zhong de baomu yu guzhu guanxi', in X. Meng, ed., *Zhuan xing she hui zhong de Zhongguo fu nü*. Beijing: Zhongguo she hui ke xue chu ban she, 25-46.

Hu, D., 2011. 'Woguo Fada Diqu Jiazheng Fuwuyuan Laodongquanyi Baozhang de Falü Sikao—Jiyu Shenzhen shi de shizheng fenxi', *Henansheng zhengfa guanli ganbu xueyuan xuebao* 26(5): 135-41.

Li, J., 2007. 'Woguo jiazheng fuwuye de zhengguihua celue. The Formalization strategy of Chinese domestic services', *Exploitation of Chinese Human Resources* (3): 22-5.

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Wang, Y., 2015. *Baomu beinue jiugeyue, jingshen huanghu shanghen leilei, Shenzhen Wanbao* [online]. Available from: http://wb.sznews.com/html/2015-05/07/content_3216252.htm [Accessed 5 July 2015].

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## 33 Feminisation of migration – migration in a changing world

### Comment on the Malayan case study from a Turkish perspective

Uğur Tekin

Since the late 1980s and early 1990s, with the regime changes in neighbouring socialist countries, Turkey has become a target destination for new waves of immigrants from countries in Central Asia and the Black Sea region and countries of the former Soviet Union. With the end of the Cold War, citizens of the former Eastern Bloc countries who had difficulties getting out of their countries can now do so more easily. However, they now face visa regulations adopted as restrictive policies by the Western European countries in order to regulate migration. Thus migration not only affects the member states of the EU but also candidate states and third countries. With its geographic location, flexible visa regulations and candidacy of the EU, Turkey serves both as a bridge for many asylum seekers heading to Europe and as an alternative to those who cannot reach Europe (Kirişci 2003).

Labour migration into Turkey has two characteristic features which are also observed in international labour migration in different parts of the world; one feature is the increase in women's participation in international migration (the feminisation of migration) (Akis 2012: 379ff), while the other is that immigrant workers hold a semi-legal status under precarious conditions and with low wages (irregular migration) (Atasü-Topçuoğlu 2012: 501ff). With the globalisation of production (e.g. trade of goods, international fragmentation of production to countries with cheap labour) comes also the globalisation of social care work. In particular, the demand for highly educated workers opens up windows for well-educated women. At the same time the load of social care work is still seen as women's work. Thus immigrant women become major elements in an irregular transnational market. The labour that provides reproduction (domestic labour) constitutes an international hierarchical structure; at the top of this hierarchy there are the native women in immigration-receiving countries who are liberalising themselves from unpaid domestic labour. Immigrant women are at the second level and female relatives in emigration countries who cannot find the means or opportunities to migrate and provide domestic and caretaking services – at home – are at the bottom of the hierarchy (Parrenas 2000). Thus, migration of women supports the inclusion of women from different regions into the labour market.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Turkey adopted flexible visa regulations in order to develop free trade with the countries of the Black Sea Basin, Central Asia and the Middle East. In 1992, with the founding of the
Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, the practice of entry through border visas was adopted in order to provide easy movement to people coming from these countries.¹ As a result, throughout the 1990s, there were rising export and import activities called the ‘suitcase trade’ between Turkey and Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Romania, Moldova, Armenia and the Central Asian Republics (Kirişçi 2011).

Flexible visa regulations not only supported border trade but also motivated many people to work abroad, earn money and then return to their countries. These immigrants enter Turkey with a tourist visa, return to their countries when the visa expires and then come back to work when they need it (circular migration). On one hand, immigrants can cross borders to enter the labour market easily in Turkey, where the informal economy is strong and informal employment is commonplace. On the other hand, promoting factors such as unemployment, low income, commodification of education and healthcare and the search for a better life have surely been determinant in people's decisions to migrate (İçduygu 2007).

## Female labour migration to Turkey

In Turkey, the sector with the strongest demand for immigrant labour is domestic and caretaking services, which constitute a gendered sector, open mainly to female labour. A significant proportion of women who come to Turkey to work in domestic and caretaking services enter Turkey as tourists for a limited period of time, work without a work permit and usually extend their stay and continue to live in Turkey illegally (Erder 2007). Because the current welfare state regime in Turkey offers extremely insufficient institutional social care e.g. for children, or especially the elderly and sick, informal care is often provided by the family. When the family cannot provide care, it must be acquired from the labour market. Since local women do not prefer to offer live-in services, there is a strong demand for immigrant women in the domestic care sector. Immigrant women prefer to stay with a family and provide 24-hour care services for the following reasons: solving their accommodation issues, providing monetary advantages like reduced food expenses, the opportunity of hiding from the police by living in a secluded and safe home environment (Erder 2007). Beside the expectation of 24-hour care the employment of a migrant domestic worker has other advantages – education levels are higher and work discipline is stronger among immigrant female caregivers when compared to their Turkish counterparts (Erder 2006). Moreover, their lack of legal rights with no support from any organisation makes them more vulnerable and in greater demand than locals. The main reason behind the vulnerability of immigrant women is their illegal status and lack of a work permit. Immigrant women's wages might not be lower than what locals earn simply because they are staying in Turkey with a tourist visa (Erder 2007). However, they work without any insurance, they do not get paid for overtime despite the long hours, and they work without annual paid leave and similar social rights. They are cheaper to employ and preferred over local women. From one perspective these working conditions within a family look safe, but from
another, they may also create a situation open to all kinds of abuse. Relevant studies revealed the forms of violence and abuse suffered, such as not receiving their well-earned wages on some occasions, humiliation, physical and sexual harassment, denial of their weekend leave, getting locked inside the house, not receiving meals, and being forced to hand wash clothes and dishes (Kalfa 2008;atatimur 2008; Ozinian 2009). A significant proportion of immigrant women continue to work under these adverse conditions due to the lack of any mechanisms to protect them.

## Legal domain

Changes have been brought by Law no 4817 (Law on the Work Permit for Foreigners) which was enacted in 2003, and Law no 6458 (Law on Foreigners and International Protection) which was enacted in 2013. These laws opened the door for the adoption of modern and universal legal norms on granting work permits. With these legal changes, for the first time in Turkey, the integration of foreign immigrants was defined as a responsibility of the state. With the 2013 Law, an institution named the Directorate General of Migration Management was founded with the expectation to specialise in foreign migrants and to provide solutions to their issues. However, despite these legal and institutional changes, in practice, not much improvement has yet been achieved to solve the problems of immigrant workers, e.g. there has been no change in the policies that restrict immigrant workers in a series of fields. Failing to address immigrants’ problems, these new regulations are in fact pushing them out of the legal domain and failing to provide effective protection against human rights violations faced by the immigrants (Özçelik 2013: 255).

Apart from several non-governmental organisations working for human rights advocacy with very limited resources, there are no organisations in Turkey for the protection of immigrant women's rights employed in domestic and caretaking services. In order for the irregularly migrating women from former Eastern Bloc countries to Turkey to live and work with human dignity, the visa and employment policies must be regulated by international standards. This would include the participation of public institutions and of non-governmental organisations, trade unions and immigrant-run organisations. The isolation these immigrants working in the domestic area experience prevents them from forming protective organisations or raising political demands. Therefore, the problems surrounding international migration should be discussed and approaches need to be developed on local, national and international levels for global migration management. Platforms for debate and political decision-making should bring together actors of international migration including public institutions, non-governmental organisations and immigrants' organisations. In addition to the steps to be taken by national and international mechanisms to regulate (immigrant) women's rights, it is also important for the media, human rights organisations and women's organisations to make efforts in preventing violations of rights, discrimination, stigmatisation, and abuse towards immigrant women.
Note

1 Turkey's liberal visa regime was a main point of criticism by the EU during the membership negotiations between the EU and Turkey. The EU wants Turkey to adopt the restrictive Schengen visa regime as soon as possible.

References

Akis, Y., 2012. ‘Uluslararası Zorunlu Göç Literatüründe Toplumsal Cinsiyet Başlıca Yaklaşimlar ve Eleştiriler’, in S.G. İhlamur-Öner and N.A. Şirin Öner, eds, *Küreselleşme Çağında Göç*. İstanbul: İletişim Yayıncılık, 379–98.

Atasü-Topçuoğlu, R., 2012. ‘Düzensiz Göç. Küreselleşmede Kısıtlanan İnsan Hareketliliği’, in S.G. İhlamur-Öner and N.A. Şirin Öner, eds, *Küreselleşme Çağında Göç*. İstanbul: İletişim Yayıncılık, 501–18.

Atatimur, N., 2008. *Reasons and consequences of international labor migration of women into Turkey*. Ankara case. Master's thesis: Middle East Technical University.

Erder, S., 2006. ‘Yabancısız Kurgulanan Ülkenin Yabancıları’, in A. Arı, ed., *Uluslararası Göç, İşgücü ve Nüfus Hareketleri*. İstanbul: Derin Yayınları, 1–74.

Erder, S., 2007. “‘Yabancısız’ Kurgulanan Ülkenin “Yabancıları””, in A. Arı, ed., *Türkiye'de Yabancı İşçiler. Uluslararası Göç, İşgücü ve Nüfus Hareketleri*. İstanbul: Derin Yayınları, 1–82.

İçduygu, A., 2007. *Türkiye-Avrupa Birliği İlişkileri Bağlamında Uluslararası Göç Tartışmaları*. İstanbul: TÜSİAD.

Kalfa, A., 2008. *Eski Doğu Bloku Ülkeleri Kaynaklı İnsan Ticareti ve Fuhuş Sektöründe Çalışan Kadınlar*. Master's thesis: Ankara University.

Kirişçi, K., 2003. *Turkey. A transformation from emigration to immigration* [online]. Migration Policy Institute (MPI). Available from: www.migrationpolicy.org/article/turkey-transformation-emigration-immigration [Accessed 30 December 2015].

Kirişçi, K., 2011. ‘Turkey’s “demonstrative effect” and transformation in the Middle East’, *Insight Turkey* 13(2): 33–5.

Özçelik, G.B., 2013. ‘Yabancılar ve Uluslararası Koruma Kanunu Hükümleri Uyarınca Yabancıların Türkiye’den Sınır Dışı Edilmesi’, *Türkiye Barolar Birliği Dergisi* (108): 211–58.

Ozianin, A., 2009. *Identifying the state of Armenian migrants in Turkey* [online]. Eurasia Partnership Foundation (EPF). Available from: http://epfarmenia.am/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/epfMigration_report_feb_2010_final_march_5_1.pdf [Accessed 10 January 2016].

Parrenas, R.S., 2000. ‘Migrant and domestic workers and the international division of reproductive labour’, *Gender & Society* 14(4): 560–80.
## 34 Returnees

### Neither there nor here, at Araf¹

Filiz Demiröz

Migration is defined in various contexts depending on where the focus is – the destinations, the causes or occasionally the consequences. Turkey is both an immigrant-receiving and an emigrant-sending country within and beyond her territory. This study focuses on the people returning after migrating abroad.

Although migration often starts individually, its processes continue with families and open a period of change involving both immigrant-receiving and emigrant-sending countries. One of the dimensions experienced during the migration processes is repatriation. Therefore I especially wanted to focus on a family who lives between two countries, the Yilmaz family. As understood in transnational social work there are many families like the Yilmaz family and these need trans-boundary services because of their complex life across borders (Furman et al. 2010).

### Case study

Fatma Yilmaz applied to a social service centre. The social worker there asked about her motives. Fatma had had an arranged marriage with Ali, who was a worker in a car factory in Germany. She said she liked her husband and they had a happy marriage. When they emigrated to Germany she was scared at first but after attending language courses and starting to speak German she felt more comfortable. They have three children; the elder daughter Zeynep works at a bank, is divorced and has one child, the middle son Ahmet is married and has one child. The younger daughter Ayşe is attending high school. Fatma mentioned that after living in Germany for 56 years, being a returnee in 2012 was difficult and she enumerated the difficulties. Their son and younger daughter returned to Turkey as well. Their elder daughter stayed in Germany and being apart from this daughter made the parents sad.

### First phase: migration from Turkey to Western Europe

Emigration from Turkey for working purposes began at the signing of a Labour Recruitment Agreement with the Federal Republic of Germany in 1961 and continued with other bilateral labour recruitment agreements signed with various European countries. During this period objectives and expectations have changed
dramatically for emigrants and for the residents of immigrant-receiving countries. There are different periods defined for this migration process: the period between 1961 and 1973 is defined as the early period of migration. Initially, urbanite and well-educated male emigrants chose to emigrate (Abadan Unat 2015). At first men left their wives and children behind for the purpose of earning money to afford a house, land and/or arable fields. During this time there have been changes in intra-familial relationships and family role distribution. While the role and responsibilities undertaken by women increased, empowerment of women and their participation in decision-making processes did not take place at the same rate (Yenisey 1976; Sayıl 1977; Gitmez 1983; Kağıtcıbaşı 1985). There are children living with single parents while other children need to stay with relatives. Changes in the family structure caused by migration processes brought about a loss of familiarity within families, including estrangement and alienation (Gitmez 1983; Dilsiz 1977; Hisli 1985).

Men that emigrated alone in that early period were stressed due to not knowing the language of their new country. Also, there were difficulties in meeting basic needs, including accommodation, nutrition and health. Homesickness, loneliness and uncertainties derived from living in an unknown environment led to psychological disorders. For these reasons, those who achieved their goals in the first stage and those who could not orientate themselves returned home in the first three years of emigration (Abadan Unat 1977; Toksöz 2006; Gitmez 1983; Gökdere 1978; Tufan 1987; Küçükkaraca 1998). Those who could orientate themselves to working life wanted their family nearby. Women's participation in this process began with the need for a female labour force in Germany at the beginning of the 1970s and continued with family reunifications (Abadan Unat 1977; Abadan Unat 2006; Toksöz 2006).

Families mostly started to live abroad after the oil crisis in 1973. During this period European countries stopped importing labourers and started to fulfil their needs from the existing labour force, including from children of immigrants. When family unifications started to occur, services were increased in many European countries in order to assist labourers and their families. Although language problems were somewhat resolved, housing and health services continued to be major problems. Emigration of children created new challenges, including child-care and education (Abadan Unat 1977). The children often failed educationally because they emigrated at an older age, had insufficient language knowledge as well as lack of knowledge of the new education system, high expectations of their families, and prejudice regarding German society (Abadan Unat 1977; Demiröz and Diğerleri 1985; Tezcan 1987; Tufan and Yıldız 1993). Although families conform with the dominant societies' work-life they preserve their original norms and values through their family lives. Fearing losing their children to a foreign environment results in an increase in oppressive cultural attitudes. This sometimes causes children to be sent back to Turkey to live with relatives (Tufan 1987; Demiröz and Diğerleri 1985; Tufan and Yıldız 1993; Yörükoğlu 1985).

Coming back to the Yilmaz family: Fatma told the social worker that her son Ahmet was working as a stonemason in a German firm, was married and was the
father of a child with a German woman. As one of the neighbours made negative comments regarding Turks, the family decided that Fatma, with her younger daughter, her son Ahmet and his wife Helga and their son Deniz should all return to Turkey. The social worker talked about how difficult it is to repatriate and start a new life back in Turkey. Fatma told of her son's failure in his new business venture. This process caused disputes between husband and wife. The social worker advised that he could send his CV to German-owned companies operating in Turkey. The social worker also advised Fatma to support her daughter-in-law and gave her information about language centres. They planned to talk about her daughter, Zeynep, who was in Germany, at the next meeting. Zeynep was born in Germany when Fatma started to work, but was initially left in Turkey with her grandmother. She came back to Germany to start school, but she had problems with the language and adapting to her parents. With support from the Consulate's Education Attaché and associations like Türk-Danis, Zeynep worked hard and became literate.

## Second phase: migration from Western Europe to Turkey

Starting from 1980, west European countries started to impose visas on Turkish citizens. Some other measures also preventing family unifications were as well on the agenda, for example, during 1983–1984 the German government applied some incentives for people going back to their home country. Besides these incentives decisions to return were made due to reasons such as insufficient health care, fear of losing children, education of the children, unemployment, xenophobia, retirement (Abadan-Unat 2015; Toksöz 2006; Erdoğan *et al.* 2013). Neither the home country nor their relatives were as they had been when they left. As one worker stated: they were foreigners abroad and ‘Germans’ at home. In research carried out by Demiröz (1989a) difficulties faced by the families were as follows:

1. Difficulties finding a job or setting up a business were determined as the most important problems. Most of the families returned home unprepared and could not find secure investments or made bad investments (Abadan-Unat 2015; Gitmez 1983; Küçükkaraca 1998; Güven 1977; Yasa 1979; Köksal 1986).

2. The second largest difficulty faced by returned families were relations with their relatives (Köksal 1986: 154f).

3. Difficulties regarding relations with the neighbours come in third place of importance: most of the neighbours criticise their family life and the behaviour of their children, most families stated that they were generally establishing relationships with families who had also been abroad as they face the same difficulties (Yenisey 1976; Yasa 1979; Gürel and Kudat 1978).

4. The fourth difficulty regards housing and residence: most of the families complained about not having the same facilities at their houses and the residing area as they had had abroad (Demiröz 1989b).

5. The fifth difficulty concerns the education of their children; this difficulty stems from differences in the education systems between the two countries
and from insufficient knowledge of the native language (Tufan 1987; Demiröz
and Diğerleri 1985; Tezcan 1987).

6 Intra-family relationship difficulties rank last: as most of the difficulties are derived from external factors, intra-family relationships are required to be stronger in the process of reorientation (Abadan Unat 1977; Yenisey 1976; Kağıtcıbaşı 1985; Tufan 1987; Demiröz 1998; Demiröz 2000; Demiröz 2003).

During these years it was determined that repatriations were less than expected (Abadan-Unat 2015; Toksöz 2006; Tufan 1987; Demiröz 1989a). Each stage – the refugee movements in the 1980s, asylum seekers in the 1990s, irregular migration movements such as education and illegal employment in the 2000s – has brought a different dimension to the migration process, especially for Germany (Abadan-Unat 2015; Toksöz 2006; Sırkecı et al. 2012). Therefore, repatriations are no longer the same as those experienced in the early 1980s. It is evident that even those who intend to return to the country of origin frequently fail to turn their thoughts into action, and that these are not definite returns as they prefer to live in both countries (Abadan-Unat 2015; Diehl and Liebau 2015).

Coming back to the case study: at the beginning of the third meeting Fatma reported that she had achieved successful results after speaking to her son and daughter-in-law. The social worker reminded Fatma that the interview was arranged for the issues related to Zeynep. Fatma said that her daughter had had a difficult childhood, the university education had been good for her but she was unhappy in her marriage, which had been an arranged one, and neither party knew each other in advance. After the wedding feast their son-in-law came to Germany but had orientation problems. Her daughter became pregnant and after childbirth suffered postpartum depression which was compounded by violence from her husband. Her husband asked Zeynep to return to Turkey, but upon her refusal he returned alone. He accepted divorce as a condition to obtaining custody of the child. The social worker pointed out that restoring the broken relationship with their former son-in-law and his family would be feasible, for example by requesting support from elders.

In the fourth interview the social worker asked about Ayşe – Ayşe’s education
level in Germany corresponded to vocational high schools in Turkey and she was
thinking whether to quit school or go back to Germany. The social worker
informed Fatma about educational projects through the Ministry of Education,
Ministry of Youth and Sports, NGOs, and EU programmes. In the next interview
Fatma said that she had missed her husband and the neighbours in Germany, she
did not want to give up the rights she had in Germany and she did not know how
to live in two countries simultaneously.

Towards the end of the interview sessions with Fatma the social worker realised that she also benefited from the interviews – she herself experienced the conflict of values between two countries and how to address diversity issues. She realised the importance of experiencing different cultures, educational systems and study systems for social services in different countries, as well as on-site observation and evaluation of problems. She realised that previous experience gained from
working with refugees and domestic migrants at a social centre supported this case study. During the consultancy she recognised the usefulness of interpersonal relationships, social services and the framework of a strengthening approach which is linked to services and resources, as well as ensuring their sustainability using mediators, counsellors and educators within a social justice approach.

Migration is a process. The generations following migrated parents do not have the same difficulties of orientation but, instead, have challenges such as protection of rights, education and xenophobia. According to research undertaken by HUGO (Erdoğan, 2013), 91 per cent of people of Turkish origin in Europe were either born in Europe or had been living in Europe for more than 11 years. Approximately half of them, meaning around 2.5 million, have the citizenship of the country that they live in. According to the latest data, nearly 3 million people of Turkish origin are living in Germany (Statistisches Bundesamt 2014: 82). Half of them preserve Turkish citizenship. In spite of increases in permanency the feeling of belonging to Turkey and of Turkishness is getting stronger. People of Turkish origin residing in Europe have the perception of not having a problem with integration (Erdoğan, 2013). Therefore, living in both countries is more pronounced than the idea of returning to their homeland.

Young people, particularly those belonging to the third generation, have different characteristics compared to their families, as they were born and fully grew up abroad. However, families want to raise them according to their own rules. This generates particular difficulties for women. Another difficulty concerns ghettoes or districts formed solely by people of Turkish origin which increases discrimination and negative reactions by other people towards them (Abadan-Unat 2015; Moosa-Mitha and Ross-Sheriff 2010).

Returning to a home country is no longer viewed as it was in the 1980s – families now have simultaneous lives in both countries. An ecosystem perspective tells us that the living place and transitions between systems are important (Kirst-Ashman and Hull 1999) – if people live in both societies simultaneously, the services for them should be developed accordingly. Rights-based services such as permission to work, insurance, and equivalence of education need to be adapted. According to the Immigration Law of Germany, those who come to Germany through marriage are expected to demonstrate a basic knowledge of the German language. Knowledge about the country of destination is also required.

In relation to this case, we see that Fatma told the social worker that improvements in solving the problems of her children had been made; she had spoken to her husband and children and decided that she could live in both countries, she thought about the gains and the losses and realised that applying to the social service centre had opened the way for her.

Happy endings are rare in social work practice. For a start, availability of legal processes and statutory services are necessary. Bringing these services together with knowledge and skills, correct and efficient use of resources, and fair distribution of these resources should follow. Of course, the most important thing is to manage these processes with human dignity and a rights-based approach. Some important issues were not discussed, such as preparations required for
repatriation, and what and for whom the gains and losses in the family would be. Investment in counselling services to provide information about services in Turkey is also needed. Help to get support when required and ensure coordination is important. Social services organisations, social workers to deliver services, and the appropriate structures through which to provide services are necessary. As emphasised before, staff working in this area should receive training and be aware of the importance of an intercultural approach.

## Conclusion

Studies on migration in Turkey have been developing in recent years. However, it is hard to say if they can keep up with developments in migration in this area. Discrete services specific for those returning home are few. Private organisations contribute to migrant studies by developing projects and allocating funds. In ministries, local governments, NGOs, and universities there are education and exchange programmes being developed. Services, as seen in this case, are provided by different units and through different forms (Furman et al. 2010; Moosa-Mitha and Ross-Sheriff 2010). Accessing these services is hard, therefore they have to be spread out. Social workers who have the knowledge of services should be authorised for coordination and be supported in such work. Social service specialists who are working in this field are few in number. There is a need to develop sensitivity, cooperation of countries and databases on a bigger scale. The goal should be to the substantial benefit of applicants.

## Note

1 ARAF: ‘Somewhere in between’

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## 35 Here and there

Transnational lives of migrant
workers and their families

Comment on the Turkish case
study from a German perspective

Lena Inowlocki

‘Araf’ refers to an in-between state of being, suspended by indecision, possibly holding potential for the future. Filiz Demiröz uses the metaphor to refer to the situation of Turkish economic migrants and their family members when they return to Turkey after many years in Germany. I would like to start with a closer look at the title by asking if it is the case that they are really ‘neither there nor here’? They might, instead, actually be living ‘there and here’, as appears to be the situation in the case Filiz Demiröz describes. It could thus be more accurate to speak of transnationals rather than ‘returnees’, as I propose in the following.

In her article, Filiz Demiröz describes the constructive counselling process with her client, Fatma Yilmaz. After living in Germany for many years with her husband and three children, Fatma Yilmaz returned to Turkey, together with her son, his wife and child and her younger daughter who is of school age. Her husband and the older daughter remained in Germany. An incident of discrimination against her son had apparently initiated the move to Turkey. There, the son encountered difficulties when he attempted to make a living through self-employment. His wife, a native German, had problems with the Turkish language. The daughter was unhappy in her new school and considered returning to Germany. As it turned out during the series of counselling sessions, Fatma Yilmaz found it difficult to be living in both places but also did not want to give up her life in Germany. Filiz Demiröz addressed these problems with her client and also the divorce of her older daughter who had remained in Germany; she had been married to a distant relative whom she had not known well who then came to live with her in Germany.

As Filiz Demiröz notes, policies regulate the access of economic migrants and their family members to Germany, and affect many areas of their lives (Kofman 2004). One area concerns family reunion, with entry and residence permits for so-called ‘imported’ brides and husbands (Beck-Gernsheim 2011; Kreckel 2013). What is especially difficult and causes much strain on newly married couples is that after migrating, the spouse does not obtain a work permit for one year. This can make it very difficult to get used to a new place and instead can lead to social isolation, economic dependency, language learning difficulties and problems in
partnership. We might assume that this may have been an aspect of why the daughter's husband did not want to stay in Germany and why the marriage failed.

Another important aspect the Yilmaz case highlights is the decision-making in moving to Turkey – many among the younger generation in Turkish migrant families who opt for this improve their job or self-employment opportunities because their educational and language capacities are appreciated in a globalised economy in general and in Turkey in particular. But for many who decide to return, this is also motivated by their experience of discrimination in Germany (MIGazin 2013; Spiegel Online 2014). Experiencing resentment and disrespect can thus be understood as a significant motive among the younger generation in Turkish migrant families to leave Germany and try to find a better life in Turkey.

It seems that Fatma Yilmaz chose to accompany her son's family to support them. Migration strategies are gendered and with regard to women connected to taking care of the family. In fact, this was also the case during the original move from Turkey to Germany – in some years of recruitment women constituted one-third to one-half of the workers who went as the first of their families, to send back financial support (for a biographical case analysis see Gültekin et al. 2006).

It is possible that living in Turkey represented something Fatma Yilmaz had been thinking about for a while and meant to try. In the process of settling in the new place, she then realised that she did not want to give up her life in Germany and would be looking instead for ways to combine living in both places: as her counsellor notes, Fatma Yilmaz 'missed her husband and the neighbours in Germany, she did not want to give up the living rights she had in Germany and she did not know how to live in two countries simultaneously' (see Demiröz, Chapter 34: 240).

Transnational space is created biographically, through lives lived in different nation states (Apitzsch and Siouti 2013; Apitzsch and Siouti 2014). Time spent in different locations establishes one's connections between them, also in terms of a 'mental space', or a biographical 'space of potentiality' (Inowlocki and Gerhard 2012). Most forms of migration no longer entail a complete break with the country of origin but rather consist of finding ways to combine family relations and care obligations, work and income, friendships and love relations, education, property, citizenship rights, etc., in both places. However, notions of 'neither there nor here' continue to reproduce a discourse of 'being uprooted' and consequently having identity problems. This is disproven by the experience of very many migrants who successfully develop transnational lives. But stereotype and prejudice against 'foreigners' and 'strangers' prevail in many nation states, as well as the claim that national belongings should be exclusive and cannot be multiple. Obtaining German citizenship is still difficult for Turkish citizens and holding two passports is nearly impossible. This does not do justice to the needs of individuals and families and their strategies for a good life.

The German school system is highly selective in terms of socioeconomic background and (non-Western) migrant status. Institutional discrimination against children from working-class families intersecting with migrant background as well as many instances of direct discrimination have been documented and discussed in regular governmental reports since 2006 (Jennessen et al. 2013). The
older daughter encountered discrimination in the German school system when she came to join her parents as a small child. Being multilingual is discouraged in most pre-schools and schools, particularly in the case of non-Western languages such as Turkish (Gogolin 1994). So far Turkish is not taught in German schools (with few exceptions), thus children have reduced chances of acquiring fluency and literacy in Turkish except in their families or in private lessons. There are other discriminatory policies, for example, Turkish and German-speaking families can be denied an au pair from Turkey, whom they specifically want so their children would have more practice speaking Turkish (Inowlocki 2013).

The counselling sessions show that a process perspective is important in reconstructing the biographies of family members. Over a relatively short counselling period, the family members, supported by the social worker, orient themselves quite quickly, with the school difficulties the younger daughter initially experienced possibly becoming advantageous due to her experience of education in two educational systems (Siouti 2013).

I thus fully share Filiz Demiröz’s conclusion, ‘If people live in both societies simultaneously the services for them should be developed accordingly’ (p. 242) and I would add that understanding transnational biographies is very important for social work. Similarly, as in biographical research, a reconstructive approach in social work needs to take into account one’s own reflexivity as counsellor and researcher (Ruokonen-Engler et al. 2013).

## References

Apitzsch, U., and Siouti, I., 2013. ‘Die Entstehung transnationaler Familienbiographien in Europa. Transnationales biographisches Wissen als zentrales Schlüsselkonzept zum Verständnis von transnationalen mehrgenerationalen Migrationsprozessen’, in D. Bender et al., eds, *Transnationales Wissen und Soziale Arbeit*. Weinheim: Beltz Juventa, 144–57.

Apitzsch, U., and Siouti, I., 2014. ‘Transnational Biographies’, *Zeitschrift für Qualitative Forschung (ZQF)* 15(1–2): 11–24.

Beck-Gernsheim, E., 2011. ‘The marriage route to migration: Of border artistes, transnational matchmaking and imported spouses’, *Nordic Journal of Migration Research* 1(2): 60–68.

Gogolin, I., 1994. *Der monolinguale Habitus der multilingualen Schule*. Münster, New York: Waxmann.

Gültekin, N., Lutz, H., and Inowlocki, L., 2006. ‘Quest and query. Interpreting a biographical interview with a Turkish woman laborer in Germany’, *Historical Social Research* 31(3): 50–71.

Inowlocki, L., 2013. ‘Narrationsanalyse eines Interviews mit einem Ehepaar’, in M. Bereswill and K. Liebsch, eds, *Geschlecht (re)konstruieren. Zur methodologischen und methodischen Produktivität der Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung*. Münster: Westfälisches Dampfboot, 98–114.

Inowlocki, L., and Gerhard, R., 2012. ‘Exploring European “potential space”. A study of the biographies of former foreign exchange students’, in R. Miller, ed. *The evolution of European identities. Biographical approaches*. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 129–49.

Jennessen, S., Kastirke, N., and Kotthaus, J., 2013. *Diskriminierung im vorschulischen und schulischen Bereich. Eine sozial- und erziehungswissenschaftliche Bestandsaufnahme* [online].
Antidiskriminierungsstelle des Bundes. Available from: www.antidiskriminierungsstelle.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/publikationen/Expertisen/Expertise_Diskriminierung_im_vorschulischen_und_schulischen_Bereich.pdf;jsessionid=87DC223FB9534DD2DBA7D09439880EDB.2 CID332?__blob=publicationFile&v=1 [Accessed 28 December 2015].

Kofman, E., 2004. 'Family-related migration. A critical review of European Studies', *Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies* 30(2): 243–62.

Kreckel, J., 2013. *Heiratsmigration. Geschlecht und Ethnizität*. Marburg: Tectum.

MIGazin, 2013. *Je gebildeter, desto häufiger von Diskriminierung betroffen* [online]. Available from: www.migazin.de/2013/10/23/tuerken-deutschland-je-diskriminierung/[Accessed 10 January 2016].

Ruokonen-Engler, M., and Siouti, I., 2013. “Doing biographical reflexivity” as a methodological tool in transnational research settings”, *Transnational Social Review* 3(2): 247–61.

Siouti, I., 2013. *Transnationale Biographien. Eine biographieanalytische Studie über Transmigrationsprozesse bei der Nachfolgegeneration griechischer Arbeitsmigranten*. Bielefeld: transcript.

Spiegel Online, 2014. *Drei Viertel der Türken in Deutschland fühlen sich hier zu Hause* [online]. Available from: www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/tuerken-in-deutschland-mehrheit-fuehlt-sich-hier-zu-hause-a-994191.html [Accessed 10 January 2016].
## 36 Comparative experiences of migrants in Asia

### Comment on the Turkish case study from a Malayan perspective

Rashila Ramli

As a 17-year-old girl, I was sent off by my family on a flight to the USA to pursue my Bachelor's Degree. Little did I realise that it was going to be a 14-year stay in a foreign land before I was to return home to continue my vocation, teaching at the National University of Malaysia. I am one of the thousands of students sent abroad by the Malaysian government in the early 1980s (Abd Aziz and Abdullah 2014: 102). The migration was devised because there were not enough universities in Malaysia at that time to accommodate the number of students (Ismail et al. 2014: 6). Moreover, the exposure abroad was seen as a positive experience where young impressionable Malaysians were to be infused with values and new perspectives.

Returning home 14 years later proved to be challenging since one has to adjust to one's own family, rediscover local cultures and find a job. Since there were no re-entry programmes for overseas returning students, one had to adapt to one's own culture as best as one could. While in the USA we were encouraged to speak our minds, returning home meant one had to think twice before speaking, because thinking out loud was not regarded as highly appropriate for women. Dressing was another issue – the t-shirt and jeans were replaced by *bajukurung* and shawls. More formal attire was necessary at the workplace or in public spaces. At the workplace, in this case the university, I had to rediscover and sometimes learn the academic vocabulary to teach Research Methodology in the Malay language. My American twang had to be restrained to conversation among friends who were few at that time.

Migration processes are complex. Leaving a country and living in a different environment influences the people who migrate but also the sending as well as receiving country (Ismail et al. 2014: 10). This could lead to a brain drain (Abd Aziz and Abdullah 2014: 117) and might result in the need to look at how to reverse it. One step in this direction is the formulation of returning experts' programmes and talent acceleration in public services (NEAC 2010). Another is substantial growth in public and private higher education (Abd Aziz and Abdullah 2014: 103). The experience of living abroad could encourage returnees to leave again and might produce a deeper culture of migration (Koh 2015).

Although from a different experience, the above example depicts several issues discussed by Filiz Demiröz in her chapter ‘Returnees: Neither there nor here, at Araf’. The case of the Yilmaz family, whose readjustment into the Turkish culture
after living in Germany for 56 years was assisted by social workers through the provision of cross-boundary services. Despite the hardship of resettling in Turkey, Fatma Yilmaz and her family managed to come to terms with their new living environment. They were lucky because they were able to tackle their personal problems and found possible solutions to overcome the problems.

Within Asia, migration has been prevalent throughout the centuries. The sea passage from the Indian Ocean, passing through the Straits of Melaka into the South China Sea brought traders, merchants, job seekers and colonisers. This early migration saw the growth of multicultural societies and spread of religions, especially Hinduism, Islam and Christianity, and the legacy of Occidental colonisers.

The lasting impact of this early migration and the divide and rule policy of the British left a strong ethnic cleavage in Malaya. Specifically, the Malays continued their traditional role as padi planters and fishermen while some managed to secure employment with the Malay Civil Service. The Chinese came to control the economy of the country while the Indians tended to trees in rubber plantations. Most migrants did not return to their countries of origin and therefore reshaped Malaysian society. Multiculturalism is one of the basic principles feeding into identity constructions like Malaysian Indians (Jain 2011) or Malaysian Chinese (Wang 2011). However, at the end of the twentieth century, migrants constituted domestic workers, construction and plantation workers as well as skilled workers in technology-based industries. Malaysia as a host country has to cope with the presence of over 2 million migrants, especially from Indonesia, the Philippines and more recently from Bangladesh, Nepal and Vietnam (Kassim and Zin 2011).

On the other hand, in July 2015, the Southeast Asia region, especially Thailand and Malaysia, were faced with an influx of migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh. The informal economy accommodates refugees, whilst they are grouped under the blanket category of ‘irregular’ migrants. While the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) runs a resettlement programme in Kuala Lumpur, the over 100,000 refugees from Myanmar (with an estimated 45,000-plus Rohingya) remain vulnerable to arrest and harassment while spending years awaiting resettlement decisions (UNHCR 2015).

The remittances transferred by migrants back to their home countries are considered as important revenue for countries such as the Philippines and Indonesia. If one were to drive by a village in Indonesia, and one were to see a number of well-built brick houses, chances are those houses were constructed using the hard-earned salaries of migrants working in Malaysia or Saudi Arabia. Salaries are also used to finance the education of children and household maintenance. The higher purchasing power in the home country justifies the choice of some migrant workers to leave their families and countries in order to earn more compared to working in their own country.

While some people are forced to migrate, there are others who migrate by choice. In studies done by Djajic (1987) and Dustmann (2000), migration behaviour can be explained by consumption and labour supply (or lack of it) in the host countries, migration duration or a life cycle model. According to Djajic (1987), if there is a higher purchasing power in the home country of assets
accumulated in the host country, then there will be a higher number of returnees to the host countries. Another reason for migrants to return home centres on the development of human capital. If there is a higher return in home economy on human capital acquired in the host country, then one will also see returnees. The duration of a stay will vary based on the needs, availability of jobs and the management of migrants through policies in the host countries.

In addition to the above-mentioned are cultural factors influencing the decision to return. In Malaysia, the family plays an important role in the feeling of belonging, which results in close transnational connections (Koh 2015). Decisions for or against migration are therefore often not taken by just one family member but by the family as a whole.

In the case of the Yilmaz family, they returned to Turkey after staying in Germany for 56 years. While there has been human capital development within the family, the work situation in Turkey was not so accommodating for Fatma's son, Ahmet. The family had to adjust their lifestyle. It was also a learning process for the social worker. When members of the family are unable to adjust, the option is to return to the host country. In other cases, returnees such as students who went abroad to study gained tremendously as their qualifications are recognised as necessary for the development of the home country. Many returnees hold high positions in their home country. On the other side, however, there are migrants who are forcefully returned to their country of origin.

Migration is a living process where humans are the units of analysis. Since migration is an ongoing process that will not diminish, there have to be better policies to cater for the needs of emigrants and immigrants. For returnees, both host and home countries must have support structures such as a social services centre with properly trained social workers to provide strategies and solutions for families in trouble due to displacement and adjustment in a 'foreign' local environment. For countries such as Malaysia and Thailand where irregular migrants are present in large numbers, sound management practice is necessary in order to ensure that migrants or refugees are treated with dignity. The training of social workers must include new techniques to cater for different categories of migrants. Finally, as migration is a complex phenomenon, one has to be constantly aware of the relations between state agencies, recruitment agencies, employers and workers. Management of migration can only be enhanced when there is a strong political will to ensure that the rights of workers/migrants are protected by both home and host countries.

## References

* Abd Aziz, M.I., and Abdullah, D., 2014. 'Malaysia: Becoming an education hub to serve national development', in J. Knight, ed., *International education hubs. Student, talent, knowledge-innovation models*. Dordrecht: Springer, 101–19.

* Djajic, S., 1987. 'Illegal aliens, unemployment and immigration policy', *Journal of Development Economics* (25): 235–49.
Dustmann, C., 2000. *Why go back? Return motives of migrant workers* [online]. University College London (UCL). Available from: www.ucl.ac.uk/~uctpb21/pdf/Return.pdf [Accessed 20 January 2016].

Ismail, M., Kamaruddin, N.A.Y., Baki, N.U., and Rasdi, R.M., 2014. *Predictors of Career Aspiration of Malaysian Returnees from European and Non-European Countries* [online]. Available from: www.ufhrd.co.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/ Maimunah-Ismail.pdf [Accessed 10 January 2016].

Jain, R.K., 2011. *Indian transmigrants. Malaysian and comparative essays*. Petaling Jaya, Selangor: Strategic Information and Research Development Centre.

Kassim, A., and Zin, R.H.M., 2011. *Policy on irregular migrants in Malaysia. An analysis of its implementation and effectiveness*. Manila: Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS).

Koh, S.Y., 2015. 'Temporalities of citizenship. Malaysian-Chinese skilled migrants in Singapore and returnees to Malaysia', *Asian and Pacific Migration Journal* 24(1): 3–27.

NEAC, 2010. *New economic model for Malaysia – Part 1* [online]. National Economic Advisory Council. Available from: www.epu.gov.my/epu-theme/pdf/nem.pdf [Accessed 10 January 2016].

UNHCR, 2015. *UNHCR subregional operations profile - South Asia* [online]. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Available from: www.unhcr.org/pages/49e4876d6.html [Accessed 12 December 2015].

Wang, G., 2011. 'Malaysian Chinese and regional developments', in Centre for Malaysian Chinese Studies, ed., *Malaysian Chinese. An inclusive society*. Kuala Lumpur, 1–16.
Part IV

Last thoughts – and yet
another perspective!

Ursula Kämmerer-Rütten, Alexandra Schleyer-
Lindenmann, Beatrix Schwarzer and Yafang Wang

Transnational social work offers us a lens to show the normative and often unmarked foundations of social work as a discipline and as a profession. Social work often acts as if it was only played out on a local or national level whilst ignoring international and global interdependencies. In this book we have shown that transnational social work is a topic which is multilayered.

We started the book by looking at professional and disciplinary concepts and developments from different national backgrounds with the aim to stimulate mutual interest and understanding. We appreciate discussion on the international level, e.g. the debates in international (social work) organisations, but also see the need for a fundamental questioning from the peripheries of the debate from indigenous social work and social movements.

We see this book as a contribution to enhancing the dialogue between academics, professionals and students concerning the positive and negative influence of the nation state on our everyday practice as social workers, students and lecturers. To enter this dialogue we must mark the unmarked. We must make the nation visible in our thinking and doing. We must know the limits but also the opportunities a nation state can offer social work as a profession. It is the existence of social security systems that offer opportunities for social work; it is the nationality binding the individual to one nation state that limits social work; it is a national culture that results in questions like assimilation, integration or cultural positioning in general. We need to know about differences and similarities in the framework which is so important for social work practice. Therefore, we need to enter a dialogue about cases, strategies and theoretical thinking by knowing about the national framework. The exchange of ideas and knowledge from our practical and academic experience is useful for the debate on possible restrictions and can visualise and uncover boundaries or even transcend them. Professional practices and strategies on the international level (from global to regional) can inform and influence the national and local levels and vice versa. This is what we hope to achieve with the case studies and comments provided in this book: using live stories, social work cases and global challenges to shed light on common issues from different national angles.

We do not claim that these questions and perspectives are new, nor are the issues such as refuge, migration, poverty, women's rights, and children's rights.
Providing a space for dialogue and exchange is also not new. Social movements always have and will continue to have an influence on social work by voicing criticism, seeking change and functioning as a watchdog for clients concerning political developments, legal changes and institutional support. Social movements have also provided local, national, regional as well as international platforms for exchange. In common with social work, social movements are concerned with topics such as equality and inclusion.

A layer we have not addressed throughout the book is the position of the social worker from a biographical point of view. What are the stages in the professional career of a social worker seeking to develop a transnational profile? We would like to think that both scientific knowledge and a critical attitude are important for the development of this profile. Therefore, we want to end the book with a social worker's point of view.

Abha Bhaiya is one example of many working for decades in the field of social work. She is an activist and often crosses national and cultural borders engaging in politics on local, national, regional and international levels. She was educated in social work in different parts of the world and experienced the opportunities as well as difficulties that exchanges with others and living in different environments brings. She also reflects on the limitation of social work education which is shaped by textbooks mainly based on Western knowledge. She has been confronted with the limits of a social work profession which claims not to get involved in political confrontation because of the fear of losing financial support. In her description – which may be seen as an example for transcultural and transnational engagement – she strongly argues for a positioning in issues such as women's and sexual rights, which are cross-border issues and need to be addressed around the world.