## 37 Crossing boundaries within and without ...

### The journey of a feminist activist

*Abha Bhaiya*

‘Sister friends and fellow travellers – we will make a difference if we are able to learn and appreciate history and memory and wisdom and yet have the courage to take our own risk in new contexts with new issues.’

*(Wilson et al. 2005: 6)*

### The personal

This article describes my personal journey¹ as an academic social worker and as a transnational as well as community-based feminist activist. As a woman I am a product of the feminist movement of the last 45 years. The starting point is the quiet struggle with my own confined world in a traditional middle-class Indian family. A significant turning point was my decision to leave the country after I completed my Master’s degree in Philosophy. I arrived in Germany in 1969 with a small stipend provided by a priest to study a social work course in Dortmund. I was greatly influenced by this external environment and encountered the welfare approach of social work practice of the 1960s in Germany, where I worked with homeless communities, and the children of the ‘Gastarbeiter’.² I returned to India and completed a Master’s course in the school of social work, at the University of Delhi, India in 1973. However, once again, to my utter disappointment, I was educated through textbooks that were primarily American or British. This social work education defeated my purpose to return to India, study in a socio-culturally contextual environment and seek some real transformations.

As I began working as a social worker under an Indo-Dutch project in the slums, my academic education did not come to my rescue. As a social worker, I was faced with the most deprived, discriminated and excluded communities, a nomadic criminal tribe and ‘Dalits’ (as categorised by the British in their gazettes). A process of de-learning rather than using the social work approaches of case work, group work and community organisation, began here. There were subjective realities fuelled by the power politics of different interest groups with varied hierarchies of oppressions. The case work approach was irrelevant as an individual does not exist in isolation of economic and social formations and of the external powerful political forces supported by various institutions of the state and non-state actors. The community organisation had to be replaced by community
mobilisation strategies and multi-layered dialogues within the divided communities inside a slum. When violence broke out in the community, I finally decided to choose to act on behalf of the most powerless women and men. I was reprimanded by the NGO for taking sides and was gently asked to resign. That in such situations a social worker needs to remain 'objective' and 'neutral', was glaringly obvious, and yet it did not convince me, as I was too close to the conflictual reality.

In 1981, as a response to rising dowry murders and the earlier cases of custodial rapes of a dalit and a tribal minor girl, the crisis centre SAHELI (meaning a female friend) was set up in Delhi (Saheli). In 1984, seven of us set up a feminist documentation, communication and training centre, JAGORI (meaning wake up women), to work in the rural belt of North India (Jagori). In these centres and platforms in many parts of the country, there was a very vibrant search for theory and practice in alternative ways of using and applying power, new, non-hierarchical organisational forms, and thus, new ways of leading. As mentioned by Srilatha Batliwala (2010), feminists of that time engaged in experiments with alternative structures and processes, and with deep analyses of the gendered nature of power in the social, economic, and political realm.

What I am trying to show here is my fundamental belief that academic social work education and practice needs to interact with peoples' movements in order to take forward the transformative potential of social work and to become an inclusive perspective and practice.

## The political

A transnational feminist network began crystallising in the 1980s and continued to engage with global politics and the way the women's question has been (or not been) addressed by nation states and international institutions (Moghadam 2005).

### Crossing barbed wires

I want, therefore, to lay out three areas of transnational networks that I have been part of for the last 30 years, and which have created a comprehensive learning and enriching personal and political territory for me. First I will look at the transnational networks that aim to create the quintessential security without which a conflict-ridden region such as Asia (India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka), cannot guarantee any rights to its own population. Second, I will look into the linkages between international and local campaigns to end violence against women (see also the case study on Jyoti, Chapter 25 of this volume). And third, I will use the examples of sexual minorities, and sexual rights, as examples to create a space of (global) solidarity which is so important for discriminated persons and groups.

### Peace and security

It has been a long and difficult struggle within South Asia, especially between Pakistan and India, to demand peace and cooperation. Regional peace is an
essential prerequisite for bringing peace to an individual country, and that always
means to its women and children. Therefore many women's movement activities
in South Asia have always been transregional by nature and necessity.

In 1983 we³ founded SANGAT (Sangat): the South Asian Network of Activists and Trainers. Our objectives were outlined in the South Asian Feminist Declaration:

> We come from different countries in South Asia – Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bhutan and Afghanistan and share a common regional identity. Though divided by geopolitical boundaries, the peoples of the South Asian region are bound together by shared histories and cultures, and by our collective experiences of patriarchies, globalization and militarization in the 21st century. As feminists and as activists for equality for women, we are inextricably linked through our struggles and involvement in women's movements and social movements in our countries. These links strengthen us individually and create a continued transnational network of regional solidarity.

(Sangat 2006: 1)

So far, nearly 800 young activists – scholars, young women from different South Asian countries – have participated in the month-long residential training course, which is still conducted every year. In 2015 it was the twentieth such annual event. The course has even expanded to other countries and continents with women coming from Sudan, Iran, and Turkey. SANGAT has also organised a number of conferences and seminars and has been instrumental in taking the ‘One Billion Rising’ campaign to all nine countries of South Asia and beyond.

In 2011 we founded another Women's Regional Network for Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India (Women's Regional Network). It aims to connect communities of women leaders to learn from each other and construct common agendas across borders on the linkages between security and extremisms, corruption and militarisation. We conducted regional research and documentation (Women's Regional Network 2013) which focused on women's commentary, perception and experience of displacement, security, military and police access and corruption. We strongly believe that women's voices need to be heard. The documentation has helped in revealing that in almost all the sites of conflict, women are always on the frontline and have displayed amazing staying power, while in a number of sites, the recognised leadership continues to be in the hands of men.

*Violence against women as a global concern*

Violence against women is another common site of struggle that emerges within transnational and national feminist struggles. In my life I can trace how I always worked on all levels – local, national and international – to fight violence against women. Violence is faced by every Indian woman.

In 1993, when I attended the Vienna conference and tribunal (Bunch and Reilly 1994), it became a focus of my transnational activism. The women's tribunal
included stories of comfort women from Korea, dowry burning from Pakistan, rape of daughters by their fathers in the USA, mutilation of lesbian women in one of the South American countries, rape of sex workers and many more. This entire year of preparation and also the conference participation gave me new insights into the power of feminist movements; I met well-known feminists, pioneering women from the world over, and also witnessed the working of the UN system from close quarters. The other significant transnational action that took place in Vienna demanded that women's rights be included in the official agenda of the UN conference.

In 2013 we brought campaigning to yet another level when we started the ‘One Billion Rising Campaign’ (One Billion Rising 2016) that has its impetus in a UN statement that in the world one billion girls and women are subject to violence. To this day, people from 176 countries have joined this struggle. As an outcome of the mobilisation, a number of training workshops have also been organised to train lawyers, judges and protection officers as well as police personnel on the gendered nature of violence, building a more complex awareness of violence against women and its negative impacts on the economy and politics of nations.

As early as the 1990s we started the ‘Nari Adalats’, the ‘women’s courts’, a community-based informal initiative to provide justice for women and men living with domestic conflict, and often in violent situations in the home. The model has been amazingly successful on the local level and has provided relief for a large number of women. Within Jagori Rural, the organisation I founded in 2003 and still work with as a senior advisor and director, there are now seven Nari adalats with nearly 25 so-called ‘barefoot lawyers’, who sit with women, share their pain and experiences of violence and reflect on their situation to seek a solution. With the passage of time, men have also begun to approach the courts as the community is convinced that women’s courts are a place for justice where there is no bias against men.

Similarly, based on experiences of attending some of the national and international tribunals, a number of public hearings were organised as advocacy. These hearings were attended by institutional enforcement representatives. The hearings have not only worked as exposing the inefficiency of the law enforcement machinery but have helped in expediting court procedures and also made the police and others more aware of the kinds of violence faced by women. Their sharing of the tales of harassment, the alienating court systems and often delayed or no conviction, is candidly shared at times with a mix of tears and anger, thus moving the audience, especially the state representatives, to act more responsibly. This is not to say that the system has become women friendly, but shows how the employment of multiple strategies creates an environment that can progress towards seeking justice for women and other marginalised groups, as a fundamental right of all citizens.

## *Sex, sexuality and sexual rights*

My early experience with transregional and transnational advocacy made me engage with another important global clause: the sexual rights of women and minority rights.
The International Association for the Study of Sexuality, Culture and Society (IASSCS), of which I became a member in 2003, was founded in 1997 in Amsterdam, with the commitment to build equity in research capacity worldwide and to develop a broad range of multidisciplinary research activities in the social and cultural study of sexuality. IASSCS has, since its inception, held ten international conferences attended by a large number of researchers, activists and academics. In addition, the network has held a number of courses on research training, provided research support, brought out regular publications and has advanced policy and advocacy work. I have been the coordinator of the advocacy committee for the last four years, which has added to my understanding of specific country situations and emerging debates in particular regions. It has deepened my understanding of the issues surrounding sexual rights, multiple sexual identities and sexual expression. The feminist qualitative research and participatory learner-centred training methodology has resulted in two significant publications; the *Manual on Sexual Rights and Sexual Empowerment* (Bhaiya and Wierenga 2007) and *Heteronormativity, Passionate Aesthetics and Symbolic Subversion in Asia* (Wieringa et al. 2015), which examines life trajectories among three categories of women living beyond the bounds of heteronormativity in Jakarta and Delhi: women who have lost their husbands; sex workers; and young, urban lesbians.

The research and training has strengthened activities within our programme in Jagori Rural. Sexuality and sexual rights is an integral module within the month-long SANGAT course. It has been an amazing experience to see how a majority of participants have such inadequate knowledge around issues of sexuality and their own body. Based on these experiences and learning, over the last seven years we have initiated sessions in various schools and within the 60 village collectives for adolescent girls – sessions on what we call ‘body literacy’, primarily to get acceptance of the school authorities to talk about body knowledge, desires, attractions – as sex education is still not allowed in the schools. It has been our experience that a majority of cases of violence are also related to sex as one of the core issues that creates discord and a sense of lack of fulfilment, especially for women. Our work experience has made the team confident of talking about these issues in an open and non-judgmental environment.

## Concluding observations

In July 2001, both the IASSW and the IFSW reached agreement on adopting the following international definition of social work:

> It needs to be reiterated that there is a strong relationship between the social work practice and various movements working for social transformation. The social work profession has the main objective of promoting social change, problem solving in human relationships and the empowerment and liberation of people to enhance well-being ... Principles of human rights and social justice are fundamental to social work.

(IFSW 2012)
However, the fact that social work is operationalised differently both within nation states and regional boundaries, and across the world, with its control and status quo maintaining functions being dominant in some contexts, cannot be disputed.

My own relationship to the words ‘social work’ and for many in the feminist movements in the countries of the south has been rather contentious. First, a majority of the social work schools have had as their major focus welfare programmes, not to deny that there is a gradual shift towards a more developmental approach. The approach of the various movements has been to challenge the status quo as well as confront the anti-people policies of states. Movement-oriented activism has grown weary of the term as it carries a history of seeing the individual as a problem and then fixing the individual to the societal norms. Feminist and other people’s movements have been more focused on transformatory politics. In the initial phase all of us were more in the streets rather than in classrooms and offices. It is my experience that during the studies whenever we challenged our faculty on an issue of concern such as the reasons why a boy ends up in a juvenile/correctional home or why women are not given choice and space to make decisions about their lives, the answers were never satisfying. A majority of male students opted for industrial social worker as their selective subject and thus became managers for management systems rather than fighting for the rights of the workers.

While my education has provided me with a degree in social work, my Master's in philosophy and reading of radical literature reinforced my rebellious position and radical thoughts and practices. To be an activist working for political action is for me more than being in a comfort zone.

## Notes

1. This journey would not have been possible without the editing support of Prof Dagmar Oberlies.

2. Migrant Workers.

3. Throughout the text, the term ‘we’ refers to different groups of activists.

## References

Batliwala, S., 2010. *Feminist leadership for social transformation. Clearing the conceptual cloud* [online]. Creating Resources for Empowerment in Action (CREA). Available from: www.justassociates.org/sites/justassociates.org/files/feminist-leadership-clearing-conceptual-cloud-srilatha-batliwala.pdf [Accessed 10 January 2016].

Bhaiya, A., and Wierenga, S., 2007. *Manual on Sexual Rights and Sexual Empowerment* [online]. Available from: http://iiav.nl/epublications/2007/manual_oniteralRights and sexual empowerment.pdf [Accessed 10 January 2016].

Bunch, C., and Reilly, N., 1994. *Demanding accountability. The Global Campaign and Vienna Tribunal for Women's Human Rights*. New Brunswick, NJ, New York: Center for Women's Global Leadership, Rutgers University; United Nations Development Fund for Women.

IASSCS [online]. International Association for the Study of Sexuality, Culture and Society. Available from: www.iasscs.org [Accessed 10 January 2016].
IFSW, 2012. *Statement of Ethical Principles* [online]. International Federation of Social Workers. Available from: http://ifsw.org/policies/statement-of-ethical-principles/ [Accessed 10 January 2016].

Jagori [online]. Available from: www.jagori.org/ [Accessed 10 January 2016].

Moghadam, V.M., 2005. *Globalizing women. Transnational feminist networks*. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

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

Saheli [online]. Women's Resource Centre. Available from: https://sites.google.com/site/saheliorgsite/ [Accessed 10 January 2016].

Sangat [online]. Available from: www.sangatnetwork.org/ [Accessed 10 January 2016].

Sangat, 2006. *South Asian Feminist Declaration* [online]. Available from: www.sangatnetwork.org/sites/default/files/SAFM%20Declaration%202007.pdf [Accessed 10 January 2016].

Wieringa, S., Bhaiya, A., and Katjasungkana, N., 2015. *Heteronormativity, passionate aesthetics and symbolic subversion in Asia*. Brighton, Chicago, Toronto: Sussex Academic Press.

Wilson, S., Sengupta, A., and Evans, K., 2005. *Defending our dreams. Global feminist voices for a new generation*. London, New York, Toronto, Ont., New York: Zed Books; in association with the Association for Women's Rights in Development; Distributed in the USA exclusively by Palgrave Macmillan.

Women's Regional Network [online]. Available from: www.womensregionalnetwork.org/ [Accessed 10 January 2016].

Women's Regional Network, 2013. *The Women's Regional Network Community Conversations* [online]. Available from: www.womensregionalnetwork.org/images/uploads/Overview Nov2013.pdf [Accessed 10 January 2016].
Index

abstinence-based treatment, drug addiction
164

abuse: *see* child protection; domestic
worker abuse; women, abuse of

acculturation 119

achievements, empowerment 27

activism: feminism 254, 255–60; human
rights 188–9; *see also* women’s
movements

administrative protection of children,
France 178, 179

adoption, inter-country 88–9

adults in care 78–9

advocacy: empowerment 27–8; feminism
258; human rights 41; transnational
186–92, 196–8, 200–2

African cultures 80

Africans Unite against Child Abuse
(AFRUCA) 80

agency, empowerment 27

aging populations: *see* elderly people

AIDS 158, 163

Arendt, Hannah 40

Asia Pacific Forum for Women, Law and
Development (APWLD) 200–1, 202,
203–4

asylum seekers: Britain 170–5; France
117, 138–43; Germany 146–8; Israel
97–8

attachment theory 181

austerity, Britain 76

authentication, global South 19

balanced spending, France 60–1

behavioural problems 123, 124

belonging, sense of 6–7, 118–19; *see also*
otherness

Ben Gurion University, Israel 166–7

Bhaiya, Abha 254, 255–60

biographical perspective, social workers
254, 255–60

Bishnoi 30

black and minority ethnic (BME)
communities 75, 79–81

boarding schools, Turkey 134

bonding, social networks 26

border crossings 4; cross-border networks
7–8; cultural norms 6–7; rural vs urban
areas 120

boundaries, social work 5

bridging, social networks 26

Britain: child protection 78, 116–17, 170–5;
country profile 48, 75, 79, 81; drug
addiction 162–4; education of social
workers 76–7; elderly people 217–19;
practice of social work 77–9; transcultural
dilemmas 79–81; welfare system 75–6

budgets: *see* funding, welfare system

CADA (Centre d'Accueil pour les
Demandeurs d'Asile) 138, 140, 141, 142

cancer patients, China 213–16

capability approach 28–30, 38, 76–7

care/ control conflict 70, 79

case studies, use of 115–16

case work 95, 115

CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women) 36, 190–1, 192, 196, 200, 203

Central Associations, Germany 67

Central Plan Assistance, India 85

CESEDA (Code de l'Entrée et du Séjour
des Etrangers et du Droit d'Asile) 139

charities, social care 77–8

child labour 128–9

child protection: Britain 78, 116–17,
170–5; France 178; multicultural
contexts 181–4; Turkey 107, 108, 109
Child Protection Plan, England 174

Children Act 1989, Britain 172, 173, 174

children in need of care 78

children's education: *see* education of children

children's rights, Britain 116–17

China: country profile 48, 50; domestic worker abuse 228–31; education of children 116, 120–5; elderly cancer patients 213–16; history of social work 50–1; profession of social work 50–1, 54–5, 230–1; welfare system 51–5

citizenship 6, 10, 151, 241

citizenship rights 116, 117, 118

civil ethic 25

civil rights 38

civil society, France 60, 61

Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) 202–3

clients (social work): decision making 62–3; drug addiction 158–9; individual focus 43, 62–3, 115

clinical trials 89

cocaine 157–8; *see also* drug addiction

Code de l'Entrée et du Séjour des Etrangers et du Droit d'Asile (CESEDA) 139

cognitive pluralism 30

collective power 31

colonisation 17–18; India 84; Indian independence 27–8, 31; Malaysia 100–1

Common European Asylum System (CEAS) 138–9

communications technology 4

community (social capital) 26

community determination 31

community-based organisations (CBOs), Malaysia 101

conferences, First International Conference of Social Work 15

conflicts: British elderly people 217–19; care/ control conflict 70, 79; integrated theoretical framework 24; international social work 17; Israel 97, 117–18; and peace 256–7

Congolese culture 172–3, 181–2

consensus building, human rights 35

Conservative government, Britain (2010-present) 163, 164

container model, national state 5–7

control/ care conflict 70, 79

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) 36, 190–1, 192, 196, 200, 203

cost rationalisation, France 60–1

counselling: drug addiction 158–9; migrants 245, 247

Counselling and Research Centres (RAMs), Turkey 136

country profiles 47–9

Cour Nationale du Droit d'Asile (CNDA) 139–40, 141

cross-border networks 7–8

cross-national dimension 9

Culturagram 174

cultural bereavement 171–2

cultural competence 117, 173–4, 181–2, 184

cultural diversity: Britain 79–81; Malaysia 100; multiple cultural influences 7–8, 237–42, 245–7, 249–51; Transnational Social Work 9, 29

cultural harm 80–1

cultural heterogeneity/ homogeneity 48

cultural intolerance 24, 25

cultural norms 5; and abuse of women 196; children 173–4, 181–4; hybrid identities 5, 118–19, 239–42, 245–7, 249–51; nation state 6–7; translation 9, 141; *see also* cultural diversity

cultural relativism 18, 29, 30, 38, 182–3

cultural tolerance 100

cultural transitioning 80

curriculum, social workers 76–7, 260

DAPHNE programme 197

death penalty 188–9

decision making: clients 62–3; empowerment 27; human rights 39–40

dementia 218

democracy: Israel 93; Malaysia 100

demographics: China 228–9; Germany 71; Israel 92–3, 205–6; Turkey 108, 133; *see also* elderly people

DEVAW 200

development movement 16, 17

developmental-empowerment-rights-based mode 85

disabled persons 59–60

discrimination: domestic workers 229; gender 190–1, 192, 196; Germany 70, 246–7; migration 246–7; race 183–4, 189, 196

dismempowerment 26–7

distribution principle, France 58

distributive justice 38

diversity: Britain 77; international organisations 17; international social
work 14; theoretical framework 28, 29;
*see also* cultural diversity

domestic violence 87, 110, 197, 200–3,
258; *see also* women, abuse of

domestic worker abuse: China 228–31;
Malaysia 103, 104, 221–5; Turkey 234–5

double mandate 70

drug addiction: Britain 162–4; Germany
117, 155–60; Israel 166–8, 168

eco-feminism 30

economics, country profiles 48

economisation, Germany 68

ecosystem perspective 241

education, social workers 6; asylum
seekers 142, 152; Britain 76–7, 163;
China 50, 51; cultural norms 182–3;
curriculum 76–7, 260; drug addiction
163; France 62, 142; Germany 68–9, 69;
human rights 41–2; India 86–7;
international social work 14, 17; Israel
95; Malaysia 101–2; sexual rights
258–9; Turkey 110–11; *see also*
qualifications, social workers

education of children: Britain 172; China
116, 120–5; Germany 246–7; India
128–9; Turkey 133–4

elderly people: Chinese hospitals 213–16;
conflicts in Britain 217–19; Israeli war
zones 118, 205–10, 215–16

elementary education, Turkey 135

eligibility, welfare assistance: Britain
77–8; Malaysia 103

emigration: *see* migration

employment/ unemployment: child labour
128–9; China 120–1, 229–30; Germany
72; India 87, 128–9; Malaysia 221–5;
Turkey 108, 233–5, 245–6; *see also*
domestic worker abuse

empowerment: asylum seekers 142;
exercising rights 42; France 63;
integrated theoretical framework 26–8,
31

enforceability, human rights 38

England 77–9, 170–5; *see also* Britain

entitlement, human rights 38

environmentalism 30

equal rights 9–10

equality/ inequality 9–10; Britain 79–80;
human rights 38, 44; India 84; migrant
children 121–2, 125; structural
inequalities 118, 125; Turkey 112; *see*
*also* discrimination

ethical demands 35

ethics: global ethic 25; human rights 35,
38, 39; IFSW 16; as professionals 40–1,
70–1; *see also* human rights; social
justice

ethnocentrism 182, 183

Europe, country profiles 48; *see also*
Westernness

European Union: abuse of women 197;
asylum seekers 138–9

exploitation: *see* child protection; domestic
worker abuse; women, abuse of

fairness 38; *see also* social justice

family disputes 80–1

family provision of care 110

family structures: China 228–9; India 87;
Turkey 238, 241

feminism 255–60; *see also* women’s
movements

finances: *see* funding, welfare system

financial assistance services, Malaysia 102

First International Conference of Social
Work 15

forced marriages 80–1

Former Soviet Union (FSU) migrants
166–7

France: country profile 48, 58; history of
social action 59–60; institutional actors
60–1; profession of social work 61–3;
refugees 117, 138–43, 152, 177–80

freedom, capability approach 28–9

freedom of belief 35

functionings, capability approach 28

funding, welfare system: Britain 77–8,
163–4; China 53; drug addiction 163–4;
France 58, 59, 60–1; Germany 67, 68;
India 85; Israel 94–5; Turkey 109,
111–12

Gandhi, Mahatma 27–8, 31

gang rape case 187–8

Gateway Protection Programme, Britain
170–5

Gaza 206

GB: *see* Britain

gecekondu 133–4, 135–6

gender: domestic workers 228–9; drug
addiction 166–8, 168; *see also* women

General Council, France 60

generational disputes 80–1

German Social Work qualifications 41–2

German Welfare Associations 67–8
Germany: abuse of women 195–8;
  challenges 71–2; country profile 48, 66;
  drug addiction 117, 155–60, 162;
  economisation 68; education of social
  workers 68–9; migration 237–42,
  245–7; practice of social work 69–71,
  148; privatisation 68; refugees 70, 71,
  146–8; subsidiarity principle 67–8;
  welfare system 66–7, 70

Global Agenda 17

global basic needs 4

global ethic 25

global governance 13

global North 2, 17–18

global social justice 115

global South 17–19

Global Standards, education of social
workers 41–2

globalisation 1–2; of ideas 24–5; India
87–8; and local practices 9, 47;
migration 233

government: China 52–3, 54–5; France
  60–1; human rights 40; India 86;
  Malaysia 100; nation state 4–6, 8–9, 10,
  253; *see also* local government; welfare
  systems

Great Britain: *see* Britain

harm reduction, drug addiction 155, 158–9,
  163, 164

health care: Britain 173; Chinese cancer
patients 213–16; drug addiction 158–9;
France 61; Germany 66–7; Malaysia
101

heroin 157–8, 162; *see also* drug addiction

heroin-assisted therapy (HAT) 158, 160

heterogeneity, cultural 48

history 1, 2; Britain 75; China 50–1;
  France 59–60; Germany 68–9; human
  rights 34–40, 43–4; India 84–5, 86;
  international organisations 15–17; Israel
  92, 93–4; Malaysia 100–1; Turkey 107

HIV/ AIDS 158, 163

homogeneity, cultural 48

Household Contract Responsibility
System, China 229

Hukou system, China 120–2, 125

human dignity 31, 38, 39, 235, 241

human functionings 28

human rights 2; asylum seekers 146, 150;
derivation of 34–40; IFSW 16; nation
state 5–6; in practice 40–2; transnational
activism 188–9; Transnational Social

Work 9–10; Universal Declaration of
Human Rights 40, 103; women’s rights
189–90, 201, 202

human rights instruments 36–7

human rights profession, social work as 2,
  14, 34, 40–1, 42–4

humanism 34

hybrid identities (national and cultural
backgrounds) 5, 118–19, 239–42,
  245–7, 249–51

IASSW (International Association of
Schools of Social Work) 14; definition
of social work 259–60; education of
social workers 17; history 15;
transnational activism 188–9

ICSW (International Council of Social
Welfare) 15, 16

ideas, globalisation of 24–5

identity: cultural norms 7–8; cultural
relativism 183–4; hybrid formations 5,
  118–19, 239–42, 245–7, 249–51;
migration 246; sense of belonging 6–7,
  118–19

IFSW (International Federation of Social
Workers) 14–15, 16; definition of social
work 259–60; education of social
workers 17, 41–2; human rights 34;
transnational activism 188–9

immigration: *see* migration

*‘imperfect’* obligation 40

imperialism, professional 17–18

in need of support: *see* clients (social work)

income-maintenance role, social workers
96–7

India: abuse of women 117, 118, 186–92;
asylum seekers 150–3; country profile
48, 84; Gandhi 27–8, 31; legislation
150–2, 190–2; migration 128–31;
profession of social work 86–7, 130–1,
  152; Transnational Social Work 87–9;
welfare system 84–6

Indian philosophy 2, 26, 30

indigenous approaches 2; education of
social workers 6; global South 19

individual rights 39

individuals, as focus of social work 43,
  62–3, 115

industrial sector, trusteeship 27

industrialisation, Turkey 107, 133

inequality: *see* equality/ inequality

infiltration, India 88

infrastructure, Turkey 135
institutional actors: France 60–1; Germany 67–8; India 85; Turkey 109

insurance schemes, health care 66–7

integral humanism concept 28–9

integrated theoretical framework 24–6,
30–1; empowerment 26–8; justice and
capability 28–30; social capital 26;
social networks 26

inter-country adoption 88–9

inter-cultural working: Britain 77; France 141, 143; Germany 148

International Association for the Study of Sexuality, Culture and Society (IASSCS) 259

International Association of Schools of Social Work: see IASSW

international community, human rights 39, 44

International Council of Social Welfare (ICSW) 15, 16

International Council of Women (ICW) 15

International Federation of Social Workers: see IFSW

international human rights 40

international policy 14

international practice 14, 16–17

international rights 118

international social work 13–14, 19–20;
definition of 2, 14; international
organisations 14–17; internationalisation
17–19; nation state 5–6

internationalisation 17–19

internet 4

Interpersonal Cognitive Problem Solving (ICPS) programme model 123

intersectionality approaches 183

intra-national migration 10; China 120;
India 128–9; Turkey 133–4

Israel: challenges 97–8; child protection 181–4; conflict 97, 117–18; country profile 92–3; drug addiction 166–8, 168; elderly people 118, 205–10, 215–16; political system 93; profession of social work 95–7; welfare system 93–5

Israeli Association of Social Workers 96, 97

Jainism 30

Jewish communities 92, 93–4

judicial protection of children, France 178, 179

justice, theoretical framework 28–30; see
also social justice

knowledge, social workers 13, 14, 182–3;
*see also* education, social workers

Kueng, Hans 25

labour: see employment/ unemployment

language difficulties, immigrants 141–2,
172–3, 237, 238, 245, 247

learning from experience 9

legislation: asylum seekers 141, 150–2;
Britain 78, 79, 170, 172, 173–4; child
protection 172, 173–4, 177–80;
citizenship 170; domestic workers
221–2, 223–5, 235; drug use 155–6,
157, 162–3; France 152, 177–80;
Germany 70; human rights 36–7; India
150–2, 190–2; Israel 93, 95; Malaysia
221–2, 223–5; Turkey 108–9, 235;
women’s rights 190–2

legitimacy, social work 148

Lequn Project, Shanghai 122–5

liberalisation policies, India 87

life review therapy 207–10, 213–16, 217–18

local government: England 77–8, 172–3;
France 60; Malaysia 103, 221; Turkey
109

local scale 5, 9, 47

London 75, 80

Longhua Hospital, Shanghai 213–16

looked after children 78, 178

Malaysia: abuse of women 200–4; country profile 48; delivering social work services 103–4, 221–2; domestic worker abuse 103, 104, 221–5; exploitation 117; migration 249–51; political system 100; profession of social work 100–2, 104–5; Social Welfare Department 101, 102; welfare system 102, 104

Mao Zedong 52

marketisation 52, 110; see also
privatisation

marriages: forced 80–1; and migration
245–6

mass organisations, China 52–3, 54

media, rape case study 186–7

mental capacity 79

mental health: children 123, 175; elderly people 205–7, 208, 217–19; profession of social work 79; refugees 171, 174

methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) 158, 159–60

migration 1–2; Britain 75–6, 79, 170;
China 116, 120–5; country profiles 48;
France 177–80; Germany 71, 146, 245–7; India 88, 128–9; intra-national migration 10, 120, 128–9, 133–4; Israel 92–3, 97–8, 166–8, 168; Malaysia 100, 103–4, 221–5, 249–51; multiple cultural influences 7–8, 237–42, 245–7, 249–51; otherness 7–8; returnees 237–42, 245–7, 249–51; Turkey 119, 133–4, 233–5, 237–42, 245–6, 249–50; see also domestic worker abuse; refugees

Millennium Development Goals (MDG) 17

minorities: migrants 221, 225; protection of 43; race 183–4; sexuality 258–9; see also discrimination

mobile elementary education, Turkey 135

modernisation 87, 108

modernisation theories 17–18

moral rights 35, 38; see also human rights

multicultural contexts 181, 250

multiple cultural influences 8, 237–42, 245–7, 249–51; see also cultural diversity

narcotic drugs 155–6; see also drug addiction

narrative therapy 207

nation state 4–6, 8–9, 10, 253; see also government; welfare systems

national background, hybrid identity 5, 118–19, 239–42, 245–7, 249–51

national borders: see border crossings

National Council of Women's Organisations (NCWO) 200–1, 202–3

natural disasters 13

needs 4; see also children in need of care; clients (social work)

neoliberalism 19–20; China 52; Germany 70; international social work 13

networking 1

neutrality, religious 15

new poverty 66

new psychoactive substances (NPS) 162

NGOs (non-governmental organisations): abuse of women 197; China 53, 54, 54–5; domestic worker abuse 235; ICSW 15, 16; India 130, 130–1; Malaysia 101, 103–4; Turkey 109–10

non-profit sector, Germany 67–8

norms: see cultural norms

North American influence: see Westernness

Nussbaum, M. C. 28, 29–30, 38

objective solidarity 59

Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (OFPRA), France 139–40, 141, 142, 143, 177–8

oil crisis, 1973 238

opiates 155, 157–8, 162; see also drug addiction

organisations, international social work 14–17

organized advocacy 41

otherness 2; cultural norms 7–8; cultural relativism 183–4; Germany 70

Ottoman Empire 107, 108

parliamentary democracy 93, 100

participatory approach, social work 18, 26–7, 28, 63, 142

payment by results (PbR) 164

peace 256–7

people in need: see clients (social work)

People's Republic of China (PRC) 50, 51

perceptions, otherness 7

person in environment model 208–10

philosophy, Indian 2, 26, 30

policy: China 51; international 14; positive discrimination 59; see also legislation

political independence 20

political systems: Israel 93; Malaysia 100; transformation 260

political theory 29

population: see demographics

Portugal, drug laws 162–3

positive discrimination 59

postcolonial theory 34

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder 171–2

poverty: capability approach 28; empowerment 27; France 59; Germany 66, 71–2; Turkey 111

power: school social workers 124–5; social workers 43; theoretical framework 27–8

practices, social work: Britain 77–9; Germany 69–71; international 14, 16–17; see also profession of social work

press, rape case study 186–7

primary schools, Turkey 134

privatisation: China 52; Germany 68; Israel 95, 97; Turkey 110

problem solving, as aim of social work 31

profession of social work: in China 50–1, 54–5, 230–1; control/ care conflict 70, 79; country profiles 48–9; France 61–3; as human rights profession 2, 14, 34,
40–1, 42–4; improvement of 115; India
86–7; Israel 95–7; Malaysia 100–2,
104–5; Turkey 110–11, 112–13; see
*also* education, social workers;
knowledge, social workers

professional bodies: England 76; Germany
67–8; India 86; Israel 96; Malaysia 101

Professional Capabilities Framework
(PCF) 76–7

professional ethics 40–1, 70–1

professional imperialism 17–18

professional knowledge 13, 14, 182–3; see
*also* education, social workers

professionalism, social workers: Germany
68–9; international social work 14;
Israel 95; social justice 43

prohibition of drugs 155

prostitution 167

Psychological Counselling and Guidance
(PCG) services, Turkey 135–6

psychosocial support: cancer patients
213–14; drug users 158–9, 160, 163;
experiencing conflicts 217–19; trauma
victims 206–10

psychotropic drugs 155–6; see *also* drug
addiction

PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder)
171–2

public agencies, China 52, 54

Putnam, Robert 26

qualifications, social workers: Britain
76–7; France 61–2; Germany 69; human
rights approach 41–2; Malaysia 101–2;
Turkey 111

race: Britain 75, 79–81; cultural relativism
183–4; discrimination 183–4, 189, 196

RADAR Center, Ben Gurion University
166–7

radicalisation, global South 19

rape case study 186–92, 195–8

Rappaport, Julian 26

Rawls, J. 38

reconceptualisation, global South 19

re-distributive justice 38

refugees: Britain 170–5; children 116–17,
170–5; France 117, 138–43, 177–80;
Germany 70, 71, 146–8; India 88,
150–3; Israel 97–8

regional primary boarding schools, Turkey
134

relativism 18, 29, 30, 38, 182–3

religion: Bishnoi 30; Britain 77; country
profiles 48; Germany 67–8; human
rights 34–5; IASSW 15; Israel 93

repatriations 237, 240, 241–2

representation, internationalisation 17

Resettlement Programme, Britain 170–5

residence committees (RCs), China 53, 54

resilience centres, Israel 205–10

resources, empowerment 27

respect 35, 38

returnees (migration) 237–42, 245–7, 249–51

RHAs (Regional Health Agencies) 61

right to education (RTE), India 129

rights-based approach 41; see *also*
citizenship rights; human rights; social
rights

rural vs urban communities: China 120,
121–2; identity 119; India 128–9; Israeli
war zones 208–10; Turkey 133–6

Said, Edward 24

SANGAT (South Asian Network of
Activists and Trainers) 257

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) 129

school social workers (SSWs), China 122,
123–5

schools: see education of children; teachers

Second World War 15, 19, 35, 75, 101

self-efficacy 213–14

self-identifications 7–8

Sen, Amartya 24–5; capability approach
28, 29; human rights 38; ‘imperfect’
obligation 40

Sennett, R. 43

service users: see clients (social work)

service-reformist-ameliorative mode, India
85

sex abuse: see child protection; women,
abuse of
sexual rights 258–9

Shanghai, Lequn Project 122–5

Shanghai, Longhua Hospital 213–16

signal events 43–4

Simple School Project 123

social action, France 59, 60–3

social capital 26

social cohesion 26, 59

social consciousness 31

social improvements 115

social justice: asylum seekers 98; global
social justice 115; human rights 38,
42–3; Israel 95–6; migrant children 125;
neoliberalism 19–20; Turkey 107
social minorities 43

social movements 253–4, 260; see also
women’s movements

social networks 4, 26

social rights 116–18

social science 25–6

social security: see welfare systems

Social Welfare Department, Malaysia 101,
102

social work, definition of 2, 14, 259–60

Social Workers Act (1996) 96

South Asia, asylum seekers see also
individually named countries, 151

South Asian Network of Activists and
Trainers (SANGAT) 257

Soviet Union, drug addiction 166–8, 168

spaces 9, 246

SSWs (school social workers), China 122,
123–5

state: see government; nation state; welfare
systems

street committees, China 53, 54

structural inequalities 118, 125; see also
equality/ inequality

subsidiarity principle 60, 67–8

surrogate parents 88

Swamy, Subramanian 29

teachers: China 122, 123–5; Turkey 134

technology 4

theoretical framework: see integrated
theoretical framework; Transnational
Social Work

time management 142

trade, narcotic drugs 155–6

trade barriers 44

training: see education, social workers;
qualifications, social workers

transcultural diversity: see cultural
diversity

translation, cultures 9, 141

transnational perspective 1–2

transnational processes, definition 2

Transnational Social Work (TSW) 4–5, 10;
country profiles 47, 48; cultural norms
7–8; definition of 2; India 87–9; nation
state 5–6, 8–9; theoretical framework
24–31

transnationalism 7; advocacy 186–92,
196–8, 200–2; country profiles 47;
feminism 256–8

trauma victims, war zones 206–10

travelling theories 24, 26, 27, 30

treatment role, social workers 96–7

trust, social workers 141

trusteeship 27

Turkey: challenges 111–12; delivering
services 109–10, 242; demographics
108; domestic worker abuse 234–5;
history 107; legal framework 108–9;
migration 119, 233–5, 237–42, 245–6,
249–50; profession of social work
110–11, 112–13; rural vs urban
communities 133–6

tyranny of the majority 43

UK: see Britain

UN: see United Nations

unemployment: see employment/
unemployment

United Nations: human rights instruments
36–7; international organisations 16

United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) 138, 152, 170, 171,
177

United Nations Security Council
Resolution (UNSCR) 200

United States, migration case study 249

Universal Declaration of Human Rights
40, 103

universalism 18, 35, 38, 39–40

universities: China 50, 51; IASSW 15;
Turkey 110–11

unmarked foundations 8–9

unmarked ground 5

Upadhyaya, Pandit Deen Dayal 28–9

urban communities: see rural vs urban
communities

utopia 31

Vienna Declaration and Programme of
Action 189

violence against women: see women,
abuse of

war zones, Israel 205–10

WAVE (Women Against Violence
Europe) 197

welfare pluralism 52

welfare systems 253; Britain 75–6; China
51–5, 54, 229; country profiles 48;
France 60; Germany 66–7, 70; India
84–6; Israel 93–5; Malaysia 102, 104

well-being: as aim of social work 115,
119; domestic workers 221–2; elderly
people 205–7, 208, 218, 219
Westernness 2; child protection 181; and
conflicts 24; education of social workers
6; integrated theoretical framework
25–6; internationalisation 17–18

women: drug addiction 166–8; equality
112; social work in Israel 93–4; Turkish
migrants 233–5, 238; WAVE 197

women, abuse of: activism 257–8; drug
users 167; Germany 195–8; India 117,
118, 186–92; Malaysia 117, 200–4; rape

case study 186–92; Turkey 108–9, 110,
112; see also domestic worker abuse
Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) 104
women’s movements: China 229;
feminism 255–60; Germany 195; human
rights 44; India 118, 189; international
social work 15; legislation 190–2;
Transnational Social Work 87
work units, China 51, 52
World War II 15, 19, 35, 75, 101