Program Friday 25 August

The introduction of italian Law No. 134/2021 requires a new organic discipline of restorative justice, referred to the EU Directive 2012/29/EU and the principles set out by the Council of Europe, Recommendation CM/Rec (2018)8 (L. 134/2021, art.1, c.18-20). As well known, the Recommendation encouraged Member States to adopt the principles of the Restorative Justice and to promote its programmes in the various national criminal justice systems. Namely, it is a call for a collective effort to promote structural reforms in the field of criminal justice as the principles and methods of the GR may become a new element of the legal system. In this complex scenario, the new Law sets in the italian legal (and social) system a lot of challenges to be faced. The paper will present how demanding interventions are necessary, focusing in the italian prison field, where different local legal cultures and different professions are envolved.

Often discourses of the prison-industrial complex (PIC) harness critical analyses of profit-making market rationalities as they manufacture rationalities for imprisonment through a confluence of policy, professions, disciplines, private companies, and law. While analyses of racism, psychiatry, and other aspects of identity have contributed important perspectives that name those targeted by PICs, few have engaged with analyses that articulate the design infrastructure of PICs as they replicate colonial machinery dependent on both biological and synthetic components. In this paper, through an analysis of immigration detention systems in Canada, an exploration is offered on the complexities of the PIC’s requirements for the degradation and decomposition of human bodies and lives, requiring violence/the breaking down of life, alongside it’s requirements to synthesize and advance ideas, disciplines, professions, and forms of knowledge that rationalize these violent outcomes. A scaffold is offered that allows for critical, mad, posthuman, anticolonial perspectives to retain analytical composure as they confront colonial cyborg (biological and synthetic) carceralities (prisons, psychiatric institutions, jails, immigration detention centres etc.) and the technologies (disciplines, professions, knowledges) that render decomposition (producing the mad, the immigrant, the disabled, the criminal, those worthy of violence as well as acts of violence). This analysis offers novel possibilities for building critical analytical solidarities across abolitionist struggles.

Representation of the child is an integral part of the institute of parental care. Holders of parental care, usually the parents, represent their child equally, jointly and consensually both in everyday life, as well as in administrative and judicial proceedings. However, in certain life situations a conflict between parents may appear (because of separation, divorce, child abduction, partial deprivation of legal capacity etc.), so the question arises as to which of them should represent the child? Would the representation of the child by only one parent disrupt the principle of parental equality as well as the equality of sexes? In certain life situations a conflict of interests between parents and the child may appear (because criminal, misdemeanour of family law proceedings for protection of the rights and welfare of the child have been initiated against one or both parents etc.), and the challenge for the legal system is how to ensure objective and impartial representation of the child and his/her best interests? These are both social and legal problems that will be elaborated through relevant academic sources and recent judicial practice of the European Court of Human Rights.

Women’s representation in politics has made significant strides in the last two decades. Globally, women constitute 26% of parliamentarians, compared to 12% in 1998. In countries such as Rwanda and Cuba, women hold more than 50% of parliamentary seats. The substantial increase in women’s representation in politics is mainly attributed to electoral gender quotas—policies requiring that women hold a certain share (e.g., 30 percent) of political candidates or representatives. While quota reforms have been adopted in more than 130 countries, it is only recently that scholars and women’s rights advocates have questioned the implementation of quota reforms in authoritarian and semi-authoritarian regimes. A growing concern is that political leaders use quota reforms to further authoritarian rule rather than to advance democratization processes. Drawing on my research on quota reforms and collaboration with women’s rights organizations in Albania, I discuss the ways that social workers can respond to the appropriation of gender equality reforms in politics. The paper will contribute to Track 3—Peace and Stability—by advancing our understanding of social workers’ engagement in political processes to advance gender equality reforms and promote peace and stability in authoritarian and semi-authoritarian regimes.

A growing body of scholarly work underscores that political violence is gendered, calling for greater attention to the gendered types, motives, and impacts of political violence across contexts. I contribute to this body of work by examining the relationship between gender and political violence in Albania. I use original survey data collected from 306 randomly selected political candidates on the violence they experienced during the parliamentary elections of 2021. The questionnaire—adopted from Bjarnegård and Zetterberg (2021)—included questions on the types, motives, and impacts of political violence. Findings revealed that a higher percentage of women—compared to men—experienced psychological violence of a sexual nature. There were no statistically significant differences between women and men regarding the motives and impacts of political violence. The study makes three contributions: first, it advances our understanding of political violence—a growing, global concern that has received little attention in social development literature; second, it addresses the shortcomings of using surveys to study gender and political violence; third, it provides insights for development practitioners engaged in human rights campaigns in contexts where violence is considered a normal part of politics.

In these dark times of war in Europe, it´s important to highlight how researchers and practitioners of community work have discussed antimilitarism and peacebuilding from a feministic perspective. In this presentation, the discussion on war, security, and peacebuilding is based on literature and scientific articles in the field. Ultimately, war is one form of violence. Militarization and war are described by feminist researchers as a gendered terrain, and mass rape as the most gendered and sexualized feature of warfare. The Women´s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) was established as early as 1915 for opposing militarism and war and is still in operation. One of the founders and the first president of the WILPF was Jane Addams, the mother of community work. She shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931. Despite their peacebuilding efforts, women and gendered perspectives both remain marginalized from mainstream organizations and discussions of war and peacebuilding. This article also reflects on the absence of discussion on war and peace in Nordic social work and reminds us of the importance of feminist anti-war and peacebuilding in theory and practice, even for sustainable social development.

The “Bolsa Família”, a cash transfer program, was created in 2003, and it was implemented until November 2021, when it was replaced by “Auxílio Brasil” Program, created by Jair Bolsonaro, Brazilian president between 2019 and 2022. Motived by political interests, Bolsonaro replaced a successful program implemented during 18 years by his own program, with the objective to be reelected as Brazilian president in 2022. However, who won the election was Luís Inácio Lula da Silva, who was elected for the third time, with the commitment to fight against unemployment, the informal work without social protection, the poverty and the hunger that hit Brazilian population deep in this period. In this context, the “Bolsa Família” returned to be implemented in January 2023, now with a higher cash transfer, embracing more than 14 million families. Therefore, the proposal of the study is to present and problematize the “Bolsa Família” as one of the main social protection policies to face the poverty and hunger in Brazil, placing this program in the contemporaneity of the Brazilian reality.

In three decades, Slovenia went through a social transformation from Yugoslav socialism to gradual neoliberalization of all aspects of society. These systemic changes prompted social processes that influenced the organization, management and practice of social work. Gradual deconstruction of the socialist welfare state that accelerated from 2000 on and especially since the economic crisis of 2008, among others manifested in a bureaucratization of social work and thus in diminished possibilities for addressing the population’s needs. Drawing from professional biographies of social workers starting their careers in socialism we will follow their articulations of the changes in practice from a particular socialist orientation towards increasing life quality based in collective social policies, through experiences of developing new services in 1990’s to contemporary dilemmas of social work. The analysis of 20 in-depth interviews will focus on the possibilities of social workers for meaningful interventions in line with its core values of inclusion, equality, and justice. We will analyze the ideas of social development behind socialist paradigm, how do they differ from contemporary dominant notions on the wellbeing of population and what can we learn from past experiences for the present and future, that seems characterized by continuous crises.

High rates of unemployment in many African countries, including South Africa, have resulted in a rise in temporary or part time digital employment, or the gig economy. This is because digital technologies offers new opportunities, particularly appealing for youth. However the rise of gig work challenges conventional ideas about how and where work is undertaken while also blurring the distinction between being an employee and/or self-employed. Without social protection and/or a commitment on the part of employers to a social contract, growing numbers of gig workers will be vulnerable to contingencies along the life-course. There is currently no consensus in South Africa on how new forms of digital work should be classified and what forms of protection to afford gig workers. It is thus critical to understand these shifts and to develop forward-looking policies that ensure the shift to gig work goes hand in hand with stronger social protection and/or commitments to a social contract. In this presentation we share findings from a study that aimed to assess the nature and scope of gig work in South Africa, as well as the implications for social protection, with the ultimate purpose of developing a set of policy options for the expansion of social protection that reflects the reality of work in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The study adopted a qualitative approach to generate nuanced experiences of gig workers. Individual interviews were conducted with ten Checkers Sixty60, nine M4JAM gig workers, two gig work company representatives and two policymakers at the national level. Our findings show that participants differed in how they viewed their work and the nature of the relationship with the company– some see the relationship as an employment one whilst others identified as independent contractors. Earnings ranged considerably and none of the gig workers had access to any social protections. For example they were not registered to the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF). These findings confirm those of several other studies demonstrating the complexities of the gig worker relationship to the companies that provide the gig platform, as well as regarding gig worker access to income protection. The findings from the policymakers and the company representatives demonstrate an understanding of the challenge and a willingness to find solutions, but concern that current legislative systems limit their options. The study findings suggests that there is a need for considered engagement about how to ensure greater security for gig workers and informal workers more broadly. Innovation policy solutions are possible but require collaborative efforts to shift current systems.

This paper examines the role of income transfers in promoting local economic resilience during times of crisis in South Africa. Income transfers, such as social grants, have become a critical source of support for vulnerable households in times of economic and social shocks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. However, their impact on local economic resilience is still not well understood. Using data from a qualitative study that considered the effects of the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant on local economies in five urban and peri-urban locations in South Africa, through the perspectives of informal traders, this study analyzes the relationship between income transfers and local economic resilience in South Africa during the pandemic.

Erasmus program is the European Union's programme in the fields of education, training, youth and sport. Basic idea of the programme is to make education accessible, especially for students from countries with limited access to social and economic sources of support. In last 30 years over 4 million students, trainees, and academic staff across Europe have participated in the Erasmus mobility programme. The program promotes the development of personal skills such as interculturality, adaptability, openness and flexibility and focuses on international mobility to increase possibilities for better youth employment. In the paper was used systematic literature review in two steps. Personal growth and development have been analysed through various elements. Analysis shows that language skills, interculturality, greater level of independence, academic and professional competencies and a sense of belonging to European community form very important parts of personal development of the Erasmus population. Research also shows that such personal development processes can lead to strengthening the opportunities of young people in the labour market or strengthening further education. In the end paper draws conclusions about favourable benefits of the programme and reflects on the possible policy recommendation for the Erasmus+ programme for the period 2021-2027.

Black women usually must overcome social and structural obstacles while advancing in their careers. They frequently and unjustly need additional attributes to navigate the predominantly White environment that perceives their roles and responsibilities differently. Being Black and a woman can be especially challenging when rising to leadership positions in rural non-profit organizations. In this study, we use the grounded theory method to analyze the lived experiences of twelve Black women in east Texas, US who met the criteria for holding leadership positions in non-profit organizations. We used purposeful sampling to recruit participants to examine the hardships and expectations they experienced in their leadership roles. We found that Black women leaders of non-profit human service organizations in rural communities face many challenges and barriers related to gender, age, and race-related discrimination. Nevertheless, we found remarkable resiliency in a service-driven leadership ideology grounded in faith, family, community support, and the collective identity of being a Black woman. The leadership trajectory was unintentional for our research participants. We recommend channeling the resiliency factors while centering the Black women's collective identity in developing policies and programs for intentional pathways to effective, strong, compassionate leaders, and intergenerational mentors for the next generation of Black women leaders.

WIENU is a non-labor unionized organization (NGO) uniting over 10 informal sector groups in Uganda namely; Market vendors, Street Vendors, Artisans, Performing Artists, Waste Pickers, small farmers, builders, and home-based workers among others. The Informal sector in Africa remained largely unorganized. Although there are already organized trade movements and solidarity groups that have stayed out of the formal labor work right framework, social protection and being on the table in the design and implementation of national priority programs also affect them. COVID-19 taught the world the need for organization inclusivity to equity and participation. Informal Workers should be organized and recruited to negotiate and be on the table for their Social Development and respond to a crisis like the COVID-19 disaster to resilience. I, WIENU, Streetnet International, WIEGO, and NOTU have extensively undertaken efforts to train, organize and Recruit workers in the informal sector in trade movements and solidarity groups so as to raise their voices for inclusion and participation in policy and social development programs in more than 10 countries in Africa and I have been part of the studies and project implementation process.

Blacks, women, and other people of color are overrepresented among low-wage employees, who constitute the mainstay of American capitalism. They work long hours at minimum wage with little to no benefits, notwithstanding their contributions to corporate America. The pandemic increased the dire conditions and circumstances of these low-wage workers. Classified as essential workers, Black women and people of color disproportionately worked in low-wage front-line jobs requiring them to work in person during COVID-19. They worked jobs with little protection. However, they were exposed to more significant health risks and economic uncertainty. The negative repercussions of low-wage Black women and people of color extend far and wide, beginning with the employees' health, their families, and the cost to society. The knowledge shared in this workshop will provide social workers with a strategy consisting of a ten (10) point plan of action to respond to this social injustice of economic inequality.

Participation as empowerment has taken essential locus today in working with different sections of the cohort and community in general. Stemming from the development conceptual designs for participatory approach in 1980s and 90s, aims to enable people to analyse their own knowledge to plan and act. However, this desideratum in practice seems to be in discord with its own principles and values as to arrive at a predetermined end by external agencies, seeing participants as mere service receivers. Further, there is a question of ontological orientation of indigenous systems in such practice and in the expanded field of knowledge construction and legitimisation. The paper expounds on the indigenous concepts of power and participation from the Khasi worldview and seeks to place such concepts within their lived experiences. Attempts will be made to call in question the preponderant established thoughts on the subject matter. It will also set out to explore the notion in the field of knowledge and research practices and argues that there is a need to revisit participatory thoughts from an indigenous paradigm and re-examined empowerment in the substratum of knowledge-power relations.

Keyword: Participation, Empowerment, Indigenous knowledge, Development, Khasi Worldview

Social work is a vital profession that plays an essential role in the lives of individuals, families, and communities. As such, involvement in policy practice has been recognized as a key competency for social workers by the Council for Social Work Education. Social workers are uniquely positioned to provide deeper knowledge and understanding of the day-to-day challenges faced by people, and they have a professional and ethical responsibility to influence and create social policies that promote social and economic justice for underrepresented and vulnerable groups. This study aims to examine the policy practice strategies adopted by social workers in India in order to understand how they are making an impact in the lives of their clients. Data was collected in India between May 2022 and August 2022 using key informant interviews and observation methods. During the three-month period, 10 participants were interviewed. These participants had professional social work degrees, such as Bachelor's and/or Master's, and were working in non-profit agencies delivering social services. The findings from the study suggest that social workers are utilizing a variety of strategies to empower both community members and their clients, such as leadership development, helping them to recognize and understand oppressive systems, and network building. However, due to recent restrictions on funding for network and organization building, there has been a negative impact on the grassroots movements. This highlights the urgent need to support and strengthen local organizations.

Honor-related violence (HRV) is a pressing public health concern that has significant effects on social development. While certain parts of the Middle East and South Asia are often identified as "honor killing hotspots", with the increased scale of migration, HRV is becoming more prevalent in western societies, including Sweden. Despite the damaging effects of HRV on the health and well-being of individuals and communities, many countries still have low awareness and recognition of this problem. However, the municipality of Gävle in Sweden has taken a significant step toward raising awareness and knowledge of HRV through its Shanazi Heroes project. The primary aim of this project is to educate young boys and transform them into "heroes" who can serve as positive role models and ambassadors for human rights, equality, democracy, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. By doing so, they can combat HRV and oppression in their communities. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the Shanazi Heroes project in preventing and reducing HRV and oppression. The study used semi-structured interviews, focus group interviews, and questionnaires to collect data from project managers, participants (heroes), family members, and high school students. The results showed that there is a need for early violence prevention work with boys and young men to address the patriarchal structures that underlie HRV and oppression.

This paper deals with the role of social workers during the pandemic time with special focus on the social protection policies and its’ practice. With various challenges and hardship faced by the social workers all over the world, the value of the profession and its demand is at its peak now. Unlike any other profession, social work caters to multi-dimensional human needs restating its unique position to address the needs of the society systematically and value-based in approach. Amplifying the profession’s service in India is being done in many sectors and services are being provided to the needy and marginalised. The paper brings social work being done in the country and the tenacity of the profession to address such emergency situation in the context of social protection policies for delivering uninterrupted services for the community. The importance of social policies for sustaining the wellbeing of citizens, various roles and responsibilities performed by social workers along with the challenges are also under the purview of discussion. The paper concludes by presenting a case study of a Higher Education Institution in India in social work.