CarolAnn Daniel

Bridging the Power Gap Narrative Therapy With Incarcerated Women

Social work intervention with incarcerated female clients is complicated by the oppressive patriarchal structures under which most jails and prisons operate, the victimization histories, and the various psychosocial problems with which female clients frequently present. Traditional ways of xworking with this mostly minority population often fail to challenge the profound effects of self destructive behaviors, the internalized pathologizing self-discourse, and the oppressive societal ideologies that frequently characterize the lives of incarcerated women. This article argues for a new intervention paradigm for social work practice with incarcerated women while recognizing the implicit dictates of the correctional setting. It explores the philosophical foundations of the narrative therapy approach and demonstrates the clinical application of narrative strategies to social work intervention with women within a correctional context.

Lessons Learned: Pedagogical Tensions and Struggles with Instruction on Multiculturalism in Social Work Education Programs

While the importance of multiculturalism to social work education and practice has been extensively theorized in the social work literature, very little empirical attention has been paid to the concrete experiences of social work students within the classroom. The socializing influence of pedagogy is one aspect of the professionalization process that must be considered in addressing issues of diversity and inclusion in graduate education programs. This article addresses this gap by describing and analyzing the narratives of 15 minority graduate social work students. It examines their perception and experiences with instruction on multiculturalism with the graduate curriculum and the meaning they assign to these experiences. Their narratives illuminate the myriad ways that the curriculum excludes minority students and reproduces social inequality. Social work education has a responsibility to eliminate racism and inequality from the content of its courses and in its teaching methods. The identification of these negative socializing messages may assist educators in structuring curricular and pedagogical practices that can facilitate the academic success of all students.

‘My body is mine’: Qualitatively exploring agency among internally displaced women participants in a small-group intervention in Leogane, Haiti

The 2010 earthquake resulted in the breakdown of Haitis social, economic and health infrastructure. Over one-quarter of a million people remain internally displaced (ID). ID women experience heightened vulnerability to intimate partner violence (IPV) due to increased poverty and reduced community networks. Scant research has examined experiences of IPV among ID women in post-earthquake Haiti. We conducted a qualitative study to explore the impact of participating in Famn an Aksyon Pou Santé Yo (FASY), a small-group HIV prevention intervention, on ID womens agency in Leogane, Haiti. We conducted four focus groups with ID women, FASY participants (n = 40) and in-depth individual interviews with peer health workers (n = 7). Our study was guided by critical ethnography and paid particular attention to power relations. Findings highlighted multiple forms of IPV (e.g., physical, sexual). Participants discussed processes of intrapersonal (confidence), interpersonal (communication), relational (support) and collective (womens rights) agency. Yet structural factors, including patriarchal gender norms and poverty, silenced IPV discussions and constrained womens agency. Findings suggest that agency among ID women is a multi-level, non-linear and incremental process. To effectively address IPV among ID women in Haiti, interventions should address structural contexts of gender inequity and poverty and concurrently facilitate multi-level processes of agency.

From Liberal Pluralism to Critical Multiculturalism: The Need for a Paradigm Shift in Multicultural Education for Social Work Practice in the United States

ABSTRACT The mandate to educate students to work toward ending oppression and other forms of injustice is clear, but there has been little discussion in the multicultural literature about the kinds of knowledge that are needed to prepare students for such work. This article discusses the need for a paradigm shift from liberal pluralism to a critical approach to social work education and practice. It also outlines a set of core themes to guide multicultural curriculum development. These include (a) culture, (b) race and racism, (c) oppression, (d) multiple identities, (e) power, (f) whiteness and privilege, (g) historical context, and (h) social change. Obstacles to incorporating these ideas into the curriculum and recommendations for overcoming such obstacles are also discussed.

The Path to Social Work: Contextual Determinants of Career Choice among Racial/Ethnic Minority Students

While the importance of multiculturalism to social work education and practice have been extensively theorized in the social work literature, very little empirical attention has been paid to the concrete experiences of social work students with instruction on multiculturalism. The experience of students within the multicultural classroom is one aspect of the professionalization process that must be considered in addressing issues of diversity and inclusion in graduate education programs. This article addresses this gap by describing and analyzing the narratives of 15 minority graduate social work students. It examines their perception and experiences with the graduate multicultural curriculum and the meaning they assign to these experiences. Their narratives illuminate the myriad ways that the curriculum excludes minority students and reproduces social inequality. Social work education has a responsibility to eliminate racism and inequality from the content of its courses and in its teaching methodologies. The identification of these negative socializing messages may assist educators in structuring curricular and pedagogical practices that are compatible with the multiethnic groups that both serve and are served by the profession.

'Life under the tent is not safe, especially for young women': understanding intersectional violence among internally displaced youth in Leogane, Haiti

ABSTRACT Background: Haiti’s 2010 earthquake devastated social, health, and economic infrastructure and left 2 million persons homeless. Over 6 years later 61,000 people remain displaced, most lacking protection, services, and durable solutions. Structural contexts elevate risks of gender-based violence (GBV) targeting internally displaced (ID) girls and women. Objective: We used an intersectionality framework to explore lived experiences and understanding of violence among ID young men and women in Leogane, Haiti. Methods: We conducted six focus groups, three with ID young women (n = 30) and three with ID young men (n = 30) aged 18–24 years, and 11 in-depth individual interviews with frontline workers in Leogane. Focus groups and interviews were conducted in Kreyol, transcribed verbatim, translated into English, and analyzed using narrative thematic techniques. Results: Findings revealed violence experienced by ID youth was (re)produced at the intersection of gender, poverty, displacement, and age. Multi-level forms of violence included structural (e.g. poverty), community (e.g. gender norms, and interpersonal (e.g. family expectations) dimensions. Coping strategies spanned intrapersonal (hope), community (social support), and structural (employment/education) dimensions. Conclusions: Interventions to reduce violence should be tailored to address the social inequities that emerge at the intersection of youth, poverty, displacement, and hegemonic gender norms.

An HIV/STI prevention intervention for internally displaced women in Leogane, Haiti: study protocol for an N-of-1 pilot study

Introduction Haiti has the highest HIV infection rate in the Western hemisphere, with approximately one in 50 people infected. The January 2010 earthquake led to the collapse of Haitis social, economic and health infrastructure, exacerbating social and structural HIV risk factors. Internally displaced (ID) women are particularly at high risk for HIV infection due to breakdown of community networks, increased poverty and sexual violence. The authors present the rationale and study protocol for pilot-testing FASY (Famn an Aksyon Pou Santé Yo) (Women Taking Action For Their Health), a psychoeducational HIV/STI prevention intervention with ID women in Haiti. Methods and analysis This is a single-centre pragmatic N-of-1 pilot study. The target population is ID women in Leogane, Haiti. The authors aim to recruit 200 participants using purposive peer-driven recruitment methods. ID women will be trained as community health workers to deliver the FASY intervention in Kreyol. Participants will conduct a pretest that involves an individual HIV/STI educational video-based component followed by a 6-week group programme of 2 h womens health meetings. The primary outcome is HIV knowledge; our prespecified index of clinically significant change is an effect size of 0.30. Secondary outcomes include: sexually transmitted infections knowledge, condom use, social support, resilient coping, depression and relationship control. Multivariate analysis of variance will be used to compare pretest and post-test differences across variables to assess if the intervention influenced primary or secondary outcomes. Significant multivariate analysis of variance will be followed up with both univariate tests and discriminant function analyses to understand significant effects. Ethics and dissemination Research Ethics Board approval (2011-0033-E) was attained from the Womens College Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Trial results will be published according to the CONSORT statement, modified for the N-of-1 pilot study design, regardless of the outcomes. Trial registration number This study is registered at http://clinicaltrials.gov, registration number NCT01492829.

Transactional Sex among Young Women in Post-Earthquake Haiti: Prevalence and Vulnerability to HIV

Vulnerability is a concept widely used in HIV research to describe individuals who experience elevated exposure to HIV acquisition. Yet there are no uniformly accepted measures with regard to understanding vulnerability and its application with individuals who are in actual situations of risk for HIV. To explore the relationship between vulnerability and HIV risk we used a framework developed by Watts and Bohle (1993). The framework allowed us to account for the specific ways that internally displaced women who exchange money or other consumptive goods for sex experience increased vulnerability to HIV acquisition. Material exchange for sex (transactional sex) is widely understood as a significant driver of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) for women in Haiti. However the mechanisms and conditions that contribute to internally displace young women’s engagement in transactional sex, and experiences of transactional sex are not well understood. We examine the types of pressures that lead internally displaced women to engage in transactional sex, their capacity to cope with HIV risks and the potential consequences. Our analysis suggests that material exchange for sex underlies sexual relationships among many ID women and that their motivations varied from survival needs, parental pressure to help support their household, and peer pressure to satisfy their socio-emotional needs. Yet not all internally displaced women who engage in transactional sex are equally vulnerable. A complex system of interrelated micro and macro-level social and economic factors accounted for why some internally displaced women are more vulnerable. By highlighting the differences among young women, this paper demonstrates that HIV prevention interventions need to be contextually targeted to address ID women’s particular level of vulnerability.

Factors associated with consistent condom use among internally displaced women in Leogane, Haiti: results from a cross-sectional tablet-based survey

Objectives Scant research has examined factors associated with condom use among internally displaced women in postdisaster settings, such as in postearthquake Haiti. The study objective was to examine social ecological factors associated with consistent condom use among internally displaced women in postearthquake Haiti. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2012 with a peer-driven recruitment sample of internally displaced women in Leogane, Haiti. Peer health workers administered tablet-based structured interviews to a convenience sample of 175 internally displaced women. Results The 128 participants who reported being sexually active in the last 4 weeks were included in the analyses. Two-thirds (65.2%) reported consistent condom use in the last month. In multivariate logistic regression analyses controlled for age and income, participants that reported sex work, depression, higher number of sex partners and shorter relationship duration had lower odds of consistent condom use in the past month. Participants who reported no experiences of intimate partner violence, lower self-rated health, higher sexual relationship power and more meals per day, had a higher likelihood of reporting consistent condom use. Conclusions This research provides the first assessment of contextual factors associated with consistent condom use among women displaced from a natural disaster such as Haitis 2010 earthquake. Findings demonstrate the importance of social ecological approaches to understand intrapersonal (eg, sex work and depression), interpersonal (eg, relationship power, intimate partner violence and relationship duration) and structural (eg, food insecurity) factors associated with internally displaced womens condom use. Results can inform future sexual health research and interventions in international disaster contexts. Trial registration number NCT01492829, pre-results.