Author: Grace Wahome
Wahome, Grace, 2024 Statutory child protection social work and people with refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds living in South Australia, Flinders University, College of Education, Psychology and Social Work
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Statutory child protection work in relation to people with refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds is frequently pitched as challenging and complex, yet limited research has been conducted on this topic. Existing research highlights the need to consider potential trauma histories, cultural conventions, and settlement challenges faced by people with refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds in the context of statutory child protection. To address the relative dearth of research on the topic, this PhD research examined the views of people with refugee backgrounds on statutory child protection in South Australia. Specifically, the thesis focuses on people from the African countries of South Sudan, The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Somalia. The aim of the research project was to enhance the use of cultural understanding and competency when working with refugee and asylum seeker communities in South Australia in the context of statutory child protection. A total of 30 participants took part in interviews and shared their perceptions of statutory child protection in South Australia and their views on the effectiveness of current policies in supporting people with refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds. Themes developed from the interviews focus on experiences of resettlement, engagement with child protection services, and views on how such services could be more inclusive of people with migrant and refugee backgrounds. The thesis concludes by discussing opportunities for collaborative approaches to working with refugee and migrant communities in developing future culturally appropriate statutory child protection policy and practice frameworks.
Keywords: Statutory child protection, social work,refugee, asylum seeker, cultural diversity
Subject: Social Work thesis
Thesis type: Doctor of Philosophy
Completed: 2024
School: College of Education, Psychology and Social Work
Supervisor: Professor Damien Riggs