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Empowering Social Work: Research & Practice

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Publication has been produced as part of Empowerment of Families with Children project

©Authors of the articles

This book has been peer-reviewed.

Maritta Törrönen, Olga Borodkina, Valentina Samoylova, Eveliina Heino (eds.)

Cover design by Darya Voyko

Lay-out by Mia Petroff

ISBN 978-952-10-9058-5 (paperback)

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Kotka 2013
Palmenia Centre for Continuing Education, University of Helsinki, Kotka Unit
Kopijyvä Oy

This project is co-funded by the European Union, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Finland.
Empowering Social Work:
Research and Practice

Edited by Maritta Törrönen,

Olga Borodkina,
Valentina Samoylova,
Eveliina Heino
PREFACE
This publication has been produced as part of the Empowerment of Families with
Children project. The key aims of the project are to develop practice in the delivery
of preventive family services and social services for families with children, to foster
the wellbeing of families with children and to promote mutual awareness and under-
standing of Russian and Finnish public service provision and family culture. In the
course of the project, Finnish participants have developed preventive family services
for Russian immigrant families living in Finland, while in Russia the focus has been on
preventive family services for vulnerable families and families facing challenging life
situations. The project will run from 29 April 2011 to 28 April 2014 and is coordinated
by Helsinki University’s Palmenia Centre for Continuing Education Kotka unit.

This publication makes a contribution towards the project aims by highlighting em-
powering perspectives and practices in social work through research. It consists of
a series of articles, each approaching the topic of empowerment from a different
perspective. The research findings presented in the publication are the result of colla-
boration between a number of individuals, with the authors representing universities
across Finland and Russia. We would like to thank the authors for their outstanding
contributions and the reviewers for their constructive and insightful feedback, which
has been invaluable to the authors during the revision process.

Thanks are also due to our project partners: the City of Imatra, Saimaa University of
Applied Sciences, Kymenlaakso University of Applied Sciences, University of St. Pe-
tersburg, Faculty of Sociology, The International Centre of Social Service Studies as
well as social centres in Vyborg, Pikalevo, Svetogorsk and the Admiralteysky district
of St. Petersburg. We would also like to extend a particularly warm thanks to Univer-
sity of Helsinki, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Social Research.

We sincerely hope that this publication will convey novel ideas and inspiration, bene-
fitting students, researchers and practical social workers alike.

In Helsinki, August 1st 2013

Maritta Törrönen Olga Borodkina Valentina Samoylova

Professor Professor Associate Professor
University of Helsinki University of St. University of St.
Petersburg Petersburg

Ella Kainulainen Eveliina Heino

Director Planning Officer/Researcher
Palmenia Centre for Palmenia Centre for
Continuing Education Continuing Education
Kotka Unit Kotka Unit
 EMPOWERING SOCIAL WORK: RESEARCH AND PRACTICE

Empowering Social Work: Research and Practice

ContenTs

P ART I Empowerment theory and social work

MARITTA TÖRRÖNEN, OLGA BORODKINA, VALENTINA SAMOYLOVA

Trust in reciprocal relationships - The construction of well-being......…............8

OLGA BORODKINA, MARITTA TÖRRÖNEN, VALENTINA SAMOYLOVA

Empowerment as a current trend of social work in Russia………….................19

VALENTINA SAMOYLOVA, MARITTA TÖRRÖNEN, OLGA BORODKINA

Family policy in Russia: problems in the establishment process and new
challenges................................................................................................................38

P ART II Empowering social work with families and individuals

ANNIKA LILLRANK
Empowerment and resistance resources for immigrant women - A case
study of implementing salutogenic theory in practice.......................................66

EVELIINA HEINO, NADEZDA KÄRMENIEMI

Cultural interpretation as an empowering method in social work with
immigrant families.................................................................................................88

MARJA KATISKO
Families of immigrant background as clients of child protection services....118

OLGA BORODKINA, YULIA FIONIK

Key issues in social work with people living with HIV/AIDS in Russia...........146

SUSANNA RAUTIO
Diaries of family workers: empowerment and working with
families with children............................................................................................158
P ART III Empowering social work with children and young
people

MINNA VEISTILÄ
Child-sensitive elements of the construction of child well-being during
an acculturation process. Exploring the narratives of well-being of
children with a Russian background..................................................................174

MERVI KAUKKO
Everyday choices, meaningful activities and reliable adults. Diverse
paths to empowerment of unaccompanied asylum-seeking girls...................200

ANTTI KIVIJÄRVI, EVELIINA HEINO

Ethnic minority youth and youth work in Finland: everyday anti-racism
engendering empowering conditions.................................................................222

CONTRIBUTORS....................................................................................................245
1 Introduction

Introduction
Empowerment is a key concept in social work. Empowering practices give the silen-
ced voices of our society a better chance of being heard. As people become empo-
wered, they can gain control of their lives and find ways to act in society.

This book, EMPOWERING SOCIAL WORK: RESEARCH AND PRACTICE consists

of articles by experts in the field of social work from Finnish and Russian universities.
The writers explore empowerment and disempowerment in the light of theoretical
constructs linked to social policy, immigration, well-being and reciprocal relationships
between clients and workers. Case studies are used to illustrate empowering and
preventive practice in a variety of situations: in child protection, multicultural work,
family work, and in working with children and adolescents.

There is no single, clear definition of empowerment, mainly because empowerment

is seen as a context related concept that needs to be defined more specifically in
different usages. This book does not aim to create ‘the one and only’ definition of em-
powerment, but rather to explore new aspects of this phenomenon. However, some
recurring elements can be found in the articles, centering on the idea of participation
by the people themselves, at the micro-, meso- and macro levels of society.

Empowerment means not only empowering individuals, but also acting politically to
promote equality and solidarity in society. First, this means that individuals have op-
portunities to act in society and to gain control of decisions that affect their lives. The
role of the expert then becomes one of promoting reciprocal dialogue between the
service system and the citizen, while keeping in mind the important role of family and
close relationships as crucial sources of well-being and support. Secondly, empower-
ment is more closely related to the prevention of problems in everyday life. It lends
support to political claims to act before problems get too serious on the societal level.
Thirdly, participation, as a theoretical, methodological and empirical concept, can be
used to empower people.

The book has three parts: the first part discusses empowerment theory and social
work; the second part offers glimpses into real-life empowering social work with fami-
lies and individuals; and the third part analyses empowering social work with children
and young people.

In the first part, Maritta Törrönen, Olga Borodkina and Valentina Samoylova examine
reciprocity and trust in relationships as elements of interaction that have an empowe-
ring effect. These elements are tightly linked to the well-being of individuals, families,
communities and societies. Reciprocity, in the positive sense, is usually seen as an
empowering element of interaction, giving people satisfaction and joy in life. Listening
to people’s experiences and opinions does not mean that they should be left to ma-
nage their problems alone when their everyday life becomes difficult. On the contrary,
their difficulties reveal the needs of individual communities within a society.
 Introduction 2

In the second part of the article, the same authors discuss empowerment as a current
trend of social work in Russia. They describe the current situation where the clients'
personal resources have become one of the central issues. This stems from an inc-
rease in the individual’s responsibilities and privatization of many risks - conditions
that have created a need for increasing use of empowering methods. The authors
argue that in this situation it is necessary for social workers to build competence in
using empowering methods; competence imbued with critical understanding, know-
ledge, and skills within an appropriate context of values.

The third article by the same authors focuses on family policy and the challenge of
establishing such policy in Russia. Firstly, the authors discuss the attitudes of the
clients towards the state, and the influence the country’s history has had on these
attitudes. The authors examine how several factors - the paternal policy model of the
Soviet era, the collapse of the Soviet Union and the reforms of the 1990’s, followed by
a rapid decline in the real income of families, along with increases in other social and
individual problems - have affected the functions of the family. Secondly, the authors
focus on the formation of Russian family policy from the 1990’s to the present day,
discussing the family institution and factors in the relationship between family and
state that challenge policy implementation. The authors believe that modern family
policy should aim at strengthening the adaptive capacity of families, both through ex-
ternal support and by developing the families’ internal resources, thus increasing the
social competence the families need to solve problems that affect their lives.

The second part of the book deals with empowerment in social work. Annika Lillrank
discusses empowerment in connection with the salutogenic approach in a case study
of one immigrant woman handling pregnancy and the birth of her child. Lillrank exp-
lores what kinds of resources and resilience facilitate young mothers’ adjustment to
new cultural practices surrounding childbearing. Secondly, the author focuses on the
development of an empowering dialogue with Finnish maternity care professionals.
Connecting individual and social aspects, this article provides profound insight into
how the client’s sense of meaningfulness and coherence are supported, and her
empowerment is enhanced, by her individual resources and the reciprocal dialogue
between her and the health care professionals.

Eveliina Heino and Nadezda Kärmeniemi approach empowerment from a practical

point of view. In their article they examine factors that prevent or enhance the clients’
empowerment. In the first part of their article, the authors discuss the main challen-
ges in client-worker relationships between Finnish workers and immigrant families
with Russian background. The second part of the article describes a novel type of
social work practice, cultural interpretation, and its significance for the clients’ empo-
werment.

Marja Katisko’s research focuses on child protection, and she identifies different ca-
tegories of empowerment based on individual and societal viewpoints. The aim of her
research is to describe how parents, children and adolescents of immigrant backg-
round experience the child protection system and services provided to them by this
3 Introduction

system. The experiences of the study participants are explored in the light of empo-
werment theory, aiming to show which factors in their family lives, or in the services
they have received, have promoted or prevented their empowerment.

Olga Borodkina and Yulia Fionik examine key issues in social work with people suf-
fering from HIV/AIDS in Russia. The authors describe the current situation with HIV
infections and the main directions of social policy, social services and social work with
HIV-infected clients. The authors argue that the ongoing transformation of the Russi-
an society demands the formation and development of new institutional forms corres-
ponding to the changed conditions. The spread of HIV infection and other diseases
that pose a serious threat to society has created a sphere of professional practice
where such adjustment is needed. In addition, the authors make recommendations
for the future development of social services, social work and the skills required of
social workers, highlighting the importance of an empowering approach.

Susanna Rautio discusses family professionals’ experiences of their work from the
perspective of empowerment, aiming to outline the challenges and highlighting the
professionals’ experience in their daily work with families. The main focus is on exa-
mining the kinds of parent-professional relationships and collaboration that support
empowerment of the clients. Implications for practice are also considered.

The third part of the book focuses on empowering social work with children and young
people. Minna Veistilä examines the construction of well-being of children with Rus-
sian background during their acculturation process. The author poses the question of
how children and parents in families of Russian background construct the well-being
of the children, what similarities and differences exist in such constructions, and what
kinds of elements these constructions are composed of. The aim of the article is to
create a deeper understanding of the construction of well-being.

Mervi Kaukko discusses the participation and empowerment of unaccompanied mi-

nors, especially girls, in two residential units for children run by a Finnish reception
center. In her article, the author explores the special conditions for participation and
empowerment for children and adolescents who seek asylum without their parents.
Further, she demonstrates how participatory action research could be used to find
suitable, culturally sensitive techniques to enhance participation in decision-making
by unaccompanied asylum seeker children.

Antti Kivijärvi and Eveliina Heino examine municipal youth work and its anti-racist
practices in Finland. These practices include the stances taken by youth workers and
the ways they address the issue of racism. The authors build their theoretical frame-
work around the phenomenon of everyday racism, approaching it through the notion
of empowerment. The main focus of the article is on a discussion of favourable condi-
tions in which the empowerment of ethnic minority youth can take place. The authors
define empowerment as the ability to overcome oppressive and racialising practices,
and they suggest practises that can help to overcome disempowering conditions.
 6

PART I

Empowerment
theory
and social work
CONTENTS (1) Trust in reciprocal relationships - The construc-
tion of well-being

(2) Empowerment as a current trend of social

work in Russia

(3) Family policy in Russia: problems in the estab-

lishment process and new challenges

8 Trust in Reciprocal Relationships
CHAPTER I

Maritta Törrönen, Olga Borodkina, Valentina Samoylova

Trust in reciprocal relationships -

The construction of well-being
Introduction

Though individualism and new liberalism claim to explain the isolated actions of hu-
man beings in the postmodern world, this article hypothesizes, on the basis of earlier
research (for instance Haavio-Mannila, et al. 2010; Törrönen 2012), that the social
bonds between people have not disappeared, but that there is more emphasis on
individual choice today. People keep social contact with those people who they think
will be important to them should they encounter fragile situations where they will need
help (see Haavio-Mannila et al. 2010; Törrönen 2001; 2007; 2010; 2012a).

Reciprocity, in its positive meaning, is usually seen as an empowering element of

interaction, which gives people joy in life and satisfaction. Today’s society is usu-
ally described by terms such as relational, pluralistic, fragmented and coincidental,
replacing terms such as universalism, wholeness, uniformity, stability or order (see
Bauman 1996). This kind of discussion seems to describe people as egoistic and
individualistic, leaving behind the elements that hold people together and create
bonds between them (Törrönen 2012b, 182). This kind of discussion is not always
supported by the research, as the social relationships between people, even in the
knowledge society, are visible in people’s lives in many ways (see for instance Keizer
et al. 2008; Lindenberg et al. 2006; 2007; Fetchenhauer 2010).

Well-being is seen as a complicated issue to research, and the framing of the rese-
arch topic plays an important role. The broad understanding of well-being is based
on Bourdieu’s (1984) definition, which sees human well-being as a combination of
economic, cultural and social capital. Although economic resources create the basis
for an individual’s livelihood, working life, housing and health, there are also other
resources. Cultural resources are tied to education and family background (Bourdieu,
1994). Here, the multidimensional concept of well-being is understood specifically in
connection to reciprocity as part of social capital, including interaction with people
close by, with communities and with the society as a whole.

Positive reciprocal relationships are here understood to be created through experien-

ces of trust. The content and implications of reciprocity as a concept will be analysed
and discussed in relation to the concept of trust and how it builds or erodes robust
relations between people. Both construction and erosion of well-being are difficult to
examine; there are plenty of descriptions of experiences or of the states of well-being,
9 Trust in Reciprocal Relationships

whereas there is an obvious lack of studies identifying the experiences that create
well-being and analysing how the state of well-being is created and maintained.

In order to understand how well-being can be created and supported from a citizen-
oriented point of view, we need a thorough analysis of how reciprocity is generated in
the beginning of the 21st century. Research into reciprocity may also provide further
and deeper knowledge of a societal shift away from an individualistic interpretation of
human behaviour and towards reconstructed communal experience. This research
article theoretically analyses reciprocal relationships with regard to trust relations and
their connection to human well-being. Some cultural differences in the interpretations
are pointed out at the end of this article.

R eciprocal Relationships
Personal experience of social and societal reciprocity has profound ontological
significance for an individual, and it is one of the most important factors in creating
well-being. Research into reciprocity can be seen as a contribution to international
social welfare research, where attention is focused on well-being and the communi-
ties that hold people together (see Becker 1986; Ostrom and Walker 2003). Because
there are also experiences of non-empowering interaction between people, which
can also be devastating, it is likewise necessary to explore the area of non-reciprocity.

Although studies into welfare and well-being are prevalent in sociological literature,
there is still a growing need to investigate subjective experiences of well-being and
the dynamics of reciprocity in creating and maintaining well-being. The significant
changes that took place in the organisation and provision of social services and health
care at the beginning of the 21st century have highlighted the need for understanding
reciprocity. New liberal ideas stress individual choice and responsibility instead of
solidarity and shared responsibilities. These developments have taken place in se-
veral countries – for example, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Finland (Koskiaho
2008), as well as Russia – with very little critical analysis of their consequences. As
sociological research shows, Russian society is characterized by social disunity and
weakness of both traditional and new interpersonal structures (Levada 2000, 168).
The social atomisation process began in 1970 and was caused by human waste from
the state; the atomisation of the post-Soviet man only worsened (Trapkova 2004).

Historically, reciprocity has existed across societies, and is of particular importan-

ce during times of rapid social transformation. In terms of a definition, reciprocity is
closely associated with such concepts as ‘sociability, social networks, social sup-
port, trust, community and civic engagement’ (Morrow 1999, 744; see also Seligman
2002). It makes visible the underlying ideologies and motives of a society.

Reciprocity is linked to the strong research tradition of social capital (Bourdieu, 1984;
Becker, 1986; Coleman, 1990; Putnam et al. 1994), wherein changes in communities
are studied. Reciprocity contains both interpersonal and social dialectics in connec-
tion to social capital (Coleman 1990; Morrow 1999, 747). Experiences of well-being
are understood to be one aspect of social capital, which can reflect dyadic, societal or
 Trust in Reciprocal Relationships 10

even global concerns (Coleman 1990, 2). In their definition of social capital, Putnam
et al. (1994, 167) state that trust, norms and social networks can improve the functio-
ning of the society, by strengthening the internal solidarity and prosperity of the entire
society (Ibid., 169, 176; also Putnam 2000, 19). Although social capital has been
widely studied, reciprocity still remains unchartered territory, at least in the context of
Finnish society (see Törrönen 2012a).

Reciprocity, as understood in connection to social capital, is a concept that inclu-

des both an individual and a collective aspect (Putnam 2000, 20). From an indivi-
dual perspective, social capital is connected to social networks and to the people we
know. Networks contain mutual obligations: ‘I’ll do this for you now, in the expectation
that you will return the favour’. From the collective aspect, social capital affects the
wider community. It is not directly combined with the connections among persons.
This means that a well-connected individual in a well-connected society is likely to
be better connected to the society than, for instance, a well-connected individual in a
poorly connected society (Ibid).

Social capital helps to strengthen the interactions that individual members of society
have with each other, including the acceptance of common rules, practices and in-
stitutions. People find mutual understanding among those who hold opinions similar
to their own and are more likely to feel a commitment to them. If social capital is
weak, group cohesiveness is lost and it is difficult for members of the society to reach
common goals (Harisalo and Miettinen 2010, 18-20). Social capital is correlated with
several factors such as individual wealth, work satisfaction, health and an individual’s
ability to participate in a smoothly functioning democratic system (Kouvo 2010, 166).
Good social relationships strengthen and promote individuals’ psychological and
emotional well-being. For instance, according to previous research, young people
who feel like strangers in a society tend to be unsatisfied with their state of health and
emotional well-being, have a lower threshold of perception of stress effects, rarely
experience positive emotions, and perceive themselves as less happy than those
who feel included in society (Samoylova et al. 2012, 79).

Social relationships can be analysed according to their durability and connectivity.

Commerce operates on the principles of mutual understanding and expectations.
The relationship lasts as long as all partners uphold these principles with regard to
their interactions with each other; the relationship will cease to be meaningful if there
is no interaction among the individuals. In order for social relationships to last, they
require some kind of mutually experienced meaning, such as shared expectations,
and must be reciprocal. They involve several interactive processes that work together
to connect people to one another. The things that bind people together include, for
instance, mutually shared opinions, control of others, conciliations, negotiations, indi-
vidual rights and respect for one another (Azarian 2010, 326-327; see also Seikkula
1994, 6; Ahokas 2010, 145-147; Widmer et al. 2008, 4). The degree to which an indi-
vidual is committed to his/her own community is directly related to how social support
is visible in his/her life, and how he or she experiences this support (Newcomp 1990).
This kind of knowledge regarding how well-being is constructed is used in social
11 Trust in Reciprocal Relationships

research to interpret the larger changes in the society, for instance concerning col-
lectivism and individualism. Putnam et al. (1994) found that well-functioning social
networks have a positive effect on the prosperity of the society as a whole. Putnam
(2000) also found that people in the United States are forming new kinds of social
traditions based on individual choice. The understanding of how the transformation
of society in the US is taking place varies. The changes that take place in a society
are difficult to verify empirically and there is no general consensus on the definition
of social capital.

Recent decades have shown an increase in the development of non-reciprocal in-

teractions in which people’s economic, cultural and social resources are conside-
red contextual. Economic resources create the basis for an individual’s livelihood,
working life, housing and health. Cultural resources are tied to education and family
background (Bourdieu 1994), while education and family background make obvious
that the current situation in a person’s life is connected to the time before the person
existed and also to the image of what his future looks like. Cultural resources make
visible the power relations of a society and their possibilities to take care of themsel-
ves.

The concept of reciprocity can be understood as a positive and empowering concept,

and non-reciprocity as a negative concept. Non-reciprocity leaves human beings out-
side of the social community and thus also contains elements of exclusion, for instan-
ce in its extreme forms as prolonged unemployment, difficulties with livelihood, drug
abuse and poor mental health (Törrönen 2012b, 184). Reciprocity is closely linked
to the power relationships between individuals, communities and societies. So, as a
concept, it is broader than interactions between people; it is a societal concept. At the
same time, the concept of reciprocity is linked to the concept of social support, which
describes interaction in the form of actions and functioning. Therefore, aside from the
resource function, social support has an emotional, evaluative and informative func-
tion. Of particular importance in terms of reciprocity, emotional function, as well as its
effects on feelings for people with close connections, plays a big role.

Social support is part of people’s everyday life when reconstructing their well-being.
Reciprocity can thus be defined as being related to actions and creation (Törrönen
2012b, 183). Reciprocity also comes close to the ideas of helping and solidarity (see,
for instance, Lindenberg et al. 2010). It is important to take into account the gender
perspective when exploring differences or similarities in experiences of reciprocity.
Also, the generational overlap needs to be understood with respect to reciprocity (see
Sennett 2003).

T rust in Human Relationships

Reciprocity can be seen through actions based on trust in human relationships as
well as in the society as a whole. Trust includes both social and moral elements which
are combined with free will and norms of the society. This can be clarified by the
proverb that you can choose your friends but not your relatives. Individuals take into
account people important to them according to their own values and motives; they
 Trust in Reciprocal Relationships 12

give them reasons to act on their behalf or not. On the other hand, trust is the foun-
dation for building a relationship based on reciprocity. It is the core support structure
of reciprocity, like the skeleton in the human body. Scientists have paid attention to
the significance of the phenomenon of trust between people in different areas and at
different levels of society. Already, the leading role of trust in shaping public relations
was noted by representatives of the German school as ‘interpretive sociology’. Max
Weber and Georg Simmel called it one of the most important synthesizing forces in
society (Weber 1990; Simmel 1996; see also Seligman 2002). Seligman (2002) also
notes the contextual element of trust. He is convinced that the human interaction is
at the same time connected to the old, tribal, ethnic, and religious ties as well as to
the contemporary ties.

Trust is directly ‘entwined’ into a mechanism to ensure the integration and stability
of a society. According to Parsons (1998) trust is one of the preconditions for social
stability. Trust is involved in the affiliation of group or community identities, and in
various forms of civic associations, for instance political parties, interest clubs, eth-
nic associations, religious denomination and self-help groups. Group identity may
be a professional, corporate, age, gender, ethnic, racial, religious or social identity.
Although, civic activity can be built according to different organisational principles,
membership is determined by the general concepts of making certain commitments
along with mutual trust (see Zabolotnaya 2003). Socio-cultural and political identity
create a community with a specific set of meanings that attracts people, and have be-
come the foundation for the predictability of the behaviour of other people. Fukuyama
(1995) considers that trust arises within the community while waiting for a permanent
and honest focus on shared values of behaviour on the part of the other community
members. According to Sztompka (1999), the prevalence of installation on confirmed
and mutual trust leads to a "culture of trust" in society. Blind, naive trust may tempo-
rarily promote a "culture of trust", but it will be one-sided and will be destroyed with
the appearance of new cases that do not justify the trust.

There is not always freedom to act on a voluntary basis, but many social com-
mitments and roles also have to take into consideration. Trust is based on
the freedom to act. In situations where there is no freedom to choose how to
act, which are tightly controlled by other people’s actions, the trust does not
exist. Formation of individual capabilities and morality is based on the ap-
pearance of the ability to move from one role to another, and the possibili-
ty of these roles to transform are formed by the basis of trust (Seligman 2002).

C ultural Understanding of Reciprocity

The level of trust in a society can be measured and compared between different
periods of time in the same country and between countries. The best known such
measurements are the estimates of the World Value Survey (WVS), a project stu-
dying values in European countries, which began in 1981. Currently there are two
simultaneous projects with the same methodology, making them comparable sources
of data for a sample covering more than 60 countries on all continents, including
Russia, Ukraine and other former Soviet republics. WVS/EVS conduct representa-
13 Trust in Reciprocal Relationships

tive surveys of the population (a sample of more than 1,000 people in the country),
consisting of a traditional question such as ‘Generally speaking, would you say that
most people can be trusted or that you can't be too careful in dealing with people?’
According to the WVS, within a list of countries in 1999, Finland placed 5th in trust re-
lations (index of confidence -57.4), while Russia was in 29th place (23.9) (Belyanin &
Zinchenko, 2010). What can we say of these results? At least it shows how people in
these countries interpret their trust relationships. According to the data, informants in
Finland seem to be more trusting of their peers than informants in Russia. According
to Sztompka (1999), democracy favors a "culture of trust”. Meanwhile self-confidence
is a prerequisite for democracy, the success of which involves a number of things:
communication between citizens; tolerance; compromise and consensus instead of
conflict and struggle; a sufficient level of civility in the public debates; citizen partici-
pation in public life; high educational level of citizens. On all these points, the situation
in Finland is more favorable than at the present time in Russia.

The phenomenon of trust captures the opacity of human social interaction. It is no

accident that the modernisation processes of modern societies, along with social and
political change in post-communist societies, intensified scientific interest in trust as
a principle of constructing social relations. For instance, earlier in the 1990s there
existed in Russian society a ‘stable background distrust towards institutions and tho-
se in authority’ (Levada 2000, 168). The only relative predictability that was taken for
granted was trusting partners, colleagues, relatives and friends.

According to research, the level of trust among youth towards people outside the
family and circle of friends is low, and is lowest towards authorities (Samoylova et
al. 2012, 121). Recent literature also shows an increase in the development of non-
reciprocal interactions wherein people’s economic, cultural and social resources are
not met. People’s interaction cannot always be seen as unambiguously reciprocal or
favourable (see Yesilova 2009; Veenstra et al. 2010). Therefore, it is also important
to pay attention to hurtful, exclusive, painful and fraught non-reciprocal experiences
(see McCormic 2009; Lindenberg et al. 2010).

As the concept of reciprocity contains both positive and negative aspects, the con-
cept of trust is also twofold in this sense; the negative meaning can also have positive
effects. When we think about trust, it should be noted that there are some positive
aspects of mistrust. In a survival situation, the lack of support from the state has
led many people from different social groups to seek their own ways and means of
salvation. In such circumstances, there is often an awakening of personal power and
an appeal to one’s own personal resources (Zinchenko 1998). In addition, distrust of
social institutions in a market economy makes some individuals and groups strongly
motivated to make personal efforts in any field of activity. In this sense, we can speak
about the mobilising function of mistrust and its constructive potential (Vershinin
2001). Also, trust is twofold in the sense that it on the other hand supports stability of
social bonds or emotional and interpersonal attachment among people with a shared
identity, common goals and values, and the mutual predictability of reactions; but on
 Trust in Reciprocal Relationships 14

the other hand, as a definite advantage, provides people support in new and unpre-
dictable social situations.

Returning to the individualism and selfishness noted above as negative phenomena

of modern society, we note that they are correlated with new liberal ideas, stressing
the importance of individual choice and individual responsibility instead of solidarity
and shared responsibility. However, the dissemination of these ideas in Russia has
some advantages. They arise from the revitalization of individual resources and the
increasing role of personal involvement in individual affairs, instead of the unlimited
paternalism that characterised Soviet society. At present in Russia, there is tendency
of development of neo-liberal policies. In the social sphere, it is associated with an
increase in the role of the market, a reduction of public expenditure on social servi-
ces, privatization, and increasing individual responsibility. Strengthening individual
responsibility means that today, primarily citizens, then government, must take res-
ponsibility for the achievement of social integration (Borodkina 2012).

Now, young people are willing to rely on themselves more, making choices and taking
responsibility to a greater extent than older generations.

As trust and reciprocity develop between free and independent people, based on
their own choice – to trust or not to trust, to participate or not to participate – this qua-
litatively new basis for relations between the Russian people began to take shape,
for example, with the development of the social support networks (Bezrukova 2011).
Trust as a manifestation of free will does not only follow the leader or the majority
opinion.

The changes in Finnish society concern relationships between the public and private
sectors. Finland can be called a welfare society with mixed services from the public
and private sectors including organisations, but there are threats that the situation
will change dramatically (see Julkunen 2006). People are used to claiming their rights
from society while having a certain freedom to act. Now the freedom of individuals
to choose is stressed. How it impacts, for instance, the delivery of social and health
services, or people and their communities, will be visible in the near future. The possi-
bilities are also twofold: the decrease in public services will increase market-oriented
services, which may strengthen the polarisation of people into two categories: those
who are working and have enough resources to choose and get better services than
others and those not working or who lack adequate resources. The decrease in pub-
lic services may also shift the responsibility for taking care of those in need to fami-
lies and relatives. Thus, these positive trust relations are activated and count on the
reciprocal actions needed during critical periods of life, which may in turn tighten the
relationships within communities. The family orientation of the society might increase,
but it may also impair the situations of those who are already vulnerable, or do not
have close relationships or families.

In the Finnish context, reciprocity becomes evident during critical periods that are un-
derstood as phases of life where the need for support and care grows considerably.
These periods provide clear vantage points to view the interplay between public and
15 Trust in Reciprocal Relationships

private sector behaviour, and how they function together in vulnerable life situations.
These periods are often connected with social work interventions and support.

These critical periods of everyday life bring an individual’s dependence upon,

or independence from, other people or society to the forefront. An examination
of the dynamics of the ever-shifting borders between the public and private sec-
tors, as they relate to the care of an individual, can shed light on the concept of
reciprocity. What is interesting is how people adjust when they arrive at these
borders, and how they will relate to them. The question of reciprocity is not only
a question of interaction between individuals and networks of individuals; it is
also a question of responsibilities involving the delivery of services, and the fun-
ctions of social institutions and authorities in different societies (Törrönen 2011).

C onclusions
Though individualism and new liberalism claim to explain the isolated actions of
human beings in the postmodern world, this article posited that social bonds, toget-
her with material resources, are important among people in the different societies.
However, in the public discussion, there is greater emphasis on individual choice and
individualism today, which interestingly resonate differently in different societies, with
Russia and Finland used as examples here.

Here the complex concept of well-being is understood in connection to reciprocity as

part of social capital in connecting an individual and a collective aspect. Individually
interpreted reciprocity is then connected to mutually obligatory social networks and
to the people we know. Viewed widely, reciprocity concerns wider communities. In
contradiction to the public discussion, people keep social contact with those who
they think will be important to them if they should encounter fragile situations, or
were in need of help (see Haavio-Mannila et al., 2010; Törrönen 2001; 2006; 2007;
2010; 2012). Individuals take into account these important people according to their
own values and motives. The quality of the relationships to these people gives them
reasons to act on their behalf or not; trust makes the positive reciprocal relationships
possible.

This article promised to theoretically analyse reciprocal relationships in relation to

trust relations and their connection to human well-being. Thus, the meaning of re-
ciprocity has at least a twofold character, both as positively and negatively under-
stood. There are elements of sensitive and fragile interactions with people and com-
munities or different societies, possibly also known as intergovernmental actions, and
elements of intra-action within people, communities and societies, which are transla-
ted into feelings and transactions. These “inter- and intra-” parts are in a continuous
process of change and have an ambiguous impact on each other.
 Trust in Reciprocal Relationships 16

The relation between reciprocity and trust can be described clearly in the following
figure:

The figure illustrates both reciprocity and positive interaction in human relationships.
If there is non-reciprocity, there is no trust. Reciprocity is based on the trust relations
and is visible in the action of human behaviour and in the creation of human relation-
ships.

This article wants to shake up the increasingly critical and biased discussion of indivi-
dualism and new liberalism. The critique by many researchers describes the develop-
ment as inevitable and people are understood as powerless. First, by analysing the
mechanism of human behaviour and actions, the article shows that despite individu-
alistic features, there are still powers that make us as collective actors: we can more
easily trust those people with whom we can identify ourselves. Also, the research
strongly confirms that the welfare societies are doing well in manifold ways in the
world. Welfare societies are based on the collective understanding of solidarity. That
should be taken seriously in politics and in research and not be forgotten. However,
there are discussions that there are many reasons for the decrease of well-being in
welfare societies too.

Secondly, the researchers’ critique of new liberalism is taken uncritically and it is

overwhelmingly refereed. The critique is used as a striking weapon, as there would
be no place for discussion. Also, in the development of new liberal ideas, there can
also be positive side effects if it empowers people to act. It might also make us think
about experts in a renewed way, so that people themselves and their own experien-
ces as individuals and also as a collective are better taken into account in the decisi-
on making in different societies and in their services. That does not mean that people
should be left alone during critical periods of their everyday life. On the contrary, it
signifies the needs of individual communities within a society. The society and the
communities should act reciprocally, creating trustful relations.
17 Trust in Reciprocal Relationships

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22 Empowerment as a Current Trend of Social Work in Russia
CHAPTER I

Olga Borodkina, Maritta Törrönen, Valentina Samoylova

Empowerment as a current trend of

social work in Russia
Introduction

In Russia, the development of social work practice is determined by at least three

major factors. First, the profession of social work is relatively new in Russia. Social
work was only officially recognized as a profession in 1991. In the years that follo-
wed, social work sought its subject, sought its form as a science and a profession,
and became established as an institution. These processes have not yet reached
completion. Secondly, social work – in Russia, certainly – is strongly regulated by
the state. There is a reciprocal connection between state regulation of social work
and paternalistic patterns in social work practice. The third reason has to do with the
historical development of social work. The theory of social work has a long history
outside Russia, but within Russia social work has begun to develop fairly recently,
and it appears that this development has been influenced by European and American
theories.

Some of the main issues of social work in Russia – establishing social work as an
institution, the relationship of social work with social policy, the philosophy and met-
hodology of social work – have recently become the subjects of sociological analysis
(E.R. Smirnova-Yarskaya, M.V. Firsov, O.I. Borodkina, E.I. Holostova, V.N. Kelasyev,
I.A. Grigoryeva, V.A. Samoylova, L.G. Guslyakova, and others). Despite differen-
ces and distinct approaches, most researchers agree that social work develops in
conjunction with the transformation of society, and that the directions in which social
work practice is developing coincide with directions seen in Western countries. Social
inclusion and prevention of social problems have been discussed as main directions
and tasks of contemporary social work in Russia. In our opinion, one of the effective
tools for realizing such policy is empowering practice in social work. Moreover, in a
“risk society” the role of empowerment becomes more important than it has been
in the past, since effective prevention of risk is possible by empowering clients and
organizations. Thus, the main argument we wish to pursue in this article is this: In a
risk society, the value of empowerment increases, and prevention – as a major trend
of social work in a risk society – can mainly be implemented successfully through
empowerment-oriented practice. These central theses have determined the structure
of this article, consisting of sections that deal with empowerment discourse, empo-
werment and social prevention, empowerment in a risk society, and some crucial
issues of empowering practice in Russian social work.
23 Empowerment as a Current Trend of Social Work in Russia

E mpowerment in social work

In Russian social work, empowerment is a relatively new topic. In fact, empower-
ment started to appear in scientific discussions only after the book “Principle of em-
powerment in social work”, edited by F. Parslow, was published in Russia in 1997. In
other countries, empowerment was introduced into the theory and practice of social
work within a period which extends from the late 1980’s to the early 1990’s. The tra-
dition of empowerment, of course, has a long history in social work. R. Adams makes
the following observations:

The antecedents to empowerment are a combination of traditions of mu-

tual aid, self-help, and, more recently, movements of liberation, rights and
social activism, strengthened by anti-racism, feminism, critiques of inequa-
lities and oppressions arising from social class, age, disability, sexuality, reli-
gion and other differences.( Adams 1996, 2).

The main idea of empowerment is to overcome contradictions between independen-

ce and dependence, independence and guardianship, and civil rights and the go-
vernment. Particularly, empowerment focuses on enabling representation for groups
suffering from discrimination. This serves the purpose of developing the clients’ life
management skills and their capacity for independent living.

In social work practice, there are several key areas: empowering individuals, empo-
wering groups, empowering communities, and empowering organizations. Literature
on social work provides detailed analyses of all these types of activation (Adams
2003; Simon 1994). In this article, the main characteristics of different types of empo-
werment will be briefly described.

When the goal is empowering individuals, the work focuses on the key roles of so-
cial workers and clients. It is significant that empowerment potentially represents an
added dimension in all of them. In social work practice, empowering individuals is
often realized as self-empowerment. Self-empowerment is closely linked to the ideas
of self-help, self-change and self-determination, which have always been present in
the context of social work. Self-change of the client is one of the goals in counseling
and various therapies (Dryden, Felthan 1994). Self-determination means that clients
receiving social services have the freedom to choose how to act and to make deci-
sions for themselves (Biestek, 1961). However, it is important to notice that social
work practice also calls for self-empowering social workers. Before empowering ot-
her people, social workers need to empower themselves. Therefore, their empower-
ment as service providers and the empowerment of service users are closely related
(Stanton 1990, 129).

When groups are the target of empowering social work, two types of groups are in-
volved: self-help groups and worker-led groups.

Groups can provide support for the individuals, reduce the risk of isolation,
offer a context in which personal skills can be developed and practiced and
 Empowerment as a Current Trend of Social Work in Russia 24

a mean by which an individual, whose consciousness has been raised, can

work towards fulfilling heightened personal expectations. (Adams, 2004,
77).

Community work involves empowering people to analyze and manage the sources
of their problems and to develop their own strategies. Empowering an organization is
a process which is implemented in all the major stages of an organization’s develop-
ment: origination, informal organization, the emergence of leadership, beginning of
formal organization, and appointment of paid staff and professional workers (Adams
2007, 117-135)

Empowerment is the purpose of social work (Parsons 2008). The focus on strengths
and empowerment has gained considerable prominence over the last couple of deca-
des. It also represents a major paradigm shift from the problem-based approach that
has been with social work for such a long time (Cowger 1994, 262). There is also a ra-
pidly developing abundance of literature, inquiries and practice methods in a variety
of fields that bear a striking similarity to the strengths perspective in social work – for
instance, developmental resilience, healing and wellness, solution-focused therapy
and asset-based community development (Saleebey 2001, 2). These elaborations
are a reaction to our culture’s continued obsession and fascination with psychopatho-
logy, abnormality, and moral and interpersonal aberrations (Saleebey 2001, 2)

Professional practice from a strengths perspective demands a different way of seeing

clients, their environments, and their current situations (Saleebey 2001, 1). In this
approach, the social worker is seen as a fellow human being who struggles with
issues of everyday life, developing vision, raising consciousness, taking action, and
engaging in praxis (action, reflection on the action, return to action and reflection) in
order to develop critical perspective and to challenge the indirect (internalized) and
external power blocks that keep us oppressed (Lee 2001). The strengths perspective
is the basis for empowerment. Empowerment includes the idea of understanding the
dynamics of difficult life situations and seeing the need for both personal support
and structural changes. In the context of empowerment, people are perceived from
the we-perspective instead of the other-perspective. Difficulties are a natural part of
everyday life, and they can affect anyone.

According to Miley et al. (2004, 81), practitioners who use the strengths perspective
need to reflect on their orientation to practice, their view on the client systems, and
their interpretations of the issues the clients represent. They need to view problems
as challenges, turning points, or opportunities for growth. Using words such as “chal-
lenge” instead of “problem”, and talking about “strength” as opposed to “pathology”,
or “future” as opposed to “past”, creates more positive frames of mind for client and
social worker alike. According to Breton (2008), there are five components which are
essential for the disempowered to become empowered. The components are: social
action, political awareness, the right to say and to “have a say”, recognizing oneself
and being recognized as competent, and the use of power. Based on this discussi-
on, the paper then addresses the requirements for empowerment-oriented practice,
which, it is argued, falls under two major headings: the principle of collegiality, and
group and community work.
25 Empowerment as a Current Trend of Social Work in Russia

According to Salebeey (2002, 23), strength-based approaches involve the following

principles: (1) Every individual, group, family and community has strengths. The fa-
mily in front of the social worker possesses assets, resources, wisdom and know-
ledge that, at outset, the social worker knows nothing about. (2) Trauma and abuse,
illness and struggle may be injurious but they may also be sources of challenge
and opportunity. Literature on the resilience of children and adults shows that most
individuals – even children – when confronted with persistent or episodic crisis, dis-
organization, stress, trauma or abuse are able to somehow surmount the adversity
(Saleebey 1996, 16). (3) Assume that you do not know the upper limits of the capacity
to grow and change and take individual, group and community aspirations seriously.
Saleebey (2001, 15) suggests that instead of regarding the assessment or diagnosis
of the client as an indication of the client’s limitations, the client will be better served
when we make a pact with his/her promise and possibility. (4) Social workers serve
clients best by collaborating with them. Saleebey (2001, 16) suggests that ultimately
a collaborative stance may make us less vulnerable to the more political elements
of helping: paternalism, victim blaming or victim-creating, and preemption of client
views. (5) Every environment is full of resources. In every environment there are
individuals, associations, groups and institutions that have something to give, somet-
hing others may desperately need: knowledge, succor, an actual resource or talent,
or simply time and place. (6) Caring, caretaking and context. According to Saleebey
(2001), all families must be permitted and assisted in caring for their members. Also,
all paid caregivers need to be able to give support and quality that is commensurate
with highest ideals of care without subverting their own well-being. The right to care
boils down to the fact that all people needing care receive it.

By analyzing different types of social work practice, it is possible to identify the follo-
wing essential elements of empowering practice:

Collaborative partnerships with clients, clients groups, and constituents;

a central practice emphasis on the expansion of clients’ capacities, st-
rengths, and resources; a dual working focus on individuals and their so-
cial and physical environments; the operating assumption that clients are
active subjects and claimants; the selective channeling of one’s professional
energies toward historically disempowered groups and individuals. (Simon
1994, 24).

As we have noted, Russian discourse on empowerment issues has started only re-
cently, partly under the influence of co-operative projects in the social sector between
Russia and EU member states (Borodkina O., Samoylova V. 2013). As an example,
we would like to mention the South-East Finland-Russia cross-border cooperation
programme. Discussion of empowerment issues within the Russian-Finnish project
”Empowerment of Families with Children” (2011-2013) demonstrated the relationship
of prevention and empowerment in social work practice.

E mpowerment and social prevention

The empowering approach is connected to social prevention, which focuses on
 Empowerment as a Current Trend of Social Work in Russia 26

actors. Strengthening the client as an active actors and supporting them to develop
new skills are necessary conditions for successful prevention.

It is possible to identify several main models of empowerment-based practice. The

first model, put forth by Cox and Parsons (1994) and Gutierres et al. (1998), suggests
overcoming barriers at three levels:

(1) personal (feeling, attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs regarding the ability
to influence and manage one’s social problem situation), (2) interpersonal
(experience with others that facilitate or hinder problem management or
resolution) (3) sociopolitical participation (behavior in relation to societal
institutions/organizations that facilitate or hinder individual and group ef-
forts toward meeting need and social change) (Cox, Parsons 2000, 119)

The second empowerment-based practice model was developed on the basis of

Lee’s conceptualization and multidimensional model that addresses intervention in
four dimensions. The first dimension encompasses interventions with individuals (as-
sessing personal and environmental needs and resources, finding resources, un-
derstanding problems, etc). The second dimension encompasses interventions that
target identified problems (education, self-help, mutual support, networking, etc.)

The third dimension focuses on changes in the environment (social service system,
heath care, social policy), and the final dimension on interventions that involve clients
in the broader political aspects of their problems, including social actions and other
collective efforts. As Cox and Parsons note:

The dimensions are nonlinear and are not mutually exclusive. Instead, they
are often simultaneous and cyclic. The social worker serves as a catalyst
through that process by raising questions about the relationship between
various private troubles and related public issues, resource access, and
rights and by providing information and resources that assist client groups
to act on their own behalf. (Cox, Parsons 2000, 120)

Lee’s conception is very close to both models. On the one hand, her model focuses
on oppression on three levels: personal, interpersonal and societal. On the other
hand, she adds five perspectives to her practical framework:

a) historical view of oppression, including the history of social policy related

to oppressed groups:

b) an ecological view, encompassing knowledge of individual adaptive po-

tentialities and ways people cope and/or power structures and their inequi-
ties;

c) an ethclass perspective focusing on realities of class structure, racism,

ethnocentrism, and classism as well as heterosexism;
27 Empowerment as a Current Trend of Social Work in Russia

d) a feminist perspective focusing on the oppression of women, the diffe-

rent voice, the personal as political (and nature of power-e.g., power me be
infinite); and

e) a critical perspective, the critique and conscious awareness of the above

four perspectives (Lee 1994, 22)

The comprehensive model by Sadan was developed using the problem-solving fra-
mework. The goal of the empowerment process is to create positive outcomes for
both the individual and the community. At the individual level, positive outcomes in-
clude new coping skills, developing self-awareness, feeling part of a group, mas-
tering socio-political skills, learning self-evaluation, etc. Positive outcomes at the
community level include support and networking, creating independent or alternative
solutions, finding communality, etc. (Sadan 1997).

We propose that the social prevention framework should be used to facilitate empo-
wering processes in Russian social work. To support this claim, a brief analysis of the
concepts of social prevention is necessary.

In modern Russia, the needs of a changing society stimulate the formation and deve-
lopment of new institutional forms. These institutional forms correspond to the chan-
ging needs of the client in this society. In a time of social, economic and political
transformation, the development of institutionalized forms of social prevention is of
major importance to the stability of society (Borodkina 2012). Consequently, the main
trends of modern social work are primarily involved with developing preventive social
work. In modern society, the ideology of social work does not revolve solely or pri-
marily around the idea of intervening in difficult crisis situations, but rather focuses on
ways to prevent such situations. Prevention-oriented social work practice has actively
taken root in recent years, in Western countries as well as Russia. Including pre-
ventive components in social work is especially important when dealing with social
problems such as drug addiction, alcoholism, homelessness, and social orphanhood.

In recent years, the concept of social prevention has been extensively used in both
scientific literature and in political activity. As a result, defining social prevention can
be difficult. Coordination of the interests of the state and the individual is connected
with questions concerning the preservation of society and the stability of social sys-
tems. In sociology, the emphasis is on social policy, with the aim of preventing social
problems such as inequality, poverty and unemployment, among others (J. Clark, T.
Marshal, G. Espin-Andersen). The development of the preventive strategy has pro-
ceeded alongside the development of a new model of the welfare state.

An analysis of the modern concepts of social prevention enables us to distinguish bet-

ween preventive concepts of social work focused on the individual and those founded
in socio-political ideas. For the client, prevention requires professional intervention at
the earliest possible stage of crisis development. Intervening in risk situations calls
for knowledge of the social context and living conditions of the client. Such knowled-
ge allows for routine planning and/or strategic intervention in socially difficult situa-
 Empowerment as a Current Trend of Social Work in Russia 28

tions or legal infractions. However, interventions of this type are limited to individual
clients. In addition to social prevention focused on the individual, there is also socio-
political prevention. At the core of many such socio-political concepts lies the notion
of social competence. On the one hand, this notion of social competence requires
the expansion of social networks. On the other hand, it requires consideration of all
the factors shaping the clients’ living conditions when planning preventive practices
(Flosser, Otto 1992, 4-16). Thus, individual preventive strategies focus on correction.
They regulate the life goals and actions of the client in accordance with the prevailing
system of social norms, values and standards. Socio-political prevention is focused
on the formation of structures which support the individual’s constructive interaction
with and within the environment.

The preventive model of empowerment oriented practice addresses intervention at

four levels. These levels are: individual, family, group or community, and sociopolitical
level. This model focuses on the goal of strengthening individuals, families, social
groups, communities, and social welfare and educational programs. A further area of
focus is interaction between individuals, families, and larger systems.

The preventive model of empowerment oriented practice improves the client’s situ-
ation by decreasing social risks (for example, unemployment, abuse, poverty, poor
education, crime, ill heath, domestic violence). As people are facing the challenges of
the risk society, the role of the preventive model of empowerment oriented practice is
becoming increasingly important.

E mpowering social work in a risk society

In a risk society, empowerment-oriented practice is the best way of carrying out
preventive social work. The following comments on the discourse on risk manage-
ment should be considered in relation to this argument.

Contemporary trends in social work are, in many respects, defined by neoliberaliza-

tion. In practice, this has the consequence of shifting the focus of social work from
meeting needs to dealing with risks. Stephen A. Webb offers the following periodiza-
tion of transformations in social work:

Between 1850 and 1935, the period referred to as classical modernity, the
main types of social activity were charity and philanthropic work, and the
main focus of social work was on improvement. The next period, moderni-
ty, (1945-1979), was characterized by universal state sponsored social work
with a focus on need. Since 1979, there has been a period of late modernity,
with neoliberal social work focusing mainly on risk. (Webb 2006, 32).

Neoliberalism, within the social context, is concerned with increasing the role of the
market, competition and privatization, and reducing public expenditure on social ser-
vices, thus strengthening individual responsibility. Neoliberalism has also increased
the flexibility of social policy in terms of cost-effectiveness and efficiency criteria. E.
Giddens declares that neoliberalism is the political program that can provide societies
with solutions to the problem of risk.
29 Empowerment as a Current Trend of Social Work in Russia

The welfare state is a system which is designed to protect you against risk
and contingency in life: the risk of illness, the risk of disablement, the risk of
becoming unemployed, the risk of becoming divorced. (Giddens 1999, 2).

The strengthening of individual responsibility also means that today it is the citizen,
rather than the state, that has to take the responsibility for achieving social integrati-
on. In this situation, the question of the clients’ personal resources becomes one of
the central issues that create a need for the increased use of empowering methods.
As Webb has pointed out: “Neo-liberal conception of self-governance dovetails nicely
into notions of empowerment in the caring professions“ (Webb 2006, 57).

Empowerment can refer to user participation in services and to the self-help

movement generally, in which groups take action on their own behalf, eit-
her in cooperation with, or independently of, statutory services. (Thomas
and Pierson 1995,134-5)

Though need and risk are certainly connected, in modern social work practice there
is a growing tendency towards assessment of privatized risk, i.e. risk connected with
individual factors, instead of risk within the community as a whole. Privatization of
risk means that the clients are increasingly expected to take responsibility for dealing
with risk independently (Webb 2006; Bauman 2001). This means that there is inc-
reasing responsibility on the client’s part for individual decision-making involving risk.
At the same time, social work, when dealing with this risk, should take into account
both individual and group risk factors. Strategies for the regulation of risk have to
encompass various social groups, including marginal groups. Risk assessment is
an essential part of this process. It identifies loss or potential harm on the basis of a
rational analysis of events. It balances the risk of harm with the ability to manage that
risk. Risk assessment includes identifying, measuring, and prioritizing risks. Webb
remarks:

In social work the assessment of risk often lacks scientific rigour and may or
may not be modeled in a satisfactory way. Some uncertainties can be redu-
ced by further research while others remain irreducible. (Webb 2004, 19).

Therefore, the role of the social worker as a risk assessor is extremely important, and
skill in empowering social work is needed in this role. On the basis of the results of a
risk assessment, the social worker may define risk factors. However, it is important to
understand that evaluation of risk does not take place in a social vacuum. There may
be other factors inherent in the social context, such as politics and group dynamics,
which have relevance within a risk assessment. In other words, the level of potential
risk is not the only basis on which social workers define their priorities when planning
interventions. D. Howe, for instance, claims that social work does not exist indepen-
dent of organizational and political context. What the social worker thinks and does
can only be understood when one considers the intellectual, ideological and material
environment in which he/she works (Howe 1991, 204). Thus, a more preferable basis
for risk management is provided by combining risk analysis with political, bureaucra-
tic and organizational factors.
 Empowerment as a Current Trend of Social Work in Russia 30

Concerning risk management, Parton argues that social workers and social agencies
should concentrate more on the everyday political decisions and practices which deal
with situations of risk.

Risk assessment, management of risk, the monitoring of risk and risk-taking

itself have become common activities for both practitioners and managers.
Similarly, estimations about risks have become key in identifying priorities
and making judgments about the quality of performance and what should
be the central focus of professional activities. (Parton 1996, 98).

Webb has identified three main preventive strategies for social governance of risk
that predominate in social work.

Firstly, there are preventive strategies aiming to reduce the probability of

a risky occurrence. These strategies are introduced before a risky occurren-
ce happens and include practices such as providing visual aids for blind
service users… Secondly, there are mitigation strategies that also come
in before the risky occurrence happens but whereas prevention strategies
aim to reduce the probability of it happening, mitigation strategies aim to
reduce the potential impact if it were to happen….Finally there is a coping
strategy at relieving the impact of a risky occurrence once it has happened
(Webb 2004, 66)

At present, preventive work in Russia is largely carried out according to the final
strategy mentioned above. This preventive strategy is also connected with empower-
ment. “Social work’s commitment to helping marginalized and impoverished people
empower themselves is as old as the occupation itself.” (Simon 1994, XIII). However,
risk regulation does not always have to be characterized as reactive, as is the case
with the coping strategy. It can also be preventive, as in the first and second risk
strategies identified above (Webb 2004, 67). This does pose a rather difficult task.
Rose notes:

The problem is to deploy actuarial classification of risk to identify and cont-

rol risky individuals to ascertain who can, and who cannot, be managed
within the open circuits of community control. (Rose 1991, 261)

In the current situation, empowering people by allowing them to assume the respon-
sibility for improving their lives through local decision-making may be a successful
strategy for the social governance of risk, and it may thus increase the efficiency of
social work. Webb stresses the other side of the connection between empowerment
and neo-liberalism:

Empowerment in social care is effectively the activation of the consumer

service user under the thin veneer of leftist rights language. Ultimately
empowerment is caught between neo-liberal strategies of individual au-
tonomy and choice and an ethical socialism that emphasizes the need for
responsibility in being able to make choices. (Webb,.57)
31 Empowerment as a Current Trend of Social Work in Russia

The process of empowerment is involved in the regulation and management of risk.

Social work can only be effective in a situation where the resources of the client and
the social service providers are being strengthened, which is the essence of empo-
werment. In Russia, as well as in other countries, risk management increasingly be-
comes a key technology. But this technology could not be effective without empowe-
ring individuals, groups, communities and organizations. The empowering approach
engages social workers in social change with the clients in their social environment,
which becomes a way to reduce risk and minimize harm.

E mpowering practice in Russian social work

If we return to our discussion on social work in Russia, it might be pointed out that
there is currently a lot of discussion about the need to implement empowering prac-
tices in social work. However, in reality, the use of such methods is still extremely li-
mited in Russia, and at present they have mainly been adopted by non-governmental
organizations. As for government organizations, there are four types of social service
organizations that provide mandatory social services in Russia. These are: (1) social
services centers for elderly people, (2) social services centers for people with disa-
bilities, (3) social services centers for families and children and (4) organizations of
social support for homeless people.

Empowering methods can be applied to all groups of clients, but they can provi-
de a particularly effective approach in social work helping disabled and vulnerab-
le groups to realize their rights as full members of society. And, in recent years in
Russia, empowering methods have been developing mainly in the social services
for people with disabilities and people with HIV (Borodkina 2008). But this is not
enough. It is necessary to develop empowering methods for families with children,
as well. Governmental centers for social support to families and children are being
created to assist families, children and individuals who find themselves in difficult
situations. The purpose of these centers is to help such clients by protecting their
legal rights and interests, and by assisting them to improve their social and econo-
mic status and psychological well-being. The tasks of social centers include moni-
toring the social and demographic situation and the level of socio-economic well-
being of families and children. The centers identify families and children in difficult
situations and in need of social support, and they provide either short term or long
term socio-economic, socio-medical, socio-psychological and educational services,
as well as other social services. The goal is to support families and individuals in
solving their problems. Also, since social centers should help the families to realize
their own capacity to overcome difficult situations, an empowering approach to wor-
king with families is relevant to their work and should be applied. In Russian prac-
tice, empowerment approach connected with families resources is in high demand.

All factors, both tangible and intangible, that have actual or potential positive impact
on a family’s well-being in the present or in the future, should be considered as the
family’s resources (Samoylova 2013, 30). A structured approach to the assessment
of family resources, based on a system-ecological paradigm, is implemented in R.
Parker’s method, currently used in the practice of social work (Framework for the
Assessment 2000).
 Empowerment as a Current Trend of Social Work in Russia 32

The assessment framework covers three groups of factors that characterize: (1) the
needs of the developing child, (2) the educational potential of parents and family, and
(3) environmental factors. The principles of prioritizing the child’s needs and conside-
ring the child’s best interest are used as a basis for the assessment. The estimated
factors include the conditions and indicators of child well-being. Positive ratings on
these factors lead to the conclusion that they are an actual resource, positively affec-
ting the child’s well-being. There is currently active discussion on the effectiveness
of social services and the social security system as a whole. On the one hand, this
stems from increasing government focus on sensible use of budget funds and cost
optimization, and on the other hand, from the need for more observable positive
change in the lives of the people who have received various forms of public services
and support. Direct economic support is insufficient and does not lead to a qualitative
change in the families’ situations. Therefore, there is a great demand for empowering
methods that can build up a family’s resources, improving the family’s capacity to
adapt and strengthening the family members’ self-motivation.

In practice, this means measures such as, for example, promoting employment, trai-
ning, organizing family affairs, legal education, and improving parental competence.
These types of support from the state help families to become more self-reliant and
independent, and to live without assistance from social services organizations in the
future.

The expansion of empowering social work practice requires specific professional

competence of social workers. To illustrate this point we would like to present some
of the results of a survey, designed to evaluate whether social service professionals
were familiar with means to activate their clients. This was one of the research objec-
tives in the 2011 project “Empowerment of Families with Children”, carried out in the
St. Petersburg and Leningrad regions1. The survey involved 80 social work profes-
sionals from governmental and municipal organizations that provide social services.
One of the questions was: “Are you aware of the appropriate methods of social work
aimed at enhancing and strengthening the client so as to improve his/her ability to
independently handle difficult situations?” Only 10% of respondents answered “Yes,
I am aware”. 75% of respondents said ”I am aware, but I feel I need additional know-
ledge and skills”, and 15% of respondents answered ”No, I am not aware”.

1
Project ”Empowerment of Families with Children” SE141,f South-East Finland –Russia ENPI CBC Pro-
gramThe main areas of activity are as follows: counseling, including issues of child placement in foster
families (adoption, guardianship, foster care); preparing families who wish to adopt a child; provi-
ding legal and psychological support to families who are experiencing difficulties in raising children;
improving the relationship between children and their adoptive or foster parents; assisting with the
preparation of documents required for adoption; assisting in finding employment; organizing leisure-
time activities for families with children; assisting in obtaining financial aid.
33 Empowerment as a Current Trend of Social Work in Russia

The majority of respondents expressed a feeling of lack of knowledge and skills. On

the question of whether they were aware of the concept of empowerment, only 36%
of respondents answered “yes”, and, of that, only 19% reported that they had learned
of empowerment from their professional training. 64% of respondents did not know
what empowerment meant. However, all the participants in this survey expressed the
need for further specialist training.

As mentioned above, within the Russian social security system, centers of social
support for families and children are one of the main types of social service orga-
nizations. Currently, the social workers in these centers deal with families with low
income, single-parent families, families with multiple children, orphans and children
without parental care, and young adults who have come out of institutions for or-
phans. As well as preventing child abandonment and placing children in orphanages,
social support for families in difficult situations is aimed at the prevention of child
neglect and physical or psychological abuse in the family.

However, despite the variety of services, in practice it is not common for social wor-
kers to strengthen the parents’ ability to care for their children by using methods that
enhance the resources of the family and its immediate environment. Empowerment
theory should become a ubiquitous, underlying current for social work with families.

Using empowering methods means that the client has to be supported both at the
personal and the structural level. Also, social workers should help strengthen the
client’s own resources. At the personal level, the clients need to see themselves
independent of the attitudes of the people around them, so that they may raise their
sense of self-esteem. At the structural level, there is concern for the creation of vario-
us self help groups and non-governmental organizations. Also, social service agen-
cies should be involved with the process of supporting citizens and creating recursive
(self supporting) networking systems.

C onclusion
Empowerment theory is changing the perspectives of contemporary social work
in Russia, and, undoubtedly, it will increase the efficiency of Russian social work.
Therefore, it is necessary to emphasize once again that modern, systematic social
work has to help clients, as much as possible, to use their own resources to create
solutions to their problems. The social worker should encourage the clients towards
preventive behavior which is consistent with their increasing personal responsibility
for risk as citizens. On the other hand, social work needs to promote the creation of
new networks between clients and resource systems. Social work needs to increase
efficiency between citizens and the resource systems, and, finally, it is necessary to
develop new resource systems that promote the prevention of social risks. Practi-
tioners face continual difficulty with both empowering their clients and empowering
themselves as workers. It is necessary to increase the competence of social workers
in using empowering methods, a competence imbued with critical understanding,
knowledge, and skills within an appropriate context of values.
 Empowerment as a Current Trend of Social Work in Russia 34

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38 Family policy in russia
CHAPTER I

Valentina Samoylova, Maritta Törrönen, Olga Borodkina

Family policy in Russia: problems in the

establishment process and new
challenges
Introduction

Processes of change and reconfiguration in social systems occur in all countries as

an adaptive response to new challenges. In Russia, the total crisis of the system in
the early 1990’s provided such a challenge and, in consequence, over the course of
two decades, a complex dynamic of restructuring in all areas vital to the family has
been observed, along with a process of elaboration of family policy.

What specific tasks and mechanisms become a priority in family policy naturally de-
pends on the availability of resources. However, first and foremost, such priorities
depend on how the desired results are perceived, on systems of mutual expectations
and on the nature of the relationship between state and family (social partnership,
protectionism / paternalism, government intervention in the family’s performance of
its functions).

The overall objective of family policy in Russia is to create an enabling political, so-
cial, cultural and economic environment for the everyday life and well-being of the
family and the realization of its basic social functions. In turn, the family is seen as the
basis of the stability of the society’s political system (Klimantova 2004, 21). The goal
of family policy, according to this definition, is the achievement of a balance between
the needs and capabilities of all the parties involved. The difficulties in establishing
modern family policy in Russia are due to the fact that recent changes have affected
a wide range of factors that are different in nature: the level of economic development
and the character of economic relations, the political system, the legal framework for
the functioning of the family, ideology, socio-cultural systems, structures and levels of
individual needs, etc. Clearly, the process of ”matching” and mutual adaptation, the
overall harmonization of social systems cannot be easy in this situation.

This article seeks to highlight the key factors that have influenced – and in many
ways still continue to influence – family policies in post-Soviet Russia, to trace the
dynamics of modern family policy in Russia over the past two decades, and to ana-
lyse existing approaches to social protection and social services for families. In order
to characterize the current social situation and the effectiveness of measures taken
by the state, statistics and empirical research are provided. In the Conclusions part
of the article, promising areas of development for family policy which correspond to
modern challenges are identified.
39 Family policy in russia

C itizens’ attitudes towards the state

During the years of Soviet government, certain attitudes typical of the era were
formed, and these attitudes became so entrenched and widespread in the population
that they came to be seen as attributes of national character. One of the characteristic
attitudes of the Soviet citizen was the expectation of care from the state, essentially
an attitude towards paternalism (Ermolenko 2000; Sitnova 2011; Samoylova 1996
et al.).

From the beginning, the Soviet state declared itself responsible for the well-being of
every family in the country. For seventy years, state policy in relation to the family
bore a markedly ”protective” character. During the 1920s and early 1930s, state po-
licy focused on helping urban female workers combine maternal duties with emplo-
yment in public production. From the second half of the 1930s and up to the 1970s,
particular attention was paid to the promotion of a high birthrate and large families,
goals connected with the demographic losses in the war years. In the 1970s and
1980s, the state focused its powers on overcoming a lack of resources in families
with children, on stimulating the birth rate, and on supporting parents in the raising
of their children (Darmodekhin 2008). The majority of legislative measures were di-
rected at the protection of maternity and childhood, the development of a system of
domestic provision, and the construction of nurseries and kindergartens. According
to the law, Soviet citizens could rely on free healthcare and education, and on being
provided with housing.

The welfare of the Soviet family was supported by the state through a package of
social benefits, albeit at a modest level. Such benefits were limited by a universal
deficit (of resources, goods and services), by the nature of economic relations under
socialism, and by the modest demands of citizens who did not have the opportunity to
compare their lives with the lives of people in other countries. Within the country, con-
ditions were more or less consistent across communities of one type (urban or rural).
In reality families experienced significant difficulties because policy was governed by
a residual principle of allocation of resources for social needs. By 1990, this had led
to families having fifteen types of benefit and concession connected with maternity,
the sum total of which did not represent a significant portion of family income.

The Soviet family relied almost entirely on the state to solve its problems and did not
possess the resources to take proactive measures to improve its welfare. To a sig-
nificant extent, policy was built on proscriptive and restrictive measures. The repro-
ductive interests of women had to conform to those of society, while the interests of
the father were never even considered, to the extent that in state policy fathers were
practically unrecognized as participants in family relations (Khasbulatova & Smirnova
2008). The predetermined nature of life prospects in the Soviet state did not require
the demonstration of initiative, and therefore the overwhelming majority of people had
a definite tendency to reproduce a similar way of life. Moreover, the Soviet history of
persecuting nonconformists had instilled in people a fear of demonstrating ambition
or expressing their opinion. Even those who possessed critical judgment were unwil-
ling to voice it or assert their rights, and on the whole this led to the predominance
 Family policy in russia 40

of passivity in the population. In this way, a complex of symptoms – including such

attitudes and personality traits as reliance on the guardianship of the state, depen-
dence, passivity, fear of punishment, the desire of the overwhelming majority to ”fit
in”, and consequent conformity – was a significant part of the personality of the Soviet
citizen. These characteristics negatively influenced the ability of people to adapt to
the new socio-economic conditions of life after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The persistence of the Russian people’s self-perception that they need the guardian-
ship of the state can be seen to this day. According to data from research conducted
throughout Russia in 2011 (1,600 respondents from 130 population centres in 45 re-
gions of the country), 75% of respondents agreed that ”the majority of people cannot
survive without the constant care and guardianship of the state”. Only 19% held the
opposite opinion. In 1990, when the first sampling was conducted, the figures were
62% and 21%, respectively. The distribution of responses has fluctuated between the
samplings, totalling seven, but it has not changed dramatically. Meanwhile, respon-
ses pertaining to attitudes towards recipients of state care showed that 47% of the
respondents expected universal care (”the state should ensure a reasonable level of
welfare for all citizens”), while 29% thought that ”the state’s duty is to provide help to
those who find themselves in difficult circumstances”, and 20% expected ”help to tho-
se who cannot take care of themselves” (Public Opinion 2011, 41, 64). Thus, about
half of all respondents were convinced that the main responsibility for the wellbeing
of citizens rests with the state.

The weakening of the regulatory role of the state in the conditions of a market
economy does not mean that the state has shed its liability for the social security
of citizens. Legally, this liability is enshrined in the Constitution. However, the new
liberal policies are reflected in the fact that the basic operating principle of the actual
social security system is to provide minimum social guarantees to ensure a minimum
standard of living as defined by the limitations of the economy. Those who are not
able to take care of themselves because of age, illness or other such factors receive
this at limits imposed by the financial capabilities of the state. For the main part of the
population – the working population – the social security system should provide gua-
rantees of employment, wages and health care. As far as the guarantee of payment
of labour is observed within the limits of the fixed minimum wage – which on January
1, 2013 was 76 per cent of the subsistence minimum (the equivalent of the poverty
level) – it is hardly possible to count on the attainment of well-being by relying on
these guarantees.

The processes of production and employment relations in a market economy are

based on inherent mechanisms and influences, including factors of business acti-
vity and preparation for stressful work in a competitive environment. These factors
are particularly important in the unpredictable and inconsistent conditions during the
formation of the market economy. Currently, there are difficulties with another basic
social guarantee – the protection of health, enabled via the right to free health care.
These difficulties are linked with the poor organization and quality of medical ser-
vices, but high levels of morbidity and mortality, particularly among men, are partly
due to the citizens’ dismissive attitudes towards their own health. Thus, at present
41 Family policy in russia

the implementation of social rights in Russia requires active personal participation,

and perceiving the state as a caring parent that will ensure the well-being of all its
children is non-adaptive. Such beliefs are not supported by reality in the changed
socio-economic conditions.

Experience of life in the post-Soviet period could not but have an effect on citizens’
attitudes. Faith in the care provided by the state gave way to a sharp drop in people’s
confidence in the administration. As a result, recent surveys show a considerable
difference in the respondents’ expectations concerning help from the state and their
assessment of their personal reality. In difficult life situations, 39% of people rely on
themselves alone, 56 % on relatives and friends, while only 2% rely on help from the
state, and a further 3% on organizations and enterprises (Public Opinion 2011, 66).
However, the majority see self-reliance, reliance on their own energies and resources,
as a necessity and not as a natural strategy presupposing the capability of organizing
one’s own life, making decisions independently and taking responsibility for them,
which in turn positively affects resilience and endurance of difficult life circumstances
(Kobasa & Maddi & Kahn 1982). It is telling that according to a 2012 survey, among
the factors preventing families from becoming more active and independent were
the passivity of families, consumer attitudes to life, and social fears, while among the
family resources that required strengthening were ambition, self-belief, recognition of
problems and desire to change situations. The survey targeted social service profes-
sionals (n=61), and was carried out in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Oblast within
the project “Empowerment of Families with Children”. Over 80% of the respondents
identified each of the factors mentioned above.

According to a study in the Chelyabinsk region, conducted in 2007-2008 (n = 1800),

in addition to the dichotomy of attitudes ”support from the state” versus ”focus on
ourselves, our own resources” a third, very important position has taken shape. In
a number of communities, 24.6 -31.1% of the respondents agreed with the option
”The state should help families to learn how to live independently, without support
(by promoting employment, training, family businesses, legal education, and so on)”
(Mustaeva 2009, 113). These kinds of expectations of government assistance are
much more constructive than the paternalistic attitudes that are still widespread in
Russian society. The state’s task is to develop the economic, legal, organizational
and informational mechanisms to encourage citizens to be active, and to support
their aspirations towards the self-sufficiency and economic independence of families.

F amily dysfunction as a result of the socioeconomic reforms of the 1990s

The beginning of reforms in the early 1990s led to a drop in the living standards
of most families, and downward professional mobility became a mass phenomenon
(Darmodekhin 2008). The rapid fall in real income for families created mass poverty,
and families with underage children typically found themselves in particularly difficult
situations. Up until the end of the 1990s, the living standards of Russian families
remained exceptionally low. In 2000, 42.3% of all Russians were officially living in
poverty, while among families with three children, the figure was 85%, and among fa-
milies with four children, it was 90%. Serious problems were caused by delays in the
 Family policy in russia 42

payment of wages in the public sector and industry, and also by decreases in the real
value of social guarantees provided by the state. While in 1991 the child allowance
for children from 1.5 to 6 years of age was equal to 25% of the subsistence wage,
in 1995 it amounted to only 13%, and by 1999 only 5.6% of the subsistence wage
(Klimantova 2001).

The spread of chronic poverty had an adverse effect on people’s health, and the life
expectancy of Russian citizens dropped significantly, especially for men, who had an
average life span of only 58 years. The birth rate also fell sharply, and instability of
marriage increased. The general divorce rate (the number of divorces per 100 marri-
ages) grew from 42.1 in 1989 to 69.9 in 2000. Uncertainty about the future gave rise
to psychological instability, contributing to a rise in alcoholism, domestic violence,
and social orphanhood. The number of children in state care (in children’s homes)
also rose accordingly, from 203.8 to 334.1 per 100 000 children in the 0-3 y age group
(P’yanov 2003). The parents’ focus on issues of survival led to a reduction in the edu-
cational potential of the family. Child neglect and homelessness became widespread,
and this led to a rise in delinquent behaviour among children and adolescents.

On the whole, extreme dysfunction was characteristic of the family institution during
this period. This affected the specific functions of the family, connected with the birth,
maintenance and upbringing of children, its non-specific functions – the family’s eco-
nomic, emotional, recreational and mental health enhancing functions – and also the
function of primary social control (Matskovskiy 1989). The state of these functions
defines the quality of the family environment from the point of view of child welfare,
but the same functions (plus the sexual-erotic function) also correspond to the needs
of parents: the educational function corresponding to motherhood and fatherhood,
the emotional function corresponding to the parents’ need for love and support, etc.

The acute problem of insufficient resources attracted the attention of the authorities,
and this concern was to some extent confirmed in the President’s annual messages.
In 2000, among the issues mentioned in the annual messages were the lack of tar-
geting of social benefits and concessions, the low level of child benefits, the practical
lack of free education and healthcare, and the limited access to these services for
people with low income. In 2002-2004, there was talk of the slow progress in eradica-
ting poverty: ”Poverty has only receded slightly and continues to torment 40 million”
(2002), ”poverty is receding exceedingly slowly, around 30 million still have incomes
lower than the subsistence wage. The majority of the impoverished in the country
are able-bodied people” (2003), ”for the majority of people, the risk of falling into the
poverty zone is extremely high” (2004).

According to experts at the Independent Institute of Social Policy, per capita income
in Russia had reached the pre-reform levels of 1991 by 2005, and it has continued
to rise ever since. This is seen as a positive result. However, unlike in Europe, whe-
re poverty is measured using a relative indicator – 60% of the average or median
income – the subsistence wage in the Russian Federation is established statutorily,
based on bureaucrats’ perception of the level of consumption that actually corres-
ponds to the level required for physical survival (Fedyukin & Shevyakov 2007, 27).
43 Family policy in russia

The material support provided to families by the state is not sufficient to significantly
affect their situation. Poor families receiving child benefits reach the level of the sub-
sistence wage and officially stop being poor, although in reality they continue to live
in poverty. According to a sample survey of household budgets from the years 2006-
2011, the proportion of households with children under the age of 16 has increased
from 48.8 to 59.7% of all poor households (RF State programme 2012). The highest
levels of risk and the most severe poverty are typically seen in families with multiple
children and in single-parent families. In 2010, the monthly child benefit for one child
varied from 70 rubles (1,8 euros) in Perm Krai to 1,000 rubles (25 euros) in Moscow
Oblast and Khabarovsk Krai. On average, the child benefit was 400 rubles (10 eu-
ros), or 7% of the subsistence wage (On the conditions for children in the Russian
Federation 2010).

Despite the fact that standards of living have risen in recent years – by 2012, the
number of Russians living below the poverty line had decreased to 12.5% – subsis-
tence and family finances remain issues of great concern for the majority of Russian
families with children. According to research data from Leningrad Oblast1 , 66.2% of
respondents who chose the option ”money is generally sufficient”, when assessing
their family income, also stated that ”a constrained financial situation” was a problem
that concerned their family. Furthermore, the family’s financial situation is – perhaps
unsurprisingly – considered the most pressing problem in families with lower income,
where ”money is only sufficient for day-to-day needs” or ”money is not always suf-
ficient for food and clothing”. These make up 40% of the total number of families
(Preventive work ... 2008, 29). Comparable data was obtained from research carried
out in the town of Pikalevo in Leningrad Oblast in 2012 (n=86), within the project
“Empowerment of Families with Children”. According to a survey of 1,200 people
conducted by the St. Petersburg Information and Analytical Centre in 2011, the level
of family income was a matter of concern, to some extent or other, to 86% of parents
surveyed. The proportion of people experiencing concern was higher than in 2008
(82%). For 33% of the respondents this problem was acute (Analytical report 2011).

The level of family income does not appear to be sufficient to relieve worries and
create confidence in financial security. When people are successfully coping with the
essential items of expenditure (food, clothing and utilities), they consider themselves
well-off. However, drawing a parallel to the current conception of ”shallow poverty”,
their prosperity can be defined as shallow, not allowing them to pay for comparatively
less essential services (extra education and leisure pursuits) or to afford more ac-
cessible and better quality medical services. Financial problems for families become
worse when housing conditions are poor (reality for a third of families surveyed in
this study). Families with children in Russia have a lower standard of living than most
other Russians, especially when families have a higher number of dependents: the
higher the number of children, the worse the financial situation of the family. The
family’s low resources affect its life as a whole. In lower income families, a broad
range of problems is evident, and their level is quite severe: The burden of domestic

1
The study was conducted within the project ”preventive work with families and children in the Russi-
an-Finnish-border region” (TACIS project 2006/132-630). The number of participants was 357.
 Family policy in russia 44

work is higher, children frequently have behavioural issues, leading to frequent disag-
reements between adults concerning their upbringing, and family relations in general
are more strained.

Because of their high workload, parents of low income families often relegate the
upbringing of children, as a function of the family, to the periphery of their attenti-
on. Another prominent feature is specific socio-cultural perceptions of the roles of
parents, according to which a good parent is one who ensures a child is ”well fed,
clothed and shod no worse than others, and well educated”. Material prosperity does
not guarantee the welfare of children. Neglect and abusive treatment of children is
not found only in the poorest families or where parents abuse alcohol. Parents com-
municate little with their children, and communication generally accompanies the
performance of daily duties, rather than emerging as something with inherent value.
Negative methods of control prevail over positive (Preventive work... 2008, 39).

When failings in family upbringing lead to problem behaviour in children and adoles-
cents, it is the representatives of state institutions (schools, social services, and the
police) that react in the overwhelming majority of cases. Educational interventions on
the part of the state are aimed at groups such as ”children in risk groups”, ”neglected
children”, ”maladjusted children”, ”educationally or socially neglected children”, ”de-
linquents”. The parents of these children are another target group.

Thus, family policy is conducted in a situation combining unfavourable circumstances

with defects of the family institution (with regard to specific functions of the family).
The low birth rate (as one of the causes of depopulation), poverty, neglect, and the
deviant behaviour of children and adolescents are examples of the challenges faced
in this situation. Rising incomes do not create immediate solutions to all the afore-
mentioned problems, as these problems are experienced in well-off families as well
as in poor ones. Respondents for whom ”money is generally sufficient” complain,
albeit less often, of ”maladjustment of their child” (26.5%), of ”disagreement between
adults concerning the raising of children” (41.2%), and that there is ”nowhere to go
to spend time as a family” (39.7%) (Preventive work… 2008, 33). The complexity
and multi-faceted nature of family problems determine the need to develop integra-
ted programmes of family support that adequately reflect the families’ needs and go
beyond the framework of strictly economic measures.

P olicy for supporting families with children in the 1990s

State policy concerning families and children in the Russian Federation in the
1990s was directed, first and foremost, at maintaining basic guarantees of provision
for their livelihoods, at developing various forms of financial support and protection
of the family from poverty (child support, tax breaks, and other concessions), and at
fighting child neglect and homelessness (Antropova 2007). In the period from 1993
to 2000, the issue of social protection of families and children was reflected in more
than 140 legislative and regulatory documents of the Russian Federation (Frolkin &
Mautaliev 2012). Terms of reference have been established through the legislative
process for the formation of family policy as an independent strand of social policy.
45 Family policy in russia

The Conception of State Family Policy was passed in 1993, and the new Family
Law Code (№273-FЗ of 29.12.95) in 1995. Orders of the President of the Russian
Federation were accepted ”Concerning the main directions of state social policy to
improve the conditions of children in the Russian Federation up until 2000” (National
plan of action in the interests of children) (№942 of 14.09.95) and ”Concerning the
main directions of state family policy” (№712 of 14.05.96). The latter document lent
family policy national status.

Structures were created at a national level to support family policy and the family
institution. In 1991, two organizations were founded to provide a resource base for
family policy: The Scientific Research Institute of the Family and the Republican Fund
for Support of the Family. From 1991 onwards higher education institutions have
been offering training on family policy to professionals, with the number of such insti-
tutions reaching 248 by the year 2012. Work with families is one of the main sectors
of activity in social services. From 1995, when the current law on social services
was passed, the social service system became the subject of intensive development.
Thus, in 1993 there were 107 establishments for children in difficult life situations
and families with children, while by the beginning of the 2000s such establishments
numbered 2444 (Social work in the III millennium 2001, 8).

Under the difficult conditions at the acute phase of the crisis, family policy was mostly
aimed at social protection, equated with financial help for families with children – be-
nefits, allowances and concessions. However, this policy did not deliver the expected
results in overcoming the lack of resources in families with children. Funds were
allocated on the categorical principle (for all families), i.e. they were, in effect, spread
equally and very thinly, and payments were symbolic in character. In 1998, the prin-
ciple of payment on the basis of need was introduced, and benefits for children from
1.5 to 18 years of age were no longer paid to families with income higher than the
subsistence wage. However, informational, organizational and psychological barriers
in ”targeting” led to a situation where for example in 2003, according to data from the
Institute of Social Policy, the poorest 20% of the population received only 10% of the
total sum of social outlay, and in 2005 only 35% of the recipients of child benefits and
housing subsidies were poor (Fedyukin & Shevyakov 2007, 27).

In the previous section we have already mentioned the negative phenomena in the
lives of Russian families in the 1990s. These resulted from a sharp decline in living
standards. It seemed plausible that the situation could be corrected by providing fa-
milies with economic support, but the potential of economic support to motivate fami-
lies to improve their life situations proved low. On the contrary, economic assistance
contributed to the preservation of a welfare mentality in certain families (the so-called
“families at social risk”).

Intensive development of the infrastructure of social work was the appropriate respon-
se to the need for external assistance that was evident among children and families
with children. The families in question are the ones where the problematic situations
(neglect, parents’ alcohol abuse, deviant behaviour of children and adolescents, etc.)
have already arisen and become ingrained. Concepts such as ”families in difficult life
 Family policy in russia 46

situations”, ”children in socially dangerous situations” were fixed in the legislation.

At the same time, families that were experiencing difficulties but were well-off by the
standards of the law could not rely on help from the state, or on receiving attention
from the social services. In conclusion, among the causes that led to crisis in the vital
functions of the family in the period 1999-2000, the inefficacy of social policy adopted
by the government stands out. Economic support for families was needed, but the
low level and the faulty mechanisms for delivering that support did not allow the state
to meet the goal of providing an acceptable standard of living and social protection
for the families. The development of proactive, differentiated forms of social support
for families was weak. Such forms of support should mobilize the internal potential of
the families, and they should be based on assessments of the families’ varied needs,
seen in relation to all of their expected functions.

S cientific and public discussion on issues of family policy

Works devoted to the analysis of family policy as a section of social policy began
to appear in Russia in the 1980s. The most significant contributions were made by
writers such as A. I. Antonov, A. G. Vishnevskiy, S. I. Golod, T. A. Gurko, S. V. Darmo-
dekhin, V. V. Elizarov, G. I. Klimantova, V. M. Medkov, M. S. Matskovskiy. The efforts
of scientists have focused on the development of methodological foundations for
family policy. Among the experts, there are radical differences in the interpretations
of the changes that took place in the life of the Russian family at the end of the 20th
century and the beginning of the 21st. So far, two main approaches have arisen –
the “crisis approach” and the “modernization approach” – and these define the basic
methodological foundations of family policy. Adherents to the crisis approach see the
deterioration of the socio-cultural norms of large families and family life as a negative
development. Family policy, according to this approach, should be aimed at strengt-
hening the family as a social institution, at the resurrection of family life, and at the
restitution to the family of its inherent social functions (Antonov& Sorokin 2000).

In contrast, the demographer Vishnevskiy believes that the transformation of the fa-
mily occurs within the framework of a process of modernization. He claims that the
traditional family model is being replaced by a contemporary family model, and that
in general, this has a positive effect. Adherents to the concept of modernization note
positive changes in family relations such as the move from the patriarchal family, with
the dominant position of the man and the dependence of the women and children,
to an egalitarian family. In the latter, men and women have equal rights and opportu-
nities, and build their relationships on the principles of partnership. Another change
considered positive is the move from traditional unregulated reproduction, and giving
birth to multiple children, to conscious parenthood and choice regarding the number
of children (Vishnevskiy 2007; Mitrokhin 2003). According to Darmodekhin (2001),
the historic processes of transformation in the family are interwoven with problems
caused by social and economic reforms in Russian society, reflected in the lives of
families.

In the opinion of Klimantova (2004), the concept of modernization provides a more

objective assessment of the currently occurring changes than the crisis approach.
47 Family policy in russia

However, the process of modernization is experienced as extremely painful, and it

creates a need to increase the role of the state in supporting the family. In the con-
ceptual framework of modernization of the family, the emphasis is placed on the
demands of personal self-realization of the family members, and the rights and free-
doms of individuals. These ideas follow the European model of the social state, in
which the socialized and socially responsible individual is seen as the basic unit.
However, the increased importance of individual rights and freedoms leads to the st-
rengthening of individualism as a principle of social behaviour and actions, also within
the framework of the family. In the opinion of Buttaeva (2010), these principles stimu-
late the development of a consumerist lifestyle and distort the foundation of people’s
assessments of the social value and significance of the family, processes which will
unavoidably be reflected negatively in the rates of marriage, birth, and divorce, and
in human relationships in general.

At present, the scope of opinion concerning the condition of the family institution
and its prospects runs from the traditional to the neoliberal. The Russian Orthodox
Church is an extreme proponent of traditional views, insisting most forcefully on the
priority of the family over the rights and interests of the individual. The proponents of
neoliberalism insist on individual freedom but sometimes employ barely appropriate
economic constructs such as the investment of personal time and emotion in parent-
hood. They tend to ignore the socio-cultural characteristics of the Russian society.

During the process of societal transformation in Russia, values such as personal

autonomy, the realization of personal resources, and the democratization of the in-
teraction between individuals and society have gained particular significance. No-
netheless, the value of family and family life remains very high for Russian citizens.
Numerous surveys conducted among Russian citizens of different ages, including the
younger age groups, bear witness to how highly family life is rated (e.g. Bashkirova
2010; Semenov 2012). One explanation cites Russian mentality, which is characteri-
zed by traditional values and attitudes with regard to children and parenthood; this
mentality is seen as the reason why the strengthening of individualist values has not
led to a devaluation of other values (P’yanov 2003). Despite the novelty and variety
of contemporary lifestyle alternatives, which extend to the sphere of the family as
well as other areas of life, the normative family cycle is one of the most unchanging
constants that support the stability of a society. As Solodnikov remarks (2007, 349),
the durability and regularity of the functioning of this mechanism within society, and
its predictable cycle, are seen as self-evident and provide the society with a sense
of social continuity.

We believe that the needs for love, for union with a loved one, for caring for another,
and for parenthood are natural to a person, just like the need for creative and pro-
fessional self-realization. Combinations of these factors conform to perceptions of
personal development, an observation that has been extensively studied and discus-
sed in psychological research. The wide variety of ways people can balance these
elements does include examples of extreme individualism, but these are exceptions
rather than the rule. We can agree with Buttaeva (2010) that the development of
Russian society today would be impossible without the maintenance of the adaptive
 Family policy in russia 48

resources of the family. At the basis of this effort lies the balance between the tradi-
tionalist foundations and the modernist striving to realize individuality and autonomy
of personal behaviour within the family and beyond its limits.

Our position in relation to the ”family discussion” is that family policy, like social policy
as a whole, should facilitate the conciliation of the interests of different social groups.
Also, family policy should facilitate the development of a balanced approach that
takes into account the differences of worldview positions that appear in ordinary and
scientific consciousness. However, for this kind of family policy to be fully effective,
it must reflect the main tendencies in the palette of opinions and the real needs of
families – adults and children – as well as the strategic interests of the state.

A different perspective on family policy comes from viewing the rights of the individual
and the family as subjects and objects. The overwhelming majority of state support
measures target individuals, while the interests of the family as a whole and the po-
tential of the family system are not sufficiently considered. In this respect, there is a
contradiction between the declarations of support for the family institution and family
values, the autonomy and self-reliance of families, and the lack of real social status
and rights that would enable the family to function independently. We can agree with
Darmodehin (2001) that, at the moment, the potential of the family system is not fully
realized and the role of the family as both object and subject of family policy should
be enhanced.

The creation of a model of family policy that is optimal for Russia is an extremely dif-
ficult challenge, and drawing upon experiences from other countries will help to solve
the problems. However, the attempts to adapt existing models encounter hurdles
along the way. Using the well-known classification of western models of family policy
by Esping-Andersen (1990) and Gauthier (1996), we consider the possibility of app-
lying each type in Russia.

Currently, the primary interest of the state is increasing the birth rate. This is a theme
that runs like a vital thread through government announcements and has manifested
in the adoption of the strategy of demographic development. Artyukhov (2002,110)
has expressed the opinion that each family has the right to freedom of choice in
deciding the desired number of children, just as the Russian state has the right to
take protectionist measures in relation to a particular type of family if the worsening
demographic situation require this. As the country faces the threat of depopulation,
the state’s interests lie primarily in increasing the birth rate, and consequently extra
social and economic support forms for families are focused on stimulating populati-
on growth (one-time benefits for the birth of a child, ”Maternity Capital”, etc.), while
state-of-the-art medical support for pregnant women and new-born babies is being
developed. However, with the birth of a child, the family falls into an unfavourable
financial situation, and the level of support the families receive to raise the children
and to provide for them in the long term is insufficient, making family policy one-sided
and far removed from the pro-natalist model.
49 Family policy in russia

According to the ”pro-traditional” model of family policy, the main task is to maintain a
family consisting of a male breadwinner and a female housewife, the latter provided
with lengthy maternity leave while preserving the option of returning to the workplace.
This model is actually focused on the reproduction of traditional gender roles, and
could find enthusiastic support among a significant number of Russians. According to
the Russian part of the research programme ”European values”2 carried out in 2008
(n=2,500), paid employment is considered to be a forced necessity for women rather
than a true vocation. According to 80% of respondents, the vocation for women is
home and children. At the same time, only a working woman (according to 71% in
2008 and 63% in 1999) is considered truly independent. About 80% of respondents
believe that both husband and wife should contribute to the family budget, and about
the same 80% believe that fathers are no worse than mothers in providing care for
their children (Bashkirova 2010, 143-144). In other words, the majority of respon-
dents do not tend to think that men and women should be allocated fixed roles.
Overall, in our view, this shows the openness of Russian citizens to a wide variety of
options in the development of their life scenarios.

According to a survey of 587 adolescents (14-17 years of age) in St. Petersburg in

2008, the patriarchal model of family life is considered preferable by 15.7 %, while
54.3 % prefer a child-centered model, with parents sharing rights and responsibilities
equally, and 13.1 % prefer a marital or egalitarian model (Bezrukova 2008, 277).
Thus, it appears quite probable that the ”pro-traditional” model does not agree with
the general trends in the preferences of Russian citizens for models of family life, nor
with the demands of the economic development of a society based on the utilization
of the labour resources of both sexes.

The ”pro-egalitarian” model of family policy emphasizes the rights of the individual,
and involves the creation of structural conditions that allow women and men equal
opportuni-ties to combine family and professional roles, as well as the provision of a
system of high standard non-parental care for children.

The strengthening of the institution of fatherhood should be counted as one of the

positive changes at the legislative level and in the daily lives of families, although it is
still the woman that mainly bears the responsibility for household and children. The
pro-egalitarian approach is an integral part of the policy of equality of all citizens, the
typical ”social-democratic model” (according to Espin-Andersen). The purpose of this
policy, implemented in Scandinavian countries, is the reduction of social risks and the
promotion of a high standard of living for the population as a whole. These goals are
pursued through equality of social security and a high level of pensions and social
benefits.

2
“European values” is a large-scale wave study concerning the basic value orientation of Europeans, in-
cluding attitudes towards family, work, politics, and society in general. This study has been conducted
in Europe once every 9 years since 1981. In its fourth and most recent wave, which took place in 2008,
46 countries took part. A standardized questionnaire is used for the survey, adapted to the realities of
each country. Russia joined ”European values” in 1990.
 Family policy in russia 50

It can be assumed that the social-democratic model would be attractive for most Rus-
sian citizens as a concept of welfare and equality. In reality, its inbuilt mechanisms
of redistribution and its ”expensiveness” virtually eliminate any chance of it being
employed in Russia in the near future.

The characteristic features evident in the social policy of Russia most clearly resemb-
le the ”liberal model” (according to Espin-Andersen’s classification) and the model
of family policy based on the principle of non-interference by the state in family life
(Gauthier’s classification). The responsibility for the family’s welfare lies complete-
ly with the parents, and measures of state support are only applied to families in
significant financial difficulties. Regional family benefits are paid after an assess-
ment of need, and moreover, the level of such benefits is not high. However, unlike
in some countries where the principle of self-sufficiency is accompanied by highly
developed mechanisms such as support for family businesses, support for family
housing construction and development of long-term credit facilities, in Russia the-
se mechanisms are only beginning to appear, as is the population’s psychological
readiness to live in a market economy. It is obvious that the responsibility for social
risks and their consequences cannot be laid on the family without the provision of le-
vers and mechanisms that allow the family to fulfil that responsibility. Above all, such
mechanism should include the opportunity to obtain good quality services for the care
of children, flexible employment for mothers, and childcare benefits.

A review of the existing models shows that even though none of them are entirely
suitable for the conditions of modern Russia, each model has features that are sig-
nificant in terms of the goals of Russian family policy: stimulation of the birth rate
through comprehensive support of families with children, supporting the perception of
family, parenting, and children as important in the value structures of young people,
creating conditions for the implementation of equal social rights for women and men,
reconciling parental and professional roles, and encouraging responsible, pro-active
attitudes towards life management among citizens.

D evelopment of family policy in the 21st century

The main legislative initiatives since the year 2000 have been made in connecti-
on with the adoption of the ”Concept of demographic policy in the period until 2035”
(Decree № 1351 of 09.10.2007) and the Federal Law ”On additional measures of
state support for families with children” (№ 256-FЗ of 29.12.2006). The latter is the
so-called ”Law on Maternity (family) Capital”, the aim of which is also to stimulate the
birth rate. A further important innovation is being introduced from the beginning of
2013 in 53 regions where the value of the cumulative birth rate is lower than the ove-
rall rate in Russia. New measures of social support will be initiated that will supple-
ment the existing system of payments to mothers at the birth of each child. Families
will receive additional benefits for the third child born to the family, an arrangement
applying to children born after January 1st 2013. Making families with three children
the norm in Russia was, in fact, one of the aims stated in the President’s Yearly
Address to the Federal Assembly in 2013.
51 Family policy in russia

At the beginning of the 21st century, the government declared its social policy strate-
gy as a transition from the paternalist model of the Soviet period to a “subsidiary sta-
te” model. Basic social services – education and health care – were declared free and
social support for families became more focused on a basis of needs assessment.
State support measures for the family can be provisionally divided into three cate-
gories: direct financial assistance in connection with the birth and raising of children
(presented in the form of state cash benefits, compensatory payments, funds for the
maintenance of children in foster families, and social pensions3); in-kind aid (in-kind
payments in the form of free food and free medicine); and concessions and subsidies
(Antropova 2007).

There have also been changes in the goals of family policy. Since 2007, the regula-
tory norms of the 1995 Family Law code have taken real effect, and as a result the
recipients of social support are now not only mothers but fathers as well. Both parents
now bear equal responsibility for their children.

There are more opportunities than before for regional administration to choose the
forms and means of family support, taking into consideration the particular demo-
graphic and ethnic characteristics of each territory. Regional policy has begun to
develop, which has entailed the development of legal, financial, organizational, in-
formation and professional mechanisms for its delivery (Klimantova & Rostovska-
ya 2008). In practically all regions of Russia, programmes have been adopted that
aim to improve the security of maternity, to develop leisure activities for families and
children and to promote integration of handicapped children, among other things.
These aims are directly linked to the interests of the family.

Although the interventions in these programmes are generally aimed at supporting

socially vulnerable families in acute need, there is also a noticeable tendency to-
wards expanding the range of family problems to be covered. Consequently, there is
a need for a more differentiated approach to the difficult life situations of families with
children, and for the development of new forms of social services.

3
Social pension - this is a fundamentally new institution in the Russian pension legislation. The main
purpose of the introduction of the joint venture - providing a guaranteed national minimum cash
assistance to persons who have not acquired the right to a retirement pension due to their lack of a
history of paid employment. Social pensions are granted without conditions with regard to emplo-
yment history and paid in full, deducing only current earnings. Social pensions are meant for citizens
who do not have the right to receive a pension on any other (employment related) basis, or granted
instead of the retirement pension. The categories of persons who can can be granted this type of
pension: People with disabilities, including congenital and childhood-onset disabilities; children with
disabilities; children under the age of 18 who have lost one or both parents; citizens belonging to
certain small ethnic groups in the North of Russia, under the age of 55 and 50 years (men and women,
respectively); persons over the age of 65 and 60 years (men and women, respectively) who are not
eligible for a retirement pension as defined by the Federal Law ”On labor pensions in the Russian
Federation”, dated 17.12.2001.
 Family policy in russia 52

A positive aspect of this process is the search for alternatives to paternalism. Since
2010, experiments have been conducted in 17 regions of the Russian Federation
involving the provision of state social assistance to low-income families and low-
income citizens living alone. In exchange for increased financial assistance - 20,000
rubles (500 euro) and more - and services, recipients have reciprocated by under-
taking certain responsibilities. They have committed themselves to working towards
realizing their employment potential more fully, strengthening their social responsibili-
ty, and reducing their psychological dependence on welfare. More than five thousand
families have participated in this experiment, and the majority of them were able to
increase their earned income. From 1 January 2013, the contract on obligations of
the parties - «social contract» - is mandatory under the law on social assistance.

In the last 10 years, the infrastructure of social services for families has expanded
even further through the establishment of centres of social support and centres of
psychological and pedagogical support for families and children, centres of social
services for the population, rehabilitation centres for the handicapped, crisis centres,
and other similar service providers. In 2010, the overall number of such organizations
was 3,188 (On the condition of children… 2010). Social services now provide support
in solving a wide range of situations, including social, psychological, pedagogical,
legal, medical, and other family-related problems.

At the same time, the work of social services as implementers of family policy invol-
ves many legal, organizational and psychological hurdles. These include the lack of
professionally trained specialists and the predominance of linear administrative struc-
tures over networks. These lead to a lack of integration between specialists, strict
boundaries between organizations, unfounded norms for the provision of services,
and an orientation on quantitative indicators for the efficacy of social support to the
family (Gerasimova& Chernyaeva 2011). The ambivalence of the professional con-
sciousness of social workers should also be mentioned. Being client-oriented does
not necessarily entail acceptance of the client as a partner with equal rights, and this
discrepancy is exacerbated by traditional directorial working methods (Zolotareva &
Miningalieva 2001). According to our research in the social services in St. Petersburg
and Leningrad Oblast (2012), alternative methods such as motivational techniques,
group work and networks are rarely used. Despite the great efforts made by emplo-
yees of the social services, the situation is not changing radically, and similarly pessi-
mistic evaluations were voiced in the course of our work: ”Unfortunately, the number
of families in difficult life situations is not decreasing” (Preventive work …2008:10).
As a rule, work with families begins when unfortunate situations have already arisen,
become established, and at times, become ingrained.

N ew challenges for family policy

The State Programme of the Russian Federation ”Social support for citizens
until 2020” (Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation № 2553-r of
27.12.2012) identified the following major objectives: Reducing poverty among fa-
milies with children; reducing family problems, homelessness and neglect, and child
53 Family policy in russia

abandonment (expected outcome: by 2020, children left without parental care are
predominantly placed in family-based care); boosting the birth rate; raising the level
of social services for children with disabilities; providing for the recreation and health
of children, including children in difficult situations. While the last two goals may be
uncontroversial and fully meet specific demands expressed by families, there is no
such certainty regarding the other goals. As these objectives are not new, it is not only
important to consider what concrete results can be expected, but what the means of
achieving results might be, as well.

The strategic approach of the state in overcoming poverty is manifested in the fact
that family policy is largely identified with methods of direct economic support. Howe-
ver, the levels of state benefits and the criteria for receiving them still prompt more
criticism than expressions of satisfaction from citizens. The intensification of demo-
graphic policy by the state is a consequence of the problem of depopulation, and in
many ways it is considered to be a manifestation of concern for the family. However,
short-term measures of predominantly financial assistance do not affect the well-
being of families in the long term. The aim of economic support should be to cover
the expenses caused by the birth of a child and the further care of the child; in other
words, economic support should create conditions that prevent situations where child
maintenance becomes too great a financial burden for the family, putting the family on
the brink of disaster. ”Poverty reduction” means that there will be fewer families with
income below the poverty level, but that does not mean that the welfare of families
will be greatly improved. Poverty reduction can be expected to land an even greater
number of families in the category of low-income families with on-going acute finan-
cial problems. The comparatively high level of poverty among families with children
demonstrates that the implementation of this strategy requires adjustment both in
terms of the level of support and in terms of concrete interventions.

The state’s rejection of paternalism in relation to the family has not been accompanied
by the creation of real opportunities for families to be self-sufficient in an environment
dictated by market forces. To this day, many problems encountered in the transition
period (involving privatization, taxation, family businesses, provision of credit, etc.)
have not been resolved with regard to families (Darmodehin 2008). For the state,
the most urgent task at hand is to develop conditions that allow the self-sufficiency of
families based on labour. This can be achieved by measures such as promoting the
development of small family businesses and self-employment, developing program-
mes for vocational training, and providing retraining and skills development for wo-
men who are planning to return to work after caring for children under three at home.

In our view, it would be better to focus on improving welfare and quality of life for
all families rather than on reducing poverty. As discussed above, concerns about
financial problems are caused not only by insufficient income, but also by the need
to pay for services (including those that by law should be free). Therefore, assistance
to families is directly linked to the development of the infrastructure and the quality of
services. In response to the question ”What kind of support do you think is the most
important and useful for your family?”, 49.5% of St. Petersburg parents indicated
improvement of their financial situation, and 42.0% mentioned assistance in the care,
 Family policy in russia 54

supervision and development of their children (health care, quality education, cultural
activities, better care in kindergartens, etc.) (Analytical report 2011). The actual social
well-being of families depends on the state of all spheres of life relevant to the family
– health care, education, employment, leisure, etc. – as do their reproductive plans.
If the right conditions exist for families with children, there is no need to implement
special demographic policy – as Finnish experience proves.

It is only natural that one of the objectives of the support programme for families until
2020 is to reduce family problems, homelessness, neglect, and child abandonment.
The subject of abandonment was recently actively discussed in connection with inter-
national adoptions of Russian children, so the expected result by 2020 is a predomi-
nance of family-based care for children left without parental care. At the same time,
developing the practice of family care for orphans is unlikely to improve the well-being
of families. In fact, the stated goal suggests implicit recognition that serious problems
in families are expected to remain an acute issue for some time.

As we have already noted, family policy has generally been reduced to protecting fa-
milies that are economically deprived or close to deprivation from further hardship. In
other words, it is directed at fighting the consequences and not the causes of troubles
that can affect all families, for example in a time of any ordinary family crisis. Stra-
tegically, it would be better to prevent problems rather than work on reducing their
effects. In social work this would mean placing more emphasis on early detection,
and shifting focus from the effects of family problems to the prevention of their causes
and the promotion of the health of the family (see Törrönen & Hurtig 2008; Robinson
& Parker 2008; Samoylova 2008; Borodkina & Samoylova 2011 et al.).

The social competence of each person, and the family as a whole, is of prime im-
portance in contemporary conditions. Therefore, it is essential to have a system that
supports the development of social competence at different stages of life (Samoylova
2010; 2012). Improving the pedagogical and psychological competence of parents is
one of the key elements in preventive measures targeting family problems and ina-
dequate childrearing, problems that typically lead to consequences which the social
services have to deal with. One means of achieving results could be the involvement
of young families in preventive programmes with the aim of shaping conscious pa-
renthood, of raising the level of social competence, and of developing the skills to
build successful family relationships. These forms of working with families are attrac-
tive not only as preventive measures against family misfortune, but also as a means
of creating a positive model of the family (Bezrukova 2012).

Currently, the family is placed in a position where it is expected to be responsible

for the financial, social and psychological condition of its members. The declared
principle of the autonomy of the family also assumes increased independence, self-
sufficiency, and initiative of the family in solving their problems, but this will not hap-
pen automatically. The task of the state is to help the family become an active and
fully competent subject. For this to happen, family policy should include mechanisms
for citizen’s participation in the preparation of management decisions in the field of
family policy, in the development of projects and social infrastructure at all levels, in
55 Family policy in russia

the implementation of social control, and in direct civil participation. At the administra-
tive level closest to people’s daily lives, the municipal level, this potential is still un-
derutilized. The value of municipalities in supporting the self-organization of families
coincides with the objective of activating citizens, as the family can most actively and
genuinely be a subject in the area where it lives.

Not only the goals of family policy but also the logistics of implementing it need up-
dating. There is a lack of systematic approach to solving the problems of families
with children, a lack reflected in, among other things, the poor inter-organizational
collaboration in developing and implementing family policy, the incomplete allocation
of responsibility for family policy between town, district and municipal levels, and the
fragmentary nature of corporate and municipal family policy (Bezrukova & Samoylo-
va & Ivashkina & Kurganova 2012). Regular monitoring of the situations of families
is not carried out, nor is there a system in place to evaluate the efficacy of policy
outcome by using indicators that reflect positive changes in the everyday lives and
social well-being of families.

The strategic guidelines of social policy for families are produced at the federal level,
but in the last decade there has been a trend towards decentralization of family policy
and increasing involvement by regional administration. This concerns not only the
implementation of specific programmes, but also the development of family policy
concepts based on scientific analysis of the situation of families in the region, and the
identification of key principles, directions and performance indicators. This permits a
more active ”promotion” of approaches suggested by representatives of universities,
NGOs, and expert practitioners. Thus, the concept of family policy adopted by the
city government in St. Petersburg for the years 2012-2022 (Concept 2012) contains
principles that were not present in the previous concept of 2007: state support for the
family as a whole, based on a complex assessment of resources which encompas-
ses all aspects of the family’s activity; prioritization of the interests of children in the
family, including their right to safety, full development, and education; prioritization
of the right of the child to live and be raised in a family, including the preservation or
restitution of families through the provision of specific, targeted support; equal rights
for men and women, and structured support for the accommodation of parental and
professional roles based on the principle of equal participation; finding the maximum
”fit” between implemented policy and people’s everyday lives, including geographic
access and development of a social infrastructure that takes into consideration the
needs of local residents and the promotion of family work at the municipal level, in-
tegrating the family into local society; preventive implementation of family policy with
a multi-level system of preventive measures and an emphasis on primary prevention,
developing areas of work that anticipate the types of problems experienced by most
families and increase the probability of maintaining family welfare without resorting
to external intervention.

There are plans to introduce into the current system new services for families with
reduced resources that are coping with their difficulties independently but at risk of
landing in a crisis. Also, there are plans to develop services to build parental com-
petence and to prevent problems in times of crisis in the family cycle, to develop a
 Family policy in russia 56

system of comprehensive early support for families with young children, to create a
network of child and family counselling and conflict-resolution services, to develop
programmes to support paternity (father-school, clubs for single fathers, etc.), and
to strengthen cooperation between the family, kindergarten, school, and other orga-
nizations.

The strategic aim of family policy in St. Petersburg is to achieve family well-being as a
precondition to the well-being of every person and the society as a whole. The basis
of the strategy lies in supporting family values and family lifestyle, reinforcing the in-
ternal and external resources of the family and its ability to perform its main functions,
reinforcing the role of the family as an equally participant of social relations, and as-
sisting all types of families in the process of social integration (Concept… 2012). The
well-being of the family (financial, social, psychological), as a desired characteristic
of its situation and as a precondition to its ability to maintain itself, permits each indi-
vidual and the family as a whole to fulfil their maximum potential in all stages of family
life. It is obvious that coordinating the interests of the family and the state is possible,
and can be achieved through expansion of family policy to include support forms that
accommodate the varied needs of families more fully than before.

The primary directions for family policy in St. Petersburg are overcoming poverty and
improving the level of well-being for families with children, assisting in the improve-
ment of housing conditions, improving the promotion of healthy living and disease
prevention, increasing the parental and social competence of families with children,
increasing the availability and quality of social services, developing new services that
meet the demands and strengthen the resources of different types of families, de-
veloping networks of social support for families with children in the local community,
activating the family as a social subject .

Family policy has to be aimed at creating qualitative change in the situation of the fa-
mily. This requires both the improvement of traditional forms of support for the family
and the development of innovative approaches. One of the key approaches being
currently introduced is empowerment of families. This is reflected in the “Concept of
family policy for St. Petersburg” for the years 2012-2022. Social services, as agents
of a family policy that meets today’s challenges, have a leading role in strengthe-
ning the process of engendering initiative at the individual and group levels. The
goal of empowerment-based practice with families is to help them to strengthen their
resources, thus opening new opportunities to achieve their goals and to improve
well-being in the family. Promoting empowerment-based practice in social work has
been the aim of the Finnish-Russian project ”Empowerment of families with children”,
carried out in St. Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast, corresponding excellently to the
demands of the current situation.

S ummary and conclusions

The material presented in this article reflects the difficulties in the process of for-
ming family policy in post-Soviet Russia. There are multiple conditional factors in the
relationship between family and state – psychological, economic, socio-cultural and
57 Family policy in russia

political factors, to name a few – and these factors interact in complex ways. Paterna-
lism, as the approach adopted by the state – combining care, responsibility and total
control in relation to citizens – has become a thing of the past. Despite the conviction
which many still hold that the state is obliged to provide a reasonable standard of
living, current reality forces people to assume responsibility for themselves and their
loved ones independently. In this situation, the alternative to paternalistic care should
be in creating conditions that allow families to support themselves by working. It is the
state’s task to develop these conditions. Family policy should include measures that
can improve the adaptive potential of the family, based both on external support and
on the activation and/or development of the family’s own internal resources. Also, in-
terventions should be provided to raise social competence in resolving various prob-
lems, including the achievement of financial well-being, health care, childrearing, and
so forth.

State family policy in contemporary Russia is not free of inadequacies and cont-
radictions. It is hampered by poorly conceived organizational mechanisms, bure-
aucracy, and lack of expertise among administrators. Family policy is the subject of
well-founded criticism which points out its declarative nature, the incompleteness of
the legislative foundations, the lack of resources, and the debate over priorities, as
well as other issues. At the same time, there is a definite tendency on the part of
the state to increase its attention towards families and children. The key question is
whether or not the priorities of families and the state coincide. It is important to not
only improve whatever general indicators are available (including, for example, birth
rates), but to consider the real needs of the people with great care, to give thought
to the interests of specific types of families, to appreciate the significance of attitudes
towards children, and to make more effective efforts to improve the physical and
psychological health of children. The social well-being of families should mean that
adults experience fewer difficulties in fulfilling their family duties and are able to enjoy
married life and parenthood more. The coincidence of interests is also important in
the mechanisms of family policy, which should not only provide the more advanced
measures of direct support for the family in certain situations, but also help to create
the social conditions in which families are able to successfully plan and achieve their
life goals. Ideally, their success would be based on choice, responsibility, initiative,
self-confidence and the possibility to be supported by the state in their self-motivated
action. The actual social well-being of the family, and the successful family planning,
depend on the state of all the fields that are relevant to it – health care, education,
employment, social security and leisure, to name a few. In all the fields that family
policy touches upon, it should be designed to promote the coordination of the work of
social institutions with the best interests of the family in mind.

From a policy oriented mainly on families in difficult life situations, in the social risk
zone, and in need of intervention from the state, it is necessary to move to a policy of
family well-being, developing those services and forms of support that are essential
for all families (in the fields of employment, education, leisure, etc.). In social work,
it is high time to reinforce approaches that focus on early recognition of problems in
families, implementing preventive measures to deal with the underlying causes. This
should replace the earlier emphasis on the consequences of family misfortune.
 Family policy in russia 58

A number of current trends reflect emerging qualitative features in family policy. The-
se include the decentralization of family policy and the resulting improvements in con-
sidering local circumstances and the needs of local populations in the development
of social services, the strengthening of the legal framework of equal parenting, and
the implementation of «the social contract» in connection with supporting low-income
families. The tendency to decentralization in family policy formation facilitates a more
complete consideration of regional specifics and better targeting of adopted measu-
res. The municipal level is the closest to people’s everyday lives, and its potential has
not yet been fully realized. Because the family can be the most active and genuine
subject in the locality where it lives, the significance of municipalities in the support
and self-organization of families coincides with the aim of empowering citizens.

The move of family policy from the 1990s to the 21st Century in Russia has chan-
ged the roles of the family and its members which have been strengthened by the
reformations. The greatest changes concern the new holistic view of the family, the
preventive and empowering approaches to family work, and the new strategic deli-
neation of supporting the potential of citizens to act for their own good. The holistic
view refers to the importance of the roles of both parents, and to seeing children as
important members of the family. While earlier family policy was more concerned
with the mother, the father is now seen as having a valuable role alongside the mot-
her, not just in the economic sense but emotionally and socially as well. Preventive
measures involve an understanding of family policy as a means to create the right
circumstances for families to thrive in the long term. Such circumstances would sup-
port parenting and the social contacts of family members, as well as members of the
extended family, whose support makes the everyday life of families easier (see Törrö-
nen 2012). The concept of empowerment helps to show how important it is for indivi-
duals to feel that they are seen and heard. In the case of children, they need a sense
of positive support for their normal development. If the interpretation of people’s life
circumstances does not revolve around the negative aspects only, it can help people
to find some positive – or at least bearable – elements in their lives. Of course, the
interpretation of life circumstances does not remove the difficulties or the burdens
on the individual. However, it can shed light on qualities that might strengthen the
individual’s self-esteem and make life feel easier, at least for a moment. If people are
encouraged, they feel freer to act for their own good. This kind of energy supports the
well-being of society as a whole (Putnam 1994).
59 Family policy in russia

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 64

PART II

Empowering social
work with families and
individuals
CONTENTS (4) Empowerment and resistance resources for
immigrant women - A case study of implementing
salutogenic theory in practice

(5) Cultural interpretation as an empowering met-

hod in social work with immigrant families

(6) Families of immigrant background as clients of

child protection services

(7) Key issues in social work with people living

with HIV/AIDS in Russia

(8) Diaries of family workers: empowerment and

working with families with children
66 Empowerment and resistance resources for immigrant women

CHAPTER II

Annika Lillrank

Empowerment and resistance resources

for immigrant women -
A case study of implementing
salutogenic theory in practice
Introduction

Compared to other Nordic and Western countries, Finland has a rather small immi-
grant population. Finland was a culturally homogeneous country until 1990, when
refugees and other immigrants from Russia, Somalia, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and
Congo began to arrive (Degni et al. 2012, 332). In 2008 about 4.1 percent of the Fin-
nish population consisted of foreign-born first generation migrants. During the years
1987-2005 about 22 percent of the immigrants were between 0 and 14 years of age,
while 68 percent were between 15 and 44 and only 9 percent were over 45 years of
age. Thus far, the immigrants have mainly settled in the Helsinki metropolitan area
(Martikainen & Haikkola 2010, 22-30). The Finnish authorities have not systematical-
ly registered reasons for immigration. The Ministry of Labor has approximated that
the majority of the migrants (60-65 percent) who arrived in the 1990s and early 2000,
arrived because of family reunion. Approximately 15 percent of the migrants arrived
as refugees, while around 10 percent were homecoming Finns. Roughly 5-10 percent
arrived as labor migrants, and about 5-10 percent came for other reasons, for examp-
le, as students. (Työministeriö 2005, 5, quoted in Martikainen, Saari & Korkiasaari
2013, 39). This chapter focuses specially on refugee women.

Migrant women participate substantially in prenatal care in Finland. From 1999 to

2001 the birth rate for immigrant women slightly increased. The Russian migrant
population had the highest number of births (27.1%), followed by Somalis (12.5%)
and East Europeans (9.1%). The type of treatment given to them or needed by them
varied widely. Women of African and Somali origin had the most health problems,
which resulted in the highest perinatal mortality rates. The infants born to Somali
women had a significant risk of low birth weight and for being small for gestational
age; in addition, Somali first time mothers had the most cesarean sections (Malin &
Gissler, 2009).

A great number of refugee women arrive as young adults, often at a child-bearing

age. They come from poverty, restless areas involved in war, and /or persecution for
their religion or minority status. This means that they often have to leave their family
members, friends, culture, and language behind in order to develop a new life in a
67 Empowerment and resistance resources for immigrant

peaceful country. The concept of acculturation describes the process in which cultural
beliefs and values are confronted and changed and which affects former interacti-
on, parenthood, and child-raising practices (Alitolppa-Niitamo 2010, 45). Over and
above being familiarized to external differences, a considerable part of an individual
identity and a sense of belonging may need a life-long adjustment process, which
causes stress and demands multiple coping strategies and resistance resources.
At the group level, acculturation means that the family has to separate from their
social networks and social institutions in their country of origin and must cope with
a new culture and traditions in a new country. At an individual level migration means
confronting a new culture that demands problems to be solved in new ways. Accultu-
ration can also be understood as a reciprocal process, where even the new country
and the local setting are affected. Recent research on acculturation shows that even
though coping strategies vary among individuals, the problems related to an adjust-
ment to a new culture seem to be the same independent of the recipient country
(Berry 2006, 15).

Many refugees suffer from poor health or from various undetected chronic diseases.
Migration-related stress may have damaged their health (Tiilikainen 2003, 198-203;
Kristal-Anderson 2001). According to Sam (2006, 403), immigration and acculturation
may be inherently risky and might make people vulnerable to a number of problems;
however, risks are in themselves not destiny. Refugees may not necessarily adopt
poorly over the long term, depending on how acculturative stress is managed. How do
young refugee mothers manage acculturative stress when giving birth? What kinds
of resistance resources do they have at their disposal that facilitates adjustment to a
new culture of giving birth? These questions lead to consideration of salutary factors,
such as a sense of coherence and generalized resistance resources (Antonovsky,
1979; 1987) and interactive empowering experiences (Freire, 1970).

This chapter discusses the idea that young refugee women bring with them the
resources to take responsibility for their lives, to cope with stress, and to find creative
solutions in the experiences of pregnancy and birth in a foreign country. This approa-
ch is based on the salutogenic theory that defines human beings as capable, resour-
ceful, and able to create a sense of coherence as an attitude toward life (Antonovsky
1979, 1987; Eriksson and Lindström 2011, 67). This emphasis on a positive approach
about human beings as resourceful agents is further supported by the concept of
empowerment. For example, according to Moula (2009, 102), “empowerment is a
special form of changing one’s mind when an individual discovers one’s own resour-
ces to solve problems in order to gradually become self-reliable.”

The aim of this chapter is to explore what kinds of resistance resources one Somali
woman had at her disposal to handle pregnancy and birth and how an empowering
dialogue with Finnish maternity care professionals developed.

T he concept of empowerment
The concept of empowerment has raised considerable interest in virtually all
scientific disciplines and has been applied in practice in fields from human sciences
 Empowerment and resistance resources for immigrant women 68

to political programs (Hokkanen 2009, 315; Hur 2006). The origin of the concept of
empowerment was developed by Freire (1970) as a way of learning to mobilize the
resources of oppressed people through education. In general, the concept is about
giving people control and mastery over their lives. Its aim is to develop people’s abi-
lities and coping skills to endow them with the ability to actively work towards critical
conscious-raising. Mann Hyan Hur (2006), who has developed a theoretical synthesis
of a variety of cross-disciplinary studies on empowerment, concluded that thus far no
comprehensive framework on the process of empowerment exists (Hur 2006, 524).
However, Hur (2006) identified five progressive stages in an empowerment process:
“an existing social disturbance, conscientizing, mobilizing, maximizing, and creating
a new order” (Hur 2006, 535). According to Hur, the process of empowerment starts
from dissatisfaction in individual, administrative, social, or political circumstances.
It could also be understood as a sense of powerlessness, alienation, or inequality.
When empowerment is understood as a process of both thought and action, it is an
endlessly evolving dynamic development (Hokkanen 2009, 320-322; Hur 2006, 535).

However, the concept has also been criticized for being too abstract, for being rat-
her idealistic about equality between professionals and lay people, and for ignoring
complexities in power relations (Kuronen 2004, 288-289).

As the concept is closely related to the idea of power-related inequalities and ex-
pected changes in power relationships, Starring (2007, 70-72) introduces an empo-
werment-oriented framework that departs from efforts to achieve equality in interac-
tion. He suggests a respectful interaction that features a connecting use of language
balancing between emotional neutrality and emotional engagement, which creates a
sense of belonging that strengthens self-confidence. For example, this type of inter-
action would be characterized by an encouraging way of talking, using phrases such
as “how interesting, would you like to tell me more about it… I am glad you like it.” The
connecting use of language creates a sense of mutual satisfaction that reinforces
one’s self-confidence in stressful situations.

In an attempt to connect individual empowerment-based aspects of salutogenic thin-

king, Koelen and Lindström (2005, 12) define it “as a process by which people gain
mastery (control) over their lives, by which they learn to see a closer correspondence
between their goals and a sense of how to achieve these goals, and by which people
learn to see a relationship between their efforts and the outcomes thereof.” The focus
is here on resources, both internal and external, in a learning process that leads to
creating a sense of coherence. According to Antonovsky, life experiences (consisten-
cy, load balance, participation in shaping outcomes, emotional closeness) shape the
sense of coherence while generalized resistance resources provide the individual
with sets of meaningful and coherent life experiences (Antonovsky, 1987).

T he salutogenic theory
The medical sociologist Aaron Antonovsky introduced the salutogenic theory to
the research community (Antonovsky 1979, 1987). Salutogenesis, stemming from
the Greek salus (= health) and genesis (= origin), means the origin of health. Anto-
69 Empowerment and resistance resources for immigrant women

novsky claimed that the way people view their life has a positive influence on their
health. He asked the question of why some people stay healthy and others do not
under the same conditions. His original idea was that it is more important to focus
on peoples’ resources and capacity to manage stress and their ability to maintain
health in life-threatening situations and stressful life events than to put an emphasis
on the risks for diseases. The core of the salutogenic theory is an orientation towards
problem solving and the capacity to use available resources. He started from the
assumption of human nature as chaotic and full of constant changes, the challenge
being how we are able to cope with these difficulties. Two concepts are essential for
the coping process, a sense of coherence (SOC) and generalized resistance resour-
ces (GRR). The ability to comprehend the whole situation and the capacity to use the
resources available is called the sense of coherence. This capacity was a combinati-
on of people’s ability to assess and understand the situation they were in, and to find
a reason to move in a health-promoting direction, while having the capacity to do so.
According to Antonovsky, the SOC consist of comprehensibility, manageability and
meaningfulness. The sense of coherence is a global orientation that expresses the
extent to which one has a pervasive, enduring, and dynamic feeling of confidence
that (1) the stimuli from one’s internal and external environments in the course of
living are structured, predictable, and explicable; (2) the resources are available to
meet the demands posed by these stimuli; and (3) these demands are challenges,
worthy of investment and engagement (Antonovsky 1987, 19). The SOC is a coping
resource that enables people to manage tension e.g., in connection to migration,
with reflect on their external and internal resources, to identify and mobilize them,
to promote effective coping by finding solutions, and to resolve tension in a health-
promoting manner. The key to developing a SOC lies in the ability to identify resour-
ces, and to use and reuse them in a health-promoting manner, e.g., to find reliable
social support. However, what is more important than the resources themselves is
the ability to use them (Eriksson 2007, 98).

Generalized resistance resources (GRR) can be found within people as resources

bound to their person and capacities but also to their immediate and distant envi-
ronment (Lindström and Eriksson 2005, 440). GRRs have both a genetic and con-
stitutional and a psychosocial character, and include knowledge/intelligence, ego
identity, self-confidence, coping strategies, money (rational, flexible, and farsighted
strategies), social support, ties, commitment (continuance, cohesion, control), cultu-
ral stability, magic, religion/philosophy/art (a stable set of answers), and a preventive
health orientation. GRRs provide a person with sets of meaningful and coherent life
experiences stemming from the resources at the person’s disposal. In the following
section, the research project “Resources for pregnancy and motherhood among refu-
gee women in Finland” is presented.

T he research project

About the data collection

The data collection was carried out in close collaboration with local authorities in a
city within the Helsinki metropolitan area. This city has had a dramatic increase in
 Empowerment and resistance resources for immigrant women 70

migration and has a large number of welfare professionals involved in facilitating

immigrants’ integration. The city was granted government funding for a pilot project
to develop its integration policy and practices with migrant women outside of the
labor market who care for their infants at home. This pilot project is connected to the
implementation of the new Act of Integration.

We invited about 10-16 refugee mothers through the local migrant authorities to par-
ticipate in individual, semi-structured “cross-language” interviews, that is, together
with an interpreter. My criteria for selecting informants were that they are 1) refugee
women who have been granted a residence permit in Finland, 2) who have lived at
least two years in Finland, and 3) who currently take care of their child(ren) at home.
Some of the women refused to participate, and some could not be reached by phone.
Through a local key migrant secretary I was able to invite five Somali, three Russian,
one Iranian, and one Afghan mother who were willing to participate in an individual
interview. Since I did not have direct access to the potential participants, I do not
know why some refused to participate. I conducted 11 interviews with 10 different
women. One mother was interviewed twice. In addition, I interviewed one Somali
interpreter about her birth experience in Finland. The targeted group is rather small
since as refugee mothers, because of language problems and their work caring for
small children at home, they are very difficult to contact, even for the local immigrant
authorities.

The interviews took place during May- August and in November 2012. All of the inter-
views took place in the interviewees’ private homes, except for the Somali interpreter,
who was interviewed in a cafe. In all of the interviews one or several children were at
home. In two of the families the husbands were at home and participated actively in
the interviews. Before the interview began I explained the purpose of the study and
gave the interviewee(s) the opportunity to ask additional questions about the study.
Since the interviewees were not necessarily able to understand what it means to par-
ticipate in a research study, I was especially careful to emphasize the confidentiality
of our interaction and to underline that their anonymity is protected. All of the study
procedures were reviewed and approved by the Institutional Research Review Board
of the Vantaa Migrant Authorities.

All informants except for one agreed to allow the interview to be tape-recorded. One
informant did not agree to this, so we started the interview without a tape recorder.
However, after a while she felt confident enough to let us record it. The interviews
usually lasted from an hour to an hour and a half. The interviews were a mixture of
semi-structured thematic and narrative interview practices. During or after the inter-
view we were served refreshments in a friendly and hospitable atmosphere.

Five of the interviewees had given birth to their first child in Finland. Six women had
two or more children and had delivered both in their native country and in Finland.
The age of the children born in Finland ranged from three months to about two years
of age. The mothers were between 20 and 34 years of age, and all lived with their
husbands. Two mothers were illiterate, while the others’ education ranged from two
years of school to university studies.
71 Empowerment and resistance resources for immigrant

Six women had good experiences of pregnancy and delivery, while three had drama-
tic or unexpected experiences, and two had poor experiences. Those with good or
mixed experiences were happy about the way Finnish maternity care was organized,
while the women with poor and/or dramatic experiences felt traumatized and that
they were poorly treated by the hospital staff.

In this chapter one Somali woman is presented to illustrate what kinds of resources
she had available and how a trusting dialogue developed with her Finnish maternal
care professionals. For this purpose I have chosen an interview with a Somali mot-
her, here named Nadina, for several reasons. Firstly, her interview is rich in details
and thick descriptions of her pregnancy and birth experience. Secondly, her story
represents the first time mothers in the data who had unexpected problems during
the pregnancy and a dramatic birth experience. Third, her story is unusual in the
self-confident way that she was able to develop trust and rely on Finnish health care
professionals and in how vividly she remembered the professional encounters. This
interview highlights from a refugee woman’s point of view what an empowering and
encouraging dialogue with a maternity professional can be like (Jacobson & Meeu-
wisse 2008, 50-51). My interview interaction with Nadina was also greatly appealing
because her “quality of mind transmitted to me through her characterization, mo-
tivation and description, and commentary” during the interview (Mishler 1986, 81)
with an impression of a both vulnerable and a self-confident woman explaining and
evaluating her pregnancy and birth experience. This presentation and interpretation
of the interview are filtered and jointly constructed through my interaction with Nadina
and Shukri, the interpreter.

The challenges of interviewing through an interpreter

In the study five interpreters fluent in Somali, Russian, Farsi, or Sorani were hired to
function as interpreters in the cross-language interviews. Four translated into Finnish,
while one Farsi-speaking interpreter translated into English. A fundamental prerequi-
site for gathering data was the use of interpreters, since none of the participants were
fluent enough in Finnish, Swedish, or English. Besides engaging in reflexive elabo-
ration on the thematic and dynamic aspects with each interviewee, the interviewer
has to develop an equally good interaction with the interpreter, since language and
communication always transfer verbal, nonverbal, and emotional information (Lillrank
2012, 281; Lillrank 2002). Thus, good interactional relationships are essential since
professional interpreters participate in situations where they are able to understand
everything said and thus can exercise a certain control over the situation (Wadensjö
1998, 105). Similar to my experience, Wadensjö (1998, 8) suggested a “dialogue
model” because “the meaning conveyed in and by talks is partly a joint product.” This
means that an interpreter is part of the communication and interaction between an
informant and a researcher (Wadensjö 1998). Here, the interpreters also contribute
to the communication based on their cultural and social background, as Temple sug-
gests:

The use of translators and interpreters is not merely a technical matter that has little
bearing on the outcome. It is of epistemological consequence as it influences what
is “found”. Translators are active in the process of constructing accounts and an
 Empowerment and resistance resources for immigrant women 72

examination of their intellectual autobiographies, that is, an analytic engagement with

how they come to know what to do, is an important component in understanding the
nature and status of the findings. When the translator and the researcher are different
people the process of knowledge construction involves another layer. (Temple 1997,
614)

Qualitative analysis requires the systematic transcription of the interviews and res-
ponsiveness to the role of interviewer, interpreter, and reader in the construction of
meaning (Riessman 2000, 130). Shukri, the Somali interpreter who participated in
this interview, was fluent in the native language of the Somali interviewees as well as
in Finnish. She belongs to the Somali culture and has a social understanding through
being a mother herself. Shukri related her own experiences of giving birth in a Finnish
maternal care hospital. She was able to explain and clarify differences between these
two cultures, which constituted a valuable addition to the development of my under-
standing of the interviews. Consequently, the ethnicity and the social background of
the interpreter is an important resource (Temple & Young 2004, 171).

The analytical framework

The researcher examines the way a story is told – how it is expressed and how its
presentation convinces the interviewer of its authenticity. Since the telling and narra-
tives about experiences follow a particular cultural style of expression and storytel-
ling, the translated and transcribed interviews require multiple readings. Working with
translated interviews – because of the uncertainties of language and meaning – rai-
ses interpretive problems that all qualitative analysts face, regardless of being a nati-
ve speaker or not (Riessman 2000, 130). “Meanings are problematic and ambiguous,
most obviously because of translation” (Riessman 2000, 133-134). For example, in
translating this interview, the interpreter took the role of the interviewee without giving
precise translations of verb tenses which made it sometimes difficult to determine the
course of events. Also, this style of interpretation did not consequently specify who
said what, which prevented a structural analysis of the interview text.

Another dilemma of particular relevance for this study is the second translation and
meaning-making from Finnish into English for English-speaking readers (see Riess-
man 2000, 133- 144). In this chapter the presented interview and the quotations are
translated into English by the author. Further, qualitative methods are always partial,
incomplete, and placed in a certain historical context. Thus my analysis should be
seen as a possible interpretation of the case study, since no one can claim to really
comprehend another human being (Kristensson-Uggla 2007).

My analysis began with a broad thematic content analysis on “what” Nadina said
about her pregnancy and the delivery. Next, I focused on “how” Nadina experienced
and evaluated these life events (Jacobson & Meeuwisse 2008; Riessman 2008; Gub-
rium & Holstein 2009) in an attempt to explain and understand her behavior (Ricoeur
1976). In my analysis I have reconstructed the told from the telling, as recommended
by Misher (1995). In other words, I have reconstructed a core narrative (“the told”) on
the basis of my interview (“the telling”). My analytic approach departs from the idea
that “events perceived by the speaker as important are selected, organized, con-
73 Empowerment and resistance resources for immigrant

nected, and evaluated as meaningful for a particular audience” (Riessman 2008, 3).
I have interpreted Nadina’s narrative as her way of finding and using the resistance
resources available to her to cope with the challenges of pregnancy and giving birth
demands, to make sense of them, and to create a sense of coherence out of the lived
experience.

A narrative is usually organized according to a protagonist’s cultural understanding of

a situation, or a cultural script. A cultural script describes ordinary knowledge of how
to understand and behave in a certain situation, such as giving birth. Cultural scripts
could also be defined as a world view that is taken for granted for members of a cer-
tain society (Andrews 2007, 53; Katisko 2011, 48-51). In my interview with Nadina
she gave rather short answers to my questions but explained and evaluated the un-
expected turning points during her pregnancy and the delivery, with short narratives
that were dense in meaning and “tell-ability”(Andrews 2007, 33; Gubrium & Holstein
2009). This triggered the “why tell” that imposed something significant about Nadina’s
pregnancy and birth experience. In other words, when a cultural script is either brea-
king down or demands creative ways of coping, it calls for a story (Katisko 2011).

How did the Finnish cultural script confront the Somali cultural script? In Somali cul-
ture women marry young, and the purpose of marriage is to give birth to as many
children as God gives them. Becoming a mother and motherhood is considered a na-
tural cornerstone of a Somali woman’s identity. However, life in Finland changes the
traditional gender roles since extended families seldom live together. This force So-
mali husbands to participate in childbirth, care for children, and carry out household
tasks. Consequently, living in Finland may blur familiar gender structures, which may
cause stress and new situations (Tiilikainen 2003, 174-175). Next, I present Nadina
and my joint interview with her and Shukri, the interpreter.

P resentation of Nadina
Nadina is a 28-year-old Somali woman who arrived in Finland in 2008. She has
completed about two years of primary school in her native country. Nadine married a
native Somali man that she met in Finland. She knew that he did not have a residen-
ce permit in Finland, but she hoped that he would receive one, and they were in the
middle of the application process. Shortly after, Nadina’s husband had to leave for
the country where he had a residence permit, and she found out that she was preg-
nant. When Nadina’s pregnancy came to term, she gave birth by cesarean section
to a healthy daughter, who was at the time of the interview one and a half years old.
Immediately after the delivery Nadina was rushed to another hospital for emergency
heart surgery. She was then diagnosed with a chronic heart condition. The day after
the delivery, Nadina’s husband arrived in Finland. The hospital staff taught him how
to care for the baby. Based on a doctor’s statement, he received a residence permit
in Finland. Nadina does not have any close relatives living in Finland.

The interview took place in Nadina’s home, where she and her daughter waited for
me and Shukri. Nadina was beautifully dressed in a traditional Somali woman’s outfit
with a hijab. We sat at her kitchen table, and explained the purpose of the interview.
 Empowerment and resistance resources for immigrant women 74

Nadina immediately agreed to allow the interview to be tape-recorded, and she sig-
ned a letter of consent. Her daughter placed herself in her mother’s lap and sat there
quietly during the entire interview, which lasted about an hour. She played with some
colorful advertising flyers, and seemed very happy, safe, and relaxed in her mother’s
lap. Only when the little girl became tired did she become somewhat restless, but
Nadina gently comforted her, and after a while she fell asleep in her mother’s lap. Na-
dina and her daughter gave the impression of having a good and loving mother-child
relationship. Nadina was relaxed and easy to interview. I intuitively felt that it was all
right to ask her follow-up questions during our interaction, an intuition I did not have
with all of the interviewees.

Reflecting back on the interview situation, I was rather bound by my semi-structured

questions and did not realize that Somalis are known for a rich oral tradition and for
being skilled storytellers (Degni et al. 2012, 332).When I later asked Shukri to listen
to the recorded interview and to the review the transcribed interview, she evaluated
it as a good interview because of the clearly formulated questions that helped her to
do a good job as an interpreter, which is an important level of knowledge production.
However, regardless of how correctly narratives are transcribed, they leave, by de-
finition, loose ends and gaps in the storyline, so that researchers always work with
fragments (Riessman 2000, 145). Furthermore, I had not understood that 98 percent
of women from Somalia have experienced female genital mutilation or circumcision.
These procedures involve the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia
for non-medical reasons, which can have consequences for giving birth (Amereseke-
re et al. 2011). Because of my lack of knowledge and uncertainty, I was not prepared
to ask about this and, neither Nadina nor any of the other interviewees raised the
issue. However, during my analysis I have gradually gained insight in its importance
in better understanding Nadina’s pregnancy and birth experience.

N adina’s resistance resources and empowering experiences

In the Somali tradition, women experience and view pregnancy as a natural part
of life, and it is regarded as a health experience. Neither prenatal nor preventive
medical care is practiced in Somalia, since the extended family teach each other
and provide social support during pregnancy. Often women rely on each other to
act as midwives during home births. Somali women have traditionally placed their
faith in God rather than in medical science. Consequently, Somali women who have
immigrated to Western countries and enter a new and unfamiliar maternal care sys-
tem are especially vulnerable during pregnancy and childbirth because of the lack
of traditional family support (Hill et al. 2012, 72-75). In addition, Somali women are
vulnerable to social challenges since many have gone through highly stressful war-
related experiences (Degni 2012, Tiilikainen 2003).

Nadina’s pregnancy-related challenges – and her resources for coping with

them
Shortly after Nadina’s husband had to leave for another country, she discovered that
she was pregnant. To be alone was her first unexpected challenge. When I asked
75 Empowerment and resistance resources for immigrant

how she felt about and coped with this unexpected situation, Nadina shortly mentio-
ned that it was a difficult situation, but she did not elaborate on it any further.

The Somali culture is characterized by a strong sense of community. For example,

the way that individuals are brought up in extended families means that they have
practically no experience of being alone (Shukri, personal communication). Nadina
coped by participating in a Finnish language class organized by immigrant authorities
until she was about five months pregnant. By participating in a language course, Na-
dine helped herself to lessen her loneliness by being with other course participants
that also were newly arrived immigrants. Participating in a group gave her the oppor-
tunity to make friends and discuss common experiences and to familiarize herself
with the new culture, language, and country. Her resolute behavior gives an impressi-
on of agency and the ability to connect with others (Laliotou 2007, 60).

Later in the interview, Nadine presented herself in a following way; “I am an open-

minded person, and I enjoy meeting with new people because it is always possible
to learn something new from others. And being with others has helped me a lot… it
makes me happy to be in others’ company.” Shukri further clarified Nadina’s presen-
tation of herself as being an independent individual who wants to get to know new
people in order to learn new things.

In my interpretation, her independence reveals her self-confidence, an internal

resource that meant that she felt in control of the situation and knew what to do
and how to help herself. Her goal-oriented behavior demonstrated her ability to take
control of her situation. Among Nadina’s external resistance resources were her abi-
lity to find and socialize with others around her, which helped her gain strength in a
challenging situation.

Her second unexpected challenge arose when she was seven months pregnant.
Nadina shortly mentioned that a doctor discovered that she had a heart problem, but
she did not elaborate further on how it was discovered or what it was about. She only
mentioned that it prevented her from familiarizing herself with the hospital before the
delivery. Nadina coped with her illness by taking it for granted, and when she later
evaluated it, she made it meaningful by believing the illness to be predestinated by
God. The Somali cultural script may help understand her way of thinking. Namely, in
the Somali anatomical understanding, the heart and the stomach are of central im-
portance. The heart is the core of life, and the stomach regulates the bodily functions
(Tiilikainen 2003, 210). Somali migrants often comprehend illness as an expression
of homesickness and as a result of an imbalance and excessive emotions. Further,
health and illness are connected with Islamic beliefs, which may also include medical
explanations (Mölsä et. al. 2010). In the Somali way of thinking, natural and superna-
tural illness explanations together with family members’ interpretations of symptoms
combine to explain a particular illness (Serkkola 1998, 70-71; Degni et al. 2012, 331).
This cultural script and her belief that her illness was predestinated by God functio-
ned as Nadina’s resistance resource, which gave her the self-confidence to go on
with her pregnancy and later on with her life.
 Empowerment and resistance resources for immigrant women 76

Her third unexpected challenge appeared when she was eight months pregnant. Du-
ring a scheduled appointment at the maternity clinic, a nurse discovered that the fetus
had not moved into the birth position. The nurse unsuccessfully tried to turn the fetus
into the right position. She then suggested an appointment with an obstetrician and
scheduled it for her, explaining that if the fetus is still in the same position, the doc-
tor may suggest a cesarean section. When Nadina visited the specialist, this doctor
confirmed that the fetus had not changed position because of the shape of her hips.
During this appointment the doctor decided to deliver by cesarean section. Since
the majority of migrant Somali women are circumcised, it is possible that this was an
additional reason for the doctor’s decision to deliver by section (Ameresekere et al.
2011).

A: What did you think about this?

N: It was very scary, I was afraid.
A: Did the doctor explain how the section would be done?
N: Yes, it was very good that an interpreter was present when this was said.
And then the doctor also said that we are going to help you. I was extre-
mely afraid, but the doctor said that we are going to care for you as long
you need help and we will help you until you are able to take care of your
own child. [The doctor also said] that I can stay in the hospital until I have
recovered. And they promised to take care of me. And then there was also
an interpreter.

Nadina’s short narrative of this appointment begins and ends with the statement that
an interpreter was present. When a protagonist repeats something twice in more or
less identical words, it features something of core importance for the entire narrati-
ve (Katisko 2011, 71). It was of vital importance for Nadina that an interpreter was
present to ensure that she received comprehensive explanations about this subject.
The interpreter allowed Nadina to feel supported in a frightening situation and to
understand what the doctor said about delivering by section. In this segment of the
interview, Nadina’s second main focus was on her understanding of the doctor’s sup-
portive assurance of medical help. These two core experiences probably helped to
strengthen her self-confidence and to allow herself to trust the professional and sup-
portive care of health professionals.

After she had emphasized the presence of an interpreter and the doctor’s assurance
of help, Nadina revealed her primary emotional state of mind; her great fear of the
cesarean section. Her sense of great fear dominated her state of mind through her
telling of her birth experience – which she repeatedly contrasted with the supportive
and empowering interactions with the doctors. Because she was supported to feel
somewhat secure, she felt safe enough to reveal her major emotional experience
(Lillrank 2002). While she was sharing this fear, she showed her struggle to make
sense of the cesaren section, which probably kept her on the verge of a sense of
chaos even though she clearly understood the doctor’s assurance of medical care
and the doctor’s emotional ability and willingness to support her through the delivery
and the postnatal period in the hospital. This supportive and empowering dialogue
was based on medical knowledge and authority that included emotional and social
77 Empowerment and resistance resources for immigrant women

support, characteristics of Börjeson’s concept of the professional fellow-being (Bör-

jeson 2010, 168).

Nadina emphasized how this doctor, as a professional fellow-being, developed

through the help of an interpreter a dialogue with her. The dialogue elevated her
self-confidence to better understand the situation and decide to continue trusting and
complying with the doctors and the health care system.

When discussing how to understand Nadina’s ability to trust the doctors and nurses
with Shukri, she emphasized that the doctor’s comforting way of taking responsibility
and his or her assurance that everything would work out constituted the cornerstone
for Nadina’s ability to trust the doctors and nurses. This essentially strengthened her
belief that everything would work out. In other words, she gained self-confidence
and hope, important resistance resources, in an extremely stressful situation. Even
when the delivery had an unexpected outcome that no one could have predicted at
this point, Shukri pointed out that Nadina was realistic in that she did not expect any
miracles. In spite of the unexpected outcome of her delivery, she continued to trust
the doctors because she understood their sincere willingness to help her and care for
her. Last, but not least, Nadina had good self-confidence to begin with, which enab-
led her to feel confident in the individuals around her, an interpretation that Shukri
also agreed with. In the following part of the interview, the above interpretation was
underlined.

A: Did you feel that you were treated well, even when you were very afraid,
that they took care of your fears and they tried to comfort you?
N: Yes, it was a relief when I was told that everything is going to work out
and the interpreter was present, but after the section another story hap-
pened to me. It was very difficult, the newborn baby girl stayed in the hospi-
tal and I became seriously ill.
A: Would you like to tell me how the delivery went and why you were hos-
pitalized?

Before Nadina continued her narrative about her birth experience, she once more
wanted to emphasize and elaborate on how the doctor comforted her, which gave her
the courage to go through with the cesarean section.

N: The doctors comforted me and scheduled a certain day and time when I
should come to the hospital [to give birth]. But the doctor said that it might
be - I think that the doctor understood that I was extremely afraid - and
then they said to me that perhaps the section is not going to be necessary,
perhaps the baby turns around and everything works out normally and we
may not need to do the surgery. That is what the doctor said to me.

In the two sequences where Nadina explained and evaluated what the doctors said
to her, by repeating her narrative twice about the doctor’s ability to comfort her and
interact with her as a professional fellow-being, Nadina returned to the main idea and
a core experience in her narrative (Katisko 2011). From this short sequence, as it is
 Empowerment and resistance resources for immigrant women 78

here translated from Somali into Finnish, it is apparent that Nadina did not verbally
explain to the doctor about her fear of a delivery by section. However, from the way
the doctor interacted with her, Nadina concluded that the doctor had nonverbally re-
cognized her fear and wanted to comfort and encourage her. Nadina responded with
a remarkable ability to trust and gain confidence from the doctor’s assurance to help
and support her through the delivery. This dialogue gave Nadina courage and empo-
wered her in this new and demanding situation. It helped her to compose herself and
to increase a sense of predictability and meaningfulness. From the translation of the
interview, we do not know if the doctors were female or male.

According to the empowerment model developed by Moula (2009), human beings

have a stock of opinions of an actual situation that are articulated in a dialogue. A
dialogue enables an individual to organize her thoughts and emotions. Language
and communication are the most important way of developing relations with others. A
language is seldom neutral, and immigrants usually need an interpreter to clarify and
make sense of interactions since language and culture are intertwined. A characteris-
tic of human beings is the ability to express emotions, since it is not possible to sepa-
rate behavior and thoughts from emotions. Further, individuals express wishes about
something that they want to do. Human beings behave through actions – focusing
on actions enables us to acknowledge individuals as they develop. The capacity to
develop relations is inherent in human nature – we become individuals in interactions
with others, and we need human relations in our lives. Human beings are capable of
solving problems and learning the consequences of their own behavior. Thus, indi-
viduals are able to change their circumstances (Moula 2009, 109-111). Antonovsky
also emphasized that comprehension, manageability, and meaningfulness develop
in interaction with others. Nadina’s internal resource, here a capability to trust, was
greatly supported in an encouraging dialogue with the responsible doctor.

Nadina’s birth experience

Giving birth in a foreign country is considered a particularly demanding and stressful
situation. It is a real challenge for Somali women, since experiencing such a life event
with little or no access to well-known traditions or familiar social support can be assu-
med to test one’s available resources and coping strategies (Hill et al. 2012; Wiklund
et al. 2000). Since female circumcision in various forms is generally practiced in
Somalia, it may impact or complicate giving birth. This cultural tradition, a female rite
of passage, ensures a girl’s status as “a good wife-to-be” and a respected adulthood.
In Somalia it is performed by special practitioners passed on from mother to daugh-
ter to secure the daughter’s marriage and social acceptance in local communities
(Matsuuke 2011, 8-12). Women who have experienced female circumcision are more
likely to have cesarean deliveries, compared with women who have not experienced
it, especially in countries where health providers have less knowledge of this tradition
(Ameresekere et al. 2011, 227-229; Essen et al. 2011; Essen et al. 2000). In addition,
Somali women have fatalistic attitudes and a real reason to be afraid of giving birth.
The statistics of the World Health Organization (2010) concludes that the maternal
mortality rate in Somalia is approximated to be 1,200 per 100,000 live births, which
means that Somali women are one of the highest risk groups in the world (Hill et al.
2012, 72; Essen et al. 2011).
79 Empowerment and resistance resources for immigrant women

Anthropologists have discussed the wide variety of conceptions about pregnancy

and birth among different cultures. This belief system, conceptualized as the birth
culture by Hahn and Muecke (1987), “informs members of a society about the nature
of conception, the proper conditions of procreation and childbearing, the workings
of pregnancy and labor, and the rules and rationales of pre- and postnatal behavior”
(quoted in Helman 2007, 169). Western birth culture is based on medical science and
technology that separates the mother from the infant. The medical view of pregnancy
and delivery abstract it from the mother’s life experience and handle it as a remote
medical event. The mother and the obstetrician may have different opinions on how
to assess quality, measure successful outcomes and decide the pace of the birth
itself. For the woman, giving birth is integrated into other aspects of her life. With a
first delivery in particular, she gains a new social role as a mother, which changes
her marital status, housing situation, and personal relationships (Hellman 2007, 170-
172). In other words, trying to comprehend giving birth as a medical process instead
of a natural process (Helman 2007, 171) stretches one’s ability to predict its course,
manage one’s behavior, and make sense of it.

N: I came to the maternal hospital [on the scheduled day when the preg-
nancy was at term]. They took a blood sample, checked the child, and the
doctor said that it has not changed position. Yes, we are going to do the
section.
A: So the final decision was made at that time?
N: Yes, even though the doctors had already told me about the section, but
then they perhaps wanted to comfort me, so the final decision was made at
that point. I actually knew it already, but yes, at that point the doctors made
the final decision.

Nadina had some time to prepare herself for the delivery by section. This final deci-
sion may also have been due to the doctors’ uncertainty of how to handle a woman
who has been circumcised during delivery. In her narrative Nadina again emphasized
how she was comforted by the doctors’ way of handling her situation and by their
sensitivity and respect for her fear. Even though the doctors did not change their
mind about performing the cesarean section, Nadina trusted the doctors’ actions and
sensed their effort to emotionally understand and support her. This balance between
fear and comfort dominated Nadina’s preparation for her birth experience.

A: How did you feel being hospitalized, did you feel secure or unsecure?
N: Yes, I was extremely afraid, I would have liked to escape from the hospital,
I was not at all in my usual state of mind.

Nadina was probably afraid for several reasons. Firstly, it must have been difficult
to understand and predict the medical course of the delivery by section. Nadina had
seen a televised documentary about a section that had increased, not lessened her
fears. Shukri emphasized that the cultural knowledge needed to predict how the
birth process will develop in a hospital is very important, although difficult to explain.
Secondly, Somali women in general fear having a cesarean delivery because they
believe that it limits the number of future babies and can result in maternal death
 Empowerment and resistance resources for immigrant women 80

(Ameresekere et al. 2011; Essen et al. 2011). All Somali women are afraid of giving
birth because it is by definition a risky event in Somalia due to the high risk of ma-
ternal mortality rates compounded by high pregnancy rates. In addition, Somali wo-
men belong to a culture with a strong oral tradition, where narratives of natural birth
experiences circulate among women, and almost everyone knows someone with a
poor birth experience. “To give birth may open one’s tomb” (Zahra Abdulla, a Somali
midwife, personal communication). Over the centuries, oral narratives have educated
and transmitted practical knowledge among women who lack a formal education.

A: How did you cope with this fear?

N: Yes, I had somebody with me - a girl was with me… I had a supporting
person with me.
A: You could hold her hand?
N: Yes, earlier [before the delivery] the doctor had asked if I had a [signifi-
cant] friend to whom I want them to tell about my situation. Then I men-
tioned this girl, a particular friend of mine, and the doctor then phoned her
and asked her to come to the hospital at the time of the section. And my girl-
friend came and sat beside my bed, she held my hand and supported me.
A: So this helped you?
N: Yes she always supported me and stayed close so that I did not need to
be alone in the hospital.

Nadina had one female friend that her doctor called and asked to come and be with
her. This caring and interactive behavior shows that this Finnish doctor did care and
that he or she deliberately took a role as a professional fellow-being with Nadina. Her
only close friend in Finland was a native Somali woman who spoke Finnish and was
familiar with Finnish culture. Such a friend is called “a senior, or an adviser” within
the Somali women’s networks in Finland. They often function as mediators between
Somali women and health care professionals (Degni 2004, 75). She provided valu-
able social support that prevented Nadina from being lonely. Nadina gave birth to a
healthy daughter and named her baby after her supporting friend.

A: How did the birth giving experience … proceed?

N: After the section delivery [the doctors] discovered that I stopped breat-
hing that I could not breathe normally, it was very difficult, and the doctors’
realized that something is wrong with my lungs or the heart. The doctors
said that they cannot treat me in this (maternity care) hospital, that I have
to be sent to another hospital. And then I was taken in the ambulance to
another hospital. They said that they will take care of the baby until I re-
cover and then the baby was cared for there [in the maternity care unit]…
A: How long did you stay in the other hospital?
N: A week.
A: Such a long time?
N: The day after I was taken to the hospital, the father came, the father of
my baby. He went to the maternity care hospital … and the staff showed
him how to take care of the baby. He was taught how to care of the baby,
and then…
A: Did you return to the maternity care hospital?
81 Empowerment and resistance resources for immigrant women

N: After three days I was just crying and crying, I did not know why. And
then the doctors said that they would try to get a small bed for the baby so
that we could be together. After three days the baby came and we could be
together.

Nadina’s birth experience is dense with unexpected turns. She cannot remember
much from the birth of her daughter because her memory was blurred by heavy me-
dication. The birth itself unexpectedly resulted in heart surgery in another hospital.
Third, her husband arrived and was taught to care for the baby. After the surgery
Nadina’s thoughts were probably with her newborn baby and her husband. In this
overwhelming and heartbreaking situation, which was probably very difficult to com-
prehend, she responded by crying. The doctors interpreted her crying as caused by
her separation from her baby and took action to bring them together. Nadina remem-
bered that the baby came after three days –and that she was reassured that the baby
was now close to her and that her husband was taking care of the baby. Her ability
to remember these events marked their meaningfulness for Nadina. She ends her
tale with an evaluative comment: “and we could be together.” This seemed to make
Nadina happy and indicated that the doctors’ interpretation of her crying and attempt
to comfort her were well directed – she had become a mother and wanted to be close
to her newborn daughter.

Next Nadina explained how her birth experience resulted in a chronic illness that
impacted her future in many unexpected ways:

N: [The doctors said] that I have a serious heart condition and that I cannot
give birth to more babies because it is a risk to my life. And I cannot do many
sport activities or run anymore… that I have two blocks in the blood vessels
of my heart. That it does not function well.
A: Was it a relief that your husband arrived?
N: Yes, he has taken care of the baby and helped a lot.
A: What is his situation then, did he receive a residence permit?
N: The doctor said that I cannot care for the baby alone, because I am ill.
And then my husband just told [the doctor] that he has not received a resi-
dence permit for Finland, that he is in the middle of the application process
and cannot stay in Finland. Then the doctor addressed a statement to the
immigrant authorities and asked us to take it to the Immigration Service.
We did so, and after a while my husband received a residence permit for
Finland.

Nadina’s heart disease enabled the immigration authorities to make a quick decision
about reuniting the family. Another change included the recommendation that she
should have no further pregnancies, which challenges her cultural script of marriage
and her social identity as a Somali mother of many children. The reunited family
changed her husband’s traditional gender role by involving him closely in child care
and household tasks (Tiilikainen 2003).
 Empowerment and resistance resources for immigrant women 82

Finally I asked her how she was coping and what made these new changes compre-
hensible and meaningful:

N: Yes, I believe in God, and God has always supported me and helped me a
lot. That is how I have survived.
A: That your trust in God, that God helps you?
N: Yes, I also believe that everything is predestined, also that the illness is
meant for me…

An important coping strategy and internal resistance resources for Nadina were her
belief and trust in God. The Islamic belief makes suffering meaningful while also
explaining how to mitigate it (Tiilikainen 2003, 171). An ill individual needs to be pa-
tient, since human beings undergo trials if they remain true believers of Islam. Thus
suffering from an illness may have positive consequences if a sufferer stays patient
and loyal in her belief. However, the ill person needs to seek a cure for herself. Since
God has created the illness, God has also created a cure (Perho 1995, 145-146;
quoted in Tiilikainen 2003, 39). In general, Somalis in Finland consider the Finnish
health care system to be reliable in the treatment of physical diseases (Tiilikainen
2003, 219-220).

C onclusions
The aim of this chapter was first to explore what kinds of resistance resources
Nadina had at her disposal to handle her pregnancy and birth experience in a fo-
reign country. This interview revealed that Nadina’s self-confidence and her capability
to connect with others, such as language class participants, her doctors, and other
health care providers and her friend that she trusted and relied on for help and sup-
port were her internal resistance resources. In addition, she emphasized her belief
and trust in God. She comprehended her heart disease as manageable and mea-
ningful by believing it to be predestined by God. She had the ability to use and reuse
her available resources.

According to Antonovsky (1991), the sense of coherence has three key components,
comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness. When Nadina confronted her
pregnancy and birth challenges, her resistance resources enabled her to manage
her situation by trusting others, giving her a sense of belonging to a language class
and the ability to entrust herself to the care of the health care providers. Her fear of
delivering by cesarean section was probably due to several reasons, such as fearing
of death and not being able to predict or comprehend the medical course of action. At
this critical point, Nadina was able to develop and rely on an empowering and caring
dialogue with her doctor, who made conscious efforts to strengthen her sense of ma-
nageability and her ability to entrust herself to the care of medical professionals. This
reciprocal dialogue strengthened her ability to achieve a sense of meaningfulness.
According to Antonovsky, an individual develops these three key components in clo-
se interaction with her social surroundings. A strong sense of coherence is always a
result of the interplay between an individual and her surroundings (Lindstein 2001,
212).
83 Empowerment and resistance resources for immigrant women

However, the salutogenic theory, a macro sociological theory, has not specified how
a sense of coherence actually develops in human beings. It has more or less taken
for granted a “basic personality structure that involves a strong sense of coherence”
(Antonovsky 1979, 151). In a similar way, Koelen and Lindström (2005), in their at-
tempt to connect individual empowerment with the salutogenic approach, departed
from an abstract description of a solely individual ability of people to “gain mastery
of their lives.” Neither of these theoretical approaches specifies how human inter-
action, the vital role of a reciprocal relationship as a dynamic process, facilitates a
sense of coherence, or how the process of empowerment develops. In agreement
with Volanen (2011, 64), who emphasizes that the sense of coherence is psycho-
emotional and that the most significant resistance resources are related to close
human relationships, I propose that a strong sense of coherence is essentially social
since it develops in a trusting and respectful dialogue with an(other) human being. As
this chapter indicates, a supportive and reciprocal relationship is essential in order to
develop understanding, to cope, and to make sense of challenging life events.

The salutogenic dialogue

Based on Nadina’s experiences, I will outline a model of what a reciprocal dialogue
that includes elements from salutogenic theory and the concept of empowerment
could be like, the second aim of this chapter.

The purpose of the salutogenic dialogue is to use the resources that refugee women
have to cope with the Western birth culture in a process leading toward meaningful-
ness and empowerment. By using a connecting language that gives a sense of be-
longing (Starring 2007), the dialogue enables comprehension by making giving birth
a relatively predictable and manageable event. The salutogenic dialogue is facilitated
by a professional fellow-being, a concept developed by Börjeson (2010, 168-169)
within social work practice. A professional fellow-being is characterized by a mastery
of professional knowledge based on science and its practical utility, and an ability to
involve the personal self to emphatically understand and offer emotional and social
support. Trained to communicate trust and understanding in professional encounters,
doctors, nurses, and social workers enable the creation of an encouraging dialo-
gue that supports refugee mothers to better comprehend and cope with distressing
events. The dialogue includes efforts to understand and respect each other to deve-
lop mutual interaction in the acculturation process.

The interpreter plays a fundamentally important role in facilitating a trusting dialogue

to develop. Achieving a reciprocal and empowering dialogue often needs several
meetings. When the salutogenic dialogue strengthens comprehension and identifies
resistance resources to empower a sense of manageability and a sense of trusting
the maternal care system it increases a sense of meaningfulness. By integrating
the salutogenic theory and the concept of empowerment in the dialogue between a
professional fellow-being, a refugee mother, and an interpreter in a dynamic interac-
tion, it increases a sense of meaningfulness in birth experiences. Thus, it facilitates
the promotion of health and well-being for mothers and newborn babies in refugee
families.
 Empowerment and resistance resources for immigrant women 84

Case study is a useful research method when a holistic, in-depth investigation is

needed (Feagin et al. 1991). This case study is drawn from a small sample size
representing refugee women who are difficult to locate and contact. The knowledge
developed from a single interview cannot be generalized to include all migrant Somali
women in Finland or to all maternal health care providers. However, this case study
illuminates some important practical and contextually related aspects from a refugee
woman’s perspective: the vital importance for health care providers to take time to
develop a salutogenic dialogue through an interpreter that identifies refugee women’s
resources and culturally inherited (death) fears in order to empower them to better
cope with the Western birth culture (see Jacobson & Meeuwisse 2008). Further re-
search could provide deeper insights into how providers can develop trust in Somali
women and Somali women’s perception of Finnish birth practices.

Acknowledgements
I wish to thank Dr. Marja Tiilikainen and anonymous reviewers for their helpful com-
ments on earlier versions of this chapter.
85 Empowerment and resistance resources for immigrant women

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88 Cultural interpretation as an empowering method in social work

CHAPTER II

Eveliina Heino, Nadezda Kärmeniemi

Cultural interpretation as an empowering

method in social work with immigrant
families
Introduction

This article discusses the use of cultural interpreter as an approach aiming to support
Russian immigrant families that have become clients of child protection services. The
study is conducted within the framework of the project “Empowerment of Families
with Children”, under the administration of the University of Helsinki Palmenia Centre
for Continuing Education, Kotka Unit. The overall objective of the project is to develop
preventive family work practices, and its time span is from 2011 to 2014.

Trial of cultural interpretation, which formed a crucial part of the project, was carried
out in two municipalities in South-East Finland. The person acting as cultural interpre-
ter was a native Russian speaker who had moved to Finland from Russia, and who
was trained in psychology. Her work involved child protection workers and Russian
families that are in touch with child protection services. The actions of the cultural
interpreter were guided by the individual needs of each family, and her tasks have
included conveying information needed by the family members in their own language,
and supporting the family and the child protection workers to cooperate with each
other.

We will discuss cultural interpretation in the context of empowerment theory. The term
refers to subjective empowerment, which means that individuals gain control of their
lives as well as becoming able to act in society. Thus, it can be defined as a multi-di-
mensional social process connected to increases in well-being, sense of control and
quality of life. In terms of professional practice, empowerment can also be construed
as providing information and offering opportunities to make choices, which can be
seen as leading to individual and societal empowerment. In our study, we understand
empowerment as being connected to both individual experiences and to an increase
in available courses of action in society.

Our focus of interest is on factors that prevent or enhance the clients’ empowerment.
In this study we ask: 1) what are the main challenges to client-worker relationships,
2) what kind of role does the cultural interpreter take when assisting the clients and
workers in meeting these challenges, and 3) how significant are these challenges and
cultural interpretation in terms of the clients’ empowerment?
89 Cultural interpretation as an empowering method in social work

The topic of our study is socially highly relevant. First, as immigration becomes in-
creasingly common, questions regarding immigrants have surfaced in the fields of
child protection and social work (Lehto et al. 2003, 85; Anis 2008, 14). In this situati-
on, those working with immigrant clients are seen as needing new approaches and
competencies in their encounters with people coming from a variety of linguistic, cul-
tural and social backgrounds (see Pitkänen & Kouki 1999, 114-118; Järvinen 2004,
139-151; Hannerz 2003, 217). According to previous research (Katisko 2012; Anis
2008; Heikkilä-Daskalopoulos 2008; Statistics Finland 2007; Vuorio 2001), Finns and
immigrants do not differ significantly from each other in terms of the causes that lead
to them becoming clients of child protection services, but there are certain specific
features in an immigrant clientele that can create challenges, such as poor langu-
age skills, different cultural perceptions, and problems related to integration, such
as unemployment, loneliness etc. Cultural interpretation is an attempt to meet these
challenges, and research evidence serving further development of the method will be
of immediate practical use.

Secondly, very few studies have been carried out regarding Russian-speaking immi-
grants in the context of child protection, even though it is the largest immigrant group
in the entire country, as well as in South-East Finland. At the end of the year 2010
there were 224 388 people living in Finland who spoke a language other than one
of the official languages (Finnish, Swedish or Sami) as their mother tongue. Russian
was spoken as native language by 54 559 people, which is 1,1 % of the entire popula-
tion in Finland (5 375 276) (Statistics Finland, 2012). It is noteworthy that immigrants
from Russia, Estonia and former Soviet territories comprise approximately 40 % of all
immigrants living in Finland. (Reuter & Jaakkola 2005, 24.)

Thirdly, in the years 2011-2013 families with Russian background as clients of child
protection services have become an object of public discussion, in Finland and
especially in Russia. This has become a burning issue in the press, which lends
this study current relevance. Fourthly, earlier studies related to the themes of child
protection and immigration primarily focused on discussing the views of the wor-
kers, who were members of the native population, while in the current study we
observe the phenomenon from three separate viewpoints simultaneously (clients,
cultural interpreter, workers) allowing the immigrants’ own voice to be heard.

E mpowering approach in the context of child protection and social work

with immigrants
In previous research, empowerment has been studied from both individual and struc-
tural points of view. On the individual level the goal of empowerment generally is to
increase knowledge, skills, individual life management, self-esteem and understan-
ding regarding self and the factors that function as obstacles to personal fulfillment
and life management. It includes participatory behavior and feelings. It is also pos-
sible to examine empowerment as a personal process, in the course of which many
positive changes take place in an individual’s life. The structural level, on the other
hand, encompasses the balance of power affecting the courses of action available
to societies and individuals, as well as influencing the individual’s life management
 Cultural interpretation as an empowering method in social work 90

(Askheim 2003, 230-231). The structural and individual levels of empowerment do

not function as polar opposites to each other; instead, the most fruitful approach is
to observe them simultaneously. Empowerment starts with the individual and it is a
personal process, but it is influenced by other people, prevailing conditions and social
structures, so empowerment should always be seen as context dependent (Rappa-
port 1987, 122; Siitonen 1999, 118, 189).

Regardless of the huge amount of interest towards empowerment in research, no

concrete definitions exist for the characteristics of an empowered individual or the
stages of empowerment. It is fundamental to the concept of empowerment that it is
context related, varies in its intensity, and is not a static condition. In addition, empo-
werment can be expressed in different ways in each individual, as feelings, beliefs,
skills and behavior. In empowerment research it is therefore important to examine
how individuals discern their own experiences. (Siitonen 1999, 16, 161-170, 187;
Zimmerman 1995, 587, 596; Zimmerman 1990, 170; Zimmerman 1984; Rappaport
1984, 2).

Although there are no concrete standards for empowerment, there are general desc-
riptions of factors that facilitate empowerment processes in individuals, such as parti-
cipation in decision making, learning skills and gaining information, increasing sense
of control, understanding what choices can be made in different situations, freedom,
responsibility, trust and positivity. (Zimmerman 1990, 172, 174; Siitonen 1999, 61,
117-156).

In our study, we see empowerment simultaneously as a process and as a goal, con-

nected to individual experiences and to an increase in available courses of action.
Empowerment on the individual level is expressed in a growing internal sense of
power, while on the structural level it is reflected in increasing opportunities for ma-
king choices and acting in society. Our goal is to analyze how different professional
work practices i.e. work with Finnish child protection workers and with a cultural in-
terpreter, are influencing individual clients’ experiences related to empowerment or
disempowerment. Although we are analyzing the experiences of individuals, we are
also interested in this phenomenon in a broader sense. Therefore, to provide diffe-
rent perspectives, we interviewed three different parties (clients, workers and cultural
interpreter) participating in a cultural interpretation trial.

According to Adams (2003, 4), empowerment is the most central concept describing
the nature of social work. However, the relationship between social work and em-
powerment is not simple, especially if observed with regard to power. In the helping
professions, the professional may encounter situations where conflicts arise between
empowerment and the need for social control, for example in the case of involuntary
procedures in child protection. Payne (2005, 302) suggests that the power used in
social work does not need to be perceived as something negative, since only a per-
son who has power is able to pass it on. According to this view, through use of their
own power workers can support their clients towards achieving enduring strength for
managing their own lives.
91 Cultural interpretation as an empowering method in social work

Although empowerment is a process that starts with the person, it is affected by the
community and interaction with other individuals, as well as the worker’s belief or lack
of belief in the client’s potential (Mönkkönen 2007, 143-144). In Siitonen’s view (1999,
189, 206), it is possible to support another person’s empowerment through subtle
means such as an atmosphere of openness, freedom of action and encouragement,
as well as by aspiring towards a sense of security, trust, and equality. Kananoja et
al. (2007, 108-113) suggest that a good relationship with a client can function as a
catalyst for working towards change and as a support mechanism for empowerment,
as long as the cooperation conveys a sense of caring, a feeling of human dignity
and individuality being respected, belief in the client’s own abilities, and hope for the
possibility of change. In addition, a well-functioning client relationship requires trans-
parency in the working process (Myllärniemi 2007, 124).

Empowerment can also be defined from the angle of disempowerment. For examp-
le, a person who has experienced discrimination or marginalization cannot be in an
empowered state (e.g. Björling 2005, 182-183). Immigrants are not automatically po-
werless, but several factors can be seen as constituting threats to their well-being.
These include lowered socio-economic status, lack of language skills, separation
from family members, lack of friendly reception, and being isolated form people with
similar cultural background (Liebkind 1994, 32-33). In addition, feelings associated
with immigration can include homesickness, rootlessness and loneliness. Taking care
of oneself can become more difficult in the new country, for example because of the
foreign language, which can result in feelings of powerlessness and helplessness.

Our premise is that immigrants are not powerless, but rather in a disempowering
situation, because they have to face great challenges. They have to learn the rules
of a new society, obtain new social networks, and rebuild their cultural identity after
landing in a new cultural and linguistic environment, as well as being an ethnic minori-
ty. In addition, the mothers participating in this study, being clients of child protection
services, are in a disempowered situation because they are all experiencing some
kind of crisis in their family life. To protect the anonymity of the clients, we do not
specify the causes that lead to them becoming involved with child protection services.

C ultural interpretation as novel working practice

The cultural interpretation service started in September 2011. Client relationships
with the cultural interpreter were preceded by a worker from the social services con-
tacting the interpreter and arranging a joint meeting with the social services worker,
the cultural interpreter and the family present. The cultural interpreter met client fami-
lies in network meetings, in the presence of officials, and while making house visits
on her own. In some cases, if the clients’ language skills were poor, the cultural
interpreter also acted as a foreign language interpreter between the workers and the
clients. Client relationships with the cultural interpreter lasted from a few meetings to
2-3 months, and some of them continue up to this date.

In child protection services, cultural interpretation mainly took place with the mot-
hers, and became extensively mother-centered, which in our view stemmed from
 Cultural interpretation as an empowering method in social work 92

four factors. First, family work has become mother-centered among Finnish clients
as well, so the workers may have followed previously adopted working practices (e.g.
Berg 2008). Secondly, in some families the parents were about to separate, with the
intention of children continuing to live with the mother. In such cases, child protection
issues were seen as concerning the mothers more than the fathers. Thirdly, one third
of the families were in a situation where the mother was considered to need cultural
interpretation more than the father, because the father had better language skills and
better knowledge of the functioning of the Finnish social services. This situation could
arise either because the father was of Finnish descent or because, in a few cases,
the father had lived in Finland considerably longer than the mother. Finally, the mot-
hers were the ones who primarily maintained contact with workers and actively used
the cultural interpreter’s services of their own initiative. The factors described above
may explain this, but the cultural interpreter’s gender may also have had an effect, as
well as the role of motherhood in Russian culture. It has been perceived as a very po-
werful role, both historically and in contemporary culture, and mothers are still seen
as being primarily responsible for the raising of children and the management of the
family’s daily life. (Rotkirch 2007, 17-21.)

Since the cultural interpreter service was a development project, the interpreter’s job
description was not defined in detail at the beginning, but instead it was allowed to
take shape in the course of the project. As professional practice the service is unique,
especially in the context of child protection, and it differs from the work of a foreign
language interpreter in that the latter is limited by a strict code of interpreters’ pro-
fessional ethics. This prevents the foreign language interpreter from taking a stand
in a discussion or asking clarifying questions, even if he or she notices misunder-
standings in the interaction between the worker and the client. In research regarding
foreign language interpretation (e.g. Annika Forsander 1996), it has also been found
that problems with interpretation include, for example, availability of interpreters es-
pecially in urgent situations, insufficient time for the discussions carried out with the
interpreter’s help, and variation between languages in the meanings attached to the
vocabulary used in child protection. The cultural interpreter, on the other hand, is not
bound by interpreters’ professional ethics, which means that the service can be fle-
xible and client centered. Therefore, the cultural interpreter can ask both workers and
clients clarifying questions, improving mutual understanding of the issues at hand.
Thus, cultural interpretation combines foreign language interpretation, peer support
and service guidance. It is also noteworthy that receiving the services of the cultural
interpreter is voluntary for the clients, all of whom were offered a chance to refuse this
service. In developing this service, the goal was to create culturally sensitive appro-
aches that will facilitate family workers’ efforts to help families of Russian origin, and
that will become part of established working practice.

D ata and methods

The data used in this research was collected from February to March 2012, and
it consists of three parts:

(1) The first part consists of an e-mail survey of workers who were involved in family
93 Cultural interpretation as an empowering method in social work

work and used the cultural interpreter service. The questionnaire was sent to 11 per-
sons, 9 of whom answered. All those responding to the family worker survey were
women, and their age range was 25-61 y.

(2) In the second part the mothers of the families that participated in the cultural
interpreter trial were interviewed by phone. Of the seven mothers involved, six were
interviewed, as one could not be reached. The cultural interpreter mainly worked with
the mothers, so we concluded it was best to interview mothers only. The age range of
the interviewees was 27-42, they had lived in Finland for 1-15 years, and at the time
the cultural interpreter service started they had been in touch with child protection
services for 1-18 months.

(3) The third part of the study, carried out face to face, consisted of interviewing the
person who acted as cultural interpreter. The cultural interpreter was a 30-year-old
woman who had moved to Finland from Russia five years earlier. She had training in
psychology as well as experience in working with clients in both Russia and Finland,
and she was familiar with the Finnish social services.

All interviewees were presented nearly identical questions, in identical order, cove-
ring two main themes: The challenges in cooperation between family workers and
Russian families in touch with child protection services, and experiences of cultural
interpreter service. The concrete questions this study aimed to answer were:

• What challenges exist in cooperation between family workers and Russian

immigrant families, as seen from the perspectives of the clients, the family
workers and the cultural interpreter?

• What is the role of the cultural interpreter in assisting the clients and the wor-
kers to meet these challenges?

• How significant were these challenges and cultural interpretation in terms of the
clients’ empowerment?

Throughout this study, analysis and interpretation of the research data were primarily
guided by empowerment theory. In addition, we applied content analysis, which aims
to condense data in such a way that the phenomena under scrutiny can be described
briefly in generalized form and relationships between different phenomena can be
shown clearly (Latvala & Vanhanen-Nuutinen 2001, 21-23).

The steps of the analysis fall into four main stages. In the first stage, the boundaries
of the data were defined. This stage took place while the survey and interview ques-
tionnaires were drafted. The questions in the interviews and survey questionnaire
formed the framework of the analysis, providing structure to the data even as it was
collected. In the second stage, tables to describe the interviews and surveys were
created, condensing the participants’ responses under each question and highligh-
ting the issues that came up most frequently. In this way, it was possible to observe
a number of different viewpoints simultaneously. In the third stage, condensed data
 Cultural interpretation as an empowering method in social work 94

was analyzed in the light of empowerment theory, through themes relevant to our
research questions. Finally, summary was written (e.g. Tuomi & Sarajärvi 2009, 92).
Although the ultimate aim of qualitative research is not to draw general conclusions
from the data, it is possible to find out, by studying a small data set, what factors are
significant in the phenomenon and what may be repeated when the same pheno-
menon is observed on a larger scale (Hirsijärvi et al. 2009, 182). The purpose of our
qualitative study was to provide a meaningful description of the cooperation between
clients and family workers, as well as the experiences gained from the cultural inter-
preter service trial. In the Analysis section of this article, in order to distinguish the
viewpoints of different respondents, the text samples have been tagged to identify
the writer of each response. The following letters are used to denote the categories
of respondents: C = Clients, W = Workers, CI= Cultural interpreter.

C hallenges to cooperation between family workers and clients

1) The language barrier and problems in comprehension

In a number of studies, the language barrier and difficulties in comprehension have
been found to constitute some of the greatest challenges to cooperation between
Finnish workers and immigrant clients (e.g. Heikkilä-Daskalopoulos 2008; Anis 2008;
Peltola & Metso 2008; Hammar-Suutari 2009; Pitkänen 2006). The results from our
study agree with the earlier studies, as all the clients and most of the workers brought
up the lack of a shared language as the greatest obstacle to cooperation:

(1) Difficulties with language and comprehension pose major challenges to

cooperation (C2).

(2) A different language is a big challenge (W3).

Although most of the clients already had a satisfactory or good level of spoken Fin-
nish, the clients mentioned that Finnish socio-political vocabulary is difficult to under-
stand, and that it is particularly hard to express emotions in Finnish:

(3) I do understand the Finnish language, but I did not understand the pur-
pose or the terminology of social work (C6).

(4) Because of the language barrier, it is difficult to attain mutual under-

standing. It is important to have an interpreter at the meetings, because it is
difficult to describe emotions in Finnish. (C3.)

It is of utmost importance to ensure comprehension and opportunity for self-expressi-

on for the client, for example through interpretation. If the client does not understand
what the worker is saying, the result can be disempowerment in more than one sen-
se. First, greater inequality develops between the client’s and the worker’s position of
power, since the worker has more knowledge and power regarding decision-making,
as well as power related to language use, with the worker speaking her native langu-
age and the client speaking a foreign language. Secondly, it is difficult for the client
95 Cultural interpretation as an empowering method in social work

to control the situation. It is possible that, due to lack of understanding, she is not
aware of her options or her opportunities to influence the discussion and decisions
based on it. Thirdly, failure to ensure that the client understands may cause the client
to feel that she is not respected, because her opinions are not regarded as important.
Generally, it can be assumed that an empowering approach and cooperation will be
difficult if the involved parties do not understand each other, and the client’s voice is
not genuinely heard. In such situations, it is challenging to set goals that the client is
genuinely committed to. (Rostila 2001, 39-40.)

The cultural interpreter expressed that uncertainty resulting from problems in com-
prehension can result in the clients having a sense of not fully managing their lives:

(5) Sometimes the clients may understand only a few words of what the
worker has said, removed from context, for example ”custody”. This leaves
them uncertain and creates a feeling that they are not in charge of their
lives, even if the worker had been talking about preventing the need for ta-
king children into custody of the state. (CI.)

Empowerment encompasses the idea of life being manageable and clear, as well
as the empowered person being aware of things happening around her. If a sense
of these is lacking, the intervention may have a disempowering effect. In addition,
uncertainty can cause a feeling of lacking control over one’s own life, or the lives of
the family and children. Moreover, life can be perceived as unsafe and unpredictable.
Such feelings form obstacles to empowerment (e.g Zimmermann 1995, 89). In the
cultural interpreter’s view, the client’s emotional state affects comprehension:

(6) In addition to language, stress levels affect the clients’ ability to com-
prehend matters. If the meeting is stressful and anxiety-provoking for the
client, she will only try to get through it, and many things will be missed. It
is important to use an interpreter and to ask clarifying questions, probing
the client’s comprehension level. The same applies to getting an overview of
the basics of social work, either with the social worker or some other worker.
(CI.)

However, the cultural interpreter felt that the main issue was not always language,
but rather the client’s stress level. Stress can be a result of experiences connected
to immigration, to individual life situations, and to being a child protection client, with
the fear of losing the children always present. In this situation, listening to a foreign
language and using it to communicate can become challenging. Similarly, it became
apparent in the interview with the workers that ensuring comprehension was of pri-
mary importance in working with immigrant clients:

(7) Because of the language barrier, getting things done requires numerous
repetitions both in spoken communication and on paper (W4).

The worker described how the issues at hand required repetition, to try to ensure the
client’s comprehension. However, it is equally important to ensure that the client gets
 Cultural interpretation as an empowering method in social work 96

to express her opinion in an appropriate way, since participation and self-expression

are especially central to empowerment (Rappaport 1987, 141; Siitonen 1999).

Our analysis suggests that the lack of a shared language and the limited use of inter-
pretation are not only major obstacles to cooperation between workers and clients,
but a cause of disempowerment. These obstacles prevent the client’s voice being
heard, they prevent the client’s participation in shared decision-making, and they di-
minish the client’s sense of control and cause her to perceive the situation as unsafe.
This affects goal-setting for the joint work between workers and clients.

2) Cultural differences and different views of child-rearing

Culture and cultural differences play a central role in working with immigrants. Culture
can refer to everyday practices as well as values and norms. Defined in this way, cul-
ture can be seen as defining our daily lives and the way we perceive the world. (Huttu-
nen et al. 2005, 26.) Culturally based so-called self-evident truths may be questioned,
and culture may become visible, for example in encounters with people from different
cultures (Draguns 1989, 3). The workers who responded to the questionnaire percei-
ved cultural differences as one of the greatest challenges to cooperation, and they
emphasized knowledge of the culture as a factor affecting success in cooperation:

(8) Sometimes there are extensive cultural differences (W3).

(9) Knowledge of the culture is necessary (W5).

Although there are differences in the views of people who have grown in different
cultural environments, it is problematic to explain social phenomena through cultural
differences. When explanations that emphasize cultural differences are used, there
is a risk that cultural identities and differences are assumed to be static, and that
placing people in distinct cultural categories is assumed to be simple (Honkatukia
& Suurpää 2008, 48). The significance of cultural background to any individual is
impossible to know beforehand. The individual’s relationship to it may be highly per-
sonal and ambiguous. (Anis 2008; Lepola 2007, 208; Härkäpää & Peltola 2005, 148.)
The cultural interpreter discussed the problems involved in explanations based on
cultural differences:

(10) It is easy to use culture to explain things, because that way you don’t
have to think more closely. However, it is difficult to talk about a uniform
Russian culture, because the clients have moved out of Russia at different
points in time, some during the Soviet era. Also, the clients come from re-
gions that differ from each other a lot. Rather than considering cultural dif-
ferences, it is important to take into account individual life situations and
the stress involved in the immigration process. (CI.)

The cultural interpreter suggests that it is easy to explain things away by referring to
cultural differences, since this does not require more thorough reasoning. Excessive
emphasis on cultural difference may lead to all individual problems being defined as
expressions of a different culture, which causes workers to ignore other factors that
97 Cultural interpretation as an empowering method in social work

contribute to displacement. This increases polarization between the native population

and the immigrants (see. Heikkilä-Daskalopoulos 2008, 14; Stier 2004). The clients’
specific needs are not necessarily linked to the different culture, but to their different
life experiences and the process of moving to another country (Anis 2008, 28-29).
The issues at hand may simply be seen differently by different individuals: the offici-
als may see difficulties in interaction as stemming from a different culture, while the
immigrants see the officials’ policies as the problem (Huttunen et al. 2005, 35). Ex-
planations can also be found in personal relationships and socio-economic position
(Ikäläinen et al. 2003, 28). Cultural environments certainly can affect a person’s way
of thinking, but in discussing this it is necessary to define more clearly what we mean
by cultural differences. In connection with cultural differences, the workers mention
other differences, such as:

(11) Differences in legislation (W1).

(12) Discomfort with support work (W5).

The same themes came up in the interviews with the clients. The clients experienced
child protection work as interfering with the family’s internal matters:

(13) The problem with Finnish child protection is that the workers will not let
you raise your children in peace (C6).

Differences in legislation and experiencing discomfort with support work may be clo-
sely connected, since these two can certainly hinder the building of cooperation.
Social work and child protection can be very unfamiliar to people coming from outside
the western culture (Anis 2008, 28). For example, taking children into custody is an
alien concept in many cultures where public authorities hardly ever interfere with
child-rearing, and where children may, at most, be placed in the custody of their rela-
tives (Heikkilä-Daskalopoulos 2008, 32). In Russia, custody means loss of parental
rights, an irreversible process that leaves a mark in the person’s record. This may
affect the clients’ attitudes towards child protection workers and their discomfort with
support work (Mikkola 2008).

One of the interviewees felt that child protection meant interfering with family life. The
interviewee particularly felt that problems arose with Finnish child protection services
specifically. The cultural interpreter sees that attitudes towards social work are in-
fluenced by the clients’ experiences in their country of origin:

(14) The parents are not used to an outside party interfering with their child-
rearing, demanding that they make changes. It can also be said that in Rus-
sia people rarely turn to officials, and advice on child-rearing is primarily
sought from parents and friends. (CI.)

In the cultural interpreter’s view, the discomfort with support work reflects a habit of
handling family matters within the family’s immediate network. As extensive societal
support systems are lacking in Russia, family, friends and relatives are considered
 Cultural interpretation as an empowering method in social work 98

to be the family’s safety net (e.g. Sailas et al. 1996, 252). Many immigrants compare
the Finnish system to the system in their country of origin, which can make it difficult
to adjust to the new system (Forsander 1994, 56-66).

It is noteworthy that the clients did not talk about cultural differences as an obstacle
to cooperation, but rather saw the lack of a shared language as the main challenge,
as described in the previous chapter. Another challenge mentioned by the clients was
created by different practices in child-rearing:

(15) Different views on child-rearing (C3).

(16) Different ideas on how children should be raised (C6).

The universal basis for child-rearing has been assumed to be that parents have their
children’s best interest in mind (Värri 2000, 134). However, what is considered a good
future or in the child’s best interest varies with time and from one culture to another,
as do the means considered to bring these about (Alitolppa-Niitamo 2005, 103). In
the interviews, the cultural interpreter discussed how child-centered principles may
be perceived as alien by many families:

(17) The child-centered approach in Finnish child protection may be seen

as something quite alien. The lack of acceptance towards the Finnish child-
centered approach also stems from not understanding the values and
structures behind it. In addition, few clients have any contacts with Finnish
mothers or knowledge of information sources that could provide them with
more information on child-rearing. In this situation, it is difficult for them to
reflect on their own child-rearing style. (CI.)

The cultural interpreter suggested that the child-centered approach in Finnish child
protection may be perceived as alien to Russian families. However, the Finnish Child
Protection Act and the UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child highlight the child’s
right to participation and a central role in child protection (Act 417/2007, UN 1989).
Consequently, the worker should try to provide room for the child’s story and expe-
riences to be heard. In the cultural interpreter’s view, this premise is difficult to per-
ceive if the client is not aware of the values and goals underlying the child-centered
approach, or why Finnish child-rearing styles might be better than the client’s own.
The cultural interpreter adds, however, that:

(18) Deficient care or harmful child-rearing practices should not be exp-

lained through culture, because it means that the issues will remain out of
reach. Also, even if there are child-rearing problems in some families of Rus-
sian descent, it does not mean that they concern all Russian families or that
they are part of the culture. (CI.)

The above quote concisely summarizes the observation that using cultural differen-
ces as explanations is not a fruitful approach. If cultural differences are assumed to
99 Cultural interpretation as an empowering method in social work

be static, the workers may not even attempt to influence certain issues, because they
are considered unchangeable. The cultural interpreter also brought up the observati-
on that generalizing the child-rearing problems seen in a few Russian families to the
entire Russian culture does not create an accurate image.

As a whole, the clients’ and workers’ different starting points and presuppositions,
which may not be entirely clear to either party, can result in disempowerment in many
respects. For the clients, the unfamiliarity with support work and the concept of child-
centeredness may be a problem. In such cases the client does not want to receive
the offered help, and help may be experienced as an extra source of stress, deple-
ting the family’s resources even further. It is noteworthy that the workers talk about
cultural differences, while the clients talk about differences in child-rearing. However,
using cultural differences as an explanation is not necessarily a fruitful approach,
since it does not help the client to solve problems, nor does it provide opportunities
to work things out. Also, phenomena such as cultural differences should be named
and dissected with greater specificity, not merely handled collectively under the topic
of “culture”. Differences in child-rearing styles appeared to the clients as challenges
to cooperation, but even when child-rearing styles do actually differ, it is important to
emphasize and strive towards ethical ideals that do not change with time or society
(see Launonen & Pulkkinen 2004, 17). The families should also be offered informati-
on on child-rearing and its underlying values, so that the self-reflection that is integral
to empowerment becomes possible.

3) Lack of trust
In social work, establishing trust can be considered an essential prerequisite for good
interaction and joint work. However, trust does not come automatically, since clients
may be afraid of working with officials on the basis of, for example, their previous
experiences, stereotypes, or the controlling features of social work that exist along-
side the support role (e.g. Kananoja et al. 2007, 109-110). A theme that was clearly
highlighted in the data set, in interviews with all involved parties, was the difficulty of
forming a confidential relationship between clients and workers:

(19) Russians distrust officials. Winning their trust takes time and effort.
Language problem? (W5.)

Several workers reported that winning the clients’ trust is challenging and takes time,
but no one suggested that it was impossible. The answers showed that the issue was
specifically the clients not trusting the workers. The language problem was suspected
to be a factor behind the distrust, and it may in fact be one contributing factor. It is
difficult to trust someone if you are not able to communicate with them. The clients felt
that distrust created obstacles to cooperation with social and family workers:

(20) I will say this frankly, I do not fully trust the family workers, we have no
mutual understanding and it is important that the interpreter is present at
the meetings (C3).

(21) It is difficult to trust the workers when you do not know what the purpo-
se of their work is precisely (C1).
 Cultural interpretation as an empowering method in social work 100

Distrust towards family workers and social workers can be based on a variety of
factors, for example the person’s previous experiences that are felt to be unjust, im-
pressions that the worker is not competent to fulfill expectations, or asymmetry, with
awareness of the risk that the person in a more advantageous position has opportu-
nities to use her power against the other party (see Kankainen 2007, 53). In addition,
predictability of the other person’s behavior has been considered a prerequisite for
trust, and the clients may not have a sense of predictability if they do not know what
they can expect from the workers (e.g. Mayer et al.1995).

However, a strong impression that emerges from this data set is that the clients feel
the distrust to be engendered primarily, if not entirely, by the lack of a shared langu-
age and the lack of information regarding cooperation. According to Vilén et al. (2002,
31-32), trust is established when the worker succeeds in justifying her view and when
the client feels that the decision, action or work is in her best interest. However, justifi-
cation is difficult in situations where there is no shared language, as reflected in quote
(20) regarding the need to use an interpreter when building trust. The cultural inter-
preter saw additional dangers in not attempting to ensure the client’s comprehension:

(22) If the client does not understand the purpose of social work, she will
not accept it, and she will not trust the workers, but at the same time she
may passively submit to the worker’s power, because she thinks that she has
no say in her own affairs (CI).

In the situation described by the cultural interpreter, we can talk about failing to obser-
ve the client’s right to self-determination. A situation where the cooperation between
worker and client does not function because of the client’s lack of comprehension
may feed the client’s dependence and helplessness, which in turn diminishes her
ability to manage her life, thus causing disempowerment. The client’s comprehension
of the purpose of social work should be strengthened, so that the client knows about
her options and the social worker can support the client to see her own resources and
her potential for development (see Rostila 2001, 29, 32-33).

On the matter of distrust, the issue does not seem to be clients distrusting these
workers specifically, but rather them not trusting the thing the workers represent, i.e.
child protection, because they do not know or understand it. The cultural interpreter
felt that the unfamiliarity of the social service system is the reason behind the distrust
felt by the clients:

(23) The Finnish social service system was alien to the clients. That is why it
does not inspire trust, but prejudice and fear (CI).

A study by Forsander (1994, 56-66) suggests that many immigrants living in Finland
do not trust officials in general. This is, at least partly, due to experiences in their
country of origin, lack of knowledge regarding Finnish administrative practice, or un-
realistic expectations on the client’s part. It has also been suggested that culture
affects the development of trust. Cultural elements, such as the individuals’ relation-
ships to themselves and the authorities, influence the clients’ behavioral expecta-
101 Cultural interpretation as an empowering method in social work

tions, and through these expectations they influence the building of trust (Doney et
al. 1998). Due to widespread corruption, the level of trust towards state institutions
and officials among the Russian people has been observed to be very low. In this si-
tuation, distrust may function as a type of survival mechanism. (Melin & Bloom 2002,
595.) It is quite possible that the participants’ previous experiences, together with lack
of information, have an effect on the development of distrust in Finland, as well. The
cultural interpreter also brought up the possibility that the clients may have compared
Finnish child protection with its Russian counterpart:

(24) People may have powerful presuppositions about nothing good co-
ming out of social work. Russians often fear losing parental rights, because
if a child is taken into custody in Russia, you do not get that child back. Also,
having contact with social workers may affect for example your chances of
employment in the future, since it leaves a mark in your record. And general-
ly, if child protection gets involved, it means that the situation in the family
is really bad. (CI.)

As was mentioned above, if the system is not familiar, it is possible that it will be com-
pared to the service system in the client’s country of origin. The cultural interpreter
describes the last-resort character of child protection and the consequences of for-
ced custody in Russian society. In a situation like this, it is understandable that child
protection is perceived as a potential threat, instead of as a supporter and a provider
of assistance. On the other hand, the fear of losing a child was also suggested as a
factor that prevented trust:

(25) I cannot trust the social service officials because I do not understand
them, and the fear of the children being taken is always present (C2).

The Family Federation’s Centre for Multicultural Expertise, Kotipuu, has carried out
an interview survey of immigrants, showing that the immigrant respondents asso-
ciated child protection with a fear of losing their children (Vesterinen, 2008). The child
and family disputes that have been in the news over the past years, with claims of
injustice towards Russian citizens as a common feature, may for their part have in-
fluenced Russian families’ attitudes towards child protection (e.g. Kemppainen 2012).
However, the fear that focuses on child protection does not necessarily concern im-
migrants specifically. For example, the press release by the Central Union for Child
Welfare on April 27th 2012 states: ”The current public discussion feeds the idea that
child protection means punishing the child and the family. At the same time, child
protection is described as arbitrary and haphazard”. This may also influence the way
child protection is generally perceived by families living in Finland.

For immigrants, the lack of familiarity with the system and poor language skills may
exacerbate the situation. It is obvious that if the character and purpose of the child
protection family work remain unclear, trust does not develop, and instead the situa-
tion engenders fear. In the light of empowerment theory, distrust towards the workers
may form an obstacle to empowerment (see Siitonen 1999, 143). Although distrust
is portrayed in this study as a challenge and a factor that prevents empowerment, it
 Cultural interpretation as an empowering method in social work 102

does not necessarily have to be considered a bad thing in itself. At best, it enables
people to bring up problems and to solve them (see Kankainen 2007, 53). The res-
ponses of the clients and the cultural interpreter send a strong message that the lack
of trust is based on lack of clarity regarding the tasks and goals of child protection,
as well as lack of information regarding the Finnish service system and difficulties
in understanding the workers. Therefore, in future work attention should be paid to
these factors.

E mpowering elements in the cultural interpreter’s work

1) Emotional support
Emotions play a key role in the empowerment process. In the course of this process,
emotions provide the individual with information and clues about how safe the situ-
ation is, about the general atmosphere, level of acceptance, support and freedom
of action, as well as interactions between people. If the emotions are positive, they
release the person’s resources (Siitonen 1999, 152, 154). In this study, the signifi-
cance of emotions emerged as a strong theme. All clients brought up the fact that the
emotional support they received from the cultural interpreter was especially important
to them:

(26) Emotionally the cultural interpreter backed me up a lot (C1).

(27) The cultural interpreter gave me emotional support, and our conversa-
tions gave me strength. This was important, because I was going through a
difficult phase in my private life, and I had no one to talk to. (C2.)

The interviews showed that most of the clients had no friends or relatives in Fin-
land, and some of them were going through divorce, which meant that they could
not receive support from their spouses. The cultural interpreter was the only person
to whom they could talk about their personal issues. With regard to empowerment,
it is crucial that the person who is striving towards empowerment has a relationship
where trust and dialogue are possible. Empowerment is a process that starts within
the individual, but it often involves a social dimension, and a worker who supports
empowerment is a prerequisite for the client’s empowerment (Adams 2003). Inter-
views with clients, workers and cultural interpreter alike reflected the importance of
communication in the native language:

(28) Psychologically I got a lot of help. I felt a lot calmer when I got to tell the
cultural interpreter about the family problems in my native language. (C3.)

(29) The most important part of the work is the emotional support given to
the family. This is best provided by a person who speaks the same language,
both literally and figuratively. (W3.)
103 Cultural interpretation as an empowering method in social work

(30) People primarily need emotional support. It is important to be able to

express emotion in one’s emotional language, to understand the other and
to be understood. (CI.)

The quotes show that the respondents consider self-expression in the native langu-
age an important element of emotional support. When the client has the opportunity
to express herself in her native language, a communicative connection and an equal
relationship are created between the client and the worker, as the most important
preconditions for a dialogue-based relationship are understanding and responding
(see Mönkkönen 2002, 40, 56-57). The client’s role as an expert on her own situation
is highlighted, and she is enabled to participate in defining her own situation, which
influences her empowerment. In quote (28), the respondent mentioned how she felt
calmer after she managed to talk about her problems in her native language. In addi-
tion, some other elements were linked with emotional support:

(31) I was suffering from psychological stress, but the cultural interpreter lis-
tened and supported me. She also told me what options I have, helped me
to think positively, and helped to solve problems, which calmed me down
and gave me strength. (C5.)

In this quote, the client described how being heard and being able to see different
options brought her a sense of calmness and strength. We believe that this happened
because her current unfavorable situation turned out, in the light of the discussi-
on, to be something that could be changed after all. Thinking about positive future
scenarios and being able to see freedom of action increases a person’s self-confi-
dence, self-esteem and positive attitude, and all of these are linked to the ability to
release resources (Kemppinen & Rouvinen-Kemppinen 1998; Siitonen 1999, 118).

(32) Emotional support is the basis, without which it is hard for the client
to receive any other support or to make any changes in her life. The discus-
sions have had a therapeutic effect. When you are able to say your own
thoughts out loud and another person comments on them, it is possible to
look at yourself from the outside and find a solution, or to find the factors
and behavior models that stop you from solving the problem. (CI.)

The cultural interpreter talked about internal processes, and how emotional support
forms the basis for receiving other types of help and making life changes. Feelings of
insecurity or a state of constant stress can dominate the client’s life to the extent that
she has difficulty receiving information or making decisions (see Riihinen 1996). The
cultural interpreter mentions how the conversations had an effect through providing
emotional release and facilitating self-reflection, which is an element of empower-
ment. Consciousness of oneself enables a person to observe herself critically and to
change counterproductive behaviors, which leads to the release of previously unat-
tainable resources (Adams 2003, 10). The interviews clearly show that the emotional
support the clients received had empowering effects. This emotional support included
being heard, understanding the other, self-expression in the native language, being
able to see options, and support that enabled self-reflection.
 Cultural interpretation as an empowering method in social work 104

2) Language support
In some situations, the cultural interpreter also acted as a foreign language interpre-
ter. However, the clients, workers and the interpreter herself felt that mere technical
translation was less important than the language support provided by the cultural
interpreter. The interviews with the workers brought up the following comments:

(33) The language question and the issue of understanding people correctly
are important. A language interpreter alone is not always enough because
we also need an interpreter who knows the culture, who can express her
views in more ways than just by interpreting. Then we can establish trust
more quickly. (W5.)

(34) The cultural interpreter, as compared to an ordinary interpreter, can

take part in the work process, can be a supporter of the client family (W6).

The workers described how the difference between a cultural interpreter and a lan-
guage interpreter is that the cultural interpreter can participate in the work processes
even as she interprets, express her views on the issues at hand, and be a supporter
to the family, which also helps in establishing a trusting client relationship. The clients
analyzed the content of this language support in greater detail:

(35) The cultural interpreter explained everything in detail and asked the
workers many clarifying questions. Before that, many things had been un-
clear to me. (C2.)

(36) She gave answers to which I could not formulate questions. She also
explained my situation and thoughts correctly to the worker when I was not
able to do it myself. (C4.)

It was brought up in the interviews that the cultural interpreter had the role of clarifying
matters between clients and workers. She explained things to clients and workers
alike, asking both further questions. It was precisely these additional questions that
seem to have played an important role. The workers may have been under the im-
pression that the clients had more information than they actually did. The clients did
not know what questions to ask, because child protection social work and the Fin-
nish system generally were unfamiliar to them. It can be seen that clarifying matters
increases the clients’ awareness of the workers’ tasks, and that this is important for
cooperation and commitment on the client’s part. In addition to clarification, sorting
out misunderstandings was part of language support:

(37) The cultural interpreter sorted out misunderstanding that arose in dis-
cussions with Finnish workers. This is good, because no one was left to bear
grudges. (C1.)

(38) The cultural interpreter has acted as a facilitator in matters that cause
conflicts or misunderstandings (W2).
105 Cultural interpretation as an empowering method in social work

Misunderstandings prevent cooperation between client and worker, which can be-
come an obstacle to providing the help the client needs. This can be reflected in ac-
cumulation of problems and mutual frustration. The negative feelings and resistance
towards workers caused by misunderstandings may also deplete the clients’ resour-
ces, which are already diminished, making the work even more difficult. Therefore, it
is good to sort out misunderstandings at an early stage, so that efforts can be directed
at the important issues. Further, the clients expressed that the cultural interpreter
supported them by helping them to answer the workers:

(39) If you do not speak the Finnish language properly, it is difficult to ans-
wer well. The cultural interpreter helped me to answer the workers actively.
(C5.)

Thus, the cultural interpreter enabled the clients to participate in the discussion and
in defining their situations, providing them the opportunity to express their own views
and opinions. This is important for empowerment, since getting one’s voice heard
gives a person the feeling that she has a chance to control her fate and to affect the
decisions that concern her life. This is especially important in the context of child pro-
tection where the social worker has societal power to make decisions regarding the
client’s family (see Zimmerman 1995, 583). The cultural interpreter also mentioned
that language support enables clients to feel that they are active participants:

(40) Clarifying matters is an important part of my work. Just interpreting is

often not enough. More in-depth discussion on the perceptions, wishes, and
values of the different parties is needed. When the issues become clear, the
client will feel that she can have a say in how things are done. (CI.)

Experiences of participation may increase feelings of coping and managing one’s

own life, or conversely, they can weaken the client’s sense of being able to influence
things, if the client’s voice is not heard. Expressing opinions also promotes assuming
responsibility and facilitates active agency (Rappaport 1987, 141; Juhila 2002, 16-17;
Niiranen 2002, 69-70).

We can see that language support involves many elements that empower clients.
The support facilitated increased comprehension on the clients’ part and reduced mi-
sunderstandings between workers and clients. As a result, existing resources could
be directed at helping the clients instead of sorting out problems between clients
and workers. The clients have been enabled to attain active agency by being able to
express themselves and getting their voices heard.

3) Conveying information
Knowledge and power are often seen as intertwined, since some methods of mana-
ging and applying knowledge can bring power (Lonka 2001). For example, knowled-
ge regarding society may be reflected in increased opportunities for societal action
and choice, and thus increased freedom. According to both the cultural interpreter’s
and the clients’ stories, one of the most important elements in the cultural interpreter’s
 Cultural interpretation as an empowering method in social work 106

work was conveying information regarding the purpose of child protection social work,
the Finnish service system, and child-rearing. In addition, the clients described how
the cultural interpreter had provided information they had not been able to request.
First, the purpose of child protection social work was seen as a matter of primary
importance in both the clients’ and the workers’ responses:

(41) Clarifying the working practices of Finnish child protection and legis-
lation has been an important part of the work. Also, it has been important
to bring up the fact that parental rights are not removed in Finland, but
instead we primarily bolster the family’s resources with the child’s best in-
terest in mind. (W1.)

(42) The cultural interpreter explained about the social workers’ tasks, and
my old fears disappeared (C2).

Both workers and clients emphasized that receiving more information about the so-
cial workers’ work has led to the clients losing their fear. The interviews showed that
these fears had primarily been connected to the possibility of losing the children.
Alongside the support, child protection does involve control and the possibility of the
authorities taking custody of the child, which can contribute to the generation of fear.
This can hamper cooperation between clients and workers (e.g. Heino 1999, 24, 26-
28). It can be assumed that such fears deplete the resources of a family already in a
difficult situation, and conversely, freeing people from fear can be seen as something
that frees resources and supports the family towards accepting help. The cultural
interpreter also saw a connection between fear and lack of knowledge:

(43) In my experience, the clients’ knowledge of child protection is minimal,

and this can cause fear. It is largely a result of them having difficulty fin-
ding reliable and accurate information about Finnish child protection. The
images portrayed by the Russian media and by their acquaintances may be
misleading. In addition, the clients’ limited resources, stressful situation and
poor language skills can make it difficult to find information. It is not clear
to everyone where information should be sought, in the first place. (CI.)

In the cultural interpreter’s view, it was difficult for the clients to find accurate infor-
mation regarding Finnish child protection by using their own channels. The cultural
interpreter also emphasized that the clients do not always have any idea of where
to look for information, in the first place. The same theme came up in interviews with
the clients:

(44) The cultural interpreter gave me an accurate description of child pro-

tection and told me a lot of things I had not thought of asking about (C3).

Telling things the client does not ask about seems to play an important role. Asking
can be difficult if the client does not know the system, since she will not know what
she should focus on and what to ask. The cultural interpreter felt that just conveying
107 Cultural interpretation as an empowering method in social work

information is not enough, but the clarity of the information and explaining the context
play especially important roles:

(45) Information should be conveyed in a clear and comprehensible man-

ner. Giving the overall picture is especially crucial, because the entire service
system can be totally alien to them. For example, if we tell the clients about
family work, we should tell them what larger whole it is connected to, and
what its purpose is. The service system may seem complicated, so it would
be best to describe the services by using concrete examples. (CI.)

The cultural interpreter emphasizes that clarity is a crucial quality in the informa-
tion given to the clients. Providing unclear information can be seen as preventing
the clients’ empowerment. This is one of the factors that maintain patronizing work
practices (see Tuorila 2009, 106). Patchiness in the service system can hamper the
immigrants’ own initiative and attempts to get help (e.g. Peltola and Metso 2008).
Therefore, comprehensible information regarding the service system is one of the
most important empowering factors for individual people, as it helps the person to
conduct her business with the service system independently, and to make reasoned
decisions.

Secondly, information regarding the service system in general emerged as a strong

theme in the workers’ and clients’ discussions:

(46) Explaining the Finnish service system has been important (W3).

(47) The cultural interpreter explained to me what support people can get
in different life situations, and where it can be found. This kind of support
could be given at the very first stages of moving. That way people would
know where to apply for help, if they need it. Perhaps our family’s problems
would not have gotten so bad. (C1.)

(48) Now I know what services exist, and where I can conduct affairs myself
and apply for help, should I ever need it (C3).

The workers described how information regarding the Finnish service system had
been important, but the clients explained the importance of information in greater de-
tail. They described how knowing about the service system allowed them to conduct
their affairs on their own, and to apply for help when it is needed. Thus, it can be seen
that their opportunities for action have increased. In terms of empowerment, it is im-
portant that a person understands what opportunities for action are available to her,
and believes that she can influence the course of events in her environment (Zimmer-
mann 1990, 174; 1995, 89; Siitonen 1999, 99, 117). Further, several respondents felt
that receiving this type of assistance combined with the necessary information could
also help in preventing problems, if the information was provided to immigrants in the
early stages of moving to the country
 Cultural interpretation as an empowering method in social work 108

In summary, it can be said that conveying information has had an effect on the clients’
empowerment. As they received more information, the clients’ fears towards child
protection were allayed, and their chances of acting independently within the service
system increased. Acting within the service system is considered important, since
the immigrants’ extended family and other social networks that support them are
diminished or disappear completely in the process of moving to the new country. In
this situation, the roles of various public service officials may become heightened in
the immigrants’ lives (Hirstiö-Snellman et al. 1998, 6). With increased awareness of
the service system, it also becomes possible to seek certain kinds of help from the
service system at the right time.

4) Creating an atmosphere of trust

As was mentioned earlier, trust is an essential prerequisite for client and social wor-
ker working together, since trust affects the level of success in communication. Trust
can be described as something people can sense, which means that it is difficult to
pretend that it exists if it does not develop between the different parties (Mönkkönen
2007, 120-123). The workers and the cultural interpreter involved in this study also
considered mutual trust between clients and workers to be a prerequisite for coope-
ration. They described how challenging it is to establish such trust, and they empha-
sized the cultural interpreter’s role in supporting the building of trusting relationships:

(49) Building trust with the family has been an important part of the work
(W5).

(50) An important part of my work has been building trust between wor-
kers, mainly prevented by mutual prejudices (CI).

The workers describe how the cultural interpreter has helped them to build trust to-
wards the family, but the cultural interpreter analyzes the matter further and sees
prejudices as the obstacles to trust. Interaction between two people is influenced,
among other things, by prejudices and the categorizing of people, which often guide
our actions unconsciously. Their effect can be positive, neutral or negative. Interacti-
on is also influenced by previous experiences of intercultural encounters, which may
have been either successful of unsuccessful. Intercultural client service situations
may involve uncertainty, fear and situations that are new to both parties, and the
cultural interpreter tries to allay these problems (Hammar-Suutari 2009, 116-119).
The clients were interviewed discussed factors underlying the development of trust
in greater detail, revisiting issues mentioned in earlier chapters, including language
support and receiving information:

(51) The cultural interpreter straightened some false assumptions I had

about child protection, and helped to sort out some misunderstandings
between me and the Finnish workers. Now it is easier for me to trust family
work. (C1.)

In the clients’ opinion, receiving information about child protection work and correc-
ting false assumptions helped them to trust family work. It appears that once the
109 Cultural interpretation as an empowering method in social work

clients have information regarding the content and purpose of child protection, they
feel that they can show confidence in family work. This may be connected to inc-
reased feelings of predictability and control (see Ilmonen 2005, 51). We can presume
that confidence in child protection as an institution can promote the development of
trust towards individual employees. (e.g. Seligman 1997, 18).
Further, the clients talked about an atmosphere of openness that came with the de-
velopment of trust:

(52) When the cultural interpreter was present, the discussion was open,
and I thought that now it is easier for me to talk and to trust them (C5).

This was probably partly connected to the fact that the clients were able to speak their
native language in the cultural interpreter’s presence. However, it is also possible
that the feeling of trust partly arises from familiarity, from the shared language and
the shared experiences of immigration. In addition, trust can be seen to be linked to a
feeling of safety, in which case the clients’ trust towards the cultural interpreter crea-
tes a general atmosphere of confidentiality, allowing the clients to trust other workers
more easily, as well (see Seligman 2001). The cultural interpreter herself discussed
how the generation of trust may have partly been due to her position and her attitude
towards the clients:

(53) I’m on the same level with them. I respect them, and they respect me. I
give advice, but I do not judge, nor do I make any decisions regarding their
life or demand anything, so they don’t have to hide anything from me, eit-
her. (CI.)

In the cultural interpreter’s view, there was no great difference in the level of power
between her and the clients. She felt that she was on the same level with the clients,
which promoted trust. Further, the cultural interpreter brought up respect as a factor
in building trust. Respect can be understood as considering the other to be a compe-
tent communication partner, and seeing the other’s behavior as sensible in the light
of her situation As trust is established, it becomes easier for each party to believe in
the information provided by the other (Ikäheimo 2003).

Empowerment takes place most naturally in environments where the person invol-
ved feels that the atmosphere is safe, and where she feels that she is accepted and
her position is equal to others. It appears that cultural interpretation has promoted
the development of such an atmosphere. Another crucial factor for empowerment is
the kind of context the person considers to be supportive, appreciative, confidential
and unprejudiced, as well as facilitating attainment of her own goals (Siitonen 1999,
143-144, 161). In the course of the cultural interpretation trial, the clients saw a mo-
del where trust towards official was being developed. They saw that it is possible to
talk to officials about important matters, and that it is safe to accept the help they
offer. The cultural interpreter did not work as an official with them, but instead shared
similar experiences of immigration and spoke the same language, so it was easier
to trust her from the outset. Receiving language support and information on child
protection were factors that had a powerful influence on the development of trust. It is
 Cultural interpretation as an empowering method in social work 110

apparent that as mutual trust is established, dialogue-based relationship with workers

and personal commitment to the work on the clients’ part become possible. In social
work generally, trust is an important element in bringing about positive change (e.g.
Dominelli 2004).

D iscussion
The goal of our study was to analyze cultural interpretation as working practice
that aims to support clients. We focused our attention on the types of mechanisms
that prevent or enhance the empowerment of clients of child protection services. In
the first part of the article, we discussed various obstacles to cooperation encounte-
red by the clients and family workers. Such obstacles should be taken into considera-
tion more widely in social work involving immigrant clients. First, the language barrier
and difficulties with comprehension hinder empowerment. The primary issue to be
solved should be ensuring that the client understands and can be heard by using
interpreters. There can hardly be any discussion about trust or building cooperation
if the client does not have a clear idea about the purpose of child protection, if she
cannot express her thoughts appropriately, or if basic facts cannot be made clear.
Secondly, cultural differences and different views on child-rearing were brought up.
However, stating the existence of cultural differences is not a helpful starting point.
Instead, it is important to define more precisely what is meant by cultural difference,
in order to get to grips with the actual issues. Also, the Finnish child-centered thinking
and child protection may seem alien to the clients, in which case it is important to
convey information in a comprehensible form, discuss the issues, and justify decisi-
ons. Thirdly, the lack of trust in social workers experienced by the clients hampers
the work and drains the family’s resources even further, as many of the respondents
feared they would lose their children and did not trust the child protection workers’
willingness to help them. Factors brought up as underlying the lack of trust were the
language barrier and lack of information, i.e. issues that can be given concrete na-
mes and that can possibly be solved.

In the second part of the article we discussed the empowering elements of cultural
interpretation. The results of this study suggest that the clients received from the
cultural interpreter: (1) Emotional support, in which case the mechanisms of empo-
werment were a positive future outlook created through interaction, getting heard,
and the opportunity for self-expression in the native language. (2) Language support
was another type of support received from the cultural interpreter. In this case, the
mechanisms of empowerment were a feeling of participation, since the clients took
part in defining their own situations as active agents, a feeling of managing one’s own
life, as the individuals’ understanding of the factors influencing their lives increased,
and faster resolution of resource-draining misunderstandings, allowing resources to
be targeted at improving the client’s situation. (3) Conveying information had an effect
on putting an end to the fears the clients had about child protection, and helped the
clients to understand the service system, increasing their opportunities for choice and
action. All these mechanisms lead to a sense of security, brought about by removing
the insecurity that resulted from lack of information, and by cooperation with child
protection becoming comprehensible and predictable, which allows the client to fully
participate in it. The general sense of security, in turn, leads to trust and better coope-
111 Cultural interpretation as an empowering method in social work

ration with workers. In addition, trusting the cultural interpreter has contributed to the
development of trust between the clients and other workers, as well.

Although empowerment starts with the person herself, research evidence suggests
that it can be supported through action that creates mechanisms which, in turn, sup-
port empowerment. In the course of the cultural interpreter services, the clients did
gain a sense of internal power, adopt more active roles in defining their situations,
and feel that their opportunities for action increased. On the basis of the data, these
elements appear to be part of a process of empowerment, which in our view has
taken place on three distinct levels: through the clients’ personal, positive feelings
and experiences, in client relationships with the workers, and on a societal level, as
opportunities for societal action increased.

In the course of the study, we got a strong impression that cultural interpretation can
be a holistic and effective working method in the field of social services, as it com-
bines foreign language interpretation, peer support and service guidance. However,
when developing a model of the service we have to consider the possibility that
cultural interpretation is trust-inspiring and effective because it is a so-called para-
professional service. By this we mean that while the cultural interpreter has skills in
psychology, and she may use these skills in her work with the clients, her position
is not that of an official authority, she does not make decisions regarding the clients’
lives, and working with her is not obligatory. Thus the clients receive support from her
with no elements of control involved. This challenges the usual helper-recipient posi-
tions, possibly engendering trust and willingness to receive help from the interpreter.
In addition, refraining from developing strict definitions has allowed the service to be
flexible and the approach to be adjusted case by case. In this way, the cultural inter-
preter has been able to take each family’s unique life situation into consideration. In
a similar vein, Adams (2003, 47) considers that in its most genuine form empower-
ment takes place in the context of non-professional, voluntary, low-threshold activity,
for example in various peer support groups and citizens’ movements, rather than
through bureaucratic systems or professional social work.

Regardless of our positive results, we need to address the limitations of our study.
The first limitation concerns the difficulty of measuring the empowerment process,
since it can be influenced by numerous factors and events in a person’s life. In the
interviews only questions related to cultural interpretation, were asked, so it is natural
that the interviewees only talked about this topic.

The second limitation we recognized had to do with the limited scope of the study.
We could only draw on the experiences of one person working as a cultural inter-
preter. The personality and working style of the worker are quite significant in terms
of successful interaction and subjective experiences of encounters with the clients.
If several cultural interpreters had been available for observation, it is possible that
the data and results would have shown more variation. Therefore, we believe that
for a deeper understanding of the empowerment process in the context of cultural
interpretation, longitudinal research with a more than one cultural interpreter would
be necessary.
 Cultural interpretation as an empowering method in social work 112

The third limitation that caught our attention when analyzing the data concerned pos-
sible interviewer and response bias. The positive accounts of the cultural interpreta-
tion given by all respondents, and especially the clients, may have been influenced
by their perceptions of the researcher’s expectations, or by politeness towards the
current cultural interpreter. It is difficult to suggest any simple solution to this prob-
lem, but we feel that the reliability of the results is supported by the simultaneous
observation of views from a number of different people. The results of our study are
summarized in the following figure.

Figure 1: Empowering elements in cultural interpretation

Additional note
Eveliina Heino has worked as a researcher in the project Empowerment of Families
with Children, and participated in developing a model of cultural interpreter practice.
She conducted the interviews and questionnaire surveys described in this chapter
and performed the data analysis. Nadezda Kärmeniemi worked as cultural interpreter
in the project and acted as co-author and commentator in the writing of this chapter.

Acknowledgements
We wish to thank Dr. Camilla Nordberg, Dr. Merja Anis and anonymous reviewers for
their helpful comments on earlier versions of this chapter.
113 Cultural interpretation as an empowering method in social work

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118 Families of immigrant background
CHAPTER II
Marja Katisko

Families of immigrant background as

clients of child protection services
B ackground

For several decades, considerable numbers of families of immigrant background

have been living in Finland. Municipal children’s clinics, day care centres, schools
and other public services have been working with parents of immigrant background
and with their children, born either in the parents’ country of origin or in Finland. Over
the years, multicultural environments have become an everyday fact of life. Workers
in the municipal services have observed the reality of immigrant families becoming
integrated into Finnish society through the parents’ employment, education and lan-
guage learning. At the same time, in addition to the parents’ cultural heritage, the
children have acquired the Finnish way of life through children’s clinics, day care
centres, the school system, and their hobbies and friends.

Immigration to Finland has been increasing and changing its form since the beginning
of the 21st century. The proportion of immigrants arriving on the basis of refugee sta-
tus and other humanitarian reasons has decreased, while family ties and employment
have become more common reasons for immigration. At the same time, Finnish poli-
cy on the integration of immigrants has changed, as has the legislation that regulates
it. The importance of finding employment for immigrants is still emphasised. However,
there is an increasing tendency to consider the well-being of the family as an impor-
tant factor underlying the “ideal” individual’s well-being and productive contribution to
society (Katisko 2011; 2012, 15).

In Finland, the concept of integrating immigrants into society was introduced to the
vocabulary of researchers and administrators in the 1990’s. At that time, the legislati-
on concerning immigration policy was being adjusted. The earlier translations of the
term “integrate” did not seem appropriate because of their normative connotations.
The term “sopeuttaa” suggested adjustment or adaptation, “mukauttaa” suggested
causing people to comply or conform, and “yhtenäistää” suggested unifying. The
terms “kotoutua” and “kotouttaa” (“to become integrated” and “to integrate”, respecti-
vely; the Finnish terms are derived from “koti”, home) were coined for administrative
purposes (Linnanmäki-Koskela 2010, 15). The process of becoming integrated or
“kotoutuminen” was defined as “the individual development of immigrants, with the
aim of participating in working life and acting in society while maintaining one’s origi-
nal language and culture: Integrating (“kotouttaminen”) means that the actions and
resources provided by official bodies to promote the process of becoming integrated”
(Paananen 2005, 177-178).
119 Families of immigrant background

Thus, the definition of integration can include procedures carried out by the host
society in order to facilitate the immigrants settling into their new environment. The
Act on Promoting Integration (2010/1386) came into force on Sep 1st, 2011. The
legislation emphasises speeding up the process of becoming integrated and finding
employment. In addition, it stresses the importance of promoting services in the early
stages of integration. This includes basic information on Finnish society, the officials’
duty to provide guidance and advice, and early assessment. In addition to promoting
employment, the new legislation has placed more emphasis than before on the entire
family’s integration. According to the Act, “...the municipality will draw an integration
plan for the family, if the family’s situation, seen as a whole, requires this. When as-
sessing the need for such a plan, special attention must be paid to the prerequisites
for parenting that supports and guides the development of children and adolescents,
as well as the parents’ need for support and education”. In addition, the Act states
that “...the family’s integration plan will be devised through multi-disciplinary collabo-
ration, and it will be adjusted to individual integration plans and other relevant plans
created for the family members” (Laki kotoutumisen edistämisestä [Act on Promoting
Integration] 2010).

As well as considering the integration of the family as a single unit, it is important to

focus on the integration of children and adolescents as individuals. Most children
and adolescents cope well in a situation where the family moves from one country
to another, or from one continent to another. The child or adolescent does, however,
face a variety of challenges connected with the process of moving. Learning a new
language, facing a new type of school system, starting with new kinds of subject
matter at school and building new social networks are only a few examples of the
great changes that the child or adolescent faces in a new country. The integration
of the child or adolescent can also be negatively affected by prejudice and discrimi-
nation. Furthermore, moving can result in the family’s financial situation becoming
worse than before. As Säävälä (2012, 7) points out, more than half of the children of
immigrant background live in families with low income, and there is a greater propor-
tion of single parents in these families than in the population on average. Any family
member’s past experiences of war and violence in the process of becoming refugees
form an additional risk factor for children and adolescents.

The main premise of family-centred integration is an understanding of the significan-

ce of family and close relationships as a crucial source of well-being and support.
Underlying this is the knowledge that immigration and the integration process are
for many families a challenging experience which tests both parenting and the inter-
nal integrity of the family. The family that is becoming integrated is pushed towards
change by various types of pressure. For example, the roles, values and childrearing
principles of the family members may be questioned. Changes in family dynamics
may be reflected in both intergenerational relationships and gender relations (Alitolp-
pa & Söderling & Fågel 2005.). Säävälä (2012, 8) describes the concern of immigrant
parents for their children as two-fold: on the one hand, they fear they will lose their
children through excessive assimilation to Finnish culture, and on the other hand,
they worry about their children being stuck in the role of second-class citizens as a
result of their difference.
 Families of immigrant background 120

My research focuses on child protection. According to Pekkarinen (2011, 72), child

protection as a research topic is without boundaries, as it touches upon all levels of
societal and human activities. As practice based on legislation, child protection can
be delimited as a specialised field handled by certain professions. Child protection
research can thus, in Pekkarinen’s view, mean research on the protection of children,
research on child protection practices, or research to support the execution of the-
se two. Applying this definition, my research can be described as research on child
protection practices. However, I do not define child protection as the practice of any
single profession (for example the workers at municipal social services), but extend
the concept to cover a variety of different sectors and practices. I observe child pro-
tection practices from the clients’ point of view.

In selecting the theoretical concepts for this research, my starting point has been the
wish to express as clearly as possible the resources, or lack thereof, which are appa-
rent in the children and adolescents. Because living as an immigrant or refugee adds
certain issues, both individual and societal, to questions concerning an individual’s
survival, I have constructed the theoretical framework and the concepts used in this
study around the concept of empowerment. As a concept, empowerment (in Finnish,
“voimaantuminen”) is ambiguous. In research it is approached from a variety of pre-
mises, and used in a variety of contexts. In this text, I use the following definition of
empowerment: Empowerment means the individual sense of being heard and being
a participant in one’s own case as a client of child protection services. Empowerment
involves participation in planning and decisions concerning one’s own life. Like Sii-
tonen (1999, 15-16), I understand empowerment as a process that is both personal
and societal. The empowerment theory proposed by Siitonen forms the basis for data
analysis in this study.

Finnish researchers who have studied social work have observed that the English
term “empowerment”, in this context, includes two main ideas: One of “gaining st-
rength” (“voimaantuminen”), focusing on the individual, and one of “gaining power”
(“valtaistuminen”), focusing on society. “Gaining power” represents a relationship to
society, and “gaining strength” represents an individual’s subjective development,
competence, life management skills and strengths. The concept of “empowerment”,
adopted directly from English sources, has also become part of critical social work
(Kuronen 2004, 279; see Fook 2004). In addition, Mäntysaari (1999, 9-10) has added
to the concept the Finnish translation “valtuuttaminen” (“authorising”), emphasizing
the process of handing over power and transferring it to the individual. The Finnish
researchers mentioned above have been influenced in their definitions by Adams’s
(2003/1990) descriptions of the relationship between social work and empowerment.
According to Adams’s definition, empowerment will allow individuals, groups and
communities to influence their own living conditions, to attain their own goals, and to
improve their quality of life (Adams 2003, 5.) Adams stresses that empowerment is
not synonymous with power grabbing, and that it is not based on individualist values,
but rather on placing emphasis on ideas of social justice, joint action and harmonious
coexistence (mts., 197).
121 Families of immigrant background

An immigrant background adds a powerful social and societal dimension to an

individual’s experiences. In my research I do not, however, categorise empowerment
on the basis of individual or societal viewpoints. When analysing the experiences of
parents, children and adolescents of immigrant origin, I use the term empowerment
while discussing two distinct phenomena. On the one hand, empowerment refers
to an increase in the individual’s resources, facilitated by interaction with a social
worker or an institutional care worker. On the other hand, I have interpreted societal
inequalities deriving from immigrant status, deficiencies in living conditions, and lack
of opportunities, among other things, as lack of empowerment.

When child protection practices are discussed in a broad sense, as a discipline part-
ly overlapping with social science, an adherence to margins can be perceived as
their distinguishing feature. Thus defined, child protection practice has several crucial
tasks in addition to the work that focuses on the individual. These tasks include dra-
wing attention to relationships between people, groups of people, societal organiza-
tions and societal structures, and to phenomena arising in such relationships. From
this point of view, child protection practices are in a position to significantly support
the integration of families of immigrant background to Finnish society. As a family arri-
ves in Finland, it immediately encounters several officials of the social and health care
sector, as well as school administration. Preventive child protection practices applied
by such officials are of crucial importance for the arriving family.

Rostila (2001) claims that in social work empowerment is expressed through positive
change in the client’s way of acting. According to this view, empowerment is a client-
based process which should be founded on partnership or ‘doing together’. Rostila
describes the processes that comprise a resource-centred approach as hearing the
client, using the client’s goals as starting points, creating frameworks that support
the client to gain strength, increasing the client’s social connections and sense of
belonging, utilizing synergy, and acting through a process of dialogue (Rostila 2001,
39-40).

Changes in the way individuals and families manage their lives and perceive their
quality of life are in themselves a sufficient goal for child protection (see Hokkanen
2009, 318). Raunio (2009, 131) considers it important that child protection practice
is oriented towards reality in a way that builds up resources. The ethical principles of
social work, for one thing, create an obligation to act to recognise and develop resour-
ces. The approach typical of child protection practice, containing elements of both
control and support, should ultimately aim at strengthening the clients’ resources.

R esearch questions and methods

The aim of the study was to describe how parents, children and adolescents of
immigrant background experience the child protection system. Because the target
of child protection is the families’ entire life, attributing the changes that take place
to any individual intervention or event would be difficult. Therefore, it is important to
analyse which factors the people themselves consider significant.
 Families of immigrant background 122

The research questions were formulated as follows:

1) Through what routes do families of immigrant background become

clients of child protection services (in the experience of children/adolescents
and parents)?

2) How has the child protection service system supported/served the fami-
lies (in the experience of children/adolescents and parents)?

The study is based on interviews with seven parents and six children of immigrant
background. The interviews were carried out in the spring of 2012. The interviewees
were selected from the clients of a child protection institution in cooperation with the
workers of the institution. To begin, the staff had discussions with the interviewees,
describing the research to them and asking permission to give me their contact in-
formation. Information regarding the research, the theme interview questions, and a
letter of consent regarding interviews with the children were translated to the native
language of each interviewee. This was done to ensure that each participant under-
stood the purpose of the research.

It was not easy to motivate parents to participate in the study. This is understandable,
since most of them did not wish to share with an outsider the difficult life events sur-
rounding their children’s placement in custody. In addition, they brought up the fact
that they had had to tell their story to so many officials that they were tired of sharing
information about their lives with anyone. In phone discussions with the interviewees
I emphasised that I did not intend to ask about their personal lives, but about the fun-
ctioning of the service system in their cases. Two of the people who were contacted
refused to be interviewed.

The ages of the children and adolescents in this study ranged from 12 to 18 years.
At the time of the interviews, five of them were staying in child protection institutions,
and one outside the institution with the support of post-custodial services. Interviews
with the children and adolescents were carried out on the premises of the child pro-
tection institution. The parents were interviewed at the institution, in a café, or - in one
case - at the interviewee’s home. An interpreter was used in interviews with one of
the parents. All except one of the children and adolescents had been born in Finland.
The parents’ countries of origin were in the former Soviet Union, Africa and the Middle
East. All the children and adolescents participating in this study had been placed in
the custody of child protection authorities.
As parents agreed to personal interviews, I asked them for permission to interview
their children who were in institutional care. Parents and children were interviewed
separately. One interviewee asked to be present at the child’s interview, and one child
requested the presence of the mother. These requests were granted, despite my
awareness that the parent’s presence may influence a child’s responses.

The theme-interview outlines used with parents and children were similar in content.
The interview themes had been planned to facilitate capturing the way the intervie-
wees attached meaning to their experiences as clients of child protection services.
123 Families of immigrant background

With the aid of the predefined themes, the interview talk took a form that allowed for
later analysis of the data. This analysis concerned the effectiveness of the service
system and the ways in which the client had gained resources (become empowered)
with the help of the service system.

One of the questions posed in the interviews concerned the situation of the family
before they became clients of child protection services. I asked what kinds of support
and help the family had received before they became clients of social service based
child protection, and why that help had not been sufficient. Next, they described their
experiences of receiving community-based child protection services, specifying what
kinds of support had been offered and how that help affected the family’s ability to
cope. Finally, we discussed institutional care and the support it provided. A further
crucial issue concerned the perceptions held by clients of immigrant background.
How could the child protection system be developed in the future, to better serve their
needs? Had their views on the child protection system changed during the time they
received services?

Naturally, the interview style and talk used with parents differed from that used with
children and adolescents. The ‘terminology’ of the child protection system was not
used with either group (e.g. terms like community-based services, etc.). Everyday
language was used in referring to such concepts. For children and adolescents, the
interview themes were formulated so that it was easy form them to understand what
was being asked (for example: “What happened at school when you could not focus
on what the teacher was saying?”).

In this study, I have combined two styles of analysis: one grounded in the data, and
one based on theory. The transcribed interview material was first categorised fol-
lowing the theme-interview framework. I collected from the interview talk the views
expressed by parents, children and adolescents, regarding what had supported them
and what had not. I utilised the theoretical framework and concept of empowerment
in systemising and categorising the research data.

P arents’ experiences before receiving child protection services

When a family moves to Finland from another country, the lives of the family mem-
bers become entwined with a variety of municipal services (maternity and children’s
clinics, day care, school, morning and afternoon activities and youth work), which
can support the family significantly without any particular need to problematise the
situation. The entirety of child protection thus includes the development of the child’s
growth environment as a whole, the last resort being child and family specific child
protection. The forms of child and family specific child protection are the following:
Assessment of need for child protection, community-based child protection services,
urgent placement, placing the child in custody, institutional or foster care, and post-
placement care.

The children of all the parents who were interviewed exhibited serious problems of
behaviour and concentration in day care or at school. The children of one family stop-
 Families of immigrant background 124

ped going to school altogether. It is not evident from the interviews who or in what
instance reported the family to child protection authorities. From the interview talk it
becomes evident, though, that day care or school staff contacted child protection aut-
horities because of the problems encountered at the day care centre or at the school.
In some cases the problems had to do with the child’s behavioural problems or, in the
case of schools, learning difficulties, for which the day care centre or school could
find no cause by using its own professional networks. One interviewee, a mother,
contacted a crisis service of the municipal social service system because of serious
crisis situations that had been repeatedly occurring in the family for an extended
period. The mother of one child described a visit by the police in connection with a
domestic violence situation, but the actual report to the child protection authorities
was done by the child’s school.

The parents’ interview responses contained descriptions of a variety of challenges

that a family of immigrant origin faces in Finland. Internal family relationships become
strained because of pressures in working life and lacking language skills, among ot-
her things. The lack of relatives and local networks results in loneliness, and it is not
always easy to create new networks and relationships.

The parents recounted how the factors leading to the children’s problems stemmed
from the families’ internal problems. Most parents described a marital crisis leading to
problems in the children’s lives.

“There were many problems, my son went to school and starting school
happened at the exact same time we were getting divorced. My son lived
in a world of such fear and uncertainty, he didn’t know anything about his
parents’ relationship, and I was of course tense myself, and then he couldn’t
be at school any longer and he was aggressive there (at school). And I was
working and my nerves were frayed all the time (….) like we were in the mid-
dle of a crisis, and a crisis will easily spread and crises don’t tend to stop
easily, so we were all in a crisis and we all reacted on a very emotional level,
and my son suffered from this a lot (…) I couldn’t do anything, I was really
out of it.” (father 1)

This excerpt from an interview with a father brings up the themes of conflicts between
husband and wife, and the fear and uncertainty of a child living in a broken home.
The father describes how work took up much of his time and resources, and how he
had no knowledge or ideas on how to help his son and family. Underlying the conflicts
between spouses, and conflicts within the family generally, there may be traumatic
experiences related to the parents’ situation as refugees. Such experiences may be
eclipsed by the family’s overall situation, and often they have not been processed.
The father continues his story of the family’s crisis:

“I, for example, have a very traumatic background, I have seen slaughter, I
have seen people butchered like no Finnish person fortunately has. Except
war veterans. Like I have seen women and children butchered before my
eyes. ’cos you see all kinds of things. Well that’s one reason. (father 1)
125 Families of immigrant background

The two excerpts above describe experiences of life so distant from each other that it
is hard to imagine the speaker being the same husband and father in both cases. In
the first excerpt, the father describes the conflicts of divorce, the pressures of working
life and his helplessness when faced with a child’s predicament. In the latter excerpt,
the father talks about his extremely traumatic war experiences. The interview did not
reveal if the father had received therapy, for example, or if he had had opportunities
to talk about his war experiences.

Since the 1990’s, significant improvements have been implemented in the Finnish so-
cial and health care system in order to serve and support clients with experiences of
war and other traumatic events. People with refugee background are still a relatively
new client group in our country. Saurama (2002, 239) claims that social work encoun-
ters many societal phenomena in advance, before people are able to recognise and
name them. The concern expressed by the social workers I interviewed, regarding
insufficient therapy services and ineffective service paths, is an important viewpoint
in the development of services targeted for immigrant families, and especially in the
prevention of problems in families.

The interview data contains a variety of observations on different cultural views of

childrearing and on the effects of the parents’ education on their integration to the
new country. The parents describe idealistic expectations that immigrants may have
when arriving in Finland. The interviewees express that expectations of a better life,
employment and financial security are not, however, easily fulfilled without a support
network, family and relatives. Life may drift to a crisis. The network of officials is not
perceived as supportive or helpful in such crises, but rather as a source of rules that
limit and prohibit. At its worst, it causes a paralysis and a collapse of the individual
and the life of the whole family. The immigrant does not feel at home in Finland, but
returning to the country of origin would be an even worse alternative. Returning to
the homeland would mean losing face in the eyes of the family, relatives and local
community who live there.

E xperiences of children and adolescents before receiving child protection

services
All the children interviewed for this study described changing schools and social cir-
cles numerous times as the family moved. The interview talk of the children and ado-
lescents reflects the presence of constant insecurity and change before they were
placed in custody and moved into the institutional care. The children and adolescents
did not directly recount the causes or circumstances that had led to them being re-
ported to child protection authorities. In their interview talk, it is also interesting that
they do not describe, for example, the workers they have met. When talking about
family workers involved in community-based child protection, for example, they did
not assess the effects of the work on the family’s life, but rather described what they
had done with the family workers.

Below I will give examples of an adolescent’s experiences of everyday life in the

family before he was placed in custody and institutional care was arranged. The in-
 Families of immigrant background 126

terview talk shows the family’s chaotic daily life that was occasionally interrupted by
community services, in the form of family work.

Table 1: The daily life of a family and child protection community services as experienced by an ado-
lescent

The family’s daily life and the offered Adolescent (18 y) describes the daily
support forms and services life of his family and the services they
received
The family's situation reaches crisis, “that situation got so bad then, everybody
moving house several times, changing was shouting at each other, the children
schools, repeating a school year, several shouted at each other, the situation got
visits by police and ambulance worse and worse”
The family’s daily life and the offered Adolescent (18 y) describes the daily
support forms and services life of his family and the services they
received
The family's situation reaches crisis, “that situation got so bad then, everybody
moving house several times, changing was shouting at each other, the children
schools, repeating a school year, several shouted at each other, the situation got
visits by police and ambulance worse and worse”
The mother of the family asks the mother “Then suddenly family workers came, the
of the adolescent's friend to help, and gets situation calmed down”
the number of a crisis phone line
Family work helps the mother and children “They (family workers) came and asked
to cope how are you doing and helped mother with
the household and paid bills and. Mother
said that angels came to help us. Dad got
paranoid: who are these, he asked. They
(family workers) asked mum too how she
was, made mum happy, but when they (fa-
mily workers) left the old mum came back.
We baked with them (family workers), they
took us to Seurasaari and we went to the
movies and so on..”

In the table above, I have collected from the adolescent's interview talk his views on
the family's situation before the children were placed in custody. The interview talk
clearly shows the chaotic nature of the family's life, with the children trying to survive
by being loyal to both the father, who suffers from serious mental health problems,
and the mother, who gets physically abused. In the background, there is the influence
of a strong ethnic community that supports the family, but on the other hand controls
and steers the family’s life. The police and ambulance workers sometimes “pop in”
in the family's life. According to the interview material, they visit the family because
of emergency calls made about the family, “to check the situation”. The adolescent
ponders the visits these professionals made to his home:
127 Families of immigrant background

“he (father) took mom by the hand and smacked it into the window. There’s
still a big slash wound on mom’s hand. Then we (children) called the ambu-
lance and the ambulance guys asked what happened. All of us (children)
were all quiet, the ambulance guys asked what had happened, a hand can’t
go through a window suddenly like that. We were all quiet, dad looked at
us all. He (father) said, mum slipped. The ambulance guys said it’s not pos-
sible to slip like that. They asked at first, but they didn’t dare then either,
they (ambulance staff) were like these short fellows, in their early twenties”
(adolescent 18)

Marja: Would you have liked them to ask more questions?

“I would have liked, that they had taken us to another room or something
and asked, they could have been more bold about asking then, at the be-
ginning, how are you doing, like that, and not been scared. All those wor-
kers must have seen different families, shouldn’t they know, don’t they have
training. They should just ask outright, there are people out there who really
need help and who should be asked outright, hey they can really die, some-
body can really kill them...” (adolescent 18)

In the data excerpt above, the adolescent stresses how vitally important it is for offici-
als to have the courage to ask how the child or adolescent is doing, and to keep as-
king repeatedly. The adolescent suggests that if there is no answer on the first time,
workers should keep asking, persistently. The interview shows how the adolescent
feels that officials and professional support workers are living in a kind of bubble, or
in a different reality from the families in crisis. The professionals bypass the violence
experienced by the mother and children. The adolescent calls for the professional
support workers to have knowledge and ability and to be aware families in crisis. It is
also noteworthy that the boy wishes to see his family as an ordinary family, when he
asks if the professional support workers have not seen all kinds of families.

Professionals may tend to rely on a type of cultural explanation when encountering

violence in families of immigrant background. Violence is seen as a consequence of
“culture”, something that the immigrants have brought with them as they have moved
to Finland (Keskinen, 2012, 296). When there are children in the family that is expe-
riencing violence, there should be rapid and effective intervention which recognises
signs of risk and underlying factors (Karimi, 2010, 186).

P arents’ experiences of community-based child protection services

The term ’systematic stage of child protection work’ is used to describe the stage
of social work that takes place after the family has been reported to child protection
authorities and the need for child protection services has been assessed. This stage
is based on a client plan (Lastensuojelulaki [Child Protection Act] 417/2007/30 §).
Community-based child protection carried out by child protection workers can be
divided into five stages: 1) assessment of the need for child protection services or
assessment of the situation; 2) the systematic stage of child protection work; 3) crisis
 Families of immigrant background 128

work; 4) custodial work and 5) post-custodial work. Each stage forms an independent
unit with its own content (Muukkonen 2008, 38.) However, the procedures and stages
of community-based work do not always take place in the order described above.

Because the children of the parents who were interviewed for this study had been
placed in custody despite the community-based interventions, it was hard to find any
instances of success in the period of community-based child protection services.
Rather than success, the interviews reflect the parents’ exhaustion and fatigue. They
had not experienced child protection as supportive, and the social workers were seen
as controllers and officials who set limits to the family’s life.

“at the beginning it was a sort of, like, relief that somebody wants to help.
But then the child protection work, it kind of depressed me. Because I some-
how kind of drowned in it, too much, too much of this, meetings all the time,
too much of that. It wore me out, it should have made things easier but it
wore me out. There was too much. I felt like I was drowning in it.” (mother 1)

In the data excerpt above, a mother describes a situation where she had become
the single parent of two small children. At first, she felt that the family work offered
as community-based child protection services provided relief and support, and that
family work helped her to cope in a difficult life situation. With time, however, she got
tired of the constant meetings where she did not feel she was receiving any support.
Interdisciplinary meetings are an important form of child protection practice. In these
meetings, issues concerning the child’s development and well-being are discussed
in the parents’ presence. They form the foundation of systematic child protection
work, and they are crucial for transferring information between various officials and
the parents. The situation is assessed to provide the basis for a client plan. When
the family has been in touch with the services for a while, further detail is added, and
the assessment is updated. The daily life of the child and the family is thus assessed
through a process of continuous assessment within the framework of child protection
services, with the aim of providing the best possible, optimally effective help and
support (Muukkonen 2008, 41). This requires continuous meetings and encounters
between all the parties involved in the process.

Systematic social work in described in the interviews with the parents as follows:

“there was family work. At the beginning I was, like, happy about it. But
then that family work became, like, too binding and there was too much
of it. Yeah, lots of workers, a meeting here and at the school, and a meeting
at child protection, and then they visited us at home and sat there for four
hours. Like, we didn’t have a life of our own.” (mother 1)

“I was so tired of it all, but then twice a week, meetings and too much, things
should be sort of peaceful and help people, not like chase you into a corner.”
(mother 2)
129 Families of immigrant background

“yeah, those social workers, in any case, visited us often and did those as-
sessments. And then we were offered home care. The home care workers
visited us once a week. They primarily just had discussions with me at which
point … (mentions son’s name) got upset because there were strangers in
our home. Unfortunately this did not work.” (mother 3/interpreted)

The parents are not aware of the systematic nature of child protection social work.
They do not mention the concept of client plan at all when discussing the services
that had been provided to support them. In the parents’ talk, the client plan does not
appear as an anchor that could provide a reference point to work performed on the
individual and process levels. There may have been nothing but purely organization-
based motives for writing client plans for the families involved in this study, such as
complying with the letter of the law. This may mean that the client plan has been
reduced to a tool for the social worker, a device that allows him or her to keep track of
what work has been carried out, thus ensuring there would be no problems regarding
legal accountability.

Muukkonen (2008, 43) considers a carefully devised, written plan to first and fo-
remost provide help for the clients of child protection, the child and the parents. A
written plan is also an important tool for the social worker in charge of the case in
order to manage the process. In an ideal situation, the client may become motivated
to work according to the plan. In the case of the families involved in this study, client
work was not carried out in a client-centred manner. Therefore, the clients perceived
social work as nothing but meetings and discussions where their abilities as parents
were assessed. In the light of the interviews, it appears that the client plans had little
content in the eyes of the families because they did not remember that such plans
existed. This is highly significant, since the Child Protection Act grants client families
the right to be present when the plan is drawn, to see the written plan, and to add
dissenting views to the plan.

The concept of inclusion incorporates the right to receive information regarding plans,
decisions, resolutions and procedures about oneself, along with the reasons that
led to them, and the means to affect such matters by expressing one’s opinion. Re-
ciprocity is essential. It is not possible to influence matters if one is not informed or
included in the management of said matters. Inclusion is a process where participa-
tion often takes concrete forms. In Rostila’s (2001, 8) view, in goal-oriented social
work the cooperation between social worker and client is constructed as a process
involving several stages. The client’s situation is assessed, agreements are made on
goals and plans of action, the plan is carried out jointly with the client and the network,
and finally, the work is assessed and terminated.

The parents involved in this study had few experiences of inclusion in the matters
concerning their families.

“sometimes it felt like I don’t know all the rules, like they are kind of exploi-
ting the fact that I don’t know all this stuff. That I don’t sort of understand
all the Finnish rules so well and in detail, and then the decisions were made,
 Families of immigrant background 130

that I didn’t sort of understand it all, then I was, like, yeah, okay fine, like I
trusted them, I sort of let them decide many things.” (mother 1)

“yep it did feel a bit like I was being accused, that the work was that binding.
Too much, like, I didn’t understand everything, that they (social workers)
didn’t explain everything right away (…) I was all worn out and nobody
knows a thing. I ran from one place to another and everybody said like this
and like this... (mother 2)

In the excerpts above, the mothers discuss the shortage of information. In the first
excerpt, the mother suggests that her ignorance of the Finnish system was exploited.
She talks about decisions that have been made on behalf of her and the family, con-
cerning their lives. An interesting detail is the talk about trust between the client and
the officials. This is something that the entire functioning of the service system should
be built upon. The mother feels that it was precisely her trust in the officials’ actions
that, in the end, resulted in harm to her family. In the light of these interviews, it can
be seen that lack of information, or problems in understanding the information that
has been given, may at worst lead to a loss of functioning and life management on
the client’s part.

A mother describes her experiences of the family clinic service she received.

“.. and then they recommended the family clinic services to us, and there I
went but they didn’t have an interpreter, it was extremely hard for me. I did
understand that they kept saying there (at the family clinic) that I have to
set the boy some limits. But I couldn’t communicate back (to the workers).”
(mother 3/interpretation)

According to the mother, no interpreter service had been arranged for the meetings
between her and the family clinic workers. In response to my enquiry as to why in-
terpreters were not used, she replied that the interpreter had been invited to some
meetings but not all. She believed that the workers had felt she knew enough Finnish
for therapy sessions to be successful. However, the mother did not have sufficient
language skill for reciprocal communication with the workers. She understood their
speech, but could not contribute her own views on the issues that were discussed.

The right of persons of immigrant origin to interpreter services can be understood in

the light of the concept of ‘unquestionable rights’ and service systems based on uni-
versalism (see Clarke, 2003). Immigrants do not have an unquestionable right to in-
terpretation. Instead, the decision on providing interpretation is based on the officials’
discretion. Services and immigrants do not interact sufficiently because of problems
in understanding and conveying information. In service situations, the immigrants’
legal rights are jeopardised if adequate interpretation has not been provided (see
Clarke 2003; Anis 2007). Another crucial question is whether all documents concer-
ning the client should be translated to the client’s native language.
131 Families of immigrant background

C hildren’s and adolescents’ experiences of community-based child protec-

tion services
A child protection social worker operates in a gray area between the child’s rights
and needs and the parents’ rights and responsibilities. A central theme of discussion
is the child’s role as an active agent in relation to the parents. When child protection
services are involved, the discussion turns to the question of whose needs are to be
given priority, the child’s or the parents’. If child protection considers the needs of the
child as primary, then that means they consider the child as a client. If, however, the
parent’s needs are considered as being more important, then the parent is the consi-
dered client (Ojaniemi & Rantajärvi 2010, 231).

Knowledge produced by the child has been discussed over the past few years in
research concerning child protection and children’s inclusion. This discussion has
covered issues such as how the knowledge produced by the child should be handled
and whether this knowledge should be evaluated for reliability. Hurtig (2006, 167) wri-
tes about “the child’s knowledge” as being a means through which the child’s expe-
riences, opinions, knowledge, and perspectives can be drawn together. Seen in this
light, the issue is not only that of information produced by children, but the concept
expands to cover children’s right to inclusion and active agency.

The Child Protection Act of 2008 highlights child-centred principles and the child’s
best interest when assessments for the need for child protection are carried out. One
could even talk about a paradigm shift. Previous child protection legislation and prac-
tice were criticised concerning the invisibility of the child in social work practice and
an over-emphasis on supporting parenthood (e.g. Hurtig 2003; Ojaniemi & Rantajärvi
2010, 231.) The critique was focused on the child being too easily interpreted as the
property of the family and the parents. As a result, child protection was seen as drif-
ting towards supporting the parents’ rights instead of supporting the child.

An 18-year-old girl in post-placement care recounts her experiences from the time
before her placement in institutional care:

Marja: Did the support offered by the family workers help your family?

“I don’t remember. And I was really shy. I didn’t talk to anybody. I was like
somewhere in my room with my bunny. Or I don’t remember a thing, I was
quite a normal little girl and dad had problems. I wasn’t, like, beaten in my
family. That’s what I was like.” (girl 17)

Marja: Were you the little girl with the bunny?

“Yeah, I wasn’t a rascal like the other members of our family. How could I put
it, all the members in my family have had terribly hard times, except for me.
And I have always been burdened along with the rest, in a style like did ya
hear what your bro did and so on, and like now we need to have a meeting,
tomorrow the whole family will be there. I don’t get it, if they’ve had prob-
lems, you don’t have to dump it all on others.” (girl 17)
 Families of immigrant background 132

In the interview quoted above, the adolescent describes her childhood in a family ter-
rorised by an abusive father. She has several brothers, all of whom had behavioural
problems in childhood. The mother was often physically abused by the father, and the
family’s life was dominated by uncertainty and having to move house frequently. The
adolescent describes herself as a shy and quiet girl who often withdrew into her room
in the family’s difficult situations. Hurtig (2006, 169) describes how, when helping
families with children, there is often an expectation that all the family members would
be helped simultaneously. However, there is no clear picture of the family’s situati-
on. Views concerning the needs and problems of each family member are difficult
to formulate, and even conflicting views may exist. Work with families of immigrant
background may thus easily focus on family-oriented efforts.

In the excerpt above, it is easy to see how the support work was provided based
on assumptions of the child’s strong ties to the family. The child was seen primarily
as a member of her family and through the relationships in the family. Support work
was characterised by viewing issues through the lens of the family unit and from the
perspective of the adults’ needs and dilemmas. Helping the children was thought to
happen through helping adults (Hurtig 2003; 2006). It is also possible to identify in
this interview a set of ideas through which adults interpreted the need for support,
a kind of ’framework of endurance’ (Hurtig 2006, 170-171). The child is assumed to
endure and tolerate the stress caused by crisis situations, even severe ones.

“sometimes I met them (workers from the child protection institution) on

my own, too. But usually we had family therapy. At one stage there was
my dad, mum and all the family members. I don’t remember them exactly,
I suppose they were helpful, and then sometimes we just shouted there at
each other and at the workers. It (family therapy) didn’t work out at all at
one point, and then it wasn’t done at all at one point.” (boy 14 y)

The ’percolation support model’ is the name given to a type of child protection work
where the child is met indirectly through the parents (Hurtig 2003; 2006). From the
child’s viewpoint the model is problematic, since the child is not helped directly, but
only through the parents. The basic premise is that if the parents are doing well, the
child also does well. The focus of the work is thus on fixing the situation of one or
both parents, not on a model of support based on the child’s needs. Ojaniemi and
Rantajärvi (2010, 234) claim that before the new Child Protection Act came into force,
the initial assessment in child protection was carried out following the ’percolation
support model’. Although the child was physically present at the social bureau or du-
ring the home visit, he or she was not seen as an individual with rights or as an active
agent equal to the parent.

A child’s inclusion is challenging for child protection because of the knowledge the
child possesses. How should the knowledge of a child or adolescent of immigrant
background be handled, especially when it is collected in the parents’ absence?
Should a child’s knowledge be assessed from the viewpoint of assessing its reliabi-
lity? Should the basic assumption be that immigrant children and adolescents are
especially loyal to their parents? The ’loyalty framework’ (Hurtig 2006, 171) brings
133 Families of immigrant background

into child protection work the assumption that children do not like to tell outsiders
about the family’s internal affairs, but will protect the family at the expense of their
own well-being. When working with families of immigrant origin, workers may tend
to add on top of the ’loyalty’ view the ’consequence framework’ (Hurtig, 171). This
involves the idea that a child who tells outsiders about the family issues is at risk of
being punished in the family.

“yeah they (social workers and family workers) were afraid of dad. They
didn’t dare to ask about anything in front of him (father), they (workers)
pretended to be cheerful, although they (workers) were mad about how so-
meone can do that to his own child, d’ya know.” (boy 18 y)

In the data excerpt above, the adolescent describes actions the social workers took
to support his family. As the adolescent sees it, the workers were afraid of the father,
but tried to hide their fear by “pretending to be cheerful” when they met the father. The
adolescent saw, however, what their real attitude was. The excerpt brings to mind a
kind of a theatrical play with roles being played by the social workers and the father.
The adolescent was, in a way, an outsider who could see the situation as a whole,
and perceive how absurd it was.

P arents’ experiences of institutional care services

In child protection practice, placing a child in custody is the last-resort means of
securing the child’s growth and development. It is a procedure that strongly interferes
with the child’s constitutional rights and the family’s autonomy. Therefore, it is a legal
rights issue for all the parties involved: the child, the family and the workers. Forced
custody and institutional or foster care are only used if the circumstances at the family
home or the child’s own behaviour pose a serious risk to the child’s health and deve-
lopment. In addition, arranging forced custody and care services can only be initiated
if community-based child protection services support measures have not been pos-
sible or suitable, or if they have proven to be insufficient. An assessment must also
be made to determine if institutional or foster care is in the child’s best interest (Child
Protection Act 2007/417/40§).

The interview data shows that the parents’ perceptions of how well institutional care
served their children were linked to their own ability to adapt to the child no longer
living at home. The road to acceptance had been extremely hard and it had taken a
long time. Siitonen (1999, 117) discusses empowerment as a personal process that
is connected to the individual’s own will and ability to set goals, as well as perception
of oneself and trust in one’s chances. Furthermore, it involves unwavering respon-
sibility regarding one’s personal development, and ability and will to act in a way
one knows to be right. To support empowerment, it is important to offer encouraging
feedback and reflective, supportive interaction. Among the interviewees, those who
were able to see their child’s best interest and see that the child was receiving expert
professional care were the ones who had set as their goal that the forced custody
should be terminated, and that the child should return home at some point.
 Families of immigrant background 134

In the following excerpt, a father describes his preconceptions of the Finnish child
protection system, especially the process of placing a child in custody. However, the
important thing is how his preconceptions change through his interaction with a social
worker.
“my initial impression was negative, I must admit. The initial stage went
so that I heard a lot about forced custody, and custody as a word was hard
for me to understand, and like I said it’s about attitude and it did upset me
since because I thought that if a child is placed in custody then the child is
taken away from the family altogether. And this is why I say there should be
a lot of attitude change. I had many discussions. As soon as I heard about
the custody, I said that I don’t know anything about this and could we dis-
cuss what it’s about. I had discussions at the social bureau with the social
worker. After this I understood and I have been keeping an open mind. It is
important to me that the child gets support and care, nothing else matters.”
(father 1)

The data excerpt describes how the reciprocal discussion between the father and the
social worker leads, with time, to the father gaining self-understanding. He has been
included in processing matters, and he has received information about them. A sig-
nificant factor is the father’s active role and subject status, in demanding and asking
for discussions himself. At the same time, the social worker has given him space to
ask over and over again, and to demand explanations. The control involved in child
protection work has changed into support.

Juhila (2006, 254) describes cultural discourses, meaning widely known and sha-
red ways of structuring issues and situations, and attaching meaning to them. Since
social work is not an island apart from the rest of the world, workers will inevitably
operate with these types of cultural discourses or cultural scripts and associated
expectations. In the data excerpt, the father discusses his own cultural expectations
and what child protection work meant to him. In terms of the child’s best interest being
considered, the most crucial fact is that the father’s view of child protection changed
in a direction where the child alone is central. In the open dialogue between the father
and the social worker, the father reached a new understanding of child protection and
the child’s best interest.

In a discussion where the participants come from different countries, different cultu-
rally created scripts meet, as well as people. I define a culturally created script as a
map which is shaped from the prevailing forms of knowing, built at various times and
in various ways in different cultures. Each culture has scripts regarding how to act
and proceed in certain situations. A client of immigrant origin cannot necessarily rely
on a Finnish social worker’s cultural process of attaching meaning to provide him or
her with the means to understand the story that is being told. Questions that are felt
to be difficult or complex may be actively avoided on both sides by escaping behind
the idea of the fundamental nature of cultural difference (Katisko 2011, 59).

The interviews show that if a positive and respectful discourse has been formed
135 Families of immigrant background

between parents and workers during community care services, it is much easier to
form a positive, interactive relationship with the staff at the child protection institution.

“here (in institutional care) the child is helped to calm down. (A ward at the
children’s home) has the task of helping the child to calm down, nothing
more, there is no more to their task than that. The parents’ task is here, as
the calming down is happening, to help with the child upbringing. Because
being here (at the institution) should not end parenting. It should be preci-
sely the reason and motivator, that now I have the support that will help
with the part which I have no skill to handle. But this role of parenting and
child-rearing is my own role, because I am that child’s parent and a lot of
work has to be put into that.” (father 1)

The father wants to stress that the child being taken into custody does not end his
role as parent and father. He wants to be present in his son’s daily life and to convey
his own cultural background by reading and having conversations. The father sees
the role of institutional care as a form of support for him in his childrearing. His dream
is to get his son out of the institution in the future, to live with the family again. The
conditions that allow a positive interaction between father and institutional staff have
been built on mutual respect and appreciation.

Among the interviewees there were some who feared that their child who had been
placed in custody would forget his or her native language and the parents’ culture.
There were also parents represented in the interview data who cannot accept their
child being placed in custody. For these parents, committing to working in cooperati-
on with the child protection institution had been very hard.

The critical attitude towards institutional care dates back to a time before the forced
custody decision:

“and then this situation ended and in June we were informed that a place
had been arranged for my son in institutional care, that he will covered by
institutional services, that he has a place in a children’s home. I had not gi-
ven my final consent. But at that time the situation was such that I was to-
tally out of energy. So very slowly and quietly, they led me to it. So it felt like
everything was carried beautifully on a tray, I was led to the situation where
the decision about the children’s home was made. Because at the beginning
we were talking about a sort of 6 month temporary solution in institutional
care. But then it turned out that my son has to stay in institutional care for
at least 2 years.” (mother 3/interpretation)

In the above interview, the mother describes the social officials as leading her into
a situation where the only option was her son being placed in custody and living in
an institution. However, the forced custody decision had been preceded by several
years of community care which had not helped the family.
 Families of immigrant background 136

Below are excerpts from an interview with one of the fathers involved in this study.
This also shows some of the father’s experiences from the time before the forced
custody decision. Throughout the entire period the family had been receiving child
protection services, including the period of community-based support, the father’s
experiences had been negative.

“from the officials, I want nothing. What I would have wished was that the
mother should have been left alone, different support should have been
given, hobbies for the boy or something. The mother was, like, tired, she
couldn’t set the boy limits, that’s how it went, I had no trouble with the boy.
They (social workers) took, like, charge of the whole thing, that like the mot-
her speaks only bad Finnish and they (social workers) didn’t use an interpre-
ter. And she didn’t understand what this custody means.”(father 2)

Marja: how have you been managing cooperation with the child protection
institution?

“they have started cooperation with a family therapist now. At the begin-
ning it was, like, interesting, but then it was like the same stuff over and over,
like how’s it going, you get tired of it. Before it was almost like we were forced
to do it, so we could then get the child back, we had to be well-behaved pa-
rents. But we didn’t get the boy home, I understood that we’d been swindled.
We always crossed swords with (mentions worker’s name), she was always
claiming that the boy had so many problems, when the social workers then
turns up, that (mentions worker’s name) talks an awful lot of bad stuff, that
the boy has so many problems:” (father 2)

Marja: you said that you do play-acting in those meetings and therapy,
what did you mean by that?

“yeah, that is, I act in those meetings and we do go to family therapy, we do

what we’re told, like we’re supposed to do”(father 2)

Marja: and how do you describe cooperation between parents and officials
over these years?

“well let’s say there is no cooperation with parents at all. Let’s put it this way,
that they listen, but then they make their own decisions. Crank out their
own opinions. I would listen to the parents more, parents are the most im-
portant to children, in my mind help should be given with the child in the fa-
mily, arrange, like, hobbies, there should be activity clubs for children where
they could blow off energy, of course it would cost the state something, but
so does this institution.”(father 2)

The father sees the child protection service network as something that interferes with
his family’s life. These experiences present an image of child protection as a machi-
ne, with him, his son and his ex-wife caught in its gears. The father engages in a type
137 Families of immigrant background

of play-acting, performing his role to the best of his ability so that he may please all
parties involved with his son. He has not felt that child protection community services,
systematic child protection or institutional care services have supported him or his fa-
mily, or that they have led to empowerment. Instead, the father feels that the services
have offered only control. On the other hand, none of the parties involved in the child
protection system, none of the working methods, and none of the individual workers
have succeeded in transforming the practices that involve control into anything that
would have supported the family’s resources and empowerment. By performing the
role of a dutiful client this father feels he has some control in relation to the officials.
For him, this represents empowerment.

C hildren’s and adolescents’ experiences of institutional care services

At the time of the interviews, all the children and adolescents involved in this stu-
dy lived in a child protection institution. The length of their stay at the institution varied
from two to ten years. Placing a child in a child protection institution is an extreme
societal intervention that affects the individual’s personal life, relationships with pa-
rents, and the way the family’s relationships are defined. On the other hand, from the
child’s or adolescent’s viewpoint, the placement means numerous new relationships
and growing in a community that he or she was not born into (Eronen 2012, 13).

The interviews with the children and adolescents show that their experiences of insti-
tutional care services and life at the institution were not all clearly positive or negative.
The children and adolescents interviewed in this study had numerous good experien-
ces related to the institutional placement, but they did not hesitate to express criticism
towards the institution. Good experiences were associated with caring shown by the
staff at the institution. For example, the personal care worker’s role in supporting the
child or adolescent was considerable. When talking about their everyday life at the
institution, the children and adolescents described their lives through action (playing
games, watching television, eating, and so forth). Their criticisms, on the other hand,
were directed at rules that the children and adolescents considered too harsh, physi-
cal restraint situations, and limitations to freedom. The overall impression conveyed
by the interviews with the children and adolescents was that they wished to be per-
fectly ordinary adolescents.

Marja: How did you feel when you came to the institution?

“Relieved, but then I had to start everything from the beginning, school,
new friends... for once they were asking how I felt, how I was doing, what
I wanted to do, where I wanted to go. For ten years no one had asked tho-
se things. We (the children) always had to decide what we were going to
do. There was (at home) no discipline, you know, we came and went as we
pleased. Like we had an evening snack and went to bed, like that, and we
were like, huh? Me and my sister fought every day, called people names, yel-
led, threw stuff at the workers … (boy 18)

The adolescent quoted above had experienced being placed in custody and living at
the institution as a relief. The chaotic everyday life that had gone on for years in the
 Families of immigrant background 138

family, a life with no limits and continuous fear, was replaced by the limits and secu-
rity provided by the institution. At this point in the interview, the adolescent offered
numerous examples of how wonderful it was for him to get regular meals and to have
a regular bedtime.

Especially those adolescents who had stayed at the institution for longer than five
years (3 adolescents) described their relationship to their personal care workers as
important to them. Törrönen (2003, 103-104) describes how children who spend their
childhood at a children’s home seek significant relationships among the staff and
attach meanings to them that are usually attached to parents.

The rules and limits of institutional care were an important topic in the interviews with
the children and adolescents. All interviewees discussed the restraint practices used
at the institution and their fairness. The Child Protection Act (2007/417/68§) states
that institutional staff may hold a child physically if it appears likely, on the basis of
erratic or threatening behaviour, that the child could harm him- or herself or others.
Restraining must serve the purposes of treatment and care. Limiting freedom of mo-
vement means that a child may be forbidden to leave the premises of the institution
for a defined time period. Freedom of movement can be limited if the decision on
placing the child in care has been made on the basis that the child has seriously
endangered his or her health or development through substance abuse, or if limiting
freedom of movement is otherwise necessary to protect the child in the context of
providing treatment and care (Child Protection Act 2007/417/69§.)

Living in institutional care was, thus, not entirely good or bad in the adolescents’ ex-
perience. The meanings attached to events changed with time. The purpose of the
institution’s rules and limits became clear only in retrospect. Unfair punishments and
treatment may be etched into the memory of these children and adolescents for the
rest of their lives. For adolescents of immigrant origin, experiences of being treated
unfairly because of their ethnic background are the hardest of all to accept.

C onclusions and suggestions for future measures

In the sections above, I have discussed experiences that parents, children and
adolescents of immigrant origin have had as clients of the child protection system.
The aim has been to find out how they ended up as clients of child protection ser-
vices, and how the service system has supported them. By ’service system’ I mean
various services provided by social and health care before the family came in touch
with social service child protection, as well as child protection community services
and institutional care. As background to my study I have utilised the concept of em-
powerment. In this study, empowerment means an individual sense of being heard
and the opportunity to be a participant in decisions concerning oneself as a client of
child protection services. Empowerment also means that the individual feels part of
the larger society, and that he or she gets a sense of equal treatment as a client.

Often, in some way or other, the families’ problems stem from being immigrants,
either refugees or migrants. As they have moved to Finland, the families have faced
139 Families of immigrant background

unemployment, work-related stress, lack of language skills, lack of networks of family

and friends, and financial instability. As for families with parents who came to Finland
as refugees, these parents’ experiences of war and violence in their countries of ori-
gin can affect the everyday life of these families. All these reasons have contributed
to internal relationships becoming strained and drifting to crisis in the families inter-
viewed in this study.

Siitonen (1999, 117) suggests that an individual’s internal sense of empowerment

becomes an issue, at the very latest, when another party tries to prevent that em-
powerment. Certain circumstances, life situations, and even other people may lead
a person to believe that he or she, or his or her work, is not valuable. Below, I have
condensed the experiences of parents, children and adolescents, pointing out what
prevented and what promoted their empowerment both before and during the time
they received child protection services.

Table 2: Time before receiving services:

Children and adolescents Parents

Factors, circumstances etc Friends
that promoted empower-
ment
Factors, circumstances etc Playing
that prevented empower-
ment
Internal problems in the Conflicts between spou-
family ses, divorce
Domestic violence Mental health problem in
the family, depression
Piecemeal style of going Unemployment
to school, repeating school
years
Moving and changing Lacking or poor language
schools skills
Bullying at school Feeling like an outsider
Lack of friends and relati-
ves, lack of social networks

Empowerment is considered to be a personal process. However, a positive process

of empowerment requires the involvement of other people, circumstances and social
structures (Siitonen 1999, 117-118). The interviews with children and adolescents
show that they were empowered by engaging in quite ordinary children's activities.
For the parents' part, in the light of the interviews, there were hardly any factors,
circumstances or social structures that could have contributed to their empowerment
before they became clients of child protection services. Their situation could have
been better if they had better language skills, work or better social networks.
 Families of immigrant background 140

In terms of social status, the situations of the parents who participated in this study
were poor. I did not directly ask about issues such as the parents' employment, but
their speech suggests that they were struggling to find jobs and to stay in working
life. All the parents who were interviewed described feelings of loneliness and being
outsiders. The everyday lives of the children and adolescents are intertwined with the
parents' difficult situations. At school and in day care the children's lives are encum-
bered by attention deficits and behavioural problems.

Table 3: Receiving community-based child protection services

Children and adolescents Parents

Factors, circumstances etc Excursions and activities Discussions with the social
that promoted empower- with the family workers worker
ment
Family workers help the Courage and perseverance
mother with daily chores. in asking about things the
parent does not know
Factors, circumstances etc Help and support are provi- Numerous meetings and
that prevented empower- ded haphazardly group discussions with
ment different sectors.
Meetings at the social The binding nature of
bureau and school family work
The feeling that their life
is being controlled and
interfered with
Lack of information
Lack of language skill
Lack of interpreter services

Participating in plans and decisions that concern one's own life is closely linked with
empowerment. Siitonen (1999, 61-64) describes an internal sense of power that is
linked with seven different categories: freedom, responsibility, respect, trust, context,
atmosphere and positive regard. The categories are interwoven with each other. De-
ficits in just one category can weaken and even prevent empowerment. Safe, open
environments and an unprejudiced atmosphere are crucial for building self-esteem
and self-confidence. The interview data shows that neither parents nor children and
adolescents had felt that they were participants in the community care child protecti-
on services that had been planned to support their everyday lives. From the families’
point of view, the meetings and discussions that had been arranged to support and
monitor their daily lives were nothing but controlling. The only exception is the expe-
rience of one father. His own will and perseverance to find out about matters concer-
ning his family contributed to his empowerment.

Empowerment is challenging because power cannot be given to another person. An

individual can be offered resources, skills and opportunities, but individuals can only
141 Families of immigrant background

empower themselves. Some of the signs of empowerment are improved self-esteem

and ability to set oneself targets and goals. Empowerment is also associated with a
strong sense of responsibility for one's own personal development, and the will and
ability to act (Siitonen 1999, 88). The limitations that immigrants have in their Finnish
language skills make the question of the right to interpreter services an important
one. For a person who does not understand what is being said, it is difficult to get
a sense of empowerment. A thorough understanding of decisions concerning one's
own child should be an unquestionable right for all parents.

Table 4: Placing the child in custody and moving into institutional care

Children and adolescents Parents

Factors, circumstances etc Situation calming down as Discussions with institutio-
that promoted empower- the child or moved out nal care workers
ment
Regular mealtimes and Seeing the child's best in-
bedtime terest
Personal care workers, Peer support
support from adults
Going to school regularly, Family therapy
rules and limits
A feeling of being “ordi-
nary”
Factors, circumstances etc Limitations to freedom of Control and rules set by the
that prevented empower- movement, institutional ru- institution regarding mee-
ment les and limits tings with the child.
Being treated unfairly A feeling of parenthood
being taken away.
A fear of the child losing
the parent’s language and
culture.

For all the children and adolescents interviewed in this study, being placed in custo-
dy and moving into the institution primarily meant that their situation calmed down.
The children and adolescents had lived at the child protection institution for two to
ten years. The overall impression from the research data is that the longer institutio-
nal care had taken place, the further the adolescents' rehabilitation had proceeded.
Regularity, routine and making school a priority were dominant factors in the child's
or adolescent's life. The adolescents considered unfairness, physical restraint and
overly strict rules limiting freedom of movement to be factors that prevented empo-
werment. The adolescents did not view rules and limits in a purely negative light, but
called for competence in the staff to consider what consequences were reasonable
and just in each situation considering the age level of the child or adolescent.

Empowerment is followed by commitment (Siitonen 1999, 80). Personal, internal em-

powerment can be said to have happened in the case of one father. The elements
 Families of immigrant background 142

of a trusting and open interactive relationship had been created between the father
and a social worker responsible for child protection community services. The father
continued the discussion, based on openness, with institutional staff after his son had
been placed in custody and moved into the institution. The father has self-esteem
and he is able to see his son's best interest instead of his own shame and self-accu-
sations. This has required an interactive relationship with the parties that handle his
son's affairs. In connection with institutional care, factors that prevent empowerment
are a sense of losing parenthood and the child being denied the culture and language
of his or her parents.

Child protection practice, and more broadly social work, has been organised diffe-
rently in different countries. For example, the areas of emphasis in child protection
vary by country (Anis 2008, 27). As institutional and professional practice, social work
and child protection are, however, products of western culture and modern societies
(Meeuwisse & Swärd 2006, 69; Anis 2008, 27). To immigrants who have moved to
Finland, the goals and practices of child protection may be alien.

While practices, procedures and work methods in child protection services are dif-
ficult to understand to the clients, the universal need to participate and to be heard
is the same to all human beings. This means first of all that interpretation should be
provided for the clients without Finnish language skills. But it also means the cultu-
ral sensitivity. This creates challenges in the interaction between worker and client.
Themes in multicultural and inter-cultural work include cultural diversity and inter-
cultural communication and understanding. One of the goals of critical social work is
recognizing racism on both structural and individual levels, and developing practices
to oppose racism (e.g. Dominelli 1988).

Situations in families who came to be as clients of child protection services, are of-
ten very complicated, involving different problems and networks in the situation. In
many instances other professionals may have worked with the child or the family but
without any worthwhile results. A child protection social worker has the challenge of
helping a child who has been at risk for long time. As a “last resort” child protection
must take the responsibility in cases in which families, the service system and overall
child and family policy have failed in supporting the child. Effectiveness is required
in work processes in which child protection social work comes as “the last” and often
somewhat unwelcome visitor to a family.

Social work is one of the most important local professionals which are able to pre-
vent the escalation of conflicts and stimulate participation and active citizenship. But
social work and child protection services cannot be discussed without societal and
multi-professional level. As number of immigrants’ increases in Finland, successful
integration is essential to the cohesion of the host society. Integration is a dynamic
two-way process involving both immigrants and the host society with responsibilities
on both sides. For immigrant background families from poor backgrounds and living
in marginal areas, integration may be extremely difficult to achieve. It is important
to create multi-professional and multicultural practices to help immigrant families in
coming full member of the society and empowerment.
143 Families of immigrant background

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146 Key issues in social work
CHAPTER II
Olga Borodkina, Yulia Fionik

Key issues in social work with people li-

ving with HIV/AIDS in Russia
Introduction

The present stage of development of the Russian society has been shaped by politi-
cal, economic and social reforms which have been taking place since the beginning
of the 1990s. These reforms have been carried out in rather radical forms, leading
to negative social consequences, including growth of socially dangerous diseases,
such as drug addiction, tuberculosis and HIV, among others.

According to UNAIDS, there were 34 million people with HIV infection in the world
in 2011. According to the Federal Research and Methodological Center for the Pre-
vention and Control of AIDS, 703,781 people had been registered as HIV infected in
Russia by Nov 22nd 2012. In St. Petersburg, the number of people living with HIV
was 51,552.

The modes of transmission of HIV infection have shown that the medical measures to
prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS are insufficient. The hopes for a speedy development
of a vaccine against HIV infection have not been realized at this time. At present there
is an understanding that HIV/AIDS is a social and public phenomenon with specific
social and behavioral characteristics (Borodkina 2007).This means that not only me-
dical models but also social models of prevention should be developed. It is obvious
that social work is one of the institutions which have key roles to play in this process.

M ain directions of social work with people living with HIV

Social work is the specialist activity of professionals focused on the creation of
certain conditions which promote the improvement or rehabilitation of the abilities
of a person or a group of people. These conditions enable that person or group to
act independently, and to independently solve crucial problems in their lives. The
methodology of social work can be defined as a system of principles and methods of
assistance and support, targeting both individual and groups.

Systems of social work reflect the level of social and economic development of a
country, as well as its traditional social norms and cultural values. One of the greatest
challenges connected with the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Russia is the establishment of
a system of social work with HIV -infected clients and their families. This work could
be considered an essential part of social prevention, combining primary, secondary
and tertiary prevention.
147 Key issues in social work

There are various approaches to social prevention. M. Blum defines prevention as

actions that are scientific, rational and carried out at the appropriate time in order to
prevent possible physical, psychological or socio-cultural collisions in either indivi-
duals or groups that are at risk (Blum 1981). Depending on the target, the concept
of prevention may require further specification. In the prevention of socially dange-
rous diseases, like HIV/AIDS, prevention could be defined as the action focused on
changing the individual’s risky behavior, changing the group norms encouraging risky
behavior, and creating social structures that support safe behavior with regard to
diseases. Social prevention of HIV/AIDS is social institute which focuses on the de-
velopment, active assimilation and use of socio-cultural norms and skills that reduce
the risk of disease transmission (Borodkina 2007).

Social work with people living with HIV involves several levels of prevention. With
respect to these clients, there are secondary and/or tertiary methods of prevention.
At the same time, both primary prevention methods and social work aim to prevent
other people becoming infected with HIV. This preventive component is one of the
distinguishing features of social work with HIV-infected people. HIV/AIDS prevention
is a complex process, and social work deals with five main interrelated components:
(1) legal provision, (2) policy context, (3) availability of services, (4) accessibility of
services, and (5) participation and rights.

Social work with people living with HIV is particularly characterized by the clients’
multiple problems. In addition to more general social problems, people affected by
HIV face the medical, psychological, social and physical problems associated with
their HIV infection. Above all, they are affected by stigma and discrimination. HIV/
AIDS-related stigma and discrimination significantly reduce the effectiveness of HIV
prevention and care programs. Stigma has a negative impact on effective prevention
by discouraging individuals from participating in medical and social interventions and
from seeking information on how to protect themselves and others, thus deepening
the adverse impact of HIV on their lives. Stigma and discrimination worsen the si-
tuations of the clients and their families. Stigma also affects the non-infected family
members. Stigmatization usually leads to social exclusion, breaking established so-
cial relations.

According to the results of different case studies, stigma and discrimination are the
most pressing social problems for HIV-effected people. The anonymous survey of
660 respondents, conducted in eleven Russian cities, demonstrated that more than
52% of the respondents experienced various forms of discrimination or stigmatization
by others: they were the subject of gossip and they faced insults, harassment, threats
and physical violence. (Report of case study 2011). For example, people with HIV
were not allowed to participate in family or community activities; they were denied
medical care; they experienced difficulties with rental housing; many lost their jobs;
there were many problems with non-infected family members.

In addition to external factors, HIV causes inherent internal stigma: people living with
HIV condemn themselves. They experience a sense of guilt and shame, they typically
have low self-esteem, and they often feel that they deserve punishment and should
 Key issues in social work 148

be punished. The majority of respondents, 56% of those with HIV-positive status,

made the following decisions: not to have children, not to attend health facilities even
when there is a need for this, not to marry, not to have sexual contact, to isolate
themselves from family, relatives and friends, to quit work or school, to give up public
life. HIV/AIDS affects the lives of different people, with different personal experien-
ces, sexual preferences and cultural levels. HIV/AIDS is changing not only the lives of
those who have HIV, but the lives of those who care for them as well, and sometimes
those who simply happen to live nearby. As a result of the stigma, a ‘devaluation’ of
the person takes place, a reduction of his/her social status.

It is possible to combat stigma and discrimination by distributing information about

HIV / AIDS, protecting the rights of people living with HIV, providing social and
psychological support for HIV-infected people, providing training on how to live with
HIVinfection, advising where and how to get medical treatment and care, and raising
awareness about the protection of human rights and support for other excluded per-
sons and groups. These tasks have become part of social work with individuals and
families affected by HIV.

One serious issue associated with HIV is that stigma and discrimination apply also
to non-infected family members. The family is fenced off from relatives, friends and
acquaintances, and ends up in a social vacuum.

According to Koltzova, the following factors give rise to problems which clients af-
fected by HIV are unable to resolve on their own (Koltzova 2007):

• the client does not have sufficient means to resolve their financial problems
(payment of housing, etc.);
• the client does not have a sufficient information regarding the issues; gaps
in knowledge prevent the client from developing the necessary strategies to
solve problems, so he or she turns to a social work professional;
• the client does not have a sufficient emotional or physical energy, so balan
ce needs to be restored before the accumulated problems are solved;
• the client is experiencing emotional stress, which blocks rational understan
ding of the situation and positive attitude towards adaptation; the task of the
social work professional is to free the client of the emotional pressure and
help them in adapting;
• the client’s own character is a source of problems, his or her actions being
mostly based on feelings and emotions; the task of the social work profes
sional, who has been trained to identify typical client behavior with respect
to the situations and people surrounding the client, is to explain the situation
and to solve the client’s emotional problems.;
• the client lacks planning skills and adaptive thinking skills, assuming prob
lem situations to be intractable; one of the tasks of the social work is to solve
problems by teaching the client to solve them himself.

An important aspect of successful social adaptation is the involvement of the family’s

resources to help its members to adapt. Another key factor in the process of social
149 Key issues in social work

adaptation is the willingness of the family to take care of their infected family member.
Work with the families of HIV-infected clients is one of the main directions of social
work in this field.

Another important direction is community work. Social workers are involved in local
community life and different health-related social activities, and from the very begin-
ning of the epidemic they often become the initiators in providing various services to
people with HIV/AIDS and their families. Community-based programs are also one
of the crucial directions of social work in the sphere of HIV–prevention. In these pro-
grams, preventive measures focus on different subgroups within the population, or on
particular regional units. Social work programs focusing on HIV/AIDS are generally
targeted at two types of communities: firstly, inhabitants of a certain area (for examp-
le, municipalities and urban areas,) and, secondly, certain social groups which are,
for behavioral and social reasons, at risk of HIV infection - for example, drug users,
female sex workers and homosexuals (Borodkina 1991).

During the greatest periods of stress and difficulty connected with HIV-positive status,
another important task of social workers is the creation of crisis intervention teams
which provide legal aid and social and psychological support to clients and their fa-
milies. Usually these teams consist of volunteers recruited by social workers. These
volunteers are trained and remain under continuous supervision, receiving further
training on an ongoing basis.

Another form of social work concerning people living with HIV is the creation of sup-
port groups for clients, family members, partners and care providers. In addition,
social workers have been taking an active role in various educational and training
programs from the earliest years of the epidemic.

Due to the fact that HIV-positive clients are usually socially passive people, profes-
sionals need to build up their work in such a way as to increase the activity of the
clients, to boost their self-esteem, and to encourage them to develop a desire to
solve problems independently. This can be achieved when the social workers use
empowerment-oriented methods.

E mpowering people living with HIV

The main components of the process of empowerment are self-activation and
interaction. The professional acts as a partner, allowing the client to take a proactive
position in his/her own case. Social problems are decreased by facilitating the ma-
ximum amount of family participation in the solution of problems. The empowerment
process is focused on the creation of conditions which promote the development of
the clients’ independence and their ability to manage their own lives. The empowe-
ring approach aims to allow the client can see himself /herself independent of the opi-
nions of people around them. Thus, the client can create their own self-assessment
and they can use this self-assessment to independently solve problems.
 Key issues in social work 150

Empowerment demands realizing four conditions (Parslou 1997; Rappor 1984, Wil-
son 1996):

• creation of joint partnership with clients;

• emphasis on the opportunities open to clients, instead of their difficulties;
• maintaining the “dual focus” on both individual and social environment;
• recognition of clients as active subjects with related rights, responsibilities,
needs and requirements.

In the empowering approach it is assumed that each person has to make their own
decisions, because each individual is a master of their own life, and each individual’s
goals are unique to that person. Social work has historically developed in the di-
rection of expanding rights and opportunities. The client makes efforts to receive
resources which will strengthen their well-being. Through this process, the client will
achieve control over their own life.

Within the framework of the empowering approach, the “union” between the social
worker and the client is understood as consisting of three parts:

• a general understanding of the specific problems facing the client;

• joint commitment to the solution of problems;
• tolerance towards the client, on the professional’s part, independent of the
client’s sex, race or belief system.

A primary condition for the unique cooperation between social worker and client is the
continual interplay between effort, ideas, resources and - most importantly - mutual
respect. Understanding the concept and practice of cooperation depends on a careful
analysis of the social, institutional and psychological barriers one will confront on the
way to structuring and developing a partnership between the professional and the
client. Empowerment is a multifaceted social process that involves an expansion of
the rights and opportunities of the clients, enabling them to take control of their own
lives.

The client is in a difficult life situation. In order to support him/her to act independently,
the professional must work with the client in accordance with the following guidelines:

• mobilization of immediate financial support;

• training in elementary skills necessary for a survival and future well-being;
• empowering the client to develop problem solving skills.

Social workers who work with clients and families affected by HIV have not incorpo-
rated empowering approaches into their professional practice to the extent that this
is needed. Rather than simply granting the various benefits, the empowering appro-
ach is focused on developing the client’s skills and ability to find social resources.
Empowerment-oriented practice should help to overcome the negative impact of HIV/
AIDS stigma and discrimination. Empowerment aims to realize not only the right to be
151 Key issues in social work

free from discrimination, but also the right to privacy, health, freedom of movement,
education, housing and security.

Empowerment can be realized on the individual level as well as on the structural

level. Realization on the individual level demands from the individual that they ana-
lyze themselves independently of the opinion of people and society around them, so
that they may raise their sense of self-esteem. The structural level of empowerment
depends on the creation of various self-help groups and organizations, and on the
involvement of social services in the process of assisting the client.

S tructural aspects of social work practice with HIV-infected people

In Russia, the social services to people living with HIV, their families and risk
groups have mainly been provided by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and
the situation has remained the same for the relatively long period since the onset of
the epidemic. Government social service agencies have not been paying sufficient
attention to this problem.

Today the situation is changing, and St. Petersburg has been a pioneer of develo-
ping a state system of social support for people living with HIV. Recently, centers
for families affected by HIV have been opened, based on the existing system of
centers of social services for families and children. However, there is still no effec-
tive interaction between the government and the non-governmental organizations
that provide assistance to people with HIV and their families. This problem is not
unique to St. Petersburg, but frequently encountered in most parts of Russia. The
non-governmental sector is still making significant contributions to HIV/AIDS preven-
tion. The primary prevention activities of NGOs involve distributing information, HIV
prevention in groups of high risk behavior, HIV prevention among youth, provision of
medico-social services to individuals within the groups of high risk behavior (primarily
drug users and sex workers), and assistance provided to people living with HIV and
to their relatives.

At the same time, the NGOs face a number of serious problems: the unstable finan-
cial situation, the limited funding opportunities, often dependence from a single spon-
sor, which can definitely affect the policies of an organization. Only recently has the
situation begun to change, and more funding opportunities have become available to
the NGOs to realize their programs of prevention for high-risk groups, training, and
education to reduce risk behavior. The involvement of NGOs with the social service
system has now become a typical characteristic of Russian social policy.

When dealing with HIV/ AIDS prevention, social service organizations are quite often
faced with the difficulty of finding well qualified personnel. This is not only a question
of social workers lacking necessary education and experience, but the problem is
also manifested at various managerial levels. One of the major problems is uncertain-
ty regarding legal regulation of NGO activity. It is obvious that this field of social work
needs new management as well as increased budgets for treatment and preventi-
on. Modern management must be directed at (1) raising non-governmental funding,
 Key issues in social work 152

(2) effective coordination of both government and non- governmental organizations

working with the HIV infected, (3) developing a network to facilitate cooperation in
the arena of HIV prevention, and (4) developing new forms of self-help and self-
realization for people with HIV. Naturally, it is also important to structure the social
work with HIV infected clients within the framework of the state system of social
support. In this respect, very successful structural changes have been implemented
in St. Petersburg.

One of the directions of St. Petersburg’s state social policy is the development of a
system of social assistance for people in difficult life situations. Families affected by
HIV infection have recently been included as one category entitled to assistance.
Comprehensive support for such families began in 2007 with the establishment of a
structure for state instituted specialized departments and services.

A network of social support services for people living with HIV and their families now
exists in St. Petersburg. The network consists of 18 public offices, situated alongside
centers that provide social service to families with children. These offices provide
social, psychological and other assistance, as well as medical aid, to families af-
fected by the problem of HIV. Some medical establishments are also included in the
network. All state institutions and public organizations within the network need to be
coordinated to provide assistance to the families in a timely manner.

According to data from the Regional Center “Family” from 2007, 1038 families af-
fected by HIV infection had started receiving social support (Figure 1).

Figure [Link] number of families receiving social support on the basis of being affected by HIV infection

Among the various tasks connected with HIV/AIDS that are expected of social wor-
kers, the most common ones are: Providing social and psychological support aimed
at decreasing the psychological consequences of the infection and the ensuing so-
cial isolation, stigmatization, and discrimination; help in finding and obtaining social
153 Key issues in social work

services connected with housing, patient care and child care; aiding the client with
the problem of constantly increasing need for medical services; and helping the client
understand their basic civil rights and protecting them against discrimination on the
basis of their HIV infection. For many years, the main complaints of people with HIV
infection were connected with lack of necessary medical treatment. What the HIV-in-
fected patients often need even more these days is continued psychological support
and social self-realization. Psychologists and social workers should start work with
clients as early as at the stage of testing for HIV. Most of these clients are not able
to cope independently with the psychological stress, but will develop mental health
problems. They are unable to adequately estimate their situation or to find socially
acceptable models of behavior suitable for them. People living with HIV have great
difficulties in communicating with the people around them, including relatives.

Many HIV-infected people refuse to talk about their condition, even with regular part-
ners and family members. They have many reasons for this. They may fear being cut
off from people close to them, or they may be convinced that no help or support would
be available. They may not want to create additional difficulties for their family and
bring suffering to their close relatives. Or they may just feel that the less people know
the better for them. In any case, social work should involve whole families. This is one
of the key issues concerning the new structures in St. Petersburg. The social service
center of St. Petersburg provides families affected by HIV the following types of ser-
vices: social, socio-medical, socio-economic, socio-educational, socio-psychological
and socio-legal.

The family functions as a system where all its members are closely connected with
each other. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out a social and psychological assess-
ment of the family as a whole: conditions of accommodation, material prosperity,
psychological climate, social environment and family stability. The purpose of expan-
ding the assessment to include the family is to enhance and strengthen the available
internal resources of the family, and it can help to enhance support from the outside,
as well. A family affected by the difficulties that come with HIV infection can be ext-
remely reluctant to receive aid from outside, even though they may very much need
external support. Therefore, one of the most important tasks for the professional, and
perhaps the most difficult, is establishing contact and forming confidential relations
with all family members. For these reasons, professionalism and highly qualified pro-
fessionals are essential when working with this target group.

Issues of professional qualification in social work with HIV-infected clients

Social work targeting people living with HIV and their families is carried out by pro-
fessionals with varying types and levels of expertise. For efficient, high-quality work,
and to provide skilled assistance to families affected by HIV, professionals must have
the specific experience and skills to work with this client group, as well as an under-
standing of the principles of social work and the social support measures guaranteed
by law to people in difficult situations. Building up trust relationships based on mutu-
al respect and tolerance is only possible if professionals possess high professional
competence.
 Key issues in social work 154

Social work among people with HIV involves a long list of specific and often urgent
tasks. Developing a system of social services for this client group requires a solution
to the problem of special training and protection, including measures of psychological
protection for social workers. Societal myths and stereotypes concerning HIV/AIDS
are deeply ingrained in many social workers’ minds. Therefore, the social worker
can feel fear and an unwillingness to work with HIV-positive clients and members of
their families. For this reason, one of the most important issues to be dealt with is the
education and training of social workers concerning clinical and practical questions
connected with HIV/AIDS. The maintenance and preservation of the social worker’s
psychological health requires the creation of special support groups, or establishing
a practice of supervision for all social organizations providing services for people with
HIV. Supervision could help the workers to cope with their own fears, so that they may
overcome their prejudices concerning AIDS, and to be psychologically prepared for
the possible death of the client.

Other difficulties of social work with HIV infected clients include moral and ethical
conflicts. A considerable number of these clients belong to social groups engaging in
high risk behavior which is approved in their larger society (for example, drug users,
and prostitutes). This may result in a conflict between the worker’s social norms and
values and the behavior of the client, leading to refusal to work with this group of
clients. Within our society, stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV
are widespread phenomena, causing increased vulnerability and exclusion of this
group of people. One aspect of working with people with HIV is often the conceal-
ment, by the client, of the diagnosis from members of his or her family. Disclosing
the diagnosis to close relatives is a difficult but necessary step, and the social work
professional has to urge the client to take this step. It is important to prevent similar
situations of concealment, and this also requires special training of the social worker.

Successful work with families affected by HIV infection is based on a tolerant attitude
towards people within “vulnerable” groups of the population, as well as the ability of
the professional to feel sympathy for these people and empathize with their difficul-
ties.

This social work requires that the professional has good communication skills be-
cause, in the course of their work, the professional will interact closely with people of
different ages, different social environments, educational levels and cultural backg-
rounds. To be able to identify with the client and develop communication, the profes-
sional should strive to build a dialogue with the client. This, in turn, will help in gaining
an adequate understanding of the client’s abilities and capacity to act responsibly.

The professional provides information to the clients and teaches them to use availab-
le resources most effectively. When working with families affected by HIV infection,
the social worker needs to help the clients to identify the causes of their maladjusted
behavior, to further the client’s chances of taking an active role in solving their own
problems.
155 Key issues in social work

Social work with families affected by HIV infection is carried out by professionals
with various qualifications and various types of vocational training. As well as rele-
vant educational background, the professionals have to possess the experience and
skills necessary for delivering high-quality support services to the clients and their
families. Each professional must also have an understanding of the functioning and
the resources of the public institutions which render social, psychological and me-
dical care, as well as the ways in which such institutions interact. Furthermore, the
professional needs to be aware of the legislation that determines the limits of social
support available to citizens, and the resources of non-governmental organizations
working in the city.

The professional who does not have sufficient knowledge or experience must un-
dergo additional training. Continuous professional development is a necessary re-
quirement for all professionals, regardless of their work experience. Social work with
families affected by HIV infection requires professionals working directly with these
families. They tailor their methods and approach to each individual family as requi-
red. There are studies that describe some practical forms and methods for working
with these families, such as family club, psychological training, self-help groups, etc.
(Borodkina, Ivashkina 2009).

In December 2012, in connection with the Russian-Finnish project “Empowerment

with families with children’1, a survey was conducted of professionals working with
families. A total of 41 respondents, all professionals from 18 government-run “Cen-
ters of Social affected by HIV infection in St. Petersburg. Assistance to Families and
Children” were involved in the survey. The data given below (Table 1) shows the
active use of forms and methods of work with families and children affected by HIV in-
fection. The assessment was on a scale from 0 to 5 points with 5 being the maximum
measure of use (I use constantly) and 0 being the minimum (I do not use):

The data presented in table 1 shows that working methods used by most professio-
nals include diagnostic interviews and consultation. Some respondents also noted
that they use such techniques and methods as family consultation and conflictologi-
cal counseling.

By using these methods in their work, the professional generally takes an active role,
and the client takes a passive role, thus slowing down the process of social adapta-
tion. The life goals of the client are unique to each client, so the decisions should not
be made by the professional. It is the client who has to make these decisions. The
professional should structure their work so that the client has a variety of choices to
obtain the resources which will enhance their welfare. The most effective forms of so-
cial work with families affected by HIV infection are ones that promote empowerment.

1
Project ”Empowerment of Families with Children” SE141,f South-East Finland –Russia ENPI CBC Pro-
gram
 Key issues in social work 156

Table 1. Forms and methods of work with families and children

forms and methods of work with families and children The averages scores
diagnostic interviews 4
counseling 4
motivational consultation 3,6
interaction with other professionals 3,5
assessment of results and quality of work with the client 2,8
social network of the family 2,7
genogram 2
groups of mutual aid and mutual support 2
club work with the family 1,7
sociometry (adults) 1,5
feedback questionnaire with the client 1,5
“life line” 1,4
sociometry (children) 1,2

C onclusion
Social work with families affected by HIV infection has to be focused on the spe-
cific social needs of the clients. They have various and unique problems as well as
HIV infection. Services should always be provided with the rights of the client in mind.
These rights include the right to self-determination and choice, confidentiality, atten-
tion, respect, and an acceptable quality in the social assistance provided. In working
with “vulnerable groups” and their families, it is important to address the full range
of the client’s existing social problems. The ultimate goal in working with a family is
to improve the quality of life of that family. As for assisting with the social adaptation
of families affected by HIV infection, it is necessary for the social worker to possess
certain skills for this work. Teaching the client to independently find constructive solu-
tions to problems enables a quicker and more effective process of social adaptation,
and the process increases the family’s quality of life. The use of the empowerment
process in social work is important, directing the worker to focus on training the client
and searching for social resources so that client and family can gain control over their
own lives.

At present, professionals do not employ empowering methods in their work with HIV-
infected clients. The majority of professionals are not educated about empowerment-
oriented practice. Therefore, training programs directed at increasing the knowledge
and skills of professionals are in great demand, and hopefully empowering methods
will become more widespread in professional practice in the near future. Undoubted-
ly, this will bring about improved results, and help families affected by HIV infection
with the process of social adaptation.
157 Key issues in social work

R eferences

Bloom M. (1981) Primary prevention: a possible science. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Pren-
ticc Hall.
Borodkina O. I. (2007) Social aspects of epidemic and HIV/AIDS prevention. SPb (in
Russian).
Borodkina, O.I. (1991) Social Work and AIDS. In Vestnik of St. Petersburg State
University. Series 6.” Philosophy. Political science. Sociology. Law’ 1991. Issue 4. (in
Russian).
Borodkina, O.I. & Ivashkina Y.Y. (2009) The organization of social work with the HIV-
infected clients. SPb. (in Russian).
Koltzova, O.V. (2007) The role of the social worker in palliative care for HIV/AIDS.
SPb. (in Russian).
Parslow, P. (1997) The principle of empowerment in social work. (in Russian).
Rapport, J. (1984) Studies in empowerment: Introduction to the issue. Prevention in
Human Services, 3, 1-7.
Wilson, P. (1996) Empowerment: Community economic development from the inside
out. Urban Studies, 33 (4-5), 617-630.
Regional Center “Family” (2012) Analysis of social services for families affected by
a problem of HIV infection, the results of monitoring for the 1st half of 2012. (in Rus-
sian).
Report of a case study “Community of PLHIV”. Stigma and discrimination against
people living with HIV in Russia. 2011. (in Russian).
The Federal Research and Methodological “Centre for the Prevention and Cont-
rol of AIDS”/ Statistics / Quantity of HIV-infected people in Russia for 2012. [Cited
18.12.2012]. Available at: [Link] (in Russian).
Regions and countries/UNAIDS/ [Cited 18.5.2013]. Available at: [Link]
org/ru/regionscountries/regions/. (in Russian).
158 Diaries of family workers

CHAPTER II

Susanna Rautio

Diaries of family workers: empowerment

and working with families with children
Introduction

The renewal of the family services and the developing of new kinds of functional
structures are seen as a challenge for social policy in Finland. In the past few yea-
rs there has been an increase in projects and new services with different working
methods for supporting families with children. Many projects still concentrate on cor-
rective work although preventive services should be emphasized more. It has been
argued that the existing structure of services does not entirely correspond with the
service needs of families with children. The reform of the municipal and service struc-
ture has made the development of the preventive services and different projects an
even more topical issue. This in turn has underlined the importance of studying these
kinds of project-based services. Family work is one of the models that support fami-
lies with children.

In this article, work that was performed by family professionals with families with
children is studied qualitatively. The family professionals worked in a Finnish project
(PERHE-hanke) that was designed to support the well-being of the Finnish families
with children. The project was implemented as a partnership project together with
public and private sector as a part of national development projects in social and
health services in Finland. The ministry of Finnish Social affairs and health offered
financed to the project and administration was organized by local cities where each
municipality project was taking place. Municipality projects worked in partnership with
several partners such as local organizations, institutions and voluntary actors. The
project ran from 2005-2008 in a number of municipalities in Finland; some of its
practices are still running today. The overall project was designed to be a partnership
program for family services with the objective of reforming the operational culture and
methods of delivery of primary services for children and their families.

The aim of the program was to improve the structures and functioning of the primary
services, such as child health clinics, the child day-care system and school, through
extensive and systematic national, regional and local co-operation between the dif-
ferent administrative sectors and other actors. The goal was to form a family center
model or a service network where the public sector, the families themselves, NGOs,
voluntary actors, local communities, and the private sector act in partnership. The
project aimed to strengthen parenting and the wellbeing of families with children.
(Viitala & Saloniemi 2005, Viitala et al. 2008.)
159 Diaries of family workers

These kinds of projects reflects shift that is ongoing in the professional arena. The
public sector has been re-organized and reformed along project-like lines, and in
social and health care, and especially in family services, the different professional
groups have started to work as teams in interprofessional collaboration. Interprofes-
sional collaboration is a process which includes sharing of resources, responsibility
and expertise. In this project for example, family workers collaborated not only with
their clients but also with other professionals such as child health nurses. This kind
of collaboration is one of the key elements in the current health and social care.
From the point of view of contemporary social research, projects can also be seen
as examples of a so-called project society in which the public and private sectors are
intertwined in a new kind of way and the bureaucratic hierarchy is replaced with diffe-
rent networks. (See e.g. Molyneux 2001, Pärnä 2012, Sulkunen 2006.)

In the area of family work there are several directions in the many tasks and different
sectors, which all have different goals. Supporting parenthood is nevertheless seen
as the main task of family work in general. The context of family work can be with
for example home service, family rehabilitation, family houses, family nursing, family
counseling or child custody. (Viitala & Saloniemi 2005, Heino, et al. 2000, Myllärniemi
2007.) Within this project-based family work studied here the context of working was
mainly preventive. The family professionals’ work with families with children varied
from preventive family work done via the child day care centers to work done with the
fathers alone. In addition, the project manager and a project coordinator were invol-
ved in the project. Their working tasks varied according to their position, from work
done with families, for example giving home visits, to coordinating events or peer
group activities for the parents. Home visiting is one of the main and popular practi-
ces in family work which is utilized in several programs and projects. Home visiting
can be used to different kind of interventions focusing on different goals for families.
At the home visits, family worker is able to map family’s situation and their social
network, together with the family itself. Home visits give the family worker possibility
to observe the daily life of the family and it can be seen as an intervention to family
life. For the family it is easy to receive support directly at home and they often respect
the possibility to receive it but on the other hand it can be also a very sensitive and
contradictory situation to be a client and receive support. Family worker can help the
family to recognize their own strengths and support them by listening, discussing and
consulting. Building trustfully and strong relationship with the parents and providing
emotional support is important. (Hebbeler & Gerlach-Downie 2002, Hämäläinen et
al. 2011, Jansson et al., 2001, 144, Lynn-McHale & Deatrick, 2000, Rautio 2012,
Roggman et al., 2001.)

In this article, family professionals’ experiences of their working are studied qualita-
tively from the empowerment perspective. The concept of empowerment is used in
several disciplines. The concept is abstract and therefore it is not clear what it means
in practice and it is also questionable as to what it means to have such an enabling
role strengthening the parents (Baggens 2002, 352). In the similar manner, Kendall
(1998, 1-7) questions what empowerment actually is, and how it is attained. She
states that in the nursing literature there are tacit implications that empowerment is
in itself a good thing, that nursing personnel who work at promoting empowerment
 Diaries of family workers 160

become more efficient, and that people become healthier if they are empowered.
Kendall also questions what people want to get from health and nursing care: whet-
her they really want to be empowered, and which methods are the most efficient.
Many questions about empowerment remain unanswered. Askheim (2003, 203-231)
on the other hand argues that there seems to be an agreement that empowerment
contains both individual and a structural dimension and that empowerment is seen
both as a goal and as a means of attaining that goal; it is both an ideology and a
methodological approach.

In the context of this study, empowerment is seen as parents’ improved parenting

skills, family life and well-being as a result of the family work done by the professio-
nals. This can be achieved by the family professional by approaching the client family
from a strength perspective, and in a family-centered way, for example by helping the
parents to identify their own recourses, activating and encouraging them to discuss
and change behavior. In the same vain the family members needs to set personally
meaningful goals and take action towards these goals. (Early & GlenMaye 2000,
Hebbeler & Gerlach-Downie 2002, Feeley & Gottlieb 2000, Cattaneo & Chapman
2010, 647.)

If the relationship and collaboration between professionals and the parents is well-
functioning, open, respectful and trustful it is likely to have empowering benefits for
the parents. Professionals’ role is then shifted from being an expert to become a per-
son who working together with parents. Empowering outcomes from the supporting
parents can be, for example, attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors associated with
perceptions of control, competence, and confidence. Interventions, such as the fa-
mily work studied here, which enhance the existing resources of the families, can be
valuable in improving well-being and health. Family worker can for example help the
parents to find new viewpoints and to find their own solutions or give concrete advice
or instructions. Empowered clients take more responsibility for their choices and their
changes in behavior. When they become more aware of their own resources with the
support of the family working, they are also able to conduct better decision-making
and have a greater understanding of their life-course. They also can find new ways of
perceiving possible problems, accomplish a revival of hope, and are better organizing
their family life. Clients consider such helping relationship successful which provides
equality, non-judgmental stance and flexibility. (Dunst & Dempsey 2007, Falk-Rafael
2001, Häggman- Laitila, 2005, Ribner & Knei-Paz 2002.)

A im and questions
The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of the professionals who
worked within this project by analyzing their professional diaries and to consider cri-
tically whether this kind of family work has an empowering effect on the well-being
of the families. In addition, it was to give the family professionals a voice and at the
same time make their work more visible. The research question in this article asks:
What kind of challenges and highlights did the professionals experience in their daily
working with families in relation to empowerment? Implications for practice will also
be discussed.
161 Diaries of family workers

M ethod

Professionals’ diaries as data

Traditionally, diaries have been written by the clients of the services in healthcare
research (Furnee & Garrud 2010, Jones 2000, Richardson 1994, Verbrugge, 1980,
see also Bolger et al. 2003). There are, however, a number of studies written by ca-
rers as well (Skott & Erikson 2004, Åstedt-Kurki, & Isola, 2001, Roulin et al. 2007). In
addition, within family studies diaries have been utilized lately (Lämsä et al. 2011). In
qualitative research, diaries as a data collection method can also be used together
with other methods such as interviews, telephone conversations or field notes. In
addition, audio diaries can be used instead of written ones. (Elliot 1997, Jacelon &
Imperio 2005, Hislop et al., 2005.)

The data in this article consists of the diary data of different family professionals.
These professionals were family workers, both from the child health clinic and from
the day care center, the project coordinator, the project manager and a father worker.
The professionals worked in the same project. All of the eight professionals except
one were women. In Finland, professional family workers come from different backg-
rounds and educations. Educations usually vary from practical nursing to degree of
Bachelors of Social services. There is a somewhat of need for making social educa-
tion more consistent.

Family workers collaborated with other professionals, child health care nurses, child
day care personnel’s and others linked to their working community. Their task va-
ried according to their position. Family workers’ working included home visiting, peer
support group activity and guidance on other services when needed. In the home
visits family workers for example offered families with children support by discussing
and consulting about those family matters that they needed to. The principle of the
working was to offer support with low threshold and the working was free and volun-
tary. Family work was meant to be short-term and preventive. Some of the workers
conducted partially also corrective family work. These professionals were guided by
the project leader to keep an up-to-date a diary on a weekly basis and then to send it
to her by e-mail. For these diaries, the professionals were asked to write about their
weekly events, feelings and so forth. The professionals approached their diary wri-
ting in personal and different ways. Some informants wrote little about their doings,
whereas others reflected more detailed on their work and what had happened in their
current week.

Originally, the diaries were written for the evaluation purposes of the project. The
project aimed to develop and reform working methods of preventive and early sup-
porting of families with children and to strengthen partnership between professionals
from different sectors (Viitala & Saloniemi 2005, Viitala et al. 2008). The diary writings
were collected by the project between the end of 2005 and 2008. The length of time
the diaries were kept varied by a few months. The length of the diaries varied from
between 10 to almost 100 pages, including weekly memoranda parts. The overall
data consist of circa 230 pages including also the professionals’ weekly memoranda,
 Diaries of family workers 162

in which their working schedules are shortly illustrated. The diaries were written in a
personal style and sent to the project manager who collected them. The project ma-
nager approved of the study and gave access to these diaries. In this article diaries
of the family workers are taken into closer analysis.

Diaries are a suitable method for collecting the experiences of the writers. For some
people it is easier to write about experiences and feelings than to talk about them.
Diaries construct rich data, which varies according to the writer. Diaries can also act
as a self-help tool and help writers to deal with emotions and analyze events. When
professionals write about their work, they can reflect on their thoughts, emotions and
actions. However, there are both benefits and limitations when using diaries as re-
search data. The family professionals who wrote the diaries had relevant information
and experience about the research topic and therefore the diary data was a success-
ful choice for this study. Keeping a diary can be also a therapeutic experience for the
writers (Välimäki et al. 2007, 73, Roulin et al. 2007, 899). However, the professionals
wrote these diaries alongside their work and sometimes did not have enough time
to write so there could have been deficiencies or limitations in some of the writings.
Also, writing about personal issues and then letting someone read it can have an im-
pact on the content of the diaries. The request to keep a diary might add extra stress
to a professional if they are in a busy stage of working. The researcher also solely
depends on the written text. Diary writing is nevertheless a good way to collect and
record work and also gives the possibility to reflect on daily work and one’s professio-
nal identity. (See Elliot 1998, Välimäki 2007.)

By studying diaries the researcher can achieve subjective feelings and experiences
of the studied. When analyzing writing the researcher is dependent on the finished
text, whereas with interviews the researcher is able to ask additional questions to de-
fine details. Diary texts can also include inconsistencies. The role of the researcher is
different when studying diary data than when for example conducting interviews with
the research participants. When obtaining ready-to-use diary material the researcher
relies on the data as it is and does not meet the individual behind the text. Diary data
offers interesting information about the studied by revealing personal experiences
and makes them more visible. (Elliot 1998, Välimäki et al. 2007, Roulin et al. 2007.)

Ethical considerations
Ethical issues which are required when conducting qualitative research were taken
into consideration during the research process. Ethical considerations follow the
code of ethics set by Declaration of Helsinki. Before the project started it was evalu-
ated as being ethically acceptable by the city in which the study was conducted. The
project itself collected the diary writings for evaluation purposes and the manager
gave access to the data for the research purposes. The city had evaluated the pro-
ject and was also conducting the study in accordance with its own ethical rules and
practices, and therefore the ethical board of the researcher’s university (University of
Jyväskylä) considered that a second evaluation was not necessary. The diary data
was treated with confidentiality. The anonymity of the family professionals was taken
into consideration and the identification information of the writers was eliminated from
the quotations used in this article. Furthermore, pseudonyms are used when presen-
163 Diaries of family workers

ting the data in the article. Quotations from the data are translated from Finnish into
English and they are used to clarify the analysis. Clarity and clear presentation is the
aimed when analyzing the diary data and reporting the findings.

Data analysis
Diaries as data allow different types of analysis methods. In the analysis of the pro-
fessional diaries a qualitative, narrative and thematic approach was utilized. For stu-
dying the experiences of individuals, qualitative methods are well suited and due
to the descriptive type of data a narrative approach is also suitable. Narratives re-
present, reconstitute as well as express experiences. Researchers using a narrative
approach should retain their awareness of existing social conditions when they con-
sider how culture and social structures surface in the stories of both the participants
and the researcher. (Riessman 2008, Squire 2008, Frazer 2004, 182). The data-
based analysis was started with several readings of the diary data and making notes
and summaries of each diary. Each diary was read closely to obtain a sense of the
whole and the focus was on the content and not for example on the timely structure
of the writings. Nevertheless, narrativity is present due to the temporal dimension of
the diaries and there is a sense of progression present as well from experiencing the
challenges to experiencing the success of the family work. Firstly, the diaries were
read to obtain a sense of each professional’s working description and to learn what
their positions and tasks were at that time. Secondly, each text was observed by loo-
king at the expressions given to the experiences. Descriptive sections of the diaries
were given closer and interpretive analysis. Thirdly, any similarities between the texts
were searched for and collected as categories. Two narrative themes were identified
from the data by looking for congruence between their descriptions and in the narra-
tive form of the data; challenges in working in collaboration and experiencing the joy
and success of the work.

F indings

Challenges in working in collaboration

According to the family professionals, there were certain factors that made them ex-
perience their work as challenging. For example, Minna had confusion about her role
in the work community, which made working occasionally difficult.

I really like my job, but I do miss my colleagues for sharing and talking my things
through. Also this being like “a tramp” without having my own permanent chair some-
times bothers me It would be nice to have my own space for my belongings and not
to have to carry everything with me in my car all the time. (…) it would be nice to have
a common space for working where I could collect different materials. A place where
we (other workers) could share our experiences and get mental support. Presently
I feel like I am weirdo among the other workers. (Minna’s diary, family worker, child
day-care center)

The above family worker felt somewhat of an outsider and different to the others due
to not having a permanent workplace or office. Different expectations between diffe-
 Diaries of family workers 164

rent actors in the field were described as a challenge. A lack of support from the other
professionals was mentioned as well and there being a clear need for more collegial
company and peer support. Having a hectic working schedule or lots of client families
was seen as a challenge to the work itself and to the professionals’ ability to cope. It
also challenges the quality of family-centered working and possibilities to support and
empower the parents. Like Aliisa wrote in her diary in the following extract, having too
many families at her task was challenging her working capacity.

I feel like new client families are coming out of the walls. I am very busy until the
winter holidays, but still I try to fit in meetings with new client families. This thing is
really not working at the moment. (Aliisa’s diary, family worker, child day-care center)

The working relationship with the families was experienced as a challenge if the fa-
milies’ expectations about the support were not realistic or when they did not want to
receive support from the family work.
A mother expected that she could get help for child care and with household duties.
I clarified my role to her and we agreed that the working with her would start and
that she could leave the house for a while when I arrived, but that the purpose of the
visit was to discuss about things and reflect together where the family could find its
own resources. At this point I was pissed off because my work role was marketed to
the family as being one where the mother would get concrete help at home. (Maija’s
diary, family worker, child health clinic)

When parent’s expectations did not match with the family work’s tasks, it can be
more challenging to be able to support and empower the parents. There should be
somewhat common understanding between the parents and professionals about the
goals of the working.

Experiencing the joy and success of the work

Having positive experiences and feedback was important for the professionals’ with
regard to their experiences of their daily work. For example, when a client family was
open towards accepting a professional conducting family work through home visiting
and there was development in the family’s situation present, the work was experien-
ced as rewarding and successful. The following extract from the diaries illustrates
this.

On Monday night I felt good when I went to a home to visit a family. I had met the fa-
mily for the first time last week and their situation was mostly chaotic. Their two-and-
a-half-year was totally dominating the parents. Now their situation looked different
and the parents were managing better. They followed the instructions I gave them
and their interaction had improved. This is exactly what I think day care’s family work
is all about; when such small things and only a few home visits can bring about big
changes. (Minna’s diary, family worker, child day-care center)

As such, a family’s situation improved due to receiving family work and support and
the project’s aim was accomplished. The family met their worker at the child care
center and the co-operation started then and there. Home visiting was a meaningful
165 Diaries of family workers

point in the working; the parents were able to re-organize their daily life so that their
life was not so chaotic and their parent-child interaction improved. This is a good
example of empowerment in the family work; the parents gained knowledge about
child rearing and tip about the how they should to act with this situation. Parents’ goal
was to improve the interaction with their child in order to eliminate the chaotic situa-
tion at their home. This improvement was gained only with a few home visit made by
family worker. Nevertheless, time and effort was sometimes required to accomplish
successful working with the clients.

When family work and its support were no longer needed it was seen as a joyful and
rewarding moment for the family worker and the work was considered as having been
successful. Also, gaining appreciation from the other co-workers about the good work
done was valued. One of the family workers wrote how she was delighted when the
day-care center’s personnel acknowledged her job and the advice she had provided
to the parents.

Regardless of the current position and the tasks of the family professionals there
were similarities between the narrated experiences. One of the main things was to
have a working alliance with the client families and with other professionals. When
collaboration was fluent the work was experienced as being successful and helpful
both for the parents and the professionals.

On Tuesday we ran this ‘power group’ for mothers in which two mothers took part.
We discussed about positive ways of thinking and the mothers worked with class
paintings. A depressive mother told me afterwards how good she felt that she could
produce such a beautiful thing with her own hands. (Erja’s diary, family worker)

In the above extract the family worker tells how she gained direct and positive feed-
back about her work and the group activity their project had organized for the mot-
hers. Having a peer group activity was felt as empowering for the mothers at that time
not only because of the possibility to discuss with other parents, but also because
of doing a class painting. Performing a functional group activity with other mothers
offered the mothers strength and the feeling of competence and achievement.

The examples above describe how the family workers felt that their work had a po-
sitive and empowering effect on the parents and their well-being. The family profes-
sionals’ experiences about the successfulness of their work and their professional
identity was strengthened by receiving direct feedback about the family work and
seeing the positive changes in the parents taking part. Appreciation was also felt for
having the possibility to receive peer support, share thoughts with other professionals
and take part in education.

D iscussion
The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of the professionals who
worked within this project by analyzing their professional diaries and consider critical-
ly whether this kind of family work has an empowering effect on the wellbeing of the
 Diaries of family workers 166

families. In addition, it was to give the family professionals a voice and at the same
time to make their work more visible. The research topic of this article can be justified
because it is important to study these kinds of multi-professional family supporting
models in general and in particular from the insider’s perspective. Although the pro-
ject itself has ended, some of the actions that were modeled in the project are on-
going. This means that studying such projects and working models remains important
and highly topical. Working in multi-professional teams and collaboration are typical
features in the working lives of postmodern professionals thus important to study
them as well. Development of multi-professional collaboration is important in order to
offer services for families with children of good quality. (Molyneux 2001, Pärnä 2012.)

The family professionals’ diaries offered interesting and rich data regardless of their
length, depth and style of writing. In this article the research question asked: What
kind of challenges and highlights did the professionals experience in their daily wor-
king with families in relation to empowerment?

The family professionals described their work as being challenging when they had
hectic schedules, which can be seen as a result of a lack of recourses. The situation
was regarded as demanding if the professionals have to work for example without
having a permanent office, without the support of other colleagues, or without having
a clear role in the working community or with regard to work tasks. These factors
challenge the work done with the parents and the possible empowerment as well.

One of the most important things in family work is to have a working alliance with the
client families, and with other professionals. Client families have a good possibility to
be supported and empowered when they accept family work, such as home visiting,
and its support or take part in family activities or peer groups. In addition, parents’
expectations for the family working should be realistic. Professionals’ experiences of
their work are positive and successful when a family’s situation can be seen as imp-
roving and the family gives good feedback about the support. Families respect the
fact that they are treated in a family-centered way and as such trustful cooperation
is built. For the parents being a client of a family service and asking for and recei-
ving support can be a very sensitive and contradictory situation (Hämäläinen et al.
2011) and therefore trustful encounters are important. Trust requires respect but also
time, communication and mutual intention. When trust is established collaboration
becomes easier and parents’ engagement to support increases. Trust is not only
an important feature in the client-family relationship, but is also important between
professionals working together as teams (Häggman- Laitila 2005, Jack, et al. 2005,
185-187, Jansson et al. 2001, 144, Lynn-McHale & Deatrick 2000, 217-221). The
peer support received from colleagues supported professional identity and was seen
as useful.

This kind of family work and its actions can help parents with children and empower
them. For example, receiving home visits can effectively support families but they
require working collaboration and common understanding of the support’s goals and
how to gain them. As noted earlier, empowerment as a concept is understood in many
ways in science. It can still be questioned, as Kendall (1998) and Baggens (2002)
167 Diaries of family workers

pointed out, what it actually means to have an empowering effect on the well-being
of families. Family professionals’ work can be empowering when collaboration works
between the client families and between other professionals working in the same
field. Parents themselves need to adopt goals that are personally meaningful and
take action towards them (Cattaneo & Chapman 2010, 647). Also when the working
conditions are adequate, the role of each professional is clear and the resources for
working are decent, work can be done effective and empowering. With family work
it is possible to support families even with only a few meetings such as home visits
to prevent families’ problematic situations from evolving. Home visiting is especially
appreciated practice among families. Parents often value the support they get, and
also for example having a peer support group or activity is seen as empowering and
important for the parents and their well-being. (Häggman- Laitila 2005, Häggman-
Laitila & Pietilä 2007, Rautio 2012). Despite the benefits of this kind of family working
it can be argued as to what extent family work supports and empowers the families
and who really benefits the most from it. It can also be questioned whether this kind
of family support reaches enough of those families who would profit from its help and
support. Some parents can for example refuse from accepting the support.

Even though the project has ended, some of its practices are still in place and run-
ning. In addition, many of the professionals continue working in new family work
projects and are therefore are in a great position to transfer their experiences and
possible practical innovations. The family professionals themselves wished for more
preventive manners of working and they should be emphasized even more. Collegial
support and work counseling should be available when needed for the professionals
working with the families. Also, there should be appropriate working conditions for
each professional group and more standardized practices for achieving the best pos-
sible results from the interprofessional collaboration and family work.

Further research is needed on family work and similar multi-professional working

models in order to develop family work, collaboration and ways by which to offer them
in the most appropriate way and as effectively as possible in addition to being able to
respond to the needs of the families with children.

Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank those family professionals who wrote about their work
and the Family Project for giving the opportunity to study this rich material.
 Diaries of family workers 168

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 172

PART III

Empowering Social Work

with Children and Young
People
(9) Child-sensitive elements of the construction of
CONTENTS child well-being during an acculturation process.
Exploring the narratives of well-being of children
with a Russian background

(10) Everyday choices, meaningful activities and

reliable adults. Diverse paths to empowerment of
unaccompanied asylum-seeking girls

(11) Ethnic minority youth and youth work in Fin-

land: everyday anti-racism engendering empowe-
ring conditions
174 Child-sensitive elements
CHAPTER III

Minna Veistilä

Child-sensitive elements of the

construction of child well-being during
an acculturation process. Exploring the
narratives of well-being of children with
a Russian background
”Yes, our children are our judges.”
Maksim Gorky: Mother
Gorky (1907) has over a hundred years ago described a situation that Finnish social
sciences have found actual in the 21st century social work: the importance of children
as the reflectors of our society as a whole. There are at least three main reasons why
child well-being requires special attention. First, the problem of child well-being is
not restricted to the present lives of children; it has repercussions on their future. Se-
condly, children are still one of the groups most afflicted by poverty, and thirdly, there
is still a basic lack of ‘direct’ information on children’s lives. (Fernandes, Mendes &
Teixeira 2011, 239.) Most of our contemporary research on immigrant children sees
them as vulnerable victims of migration, concentrating on refugees, asylum-seekers,
trafficked or separated children. The focus of contemporary research is on integra-
tion in host society contexts and on the children’s futures as adults. Vulnerability,
passive role as only a member of a migrant family, children’s rights and the identities
and education of second generation migrant children have been the main themes of
interest. Recently, however, the emphasis has moved towards exploring the complex,
processual and negotiated nature of immigrant childrens’ identities and belongings.
(Ní Laoire et al. 2011, 1-15.)

Immigrant children are special in at least two ways: as themselves, unique children li-
ving, developing and experiencing their lives, and as members of immigrant families.
In the field of social work it is very important to understand immigrant families child-
sensitively, from the point of view of the well-being of children and adolescents. (Anis
2008, 9-10.) Immigration has been described as a bewildering, confusing, depres-
sing, anxiety-provoking, humiliating, embarrassing, and generally stressful process
(Dow 2011, 221) in which acculturative stress can be present. Immigrant families
construct their own well-being in the ecocultural context they live in, together with
their past cultural experiences and expectations.
175 Child-sensitive elements

Contemporary global discussions of immigration focus on transnationalism (Stone,

Gomez, Hotzoglou & Lipnitsky 2005). South-Eastern Finland has local and natio-
nal cultural specialties that challenge the global understanding of immigration and
immigrant families. The family acculturation process can be totally different in a uni-
que ecocultural context. In the past, Finland has been a meeting-point of east and
west. However, recent development in the country has included different immigration
discourses. Local situations vary, and so do the class- and gender-specific attitu-
des towards immigration. In Kymenlaakso and South Carelia districts in Finland the
amount of immigrants with Russian background has grown ten-fold in only the past
two decades (Jäppinen et al. 2007, 15). At the same time the local discussions in-
clude plenty of negative attitudes towards immigrant people in general and Russian
immigrants in particular. One of the catalyzators of this discussion is, still, the trauma-
tic war between Russia and Finland during the years 1939-44. The local situation has
to be taken into account when the well-being of immigrant children with a Russian
background is discussed.

Well-being has been considered a central indicator of good human life, even the
ultimate target of human life. As a research topic it has proven to be quite elusi-
ve (Martela 2012, 30.) Saari (2011, 354-355), discussing the future tasks of Fin-
nish well-being research, emphasizes the pretention to combine resource-based
and experience-based traditions into a new synthesis of well-being research and
to study the interfaces of inequality and justice. This is also the aim of my rese-
arch. Well-being is generally accepted to be the goal and result of social work (Nie-
melä 2009, 209-211). This research focuses on how child well-being is constructed
in immigrant families with a Russian background in South-Eastern Finland.

C hild well-being
The concept of well-being has been present but has often remained undefined
in recent research studies (e.g. Haghseresht 2012; Clarke 2005) especially from an
interdisciplinary viewpoint. Fox example developmental psychology and educational
psychology understand a child´s growth and development in the child’s ecocultural
context. Developmental psychology and statistical, index-centered research are well-
presented in contemporary research of child well-being. Child well-being could also
be interpreted through the evolution theory in families (Roos 2012, 369) or through
the socio-political viewpoint (Roos 2012, 366; Eräsaari 2012, 377-378). Here, the
topic of immigrant children’s well-being is understood multidisciplinary, but the focus
is on the acculturation process, and so it has close connections to the social psycho-
logical interpretation of immigration and its influences on children and families (see
Alitolppa-Niitamo 2010). This research is situated in the field of social work, family
and childhood research, immigration research and well-being research. The purpose
and task of this research is to widen the understanding of the objective of social work.

In the contemporary thinking about children and childhood there has been a dicho-
tomy of understanding children either as being or as becoming creatures (Figure 1).
Earlier in the field of education and developmental psychology children were seen
as growing and developing brains and physics that need assistance in their task of
 Child-sensitive elements 176

becoming adults. On the other hand, in social sciences and especially in childhood
research children were seen as present childhood actors, living their life in the society
they have born into. These two lines of thinking can both regard children either as
vulnerable and protection-needing or as capable and strong human beings. (Bardy
2009; McAuley & Rose 2005; Chambers 2012; Ní Laiore et al. 2011.) This research
combines the dimensions and sees the children both as being and becoming human
beings (see also Eerola-Pennanen 2013).

Figure 1. Dimensions of conceptions of a child and the child-sensitive viewpoint.

In this research children are seen to be growing and developing but also living their
present childhood. When a child is seen as a developing individual, with the task
of becoming an adult, for instance Aldgate (2010, 21-38) defines children’s well-
being as “well-becoming”, ecology-influenced development, wellness, strengths and
attachment as well as abilities to shape their own lives. She points out that the best
start in a person’s life, the elements that are needed for children in becoming con-
fidential individuals, effective contributors, responsible citizens and successful lear-
ners are nutrition, activities, respect, responsibility, safety, health, achievements and
being included. (Aldgate 2010, 34.) At the same time children are, from an adult’s
point of view, vulnerable and need to be protected. This does not make them passive,
but can also contain the elements of understanding children to be powerful and par-
ticipatory. This four-dimensional viewpoint combines and challenges one-dimension
approaches. Defining and constructing a versatile picture of child well-being requires
multidimensional understanding of a child and childhood. This viewpoint is in this re-
177 Child-sensitive elements

search called “child-sensitivity”. Children are here not only understood through one of
these dimensions, but through all of them. Child-sensitivity creates new possibilities
for understanding and developing intersectional work (Keskinen et al. 2012).

Child-sensitivity points out the importance of children’s own perspectives. For instan-
ce Fernandes et al. (2012) have studied eight major indexes of child well-being in
their world-wide comparison. They found them different and still requiring new discus-
sion. In spite of evident progress, research on the measurement of child well-being is
still evolving, particularly with regard to composite measures. (Fernandes et al. 2012,
251.) They found that the child should be the unit of analysis. In more concrete terms,
children’s perspectives on their own well-being should be taken into account. In this
approach, multidimensionality is a requirement. Interactions between the different
aspects of well-being should also be considered when engaging in such a measure-
ment exercise. (Fernandes et al. 2012, 242-243.)

The English word “well-being” is here used as a synonym to the Finnish word “hy-
vinvointi”, realizing that these words do not exactly have the same inner meaning. In
the Finnish field of well-being studies the most important name has been for decades
now professor Erik Allardt. His idea is, that well-being is based on mostly needs but
also resources, and can be defined as having, loving and being. (Allardt 1976.) Eco-
nomic, cultural and social capital as resources (Bourdieu 1984, Törrönen 2012, 33-
45), capability and choices (Sen 1990, 30-31) and goal-framing motives (Lindenberg
& Steg 2007, 117-118) as well as elements of flourishing (positive emotion, engage-
ment, relationships, meaning and accomplishment) (Seligman 2011, 5-30) have all
been described as definitions of well-being. In this research well-being is understood
in line with another Finnish scientist, professor Pauli Niemelä (Niemelä 2009, 209-
235) in a wide sense, as a combination of all these: needs and resources, capabilities
and choices made according to motives, possibilities and action. It is important to un-
derstand well-being as a dynamic, changing, contextual and constructional concept.
Well-being is constructed in social relationships and in interaction.

This definition of well-being is based on the socio-constructionist idea of knowled-

ge being socially constructed. Social constructionism questions platitudes, sees the
relation of knowledge, history and culture, regards knowledge to become and be
sustained in social processes and combines knowledge and social action. Socio-
constructionist research does not provide results in the sense that, for example sta-
tistic research does. It searches for unidentified meanings and processes thus saying
something meaningful about the social world we live in. Research is a part of the
construction process of its object and the meanings it gets. (Gergen 1999; Burr 1995;
see also Hacking 2009.)
 Child-sensitive elements 178

Child well-being is understood in this research as a construction through the ele-

ments and dimensions presented in Table 1.

Table 1. Elements and dimensions of child and youth well-being (Paaso & Veistilä 2012, based on
Allardt 1976; Bardy 2009 and Niemelä 2009).

Elements of Dimensions of
well-being well-being

MATERIAL SOCIAL MENTAL/

SPIRITUAL
HAVING financial security, leisure activities, early education
housing, spending social capital, cosi- / day care, edu-
resources, welfare money ness of neighbour- cation, learning,
hood study possibilities,
provision language
BEING and DOING housework, sum- playing, organiza- cultural activities,
mer jobs, possibility tional activities, use experiences in
well-being, to influence on the of media, friends, significance, ethical
well-doing family’s purchases, entertainment and choices
travelling recreation, expe-
participation riences of partici-
pation
LOVING received basic family, friends, authenticity, faith,
well-feeling care, nutrition, love, happiness, autonomy, self-
satisfaction of clothing, health, ap- well-being in rela- acceptance, safety
needs pearance, physical tionships, quality of growth and
protection well-being of early interaction, development
dating/sexuality

The construction of a child´s well-being includes the elements of having, being/doing

and loving as presented in the Table 1. These elements of well-being are constructed
through the three dimensions of a child´s life: material, social and mental/spiritual.
(Niemelä 2009, 218.)

Dimensions of having, resources, are provided to a child mostly by adults. A child is

a subject of her own being and doing, thus participating actively in the society and
making individual choices. A child receives protection and care as well as gives love
and friendship to the people close to her in reciprocal relations.

Social dimensions are an important part of child well-being. For instance, in her rese-
arch of children’s conceptions of well-being, Helavirta (2011) has heard the voices of
more than 700 children of the ages from 5 to 15 years. These children pointed out the
179 Child-sensitive elements

subjects of mothers as the sources of good life, the scope of social relations, inclusi-
on and exclusion of children, the demand of success and the threat of failure as well
as mutual, reciprocal caregiving at home to be the most important issues regarding
the well-being of children. (Helavirta 2011, 72-78.) So the well-being of a child is not
constructed only by the child herself but also by her family. In this research a family
is a research context and considered to be a community in which the members share
a sense of unity and affection. A family is to be understood contextually and age-,
gender- and generation-sensitively, as an active factor of everyday life. A family has
the responsibility of the socialization and upbringing of its members as well as eco-
nomic, safety-giving, rehabilitating and supporting tasks. These tasks are accepted
in the emotional context of love, affection and caring. (Bardy 2009; Chambers 2012;
Yesilova 2009.)

In order to get a wider understanding of mental or spiritual dimensions we need to

see for instance the developmental psychologists’ views towards the well-being of
children and youth. Heli Paaso (Paaso & Veistilä 2012) has divided the indicators of
infants’ well-being into the parents’ sensitivity in understanding infant´s feelings and
needs and the developmental stages of feelings, play, language and other ways of
communication in the lives of children of different ages. Paaso underlines that it is
essential to pay severe attention to the relationship of a parent and an infant conside-
ring the well-being of small children in the context of their growth and development.

In this article the versatile picture of child well-being, here especially immigrant
children’s well-being, is understood through an immigration process, which is here
defined as an acculturation process.

A cculturation process
Finland has traditionally been a border region and a meeting point between East
and West (Liebkind, Tandefelt & Moring 2007, 3). The majority of Russian-speaking
migrants in Finland are so-called ‘ethnic returning migrants’. They are mostly Ingrian
Finns and their spouses and children. With the introduction of legal repatriate status
by president Koivisto in 1990, a large wave of ethnic return migration began from
Russia to Finland, increasing the proportion of the total immigrant population in the
country from .01 per cent to almost 3 per cent in 18 years. (Jasinskaja-Lahti 2012,
1427.) Today, Russian-speaking immigrants constitute the largest immigrant group in
Finland, over 60 000 or over 40 per cent of the total immigrant population (Jasinskaja-
Lahti 2012, 1427). Most of them live in the metropolitan area or in the South-western
Finland and Kymenlaakso district (Alanen 2009).

Liebkind et al. (2004, 22) divide Russian immigrants in Finland roughly into four
groups: returnees with ethnic Finnish roots, family members of these returnees, eth-
nic Russians who have moved to Finland because of marriage, work or studies, and
Russian language speakers who have no ethnic Russian roots or whose moving to
Finland has other bases than returning, marriage, work or studies. In Kymenlaak-
 Child-sensitive elements 180

so and South Carelia districts transcultural marriages are very common especially
among Russian women and Finnish men. This explains the over-representation of
women among the Russian-speaking inhabitants: 64 per cent of them are women.
(Jäppinen et al. 2007, 16.)

Acculturation is a process which takes place within communities and individuals, but
especially within families, when different cultural groups come into contact with each
other and this contact changes the original cultural model of the groups. Accultura-
tion is a powerful change that influences the inner interaction models of the family,
parenthood and the upbringing of children, the well-being of all family members and
the development of children and youth. This process is constantly changing and it
is affected by several factors: in the case of immigration, political decisions and the
attitudes of the host society are especially important, as are the immigrants’ own
human, economic and social capital and cultural distance. Family structure, the roles
of different family members and family dynamics, as well as the ideals and values
of child development and upbringing children, also play significant roles. (Alitolppa-
Niitamo 2010, 45–61)

The model of acculturation can have two dimensions, attitudes towards the culture of
both countries: the one the person has left behind and the new one. Immigrant exclu-
sion/inclusion and acculturation are reciprocal processes, where the minorities and
majorities strongly influence each other. According to Berry (1990), an acculturation
process can be described as negotiations between minorities and the majority. He
identifies five general and partly overlapping categories of changes that acculturation
includes. First, physical changes may occur: a new place to live, a new type of hou-
sing. Secondly, biological changes may occur: new nutritional status, new diseases.
Thirdly, cultural changes necessarily occur: original political, economic, technical,
linguistic, religious and social institutions become altered, or new ones take their
place. Fourthly, new sets of social relationships and dominance patterns may be-
come established. Finally, fifthly, for the individual there are psychological changes:
behavioral changes and an alteration in mental health status almost always occur as
individuals attempt to adapt to their new milieu. (Berry et al 1987, 492.)

Attachment attitudes to one’s own immigrant group and/or to the majority of people
can be described as a four-part field, the parts being integration (both networks),
assimilation (to the majority), separation (only immigrant networks) and marginaliza-
tion (isolation). (Berry et al. 1990, 2006; Liebkind et al. 2004, 55-57.) Each individual
migrant’s idiosyncratic demographical and psychological characteristics influence
their acculturation. Individual factors include age, gender, education and socioeco-
nomic status as well as language acquisition ability. These individual factors have in
common the ability to increase familiarity with the new culture and lower the amount
of uncertainty experienced. (Dow 2011.)

Kosonen (2008) has in her longitudinal research studied the psychological well-being
as an adult and sociocultural adaptation of Vietnamese children in Finland. Her re-
search shows that different factors predict acculturation outcomes at different stages
of the life span. She states, that it is not just time and exposure to a new society that
181 Child-sensitive elements

explain acculturative change. For children and adolescents it was acceptance among
peers that mattered in their young lives in school, and not how well they were spea-
king the majority language or how well they were doing academically. Even though
she only defined acculturation as language, values and identity and psychological
well-being as depression and self-esteem, and was looking at socio-cultural adap-
tation as school achievements, she came to an interesting finding, that the factors
influencing these acculturation outcomes are myriad and definitely age-specific. Indi-
vidual dimensions of values, language, and identity, and not composite ethnic, natio-
nal or bicultural profiles, were the best predictors of outcomes. The best predictors of
psychological well-being and sociocultural adaptation included dimension variables
from both the ethnic and the national profiles. (Kosonen 2008, 201.)

Language is a very strong contextual element as well as an element of the accultu-

ration process. Liebkind et al. (2004) have noticed that a better knowledge of Finnish
language indicates a larger amount of experiences of exclusion and furthermore a
larger number of stress symptoms among Russian and Estonian immigrants in Fin-
land. This connection can be explained by the role of exclusion, but it can also indica-
te better courage of reporting illness in a survey, due to the longer stay in Finland and
better language skills. Nevertheless, this result questions the idea of language skills
being the key to positive immigrant integration. It does not strictly lead to successful
mental integration. (Perhoniemi 2005.)

R esearch questions and methods

“Families have always told stories, but for those who work professionally with fami-
lies, family stories seem to have become the DNA of family life”, Stone et al. (2005)
write.

In my study I use narrative methodology. The data consist of narratives (Hänninen

1999; Frank 2010), storycrafting (Karlsson 2003) and thematic interviews (Hirsjärvi &
Hurme 2011). The data-gathering research methods were chosen in order to under-
stand family stories of child well-being during the acculturation process.

My research questions are following: How is child well-being constructed in immigrant

families with Russian background in South-Eastern Finland? What kinds of elements
of child well-being do these constructions include during an acculturation process?

These kinds of questions are essential in the field of social work, since well-being is
considered to be the objective of social work with children and families. The objective
is to gain a more in-depth view at the well-being of immigrant children by listening to
them with their parents. For me it has been important to reach their own stories of
their well-being.

I started the data gathering by storycrafting the small children, who seldom have their
say in the field of research. Storycrafting is a way of giving space to children’s authen-
tic voices, without adults’ interference. In order to listen to the children in their other
 Child-sensitive elements 182

contexts of everyday life, six children with Russian background, from the age of 6 to
7, in two day care centers were asked to tell stories and the researchers wrote them
down just as they were told. The same children told a story about a frame narrative:
“Once upon a time there was a little puppy dog called Sasha. It was very happy. Tell us
a story about why Sasha was happy.” With this method the stories were focused on
well-being. Storycrafting is essential as a method of giving a child an experience of
the importance and value of his/her own thoughts (Karlsson 2003). Children can use
stories as a “bummer” between themselves and the yet non-understandable world.
By storycrafting a child can structure and discern experiences, combining feelings
and believes into reasons and causes. This “telling to oneself” is a preface of inner
dialog, guiding one´s own psychological processes and actions. (Hänninen 1999.) In
addition, five young people of Russian background, from the age of 13 to 18, wrote
their narratives of life. These stories and narratives were collected by students of
Kymenlaakso University of Applied Sciences and will also be used in their bachelor’s
thesis.

When thinking about the knowledge production of small children we can refer to
Helavirta (2011, 26-27) who has studied the knowledge of well-being that children
themselves produce. She thinks that it is different from the knowledge of adults. Also
Lahikainen (2001, 33) emphasizes in her research of children’s fears, that many of
the fears are not known to the parents, thus claiming, that the information that pa-
rents give us about their children’s well-being can, for several reasons, be untrust-
worthy. Children themselves can give us information unreachable from somewhere
else. However, looking at a child from her own perspective, as important as it is, does
not give a full picture of the construction of child well-being. The family as a whole
has to be heard as well. For that purpose, I interviewed, with a Russian-speaking
co-researcher, 25 families with Russian background during the summer of 2012 in
South-Eastern Finland. We interviewed these families by a thematic interview fra-
me, consisting of six themes: family and relatives, life and immigration experiences,
networks and well-being, Personal Well-being Index (International Wellbeing Group
2006), the most important things constructing family well-being, and service experi-
ences. We used common social work methods, genograms, timelines and network
maps, as interviewing tools. With some families we also used a miracle-question:
Imagine that you wake up in the morning, and a miracle has happened: everything
has turned out to be just wonderful, life is as it should be. What has happened? How
do you notice that a miracle has happened?

The interviewed families were found with the help of an enquiry of Empowerment of
Families with Children –project. The enquiry was sent to a sample of 1000 families
who lived in the Kymenlaakso and South Carelian districts, had at least one child un-
der the age of 18 and had Russian as a mother tongue of at least one family member.
We sent a separate sheet with the enquiry questionnaire, asking if the family would
like to take part of an interview. The families could send their contact information by
this sheet together with the enquiry questionnaire. My Russian-speaking co-resear-
cher telephoned all of the families who had expressed their interest. If the family still
wanted to be interviewed, the time and place were set, according to their wishes.
183 Child-sensitive elements

Most of the families wanted the interview to take place in their own home, but some
wanted a meeting to be arranged elsewhere. At the beginning of each interview the
families received a research handout in Russian and, if needed, in Finnish, and they
all gave a written consent to the research. The cities of the Kymenlaakso and South
Carelian district, where the families lived in, also gave us permissions of research.

The interviews consist of 35 hours and 58 minutes of recorded material and drawings
of genograms, timelines and network maps together with other notes of the intervie-
wees. The families interviewed can be described as a very heterogeneous group:
they varied from single mothers with one child to a three-generations-family with four
children. The presence of family members in the interviews also varied. The families
were informed that we would like to interview the entire family. In these families there
were 62 children, 44 of whom lived with the family at the moment. 19 of these children
were present in the interview meetings together with 21 mothers, nine fathers, three
grandmothers, one grandfather and two friends. Children were not present for diffe-
rent reasons: Some of the children were on holiday or at day care, they themselves
did not want to participate or the mothers or fathers did not want the children to be
present. Some parents considered the interview as a chance for themselves to speak
freely about their feelings.

The interviews were mostly bilingual. Either the family members spoke Russian and
I spoke Finnish and my colleague translated, or the family spoke Finnish with us and
used translation help with difficult words and phrases. In addition, we conducted one
of the interviews partly in English. I transcribed the Finnish- and English-spoken parts
of the interviews first, and then my Russian-speaking co-researcher transcribed the
Russian-speaking parts of them, all into Finnish. The transcriptions consist of 298
pages of transcribed text (Verdana, 12 points).

After the transcription process I handpicked all the marks and questions regarding
children in the interviews from the interview transcriptions and translated them into
English. Then I wrote them into 16 child well-being narratives and combined them
with the six storycrafting-stories, five life narratives of young people and our obser-
vations in the interviews. Narratives have, according to Gergen (2003) a valued en-
dpoint, selected events, principle of organizing the events, causal linkages, steady
identities of persons and demarcation signs. By using these conventions of narration
one can generate a sense of coherence and direction in life events. I used these
elements of narratives when I wrote the child well-being narratives.

I analyzed these narratives with dialogical narrative analysis method (Frank 2010)
as child-sensitive narratives of well-being. I asked the five questions of storytelling
practice (Frank 2010, 74-85): What does each story make narratable? Who is holding
or not holding their own in the story? What is the effect of people being caught up in
their own stories? What is the force of fear and what animates desire in the stories?
How does the story help people, individually and collectively, to remember who they
are? After asking these questions I looked at the narratives according to the themes
of the child well-being indicator elements and dimensions (Table 1). I divided the
 Child-sensitive elements 184

narratives into one or several of these nine themes in order to find answers to the
research questions.

There are no rules and steps according to which the dialogic narrative analysis
should be conducted. (Frank 2010, 74). With the help of the above mentioned narra-
tive conventions and questions I wanted to reach deeper understanding of the stories
of child well-being. After writing, questioning and dividing the stories I interpreted
them through the other stories and the family interviews. As Frank (2010, 86) writes,
“Stories call for interpretation even as they resist it”. Interpretation belongs in dialogic
storytelling. Narratives are interpreted in discussions by both tellers and listeners
and written narratives are also interpreted by readers. There is a tension, however,
between an interpretation and a story. My interpretations are not to finalize the stories
by claiming to know the truth, but rather to open up different angles from which the
stories can be looked, to engage these narratives in the ongoing dialogue of child
well-being. In choosing this method, I also chose to meta-analyze the way stories
work in the construction of well-being. (Frank 2010, 87)

Finally, I chose nine stories and quotations to present each narrative and theme in
this paper. I chose fragments of stories as a discretionary sample of a qualitative
research (Eskola & Suoranta 1998, 18; Hirsjärvi & Hurme 2011). These fragments of
stories represent the particular elements of well-being (Table 1), even though all the
stories of the children are unique and different. Every fragment of a story presents at
least one new way of constructing the well-being of a child. These fragments of sto-
ries of child well-being describe the way parents and children themselves construct
well-being, but they also create images of well-being which might have some effects
on how it is interpreted.

T he stories of child well-being

The children, young people and families told me about what they considered child
well-being to be, and how it was constructed. These stories present and point out es-
pecially the three elements of child well-being: having, being/doing and loving (Table
1).

Having-stories
The first fragment of a story describes a 13-year-old boy. His family had moved to
Finland two years ago. His father wanted to explain us the differences of their past
and present life.

P16: His hobby was football, but there were no possibilities for that, it was
too expensive and took too much time to take and bring him. It’s usual, if
you don´t live in Moscow or St Petersburg and have lots of money. […] Here
it’s different, if children can practice sports freely it´s awesome and good, I
have seen it. […] In Russia we knew that the boy had no future, unfortuna-
tely. Even if he is talented, it doesn’t help, you have to have good relations
and money. […] Unfortunately he has no time for football now, he is not
going to be a good football player. He wants to get to a university.
185 Child-sensitive elements

E: what would you like to become?

C16: a lawyer.

Parent 16 and Child 16.1, 13 years-old boy

This boy’s story made the time-related interests of an acculturation process visible.
The family had moved to Finland two years earlier, and the parents still were unemp-
loyed. Yet they were very grateful and hopeful, seeing all the Finnish possibilities for
a good life ahead of them. In their life situation, during the acculturation process, the
hope for better future was still left. The well-being of a child had been the moving
force, demanding radical decisions from parents. Thus, Finland was seen as “a para-
dise”, in order to justify the decision. Present difficulties were explained and bared in
order to reach a better future.

The interviewed families often described the decision of moving into and staying in
Finland to be at least partly made for financial reasons, securing the elements of ha-
ving. Financial security was essential, and it was not defined in terms of the parents,
but it was often concretized for example as children getting enough food. Material
elements of surviving can be difficult and connected to different situations in life. The
economic situation of the family in Russia and in Finland was a question of compari-
son. The families wanted the children to have better economic possibilities than what
was possible in their own country.

The future of the child was also described here with the fact that children have to
make serious decisions at a definitely young age. This 13-years-old boy had no future
as a football player, because he had chosen to concentrate on school. He wanted
to become a lawyer. The boy was very quiet and serious when telling this to us. His
reasons for this decision remained unreachable. Did he want to fulfill his parents’
hopes? Did he want to have a financially secure future? Or had he heard so many
stories of his father’s interesting work that they had made him want to do the same?
The demand of success and the threat of failure that Helavirta (2011) found in her
research of child well-being could also be seen in this story. However, telling us about
this decision made the goal a little more visible and reachable for the family.

The next fragment of a story gave us a different viewpoint to the comparison of

upbringing children and to financial well-being in Finland and Russia.

It’s like night and day, like my Finnish and Russian children. In Finland it’s
too free, everybody is praised all the time, they are all darlings, whereas in
Russia children are scolded and forced to do things […] when my oldest son
practiced karate in Russia, if he was 3 minutes late he made 30 pushups and
the coach stood aside and hit him to the butt. But here I let the boys go to
football, and the youngest just sat in the goal for a month – because he
didn´t want to do anything […] in the day care, if a child draws a few lines
they call it wonderful, whereas in Russia if a child draws a house, it has to
be a good one with door, windows, roof and everything. […] Anyway, the
 Child-sensitive elements 186

children are healthy, well, he has some problems but he has legs, he has
hands, he understands what he can and can´t do, everything just works out
slowly. In Finland everybody needn´t be smart and president, you can be a
worker. And if he won´t succeed, there is a law in Finland that he gets help,
he is not alone, and that is enough, thank you.

Parent 7 about Children 7.1, 7.2 and 7.3, 20, 10 and 7 years-old boys

This family had moved to Finland because the father of the two youngest boys was
Finnish. He turned out to have stolen maternity supports from the mother. He had
also used violence towards the children. The mother and children had to start their life
in a new country with no money, no language skills and the 10-year-old boy having
disability.

Trust could be heard as the key word in this family. Well-being was described through
trusting the society. Children’s differences were accepted. The mother wanted the
children to have good education, as all the interviewed parents did. Most of the family
experiences of day care and schools in Finland were positive, even though the pa-
rents saw clearly a big difference in the educational cultures in Russia and in Finland.
However, even if the children could not get good education, the promise of equal
human life in the Finnish welfare society was trusted in by the mother.

The rebuilding of having social capital resources (Bourdieu 1984) after immigration
was one of the most important child well-being issues. This is clearly seen in the third
fragment of a story.

At first I had no friends and they started to bully me in that school. I told my
mother about the bullying and it happened that we moved to another town
and then I changed the school. It is in the midtown and here it was a lot bet-
ter. Now I have lots of friends. Almost everybody from my class, except one,
who is my competitor. Finnish language is not either difficult anymore and
studying in Finnish is now easy. Or sometimes I don’t understand everything
and sometimes I do. I remember that it was really difficult in the beginning.
It took a lot of time to study, but then I easily learned the language. I learned
it at the preliminary class and a friend of mine taught me. He helped me a
lot. He was Russian, but born in Finland. He always interpreted me everyt-
hing and e.g. read with me in Finnish. The most difficult thing about moving
into Finland in the beginning was that I was alone at first. I had no friends
and it was boring and it was hard to find places. I was also irritated about
us moving into an area that was far from the center and my first friend. It
was not nice.

Boy 3, 13 years

It had not been easy for this boy to adjust into a new social network. Most parents and
some children told stories about teasing, bullying, even violence, and not getting fri-
ends. Friends, neighbors, class mates, families and relatives were seen as essential
187 Child-sensitive elements

strengths and the lack of them was as serious threat towards child well-being. The
importance of having even one friend was enormous. This was a survival story, where
with the help of a friend, parents and one’s own learning and choices, assimilation
happened.

Bullying was mentioned several times in the data as the most important threat to a
child’s well-being. The young people explained their bullying experiences with the
attitudes towards their Russian backgrounds. The scope of social relations, inclusion
and exclusion of children can also be found in the wide discussion about bullying.
(Helavirta 2011.)

The boy in the third fragment saw language as a means of assimilation or integration.
The choices that the parents and children had made about which languages they
spoke were different. Especially the young people saw language as the main accul-
turation problem that most of them solved by learning Finnish as fast as possible.
Some children were totally bilingual, others spoke some Russian, mostly with their
grandparents, and understood more than they spoke. Some spoke some Finnish and
did not want to learn more, while some children spoke only Finnish or only Russian.
The boy from the second story had made his language choice visible this way:

Do not speak Russian. If you want to speak Russian, go to Russia.

A paper in the door of Child 7.3, 7 years-old boy

There were also some children who did not speak any language, either due to their
young age or some learning disabilities. The differences in chosen languages were
explained with parents’ own experiences, services and language training available,
children’s need to be similar to the other children and everyday life necessities.

Being- and Doing-stories

For the young people the word “well-being” mostly meant health and healthy habits,
including attitudes towards exercising, drinking, smoking and healthy eating. The
fourth fragment of a story tells us about the being and doing of a young girl.

Well, well-being is important to me, because there are nowadays lots of bad
thing in the world and so on. I myself don´t drink at all, like really little, may-
be a can in two months. And I don´t smoke and I try to have the others also
to stop smoking, well because it is anyway bad for lungs, causes cancer and
anything. And I don´t like at all that people like smoke, or someone nearby,
or drink. Exercising is important too. I can´t exercise myself because of a few
things, but I move as much as I can, I go out every day, I´m not stuck with my
computer all day. It helps you to be healthier all the time, not to have fever,
become ill easily or get allergies. My hobbies are all inside, I sew a lot, but I
use the costumes in occasions outside. Well, the computer is a bit of a bad
example, but… with my friends I spend time somewhere in the city and well,
 Child-sensitive elements 188

drawing has maybe nothing to do with this but I draw a lot. I draw every
day, and paint sometimes too. But not so often.

Girl 4, 17 years

This young girl wanted to live a good, healthy life. She knew that drinking alcohol and
smoking were bad for one’s health. She cared for people around her and tried to tell
them to stop smoking and drinking as well. Healthy habits have become an important
issue of life in Finland. Health promotion has reached everyone, and even children
and young people are very aware of how they should live. In spite of the knowledge,
they make different decisions. Some of the decisions are made under the influence
of friends and media. The use of money, fashion and children’s willingness to be like
others were seen to be important material issues of these children’s being and doing
in everyday life.

Family, kin, friends and peer networks were seen essential to children’s and young
people’s being and belonging together. Friends were found and maintained through
different kinds of important hobbies. Especially for children under the age of 10, pa-
rents often wanted to choose friends and look after their possibilities to have friends.
The children themselves were very imaginative in their ways of spending free time.
The importance of friends and hobbies was obvious, and the families were ready and
willing to help the children to have them. The birthdays of the children were often
mentioned as big, well-organized celebrations where it was possible to maintain good
relationships to school mates, family friends and relatives. Even very young children
could colorfully describe their relationships and important doings, as we can read
from the fifth fragment of a story.

Grandpa fetches me from the daycare, we go to my grandparents´. We play

there, play games and play with toys. In the courtyard you can water the flo-
wers and help grandma and grandpa. You can swing and play basketball.
It´s nice to wrestle with grandpa. Inside you can also watch Junior. Then
I help grandma to water the flowers, make the table and cook. We bake
together. Bread, rieska. I sometimes add the subjects. Now I can´t think of
anything else.

Boy 1, 7 years

This boy described an everyday event, staying with his grandparents, with a lot of joy
and satisfaction. The happy moments included doing different things with grandpa
and grandma. Being able to help, being a respected member of the family, being
someone that these people want to spend time with, is very important. Different types
of activities and doings constructed the day of the boy. He had a place to belong to,
an identity of a beloved grandson.

Identity had been an issue of concern for the interviewed parents. Is the child going
to be Finnish or Russian or both or neither? Who is to decide that? How are race and
gender differences seen and how do they affect the identities of these children? Are
189 Child-sensitive elements

the difficulties in the family acculturation process going to influence the identity of the
child? The sixth fragment of a story is a small flash of a developing self and a feeling
of self-identity.

P18: How old are you?

C18: Five.
P18: She is four, but she says five.
C18: I’m very big already, I was vaccinated and I grew up.

Parent 18 and Child 18.2, 4 years-old girl

This little girl was very sure that she was a big girl already. She had a 17-year-old
sister, and wanted to grow up fast to be like her. She lived in a family where she was
very much taken into account. Her parents listened to her and even though she had
rules, she could sometimes persuade them to make exceptions. This family had a
clear idea of their identity. They called themselves an Ingrian-Carelian family with
Finnish roots. This girl knew who she was and what she wanted to be.

The children of the interviewed families were described as persons with different
temperaments. Parents and grandparents had lots of opinions about the characters
of the children. Most of the children were capable of telling who they were and what
kinds of persons they were. Both the children and their parents described their ex-
periences of significance as well as experiences of maltreatment or neglect. The
children had several ways of showing and maintaining their self-autonomy in all kinds
of life situations. They made individual choices, sometimes in spite of the efforts of
the adults. The young people recognized their own capabilities and unique talents
and wanted to be able to work with them.

Loving-stories
Family, friends and well-being in relationships, especially the quality of early interac-
tion were present in every parent’s and child’s narrative. The definition of the concept
of family varied from a single mother with one child to nuclear family and enlarged
family with close relatives, especially mother’s parents, as an active part of the family.
The seventh fragment of a story defines family in a beautiful way.

M If you asked the children, who are the members of their family, what
would they answer?
P2 Well, the younger one doesn´t say much yet, but the older says mummi
and ukki so she would list them all. Immediately if we have goodies on the
table she asks who will come to visit us and then she lists her father´s brot-
her and sister and my sisters and mummi and ukki and babushka.

Parent 2 about Children 2.1 and 2.2, 1,5 and 3,5 years-old girls

This was a part of the story of a family with mother, father and two small children.
Close family ties had helped the family through difficult times of death in the family
 Child-sensitive elements 190

and different illnesses. Even a young child understood the importance of family ties
and knew who belonged to their coffee table.

Parents and kin were seen as the basis of love and safety for the children. Helavirta
(2011) has pointed out mothers as the sources of good life. The same idea of the
importance of close people to child well-being was present in this research. Close
people gave the children and young people the context of trust and safety which
allowed them to also give back help and caring.

Family ties were strong and visible and the small children learned them. For some
children, the family ties were more complicated, like in the eighth fragment of a story.

I had a job, I worked 3 days a week, 12 hours a day, but when I came home
my child was sleeping and when I left home he was sleeping. And then he
called me and said: “You don’t need me.” and this is why I stopped working.
[…] I don’t know how to be with a child, this is my first child. A course about
interaction with a child would be good.

Parent 4 about Child 4.1, 7-years-old boy

This mother told us that she had been forced to move to Finland at the age of 13, with
her grandmother. She had tried to escape back to Russia, but was found and taken
back. She told us a story of Finnish society ruining her life, both as a child and now
as a parent. The father of her child was Russian, and did not get a permission to stay.
She felt angry, frustrated and depressed. Her son was the only thing left for her, and
she loved him with all her heart. She wanted to do everything for him.

All the interviewed parents told that they worked hard for their relationships. It had
not always been easy, but the parents felt that it was worthwhile. A reciprocal parent-
child relationship was described in many narratives. The parents constructed their
own relationship and obligations towards the children partly with issues of material
loving. Parents thought that they have to be able to feed the children, protect them
from health problems and see to that they receive possibilities for a decent adulthood.
Failing in these essential issues was extremely hard for them, and the narratives
included inner explanation models, mostly about society taking or not taking care of
its responsibilities.

The interviewed parents often wanted to underline that they had fallen in love, got
married and had the children by purpose. For several parents the marriage was a
second one, and in almost half of the families there were children from either one
or both parents’ previous marriages. Life sometimes does not go as planned, the
parents explained. Some of the children had lived through the divorce processes
without visible difficulties. For some, divorce had been a difficult situation in life, as
we can hear from the last, ninth story.

She was 7 and we had just divorced and she went to school. I couldn’t leave
her at home, because she was afraid. I couldn’t even go to the toilet, she was
191 Child-sensitive elements

afraid of being left alone. I had to go to work at 6 and the school started at
10, it was 2,5 kilometers so she didn´t get a taxi, but for a year I had to hold
her hand all the time because she was afraid of being abandoned. That is
how our divorce influenced her. […] Our oldest daughter is very aggressive,
she changed in two years and she can’t control herself. I don’t know, maybe
I’ll have to contact Family consulting clinic. When she starts to hit me, she
really doesn’t know how to stop, she has to try all the ways. She changed,
she was always a bit pig-headed but after the divorce she became impos-
sible. […] even all the way to taking her to a foster home of some kind, be-
cause she needs limits and we don’t know how to give them to her. […] she
is my own child and I have seen all the school shootings and I’m worried
about what can happen. […] she is very loving, she likes to be loved. I tried
to explain her that life is not just a pleasure, that you must also have disap-
pointments.

Parent 9 about Children 9.1, 9.2 and 9.3, 11, 8 and 4 years-old girls

In this family loving meant also recognizing one’s limits. The mother had tried her
best to bring up her children, but now she was very worried and exhausted. Lo-
ving her child so much, she even wanted to consider giving her to a foster home,
if she could be helped there. The children and families had faced difficult situa-
tions of life. They had survived with the help of each other, friends and relatives.
A couple of the families had also been able to receive formal help, but mostly
the experiences of social and health care services were not very good. The main
thing that the families were asking for was people who really cared for them.

C onclusions
The task of this research was to create a deeper understanding of the construc-
tion of well-being of the children with Russian background in South-Eastern Finland
during an acculturation process. The research was pursued with qualitative research
methods using narratives, child-sensitive understanding of child well-being and the
background concept of acculturation to understand the immigration process. The re-
search questions included the ways how children and parents in families with Russi-
an background construct the well-being of the children, and what kinds of elements
of child well-being these constructions included.

The stories show that these children and their parents negotiated actively toget-
her to construct child well-being. The children and their parents acted in seve-
ral different ways in gaining resources for the children, making choices regarding
their life, defining and fulfilling children’s needs, living every child’s unique every-
day life, taking care of different kinds of relations and defining the child’s identi-
ty as a person. The construction actions and negotiations built up the well-being
of these children. Each element and dimension of well-being was important
in a different way in different situations of life, as the narratives showed. Diffi-
culties in one of the actions could influence the entire well-being of the child.
 Child-sensitive elements 192

These actions are presented in Table 2.

Elements of well- Dimensions of

being well-being

MATERIAL SOCIAL MENTAL/

SPIRITUAL
HAVING immigration deci- choosing the living day care and
sion, providing the area, organizing school choices,
children a better possibilities to language choices
standard of life meet people
BEING and negotiations of fa- negotiations of defining the child
DOING mily everyday life, media use and as a person, joi-
purchases and tra- hobbies, playing ning cultural activi-
velling and spending time ties, making ethi-
together, making cal choices
friends
LOVING giving and recei- loving each other, joining religious
ving basic care, giving emotional communities, ta-
nutrition and support, holding king care of perso-
clothing, promo- the child in mind nal needs
ting child health

Table 2. Family actions and negotions of child well-being.

The table summarizes the main results of this research article: child well-being
is based mainly on contextual and customized constructions. The construction of
resources, actions and needs is contextual. Here I refer to Moore et al. (2008) who
have interestingly defined the domains of subjective and contextual well-being. They
also share child well-being indexes into two age groups: 6-11 and 12-17 years. Youn-
ger children are not considered in their research because of the data source (US
National Survey on Children’s Health) and the data source also defines well-being in
a health-centered way. (Moore et al. 2008, 17-50.)

Contextual construction is where the children and families have to co-operate and
decide matters of child well-being mostly depending on the context of life they live
in. They negotiate and make decisions regarding child well-being according to their
relations with time, place and society. This type of construction has to be rebuilt in an
immigrant family. In a new country, the resources have to be redefined and regained.
The ways of acting, such as jobs, friendships and hobbies, have to be reconstructed.
The order of needs has to be rebuilt, which may mean going back to the basic needs,
or not having to consider them as much as before the immigration. In their research of
193 Child-sensitive elements

migrant children’s multiple belongings Ní Laoire et al. (2011) emphasize the paradox
of the children’s attachments and identifications. They found that they are shaped by
the migrancy but also by the involvement in class and other social relations, and by
the interactions with institutes such as the family, school and global consumer cultu-
re. (Ní Laoire et al. 2011, 157.)

Customized construction includes the negotiations and actions in Table 2 that are
mostly child-centered. The children and families construct a child’s everyday life ta-
king into account the individual child as a person of a certain age, gender and inter-
ests. The child is a person with an opportunity to build her own identity and relations
according to her own personal choices. Results show that children had power in the
construction of their own well-being (Assmuth 2013). The power can be seen in both
the narratives of the children and young people and in the family narratives. Capa-
bility of choice was of importance to these children and young people (Sen 1990).
Subjectivity, agency, being involved in the course of one’s own life and having the
power of say were present in the narratives of child well-being. Chambers (2012,
76-93) describes the contemporary change in parent-child-relationships. She points
out, that “children are no longer treated as passive recipients of parental care and
socialization”. Instead she sees children to be “acknowledged as moral and social
practitioners of family life in their own right.” The results of this research are equal to
her findings, although, at the same time children were vulnerable and needed adults.
Being other, different and bullied challenged the children to construct different ways
of surviving, identities, understanding their own places in life. Changes in the context
and routines, like divorces, school changes or moving, could influence child well-
being. The children needed their parents and kin to cope and negotiate with in these
changes. (Weisner 2002, 279; Chambers 2012, 92-93.)

The children’s acculturation strategies were mostly assimilation- or sometimes segre-

gation-oriented (Berry 1990.) Children and young people wanted to belong to a group,
to be like the others, to be accepted. This wish was not always fully understood by
the parents, who constructed a strong idea of integration. (Berry 1990; Ní Laoire et
al. 2011, 161; Alitolppa-Niitamo 2010, 50-55.) Every child’s language choices were
negotiated in these families with the influence of the parents’ own past experiences
and hopes as well as children’s wishes. Stressing the importance of making new fri-
ends, the children pointed out the meaningfulness of play and hobbies. (Ní Laoire et
al. 2011, 157-161.) In the course of everyday life children enjoyed being able to help
their parents reciprocally. (Helavirta 2010.) The families moved into a foreign land, to
a strange culture, and stayed there despite all the difficulties, to give the children a
good life. The children gave their parents a hope for a better future.

More research should be focused on the holistic understanding of immigrant

children’s well-being. Also the different elements need to be researched more in de-
tail, for instance the element of loving was strongly present in the discussions of
these children and families. Yet it is the least researched part of well-being (Karisto
2012). As some ideas for future, research could include participatory elements so
that the interviewed persons themselves could also be able to figure out how to study
well-being, analyze the data, as co-researchers, to find out how they interpret and
 Child-sensitive elements 194

give meanings to the narratives of this research and maybe how to act according to
the results in the society.

One of the validity issues in this research was the transcription and translation pro-
cess. Russian-Finnish-English-changes may influence the language and meanings.
In order to avoid that, the transcription was made by both the Finnish- and Russian-
speaking interviewee, separately. The quotations could have also been written in
this article in both English, Finnish and Russian, but there was no possibility for that.
(Nikander 2010, 432-442.)
One of the interviewed mothers summed up her idea of ideal well-being in a way that
is most suitable for summing up this paper:

I think I would wake up in a bright, large apartment with a decent bed. I

would not worry about the future, my child would be happy and smiling
and I would have a job, I would wake up happy every morning and go to the
job. I would like my child to wake up and run towards me happily like in the
movies. I don’t want our life to be dull and boring. And of course I would like
my child to be happy.

Parent 4 [answer to the wonder-question]

195 Child-sensitive elements

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200 Everyday choices, meaningful activities and reliable adults
CHAPTER III

Mervi Kaukko

Everyday choices, meaningful activities

and reliable adults. Diverse paths to
empowerment of unaccompanied
asylum-seeking girls
Introduction

Empowerment is often defined as the power to make major, life-turning choices, and
as a possibility for relevant participation in a community. Since the 1970’s, the notion
of participation has become increasingly central in research with people who are
seen as somehow “marginalized”, or live in cultures very different from those of the
researcher (Pain & Francis 2003, 46). The UN Convention on the Rights of a Child
(the CRC), which was drafted in 1989 and has since been ratified by most UN-mem-
ber-states, has stimulated an interest in the potential of children’s participation both
in general, and in conducting research with children (Doná 2006, 22; Hart 2008). As
Cooke and Kothari (2004, back cover) note, participation has become no less than
a “new orthodoxy” of social sciences, promising empowerment and appropriate de-
velopment but at the same time carrying a risk of leading to unjust and illegitimate
exercise of power.

One reason for the “illegitimate use of power” is that despite its widespread usage,
there remains lack of clarity about what the term “participation” means (Lansdown
2010, 11). Activities of any kind can be justified as being participatory, as the con-
cept is so intangible and difficult to measure. In social science research participation
usually refers to the involvement of participants, ranging from answering questions
to becoming co-researchers (Christensen & Prout 2002; Doná 2007, 211). In deve-
lopmental studies, participation often means valuing local knowledge and promoting
social change through the active engagement of participants (Doná 2007, quotes
Chambers 1994). Some understand participation as a means to ensure greater rele-
vance, efficiency and impact of different participatory projects, whereas for some, it is
an end in itself: through the process, people who have been somehow excluded from
the decision making process can acquire skills, knowledge and experience which
they can use to improve some aspect of their lives, that is to be empowered (Hart
2008, 407). Some think participation can only be empowering if it is transformative
on the macro level; for example changing something in one’s own living environment,
whereas others acknowledge that participation on the micro level, for example en-
201 Everyday choices, meaningful activities and reliable adults

hancing individual productivity within existing structures and practices, can just as
well be empowering (Parpart 2002, 165-166). So, participation and empowerment
are by nature blurred terms; there are no comprehensive definitions that all scholars
would agree upon. An aspect upon which the scholars do agree is that participati-
on of children, young people and adults should be empowering; somehow oriented
towards the transformation of individual lives or societies. (Hart 2008, 407; Kothari
2004, 139)

If empowerment is understood as the capacity to make major choices, it is a dis-

tant goal for unaccompanied minors in reception centers. As asylum seekers and
as children, the most important choices are out of their reach. Their living conditions
and limited material resources during the asylum process pose limitations on partici-
pation in a community. In this chapter I discuss the participation and empowerment
of unaccompanied minors, especially girls, in two under-age living units of a Finnish
reception center. The aim of the chapter is twofold: to explore the special conditions
for participation and empowerment for children and adolescents who seek asylum
without their parents, and to demonstrate how participatory action research (PAR)
could be used to find suitable, culturally sensitive techniques to enhance participation
of unaccompanied asylum seeker children. As an example, I refer to a PAR which
I conducted with 12 unaccompanied girls (ages 8-17) and their counselors in two
under-age units of a Finnish reception center, including interview data from two group
interviews and 11 individual interviews of the girls. The aim of the PAR was to develop
activities from the girls starting points; something they found relevant and empowe-
ring in their current situation. The results indicate that despite the challenges, parti-
cipation and empowerment can be promoted in the under-age units of a reception
center by allowing the children to make choices in their daily lives, and encouraging
them to participate in planning activities. The results also show that as a flexible and
participatory research method, PAR can be used as a tool to create activities which
the children truly want and benefit from.

The structure of this chapter is as follows. I begin by describing PAR as an empowe-

ring research method. Then I explain briefly why participation is a right of all children
and young people in Finland, including the unaccompanied asylum seeker children.
After that, I explore the concept of empowerment on a structural level; how the rules,
practices, material resources and location may impact the way in which the children
in the reception center can be empowered. Then I discuss empowerment on a more
individual level; how the special status of the unaccompanied minors influence their
empowerment and participation. I also consider how the configurations of power in
the reception center, and in conducting PAR, affect the girls’ agency. Finally, I con-
clude with the girls’ suggestions of how empowerment could be fostered in the daily
life of the reception center.

M ethod: Empowering PAR

Participatory action research (PAR) is a research method, which often focuses
on problem-solving actions in a collaborative context. It is a reflective process of en-
quiry which is done by or with the insiders of a community, never to or on them. (Guif-
 Everyday choices, meaningful activities and reliable adults 202

frida et al. 2011, 282; Herr & Anderson 2005, 3) It is usually presented in a cyclic or
spiral form, which has its origins in the work of Kurt Lewin (1948), including repetitive
phases of observing, planning, acting, and reflecting. Theoretically, PAR is situated
within critical pedagogy or critical sciences, aiming to promote awareness and social
change from below (Doná 2007; Fals Borda & Rahman 1991; Reason & Bradbury
2008). PAR combines theory with action, formulating critical conscience and learning
of all participants through methodological steps (Gadotti 1994, 22). While Paulo Frei-
re did not use the term empowerment, his emphasis on education and its purpose to
increase people’s awareness on social inequalities is very close to the idea of empo-
werment (Parpart 2002, 5). Freire (2000, 79) criticizes positivist or empirical research
for investigating people as “objects”; instead, research should enable people to struc-
ture their realities from their own perspectives. According to Freire, “The silenced (…)
are the masters of inquiry into the underlying causes of the events in their world. In
this context research becomes a means of moving them beyond silence into a quest
to proclaim the world” (quoted in Torre & Fine 2008, 29).

In our PAR with unaccompanied asylum seeker girls, I first observed the daily life
of two under-age units of a reception center, discussing with the children and the
counselors, identifying possible problems to solve. Our PAR focused on the problem
that the girls in the under-age units did not have meaningful activities during their free
time, and the currently offered activities did not attract girls. To approach this problem,
we started weekly meetings with the girls and the counselors, trying to plan activities
which the girls wanted; something they would find meaningful and empowering. In
the meetings, we discussed the girls’ dreams and hopes, fears and concerns, trying
to find ways to combine them all in a compromise that would suit everybody. During
the process, our aim was to get to know each other, to plan and realize the action,
and finally, to analyze it together. The end-project was a three-day camp with different
activities, followed by reflection and a new round of PAR with new girls. I conducted
the PAR as a part of my PhD-studies. I asked for a permission to do a PAR with the
children of the reception center and the staff as well as the children and their guar-
dians welcomed me kindly. After the projects, I interviewed the girls individually. Most
of the quotes used in this chapter are from the individual interviews, some are also
from group interviews, in which all the girls participated after each project.
The first group consisted of seven unaccompanied asylum seeker girls (ages 14-17),
and the second group of also seven girls (ages 8-17). Two of the girls participated in
both groups, and one girl moved out before the individual interview. The girls came
from three African countries and had lived in Finland between two and 15 months by
the end of the projects. The first project lasted six months (Sept 2011-Feb 2012), and
the second project five months (May 2012-Sept 2012).

Our PAR can be described in a cyclic form (see figure 1). However, the cycle is not
necessarily a very inviting starting point to start telling the participants about PAR,
especially when they have never heard about this kind of research before. I found
it more purposeful to start from the intended outcome; telling the girls that they can
participate in planning an activity of their choice, and I would help them realize the
plan. In the case of our PAR, some phases were more and some phases less par-
ticipatory according to the interest of the girls. Not all of the girls wanted to be as
203 Everyday choices, meaningful activities and reliable adults

active in for example reflecting the action and planning the next cycle, which would
be implemented in to action after they have most probably left the reception center
already. Although the cyclic form is adaptive and represents the developing process
of PAR quite well, it should not be treated as a strict norm. All phases have to serve
to help the participants meet their common goal; for example further action is not
obligatory. Also, basing PAR strictly on the cycle is a form of the initiative researcher
imposing a technique on the participants, and ignoring them as equal co-researchers
(McTaggart 1997, 141).

What makes PAR empowering is that the facilitator, or the initiating researcher, helps
to create the pre-conditions and find the suitable techniques needed so that all par-
ticipants can reach the intended outcome, or solve the problem. The adults do not
use their power to dictate how the process should go, but help the participants rea-
lize their plan using available resources. This might mean practical work which the
researcher is familiar with, such as getting funding, permissions, or finding suitable
places, while helping the co-researchers find their assets and learn the skills to do
the tasks themselves in the future. PAR acknowledges the skills and knowledge of
all participants, bringing together action, reflection and learning to build upon the
participants’ lived experiences and to create a desired outcome. (Costello 2011, 5;
Rodríguez & Brown 2009, 23) The girls of our PAR were amazingly artistic and mu-
sical, as well as skilled in handicrafts, so we planned our project so that those skills
 Everyday choices, meaningful activities and reliable adults 204

could be used. The meaning, motivation and purpose which the participants bring to
their activity make the process empowering (Kabeer 1999). The achievement is the
outcome of the process; the end-project which all participants had committed to and
had worked for.

P articipation as a right of unaccompanied minors

The reason why child- and youth participation should be fostered in reception
centers is not only that it is proven to be especially important for children in diffi-
cult circumstances (Ray 2010), but it is also a right of all children and adolescents
in Finland, including the unaccompanied minors. Finland is committed to promoting
child- and youth participation by ratifying the UN convention on the Rights of the child
(CRC), which includes one of the most widely accepted definitions of children’s par-
ticipation. According to the article 12 of the CRC, every child has a right to be heard
and to be taken seriously in all matters concerning him or her. A general comment to
the CRC titled Treatment of unaccompanied and separated children outside of the
country of their origin (6/2005) states that asylum seeker children should be treated
primarily as children, secondarily as asylum-seekers (UNICEF 2007). In our PAR, the
CRC was used as a lens to examine the participation of unaccompanied girls in the
reception center. However, my main question was how these girls view participation
and empowerment themselves, so instead of giving them the definition, we used the
article 12 of the CRC as a foundation of our discussion.

Previous studies show that understanding participation and empowerment is strongly

influenced by gender, socio-economic situation, mother tongue and a sense of group
identity (Kabeer 1999; Mason & Bolzan 2010; Quintelier 2009). The results of our
PAR showed that what the girls viewed as empowering was not consistent with the
mainstream definitions of youth participation. Therefore, promoting participation in a
reception center should be done in a culture- and gender sensitive way, listening to
the own views of the children. What is significant is that the process should include
elements which are relevant to all children and youth regardless of their background
or living conditions. The counselors, researchers or other adults should not dictate
what kind of action should be empowering for the children. “Top-down”-implemented
methods would mean trying to normalize a certain cultural practice; it would imply a
very dubious expression of the adult’s power and be hardly empowering or participa-
tory for the children (Feldmann-Wojtachnia et al. 2010). As a child or youth centered,
flexible method, PAR can be used to create activities which ethnically heterogeneous
groups of children and youngsters really want, instead of imposing ready, “approved”
models of youth participation. Through a comprehensive observation period, and
getting to know the participants thoroughly, it is possible to help them find their own
resources which are needed to contribute to participatory and empowering activities.

S tructural empowerment – where can it be found in an institution?

Empowerment can be defined as an opportunity for meaningful participation, i.e.
the power to make relevant life choices, connected with a sense of knowing that one’s
actions and views are taken into consideration and may be acted upon (Alsop et al.
205 Everyday choices, meaningful activities and reliable adults

2005, 10; Boyden & Ennew 1997). The definition is quite broad and flexible; most
people want to make choices in their lives. Naturally, the possibilities of the unaccom-
panied girls to make significant choices have to be considered from the point of view
of their special status as asylum seekers; the most important life choices appear to
be out of their reach. Preconditions for empowerment include aspects connected to
the structures of the reception center, it’s material resources and also the various hu-
man and social resources which are needed for the children to become empowered
(Kabeer 1999, 437). Even when the individuals would have the will and the capacity
to make choices, they might not be able to use that agency effectively. They might
be constrained by what Ruth Alsop (2005, 10) calls an “opportunity structure”, i.e.
the psychological, informational, organizational, material, social, financial or human
assets of the institution where the choices should be transformed to action.

Erving Goffman (1969) and Michel Foucault (1995) are among the most famous ones
who have written about the influence of structures on people’s identity, their empower-
ment or disempowerment. Erving Goffman wrote about “total institutions”, in which he
would have counted the underage units of reception centers as well, as organizations
which are both part of and separate from modern societies. Total institution is a “place
of residence and work where a large number of like-situated individuals, cut off from
the wider society for an appreciable period of time, together lead an enclosed formal-
ly administered round of life”. (Goffman 1969, translation from Davies 1989, 77) The
most significant features of total institutions are that all sorts of activities take place
under one roof, and that these activities are spatially separated from the lives of other
people, not living in a total institution (van der Horst 2004, 39). Also, the inhabitants
are confined so that their access to resources, such as time, personal space and rou-
tines are controlled, and that the daily life is organized purposefully to fulfill the official
aims of the institution (Goffman 1969, 7; Scott 2010, 215).

A reception center makes a good example of concentrating a large number of human

needs under one bureaucratic roof, accommodating people in similar life-situations.
Although in Finnish reception centers all inhabitants are free to move in and out of
the center with their key cards, and within the curfews for the children, people tend
to spend a large part of their time indoors. Most residents do not have much choice;
they lack the resources to go outside, where transportation and consumption cost
money (van der Horst 2004, 39). Most importantly, they often have neither possibili-
ties nor reasons to leave; because of the requirements posed by the society (langu-
age, social networks, familiarity of the functions of the society), many asylum seekers
feel unable to participate in the community. Our PAR addressed these problems by
creating activities which required skills the girls already had, for example artistic skills
instead of fluent language. We also reached out to the community by inviting students
from local vocational schools to teach us skills which the girls wanted to learn, such
as baking and beauty care. At the same time, the girls of our PAR had a possibility to
meet local girls of their age and to learn about study opportunities.

Most of the mortifying procedures which Goffman (1969, 17) describes are luckily
far from the daily life of the underage units of Finnish reception centers. The prin-
 Everyday choices, meaningful activities and reliable adults 206

ciple of the best interest of a child is considered as a comprehensive guideline in all

actions, as it should be in all child welfare work (Parsons 2010, 31). Nevertheless,
the children live in an institution, in which their access to material, human and social
resources is limited. Access to these recourses in the present, and also a belief that
these are available in the future are significant for empowerment (Kabeer 1999, 435).
The future claims for any resources of these girls are defined by the forthcoming
asylum decisions, which makes them subjects to bureaucratic authority (Goffman
1969, 18).

The inhabitants of the total institutions rarely enter voluntarily, and having entered,
they cannot move out when they want (Goffman 1969, 50). Anticipation fills the wai-
ting time, and according to Goffman, individuals can start acting as they are expected
in order to get out. PAR focuses on the acquisition of knowledge on injustice, as well
as skills for “speaking back” and organizing for a change (e.g. Cammarota & Fine
2008, 5; Fitzgerald et al. 2010, 300). According to earlier research, asylum seekers
in Finland may associate all Finnish people to be part of the same system with the
immigration officials, making them reluctant to “speak back” or do anything which
could harm their position (e.g. Ekholm 1994, Suoranta 2011, 126).

They act as they think they are expected. As one of the girls noted in her interview,

Sometimes when you ask them (unaccompanied minors) how their life is,
they are afraid to answer. They don’t want to say anything bad about your
country. (G3)

In my interview data, the frustrating, confusing anticipation was mentioned as the

most unpleasant aspect of the time in the reception center. One girl noted that unli-
ke prisoners, they do not even know how much of the “sentence” they have left. In
addition to being reluctant to criticize anything, according to Ravi Kohli (2007, xi) it is
possible that unaccompanied minors also consider carefully if they want to state their
ambitious goals, such as getting a good education and a well-paid job in a receiving
country, because they cannot be seen as having financial motivations. In the fear of
being labeled as “welfare refugees”, they might present the simplest, most acceptab-
le version of their reasons to flight. In the interview data, the girls often mentioned the
importance of education, but also highlighted the fact that the most important thing
was to have a safe place to live.

In the whole country it is irrelevant where you are, as long as you are given
a place where you can be. It doesn’t matter at all. If you are in a small town,
it is all the same, as long as you get used to it. (G8)

S tructures as instruments of power

Another aspect of the structural empowerment of institutions is demonstrated by
Michel Foucault, who viewed the structure of institutions as an instrument of power.
He argued that regulatory control in institutions results in maintaining the power of
one group over another. He claimed that the idea of panopticon, where one person
207 Everyday choices, meaningful activities and reliable adults

can keep watch over all inhabitants of the institution without them knowing it is com-
mon not only in prison, for which the idea of panopticon was originally designed, but
also in other institutions, such as hospitals and schools. (Foucault 1995, 199-200) In
the lives of the children in the reception center, power lies in the norms, that is the
social and cultural practices of the center (see Kothari 2004). The girls of our study
were aware of how the things worked in the reception center; that the adults decided
what was going to happen, and informed the children in the monthly unit meetings
about current issues. Most girls did not think that there was room for children’s voice
in deciding about the activities in the house, some also thought it would have been
unnecessary. Foucault (1980, quoted in Kothari 2004, 144) argues that invisible me-
ans of control which are embedded in ordinary life legitimate the kind of control which
eventually colonizes the individual. They control the individual’s behavior and thinking
through invisible forms of normalization, while he or she is unaware of that. This
would mean that the girls of my study would have started behaving as they thought
they were expected, letting the adults make all the decisions on behalf of them. Ho-
wever, considering that they are children and adolescents in a new country, without
their parents, I think this behavior is not a sign of repression or colonization, but per-
fectly normal adaptation to the new situation. Towards the end of our projects, I could
see the opposite trend too: many girls showed activity and initiative in introducing
new ides to our PAR as they learned that their participation was valued.

In the underage units of reception centers a certain amount of necessary control is

justified, simply because children wouldn’t survive without adult supervision and care.
The girls noted that children shouldn’t decide on things which could possibly harm the
child, for example they shouldn’t be allowed to go out at night or skip school. Empo-
werment is the possibility to make choices, but those choices must be considered ac-
cording to the evolving capacities of the child (Lansdown 2005). What is relevant from
the point of view of the children’s empowerment is how the supervision and control is
communicated for the children, and how it is realized in practice (Piro 2008). One aim
of PAR is to create an equal dialogue between the participants, i.e. dialogue where
one does not have to fear for being incorrectly labeled in the eyes of others. Dialogue,
discussing the reasons for rules and practices, and most importantly, acknowledging
the opinions of all participants would be one way to decrease the risk of repression or
normalization in PAR and in the daily life in the reception center.

To give an example which highlights the importance of dialogue, and also the dis-
comfort caused by surveillance is when I suggested that we would record our PAR
meetings and watch and analyze the sessions together afterwards. This caused ob-
jection; why should we record our meetings as there were so many cameras already?
Many of the girls in our study had not been in touch with a lot of technology before
entering Finland and did not understand the purpose of video cameras, which are
used in the reception center. The girls reminded me that because the common areas
were already monitored by video cameras, and because the girls were unaware of
who watched the recordings, many of them felt obliged to wear their veils even when
they were alone. The discussion went back and forth, finally concluding to the decisi-
on that our sessions should not be even audio-recorded. It is easy to understand that
the girls, not knowing me for long, and not yet understanding how the videos could be
 Everyday choices, meaningful activities and reliable adults 208

used in our PAR, did not accept the idea of recording the meetings. The most impor-
tant question for them was not whether the sessions should be analyzed afterwards
in detail, but how to produce an enjoyable end-product.

Considering the points made by Foucault and Goffman, the underage units of recep-
tion center are hardly empowering in a structural sense. My intention is not to argue
that video surveillance, curfews or other means of supervision are unnecessary in
institutions for unaccompanied asylum seekers. As Goffman would argue, these me-
ans of control are to ensure the function of the institution, which is to keep the inha-
bitants and workers safe. However, locked doors, video cameras and tight control of
visitors make the reception center feel more like an institution and less like a home
for the children. Fortunately that does not mean that empowerment is impossible for
the unaccompanied minors in the reception center. Empowerment for one person in
one context might not be seen as empowering for another person in another context
(Lairap-Fonderson 2002, 183). Significantly, empowerment requires agency to be
able to benefit from whatever resources there are in one’s own context, be it organi-
zed activities or specifically planned participatory projects, such as PAR.

A gency as the power to benefit from the existing resources

Naila Kabeer defines agency as the ability to define one’s goals and to act upon
them; it encompasses the meaning, motivation and purpose which individuals bring
to their activity, i.e. the “power within” (Kabeer 1999, 438). Agency can be predicted
by the assets of the group or the individual, meaning the stock of resources needed
to use social, economic and political opportunities, to be productive, all depending on
the previously described structures (Alsop et al. 2005, 11).

Foucault’s (1980, 98-99) notion of power as a circulating force means that in the
context of a reception center, where the power seems to be strictly in the hands of
the adults, it is in fact everywhere. All individuals are vehicles of power; it circulates
between individuals in social encounters. In our PAR, the children could have as
much power as they saw relevant, and with the help of the adults, they could decide
on all matters which they thought were important. Helping the children participate in
their terms, without imposing them with a mainstream definition of participation as it
“should be”, transfers some of the power from the hands of the adults to the children.
If I as a researcher tried to define participation for them, and present it as a goal to-
wards which they should aim for, I would be using my power through normalization.
So while the girls wanted the adults to decide on many aspects of our PAR, such how
to get funding and where to go, they all wanted to contribute to the discussion about
things they were more familiar with, such as what to cook and what kind of activities
to do.

The unaccompanied minors’ opportunities to achieve empowerment are influenced

by the fact that as asylum seekers, they are objects of government policies, subjects
to welfare, and social actors in their living environment, the living units (Doná 2007,
212). Their agency has probably been stronger earlier; the escape from their home
country, regardless of whether it has been decided by themselves or their parents,
209 Everyday choices, meaningful activities and reliable adults

demonstrates a brave attempt for a change for better (Ghorashi 2005). Many girls no-
ted that they used to have more responsibilities, more agency in the past. 16-year-old
girls claimed that they were already adults in their country, but regressed into child-
hood when coming to Finland. The treatment as children might make them feel that
they should also behave as children, as can be read in the quotes of these two girls:

I think that for example 15-year old could already be an adult, because she
knows what is wrong and how she should behave. And there, in our count-
ry, if you are a 15-year-old girl, you already have your own life, own room
and own things; you are on your own. You are already an adult. (G4)

Yes, we start from early on to help Mother with domestic work. Someti-
mes boys help fathers too. Then you become responsible. But here, it feels
that 15-year-olds still behave like children because they are always called
children. (G5)

In the reception center, the girls can only wait for others to decide whether they can
stay in the receiving country or not, and whether they will be rejoined with their fa-
milies or not. Such major choices, which Naila Kabeer (1999, 437) calls “first-order
choices” are usually considered as requirements for individual empowerment. Howe-
ver, in a situation where major choices are out of reach, the smaller, “second-order
choices”, such as influencing the daily life of the current situation or planning a menu
for a camp, become more significant (Kabeer 1999, 437). A sense that their views
were heard was important for the girls, regardless of the fact that many who thought
so simultaneously noted that they had never suggested any changes, as can be read
in the following quotes:

Children should be asked at least what they want, whether they would like
to do something or not. If they are forced, if the decision is made elsewhere
and you have to do it even if it is annoying, that’s not right. (G7)

We shouldn’t be moved. If somebody decides, then you go there. You don’t

know what kind of a place it is, you don’t know anybody, you don’t know
anything about it. --- I wasn’t asked, I was just given a time. This day you
will go, nothing else. --- Nobody told me why or asked me if I wanted to go. I
was surprised; I had been told that after the immigration interview I will be
moved somewhere. But before the interview I was told I have to go.” (G8)

On the other hand, it should be remembered that participation, taking responsibility of

one’s life or making major choices should not be mandatory for children; the children
should be allowed to enjoy the freedom of liability and be able to rely on adults around
them. Many girls noted that they did not even want to make any important choices,
because that is what the adults were there for, and they knew what the best interest
of a child was. This might be a result of the feeling that they have not always had
enough strong adult guidance, and they want to enjoy the possibility to have fewer
responsibilities in the present. It is also suggested that asylum seekers actively seek
privacy and anonymity. For the fear of detention or deportation by the authorities,
 Everyday choices, meaningful activities and reliable adults 210

they try to remain as “invisible” as possible, not complaining or suggesting any imp-
rovements in the current practices (Boyden 2001, 52). In many stages of our PAR
the girls preferred to let the adults do the tasks they found difficult. The power to be
“powerless” might even be empowering for a child coming from an area of conflict;
they have managed to enter a new country on their own, which alone is responsi-
bility far too big for a child or even an adolescent of their age, not to mention all the
other challenges most of them have faced (Mannion 2010, 331). The belief that the
surrounding adults know what the best interest of a child is, and work to achieve it, is
definitely comforting.

According to Parpart et al. (2002, 4), empowerment is produced by meaningful par-

ticipation in a community, and the structures of power which individual encounters
in the community affects his or her agency. The assumed existence of a community
might be problematic when working with unaccompanied asylum seeker children, or
other transient groups (Doná 2006, 24). Unaccompanied minors have been brought
together by a crisis; they do not share common origins, and have fractured family
relations. According to Doná (2007, 217), this makes communal participation difficult.
However, in our PAR, some girls noted that although they come from different cultu-
res and speak different languages, the strongest connecting force between them is
that they are all in the same situation, waiting for the asylum decision. In my opinion,
the counselors worked hard to strengthen the sense of community in the underage
units, for example by organizing trips and activities for all the children in the units.

The sense of community does not imply that there would be no conflicts among the
girls. Agency can also be exercised in a negative sense, as the capacity of an actor to
override the agency of others (Kabeer 1999, 438). In PAR, this negative agency can
be exercised by the initiative researcher, as he or she has the responsibility to guide
the actions, and can do it to an excess to meet his or her own goals. There is also
a danger of some participants achieving such a strong agency that the more silent
voices find it hard to be included in the discussion. In our PAR, the older girls, who li-
ved in the supported housing unit and had stayed longer in the reception center were
the ones who spoke significantly more than the new-coming, younger girls from the
group home, especially the ones who were the sole representatives of their language
group. We had most of the meetings in the supported housing unit, making it a home
ground for some girls. As the initiating researcher, I had to make sure that the chosen
space was as welcoming for all of the girls, reminding them that the project will only
work if we listen to all the girls equally, and learn to compromise when needed. One
girl found it especially difficult to negotiate about the content of our PAR, but she
eventually agreed that the outcome, achieved by teamwork, turned out to be good.

I felt bad because the movie we planned first didn’t work out, because it was
such a good idea. It was a shame because everybody wanted to do it first
but then they changed their minds. --- I didn’t want to go to the camp but in
the end it was a good idea and it was fun.” (G4)
211 Everyday choices, meaningful activities and reliable adults

E mpowerment and gender

The unaccompanied girls’ empowerment should not be considered only through
their status as unaccompanied minors, but also through the lens of youth and gender.
Most asylum seekers, including the girls of my study, come from comparatively con-
servative rural areas where gender, generation and class hierarchies are entrenched,
and interaction between different social groups is limited by tradition (Boyden 2001,
52). Naila Kabeer (2011, 499) writes about girls’ and women’s empowerment as a
multidimensional process of change rather than some final destination; a process
touching the women’s self-worth and social identity, their willingness and ability to
question their possibly subordinate status in society, their capacity to exercise strate-
gic control over their own lives and to negotiate better terms in their relationships with
others, and finally, their ability to participate on equal terms with men in reshaping
the society.

Although reflective thinking and questioning the disempowering structures of the so-
ciety, both on the micro and the macro level (the reception center and Finnish society)
is necessary, the structures are insufficient to explain the way the girls decide to
behave in the reception center. As noted before, the girls may consciously decide
not to challenge the existing configurations of power. This may be because of their
attempt to be as “invisible” as possible, in fear of jeopardizing the forthcoming asy-
lum decision (Boyden 2001, 52) or because coming from cultures which restrict the
ways in which girls and women can participate, many of the girls of my study might
even view their disempowerment as right and proper (Aziz et al. 2011; Kothari 2004,
144). Furthermore, exercising control over their lives or participating in reshaping the
society is challenging for these girls not solely because of their gender but because
of their status as asylum seekers in a new society. However, “adaptive preferences”
influence the way people see their life possibilities; if they are brought up to believe
that they cannot do certain things which other people can do, they are likely to invest
less in their own aspirations and make choices which perpetuate their disempowered
status (Alsop et al. 2005), regardless of whether this idea is a product of their gender,
background or their status as asylum seekers.

One of the aims of PAR is to uncover the “silenced voices” which are rarely heard in
scientific discussion. Including the “silenced voices” in a dialogue is a step towards a
multivoiced society where people are not led to adopt a certain way of being to par-
ticipate and be accepted (Vuorikoski & Kiilakoski 2005, 310). PAR can also uncover
voices which challenge the knowledge conventions, for example the ideal of sexual
equality. Promoting participation and empowerment in the girls’ terms means that
conventional assumptions of “good” and “bad” choices must be put aside; all partici-
pants, including the initiating researcher, bring their personal values in to the process,
but also have to appreciate the contradicting values. Cultural sensitivity of methods
requires all participants to acknowledge that own understanding is only one among
many, and the alternative understandings should be viewed with an open mind.

Although the girls told me about patriarchal gender roles in their home countries,
all girls viewed Finland as a more equal society. They also seemed determined to
benefit from the choices they would have in the future. For example, all of the girls
 Everyday choices, meaningful activities and reliable adults 212

mentioned that a good education is important for the future, regardless of the fact
that most of the girls come from cultures in which girls’ education is not very valued.
The PAR-process is shaped and developed by all participants’ persona and experi-
ences. My example as a school teacher and a working mother might have influenced
the way the girls discussed the importance of education and sexual equality with
me. Instead of aiming for objectivity or neutrality, PAR emphasizes the importance of
natural relationships and equal dialogue. In addition to forming the process, all parti-
cipants transform and shape each other, and learn from each other.

W hose power in PAR?

According to Uma Kothari’s (2004, 140) critique, the fact that most participatory
approaches focus almost exclusively on the micro-level, on those who are conside-
red powerless and marginal, has reproduced the simplistic notion that social power
and control are only to be found at the macro- and central levels of the society. Ac-
cording to Kothari, this happens because the nature of power is simplified; conside-
red as a static force in the hands of few; that those in power can “empower” others,
exercise power over, make things happen. The idea of somebody having the power
and being able to give it to someone else (empower him or her) is problematic, and
reproduces the hierarchy and the unequal power structures of the powerful protector
and the powerless “victims”, the marginalized vs. those in power. Kothari suggests
that Foucault’s theory of power as a circulating force, focusing on exercise of power
rather than possession of power, could challenge this inequity (see also Parpart et
al 2002, 4).

Setting the micro against the macro, the margins against the center, the local against
the elite etc. implies also that the researcher, often coming from the “wrong kind” of
background with biased, colonized knowledge, has nothing to offer (Kothari 2004,
140; Mohan 2004, 162). It is also claimed that participatory research methods, such
as PAR, might encourage a reassertion of power and social control not only by cer-
tain individuals of groups, but also of particular bodies of knowledge, by producing
certain types of knowledge. Instead of the “true” local knowledge which they aim to
represent, they might reproduce the dichotomies of the morally “good” and morally
“bad” knowledge. (Henkel & Stirrat 2004) In my opinion, labeling the knowledge from
the macro level or traditional scientific discussion as ”morally bad” means wasting
resources which could be used to achieve the desired outcome. Fortunately PAR can
also be used to combine the different sources of knowledge in a fruitful way, strengt-
hening co-operation instead of reproducing the dichotomies.

However, the criticism of PAR as reproducing power-relations and social control is

not far-fetched, and needs to be considered when aiming for an empowering PAR.
The whole idea of the initiating researcher inviting participants to join, the act of in-
clusion, can be seen as symbolizing an exercise of power over an individual. As a
researcher, I had the power and resources to invite the girls of the reception center to
plan activities which they wanted. I also had the power to exclude boys, as I was told
by the counselors that it would most probably be necessary to get the girls involved.
However, I doubt that this made the project less participatory; the project required an
213 Everyday choices, meaningful activities and reliable adults

“invitation” from adults who knew the restrictions of reality. Eliminating adult presence
does not equal maximizing the children’s participation; on the contrary, it often leads
to unrealistic plans and failure (Hart et al. 1997). Besides, in many cultures youth
participation, for example questioning adults, expressing one’s own views and sho-
wing signs of assertiveness, is seen as disrespectful social deviance (Twum-Danso
2010, 134). Therefore it took time to assure all the girls that their participation was ap-
preciated. Participation also meant that the girls had the power to act like teenagers
do; they could come and go as they liked, and to decide not to participate when
they felt like it. Instead of challenging the continuity or development of the research
process (see Doná 2006, 24), this kind of behavior was the kind of participation the
girls wanted.

As the initiating researcher in our PAR, I had to balance between making the process
as participatory and empowering as possible, enabling the girls to be in charge as
much as they wanted, but at the same time remember my role as a facilitator, trying
to help the girls to find the best possible resources and suitable techniques to meet
their goals. Kress et al. (2011, 138) ask who can decide what the “good choices” are;
can those in power (the initiating researcher) label themselves “good choosers” and
feel destined to choose for others? According to the idea of PAR, the power should
be divided as the participants wish, even if there would seem to be obvious bene-
fits in choosing something otherwise. Considering empowerment, the inequalities in
people’s possibilities to make choices should outweigh the differences in the choices
they make; empowerment means also that there would have been the possibility to
choose otherwise. (Kabeer 1999, 439) In reality, it would have been naïve of me to
assume that the girls could independently make their choices without any examples
of what the choices could be. Without much prior knowledge on the topic, they could
not know what our PAR could include.

P AR with multicultural and multilingual children

Cultural sensitivity is the capacity to acknowledge that one’s own culture is only
one meaning-making system, and a skill to interpret situations from many points of
view (Räsänen 2007, 28). The starting point of our PAR was to let the girls know
about ways of participation, and then decide as much as they could, and wanted,
defining the kind of participation they saw relevant. I explained them that our project
could be transformative. We could for example try to find ways to improve some
practices they don’t like, within the limits of reality. However, the girls chose the other
option: participation within the existing structures. PAR does not have to be transfor-
mative; it also acknowledges that finding personally meaningful ways to participate
inside the existing system can sometimes be more rewarding than rebelling against
it (Swantz 2008, 31). Cultural sensitivity in PAR means also adapting to the ways of
working which may seem unnecessary from the point of view of the researcher. In
our case I did not anticipate that we would exclude boys, or would not record the ses-
sions, but from the point of view of the girls, both these decisions were reasonable.

The weakness of PAR, and in fact most forms of research, is that it relies heavily on
a linguistic representation of knowledge (Mohan 2004, 161). In our group discussions
 Everyday choices, meaningful activities and reliable adults 214

and individual interviews we did not use academic jargon, such as the terms partici-
pation or empowerment, because it would be difficult to ensure that all the interpre-
ters and girls would understand the concepts the same way. Therefore we discussed
the topics in a broader sense: what kind of things the girls wanted to improve in their
situation in life and what made them feel good or bad in their daily life. I used simple
language and many ways of explaining to ensure our mutual understanding. Ne-
vertheless, discussion about children’s right to have their voices heard (CRC, article
12) caused misunderstanding; the idea of “noisy children” was confused with the
children’s right to be heard. One of the girls gave us an example of what had hap-
pened to her for being too “noisy” at a dinner table, which is a sign of disrespect in
her culture. We used many non-linguistic methods of self-expression throughout the
project, such as music and drama. For example, when listing the dreams and hopes
of the girls, as well as the unpleasant things in the current life, the girls were encou-
raged to draw as well as write. However, the aim of these methods was not so much
to produce new knowledge of our research topic but to entertain, help the group in
getting to know each other and strengthening the sense of community.

When discussing the girls’ needs and wishes, many referred to not what was the
best for them individually, but what was in the best interest of their community, or
their living unit. Although I think that juxtaposition of individual cultures and collective
cultures is insufficient for explaining this, the girls’ backgrounds might provide a par-
tial explanation for emphasizing the collective needs over individual needs. Another
reason for this might be the girls’ reluctance to “be a burden” for the society, or the
fear of being seen as “welfare refugees”. The girls reminded me many times that
they did not come to Finland for a good life, but to save their lives. When we talked
about the right to privacy and private life (CRC, article 16), I noticed that one of the
interpreters used the English word private life in his speech. When I asked about this,
the interpreter and the girls told me there is no word for it in their language; it is a term
that needs explaining.

T owards more empowering activities in the reception center

The discussions during our PAR produced valuable information about how the
girls viewed their possibilities for empowerment not only in our PAR, but in the re-
ception center in general. Empowerment means a possibility to make choices which
improve some aspect of one’s life, but it also implies to future claims for material, hu-
man and social resources; a better future (Kabeer 1999, 435). According to the girls,
one of the best ways they can use the waiting time to get ready for the future is by
learning practical skills which will be needed in the Finnish society. The girls wished
to learn more IT-skills to be able to be in touch with their friends and family, but also
to get more information about their rights and responsibilities in Finland. These are
both empowering assets which equip children to use their opportunities (Alsop et al.
2005, 11). IT-skills could help them communicate with the safety net of people they
might have elsewhere, whereas civic skills would enable them to participate in their
community. According to previous studies, (Aspinall & Watters 2010, 88; Enoranta
2007, 47; Owczarek 2007, 52-53) information about the new country, the asylum pro-
cess, benefits and work or study opportunities are important in empowering asylum
215 Everyday choices, meaningful activities and reliable adults

seekers, as well as supporting their integration in to the society. Although the girls
chose not to spend our sessions in learning IT- or civic skills, they understood that
those skills would be useful in the future. In their current situation, the girls found it
hard to participate in a community which they knew so little about.

When discussing adults helping the girls participate or to be more active, the most
common examples were how the counselors had first showed the girl how to do so-
mething, then let her practice and finally manage on her own.

We will live here (in Finland) all our lives; we have to learn for ourselves. You
don’t learn if somebody shows you every time, it is not learning. You become
lazy. --- The counselors do a good job, they help everybody in the beginning,
and then they leave you alone. It’s good for the future. --- Children get a
good life when they learn to do things by themselves. (G3)

This was mentioned also when analyzing our PAR; some girls could think of ways in
which they could use their new skills, such as organizing a summer camp with all its
practical work in the future.

As the big choices which determine the future of the girls are out of their reach, many
girls wished to be able to decide on smaller things in their daily lives. The choices
which the girls thought would have a significant impact on their well-being in the daily
life included for example the power to decide whom they shared a room with, or how
the cleaning schedule should be organized. Considering participation and empower-
ment, these wishes should be taken into consideration in the living units. If catering
these wishes is not impossible, it would be a good way to demonstrate that the article
12 of the CRC is actually implemented in practice.

C onclusion
Empowerment can be seen both as a means and an end; it is a process of
developing individual capacities through gaining skills which are needed to impro-
ve some aspect of one’s life. As an end, it is the change which has occurred as a
result of the process. The vivid discussions during out PAR-meetings suggested that
non-formal, all-girl meetings worked in this context in getting the silent voices heard.
Letting the girls plan the whole content and realization of the project made the project
not only participatory but also empowering. My assumption was that helping the girls
to use their assets and find the required resources to organize youth-led activities
would definitely improve their self-esteem, co-operation skills and life-quality during
the asylum process. The final analysis of our PAR showed that most girls viewed it
as a success; they enjoyed participating in it, and most importantly, they were happy
they could include ideas which they thought were important. Daily chores, such as
cooking or baking, might not be the most obvious empowering activities for young
girls. However, as the girls themselves chose these activities, and felt that they can
use their assets in these tasks, then daily chores can definitely be empowering. The
facilitating adults have to make the activities possible while making sure all can use
their assets in the best possible way.
 Everyday choices, meaningful activities and reliable adults 216

For example when we went to the camp, we planned and discussed a lot.
We decided on the things together, what to do. Those kinds of things work,
that’s the way things should go. (G8)

However, as often is the case in PAR, the results cannot be predicted and negative
cases occur (Doná 2006, 24). Participants may choose not to participate as much as
they could, even if it would seem clear that it would help them to achieve their goals.
Some girls did not want to take an active part in planning and realizing the camp; by
the end of the project, one girl even noted that she had only participated because the
other girls had pressured her. Most of the time the girls seemed to enjoy the process,
including also the one who claimed to have been reluctant to join.

Cultural sensitivity in empowering PAR means that it has to be adapted to meet

the needs of all participants. This is especially important when working with spe-
cial groups, such as unaccompanied asylum seeker children and youth. The choices
which they want to make might appear as “second order choices” for the initiating
researcher, but can be empowering and important for the participants. In the case of
our PAR, letting the girls decide on things which they wanted to, such as the schedule
or the menu for the camp, was the kind of participation they saw relevant. It was also
the kind of participation the girls were used to in their home cultures. Towards the end
of our project, the girls found the courage to introduce more ideas into our PAR. The
same girls who had opposed recording our sessions in the beginning wanted me to
record their singing and dancing a few months later. Building a trusting relationship
and an equal dialogue are the corner stones of PAR, but it takes time. As PAR usually
stretches for several months, it is possible to achieve these aims.

Although the importance of child- and youth participation is widely acknowledged,

the lack of resources hinders participatory projects in any kind of institutions. In our
PAR, I found the limited material resources in fact beneficial for inclusion. Having to
find resources from the community and recruiting volunteers from the neighborhood
shows the children that there are benevolent people around them. This can give them
the courage and reasons to leave the reception center, to reach out to the community.
If the hectic life of the reception center makes it impossible to find the time for PAR,
it is also possible to include participatory features in the currently offered activities,
including the children’s voices in developing activities which already exist, or ackno-
wledging the children’s opinions in deciding about practical matters in the daily life.
Participatory work does not have to follow the cyclic form of PAR, but can be adapted
to suit the circumstances and the available resources.

As PAR is a flexible and versatile research method, it can be used to create activities
for groups of children and youth from varying backgrounds. The project is likely to
be gender- and culturally sensitive, if it includes all participants as equal researchers
and if the initiating researcher avoids dictating the process. The interviews with the
girls of our PAR demonstrated that what they find empowering is not uniform with the
definitions of empowerment in the current scientific discussion; they understood that
as asylum seekers and as children, they were unable to make major, “first order” cho-
ices concerning their lives. Nevertheless, they found smaller, “second order” choices
217 Everyday choices, meaningful activities and reliable adults

empowering in their current situation. Also, being able to trust the professional adults
in the reception center was empowering for many girls. The girls found it important
that while the counselors work hard to ensure the best interest of the child, the own
views of the children are also heard.
 Everyday choices, meaningful activities and reliable adults 218

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222 Ethnic Minority Youth and Youth Work in Finland
CHAPTER III

Antti Kivijärvi, Eveliina Heino

Ethnic minority youth and youth work

in Finland: everyday anti-racism
engendering empowering conditions
Introduction

Multiculturalism and racism are highly current issues in Finnish society. During the
last three decades, Finland has transformed from a country of emigration to a society
of immigration. Increased migration since the early 1990’s – due to the transnational
relationships and workforce, as well as refugees and asylum seekers – has questio-
ned the assumed homogeneity of the Finnish nation state. However, ethnic, religious
and linguistic minorities such as Finnish-Swedes, Roma and Sami people, Russians,
Jews and Muslims have been a significant part of Finland’s ‘cultural landscape’ for
centuries. Alongside the increasing ethnic and cultural diversity, recent public deba-
tes have been loaded with nationalistic perspectives, demands for assimilation and
even straightforward racism (e.g. Keskinen et al. 2009).

The proportion of foreign born people in Finland is still low, at approximately 5%,
and this population is heavily concentrated in a few of the largest cities. However,
the younger generation particularly faces a multicultural reality in their everyday life,
because the majority of the foreign born population and their descendants are under
30 (Statistics Finland 2011). According to previous research results, racism is a ma-
jor factor hampering the integration of ethnic minority youth in Finland (e.g. Rastas
2005; Perho 2010; Souto 2011). In the context of leisure, racism slackens the inter-
ethnic ties of youth, hinders participation in different activities and causes feelings of
exclusion (e.g. Harinen 2005). Thus, it can be claimed that in spite of the increasing
public and academic attention on a new “cosmopolitan generation” (e.g. Nowicka &
Rovisco 2009), racism continues to remain an everyday phenomenon in the lives of
young people.

In this article we examine municipal youth work in Finland and its anti-racist practices
– youth workers’ stances and ways of addressing the issue of racism. Our theoreti-
cal framework is constituted of literature on everyday racism, and it is approached
through the notion of empowerment. We ask what kind of anti-racist work enhances
the empowerment – the ability to overcome oppressive and racialising practices – of
ethnic minority youth.1 The main aim of our study is to decipher the favourable con-
ditions in which the empowerment of ethnic minority youth can take place. The em-
223 Ethnic Minority Youth and Youth Work in Finland

pirical data of the study consists of multi-sited observations and interviews of youth
workers conducted in 2010. We will scrutinise anti-racist practices of youth work in
the level of individuals and groups, separated from the institutional and structural
macro-level of society. While treating anti-racism in youth work, we aim to outline the
notion of empowering anti-racism in the context of working with young people.

In light of the earlier studies on racism in educative settings in Finland, it can be

claimed that studying everyday racism from the perspective of the empowerment of
ethnic minority youth is important. Firstly, young people’s experiences of racism often
remain unrecognised in schools (Souto 2011), social work (Honkatukia & Suurpää
2007; Anis 2008) and youth work (Kivijärvi & Honkasalo 2010). Secondly, highlighting
racism is often considered as problematic by youth workers. It is seen as a negative
issue that may aggravate conflicts between different groups (see Honkasalo, Souto &
Suurpää 2007). This might mean that youth work, among other educative institutions,
offers only minimal support for youth when dealing with experiences of racism (cf.
Thomas 2006; Shukra 2010). Thirdly, there is research evidence indicating that youth
suffering from racism are sharing their experiences with peers in a similar position
rather than with parents or professional educators (Rastas 2007).

C onceptual framework: Disempowering everyday racism and empowering

anti-racism
In this study, racism is defined as essentialising practices (speeches and acts) that
solidify hierarchical differences and power-relations between ethnic or cultural groups
(e.g. Werbner 1997). With the notion of everyday racism it is possible to explore the
reproduction and maintenance of racism in mundane processes of interaction. Thus,
everyday racism refers to oppressive and essentialising micro-level practices ref-
lecting the hierarchical power relations and racialised positions of different ethnic or
cultural groups (Essed 1991). Everyday racism is mainly produced through iterative
practices, which often consist of self-evident or even unconscious routines, acts and
speeches (cf. Urry 2000). Repetitive classifications of ethnic minorities and practices
based on assumed cultural differences may often seem normal and acknowledged
to majority people.

Everyday racism includes the idea that not only explicit acts with racist motivations
or ideologies (e.g. neo-Nazi violence) can be defined as racism. It also covers more
hidden and unconscious practices with racist outcomes. For example, iterative and
self-evident practices of youth work may have unintended racist consequences. De-
fining migrant youth primarily through their assumed cultural background may hinder
seeing them as competent individual actors (see Kivijärvi 2010). Therefore, racism is
not seen as an individual pathology or located at the margins of society, but is defined
as a potential part of all social interaction (van Dijk 1992; Gillborn 2006). Everyday
racism is like a discursive reservoir that can be harnessed at any time by any actor
in approving surroundings. It would lose much of its significance in situations where
it did not maintain or reproduce the dominant hierarchies. For instance, degrading
Russian people has a long history in Finland. Russians are often given nationalistic
nicknames and defined as a threat to the national security and harmony (e.g. Suur-
 Ethnic Minority Youth and Youth Work in Finland 224

pää 2002; Ronkainen 2009, 105-108). This type of everyday racism does not have
any relevance outside of Finland. Therefore, the power of everyday racism is always
dependent on the particular context and the prevailing group and power relations
(Puuronen 2003, 194).

According to the interpretations of many youth studies in Finland, racism for ethnic
minority youth is primarily everyday racism: ‘small’ acts and utterances essentialising
minority groups and reproducing their marginal position (e.g. Rastas 2007; Souto
2011). For many young people, racism includes the message that ethnic minority
youth are in the wrong place in the national(istic) world order. At a concrete level,
racism is manifested in gazes, jokes, small hints or gestures of depreciation and
name-calling. From the perspective of ethnic minority youth, they are defined in a
hierarchical manner, particular needs of different groups are not recognised, youth
cultures (e.g. hip-hoppers or skinheads) appear as statements for or against multi-
culturalism and media coverage present ethnic minorities in an unfavourable light.

In our interpretation, ethnic minority youth are not passive or powerless recipients of
racism, but their power and agency can be limited because of it. To begin with, racism
disempowers a person by limiting his/her power of self-determination. Racist acts
and speeches separate people by nationality or appearance, creating images about
hierarchical categories and preferable features, excluding some people outside the
dominant society (Rastas 2007, 74-75). External determinations by the majority limit
the minority’s possibility of self-determination and power to construct new definitions
(Jenkins 1997, 23-24, 49; Huttunen 2004, 138-139).2

Furthemore, everyday racism can undermine a person’s sense of control: beliefs in

one’s own possibilities to influence and control one’s life-course and surroundings.
According to Branscombe, Schmitt and Harvey (1999), the undermining of a person’s
sense of control occurs particularly when they face hostility and interpret this attitude
as being triggered by their permanent features (e.g. physical appearance), instead of
more variable features (e.g. behaviour). Racism is a prime example of the first kind.
Racism is usually experienced as continuous, not limited to a particular time or place.
The unpredictability and all-encompassing nature of everyday racism may disempo-
wer a person by undermining their sense of control of their own life.

In addition, the way a person is perceived by surrounding people influences the way
they perceive themself (see Mead 1952, 157-158). Negative perceptions by others
can have a negative impact on a person’s self-esteem and limit their possibilities to
act, which can be interpreted as disempowerment (Tajfel & Turner 1986).3 Further-
more, according to research undertaken in Finland, racist experiences have a nega-
tive impact on a person’s psychical well-being in general (see Jasinskaja-Lahti et al.
2002, 112; Liebkind & Jasinskaja-Lahti 1997, 62).

In short, everyday racism is defined as a repetitive and cumulative cycle of disempo-

wering practices. When racism is conceptualised as disempowerment, it is possible
to examine how anti-racist work is linked to empowerment. Thus, in anti-racism it is a
question of breaking the cycle by disengaging from practices that maintain and repro-
225 Ethnic Minority Youth and Youth Work in Finland

duce everyday racism. The concept of empowerment can be defined from at least
two different viewpoints. On one hand, it can be defined from a micro-level perspec-
tive, involving individuals’ increased ability for self-determination, sense of control,
self-esteem, knowledge and skills of the surrounding environment or community. On
the other hand, the concept of empowerment can be defined from the macro-level
point of view, incorporating societal dimensions and power relations. (Askheim 2003,
230-231; Hokkanen 2009, 330-331.)

In this study, we will focus on the former type of micro-level empowerment. Our aim
is not to describe individual empowerment processes or establish a specific criterion
for empowerment, like in many studies on empowerment, but to describe anti-racist
practices that create favourable conditions for the empowerment of ethnic minority
youth. Even though empowerment is often seen as an individual process, it is af-
fected by surrounding people and conditions which mean that empowerment should
always be examined in its social context (Siitonen 1999, 118, 189). According to
Adams (2003, 6-54), professional practices that enable empowerment are based on
a combination of critical understanding, consciousness-raising, challenging disem-
powering routines and language, clear strategies for addressing inequality, and ac-
tivating individuals’ self-empowerment. These are also the criteria that we take into
account in our analysis.

F innish youth work as a platform for fieldwork

The data of the study have been collected in the field of Finnish youth work. Youth
work in general is an activity promoting non-formal learning and helping in different
transitions and preventing problems young people are facing. Youth work is often
described as an ‘amoeba-like’ profession, which is on one hand able to handle a
wide variety of questions considering the lives of contemporary youth and on the
other hand haunted by a constant search for identity (Coussée 2009; Davies 2010).
A common factor for most youth work is that it is executed during young people’s free
time. In Finland youth work is primarily provided by municipalities, but parishes and
NGOs also have a significant role in organising youth work (e.g. confirmation schools
and various leisure pursuits). In this study only municipal youth work is examined.

Currently, municipal youth work utilises various methods and working environments.
However, youth clubs are still the main venues of municipal youth work offering young
people a place to spend time, meet peers and a platform for informal learning. Other
forms and methods of municipal youth work are more targeted and outreach work,
online work, workshops for vocational learning, information and counselling and par-
ticipatory work (e.g. youth councils). According to the Finnish Youth Act (72/2006), all
of these are supposed to promote the well-being and growth of young people towards
‘active citizenship’ and adulthood.

Together with social work, child welfare and school, youth work is one of the main
occupational groups dealing with questions related to the life of the young generation.
Particularly social work and youth work play a significant role in the fields of everyday
life (outside of formal learning) of young people. The two professions have many
 Ethnic Minority Youth and Youth Work in Finland 226

commonalities and common goals. These goals are ensuring the well-being and pro-
per living conditions of children and youth (see Pohjola 2009, 40). Both social work
and youth work cherish values like solidarity, equality and demur of marginalisation.
Both are also familiar with the tension between supporting and controlling youth.
Moreover, the current trend in Finland seems to be that social work and youth work
are converging. Various political-normative strategies steer youth workers and social
workers towards ‘cross-professional cooperation’ and it seems that youth workers are
taking more formal roles with remedial stances typical of social workers (e.g. Kiilakos-
ki, Kivijärvi & Honkasalo 2011, 19).

In spite of the similarities and increasingly porous professional boundaries, youth

work and social work differ on many levels. The main difference is that legislation
defines youth work as non-formal guidance while social work has more controlling
elements (Raitakari & Vironkangas 2009, 8-9). Consequently, social work and youth
work differ on a practical level as well. The traditional ethos of youth work steers its
focus towards group level interactions of young people. The essential aim of youth
work is to create supportive peer groups to enhance the participation and empower-
ment of young people. The focus of youth work is on a preventive stance and working
with peer groups, while the common interest of social work is more on interventions
in the behaviour of individual young people and their family members (e.g. Pohjola
2009, 34-35).

D ata and analysis

The data of the study have been collected as a part of ‘a developmental project
of multicultural youth work’ (2009-2011). The project was funded by the Ministry of
Education and Culture and coordinated by ‘a Developmental Network of Urban Youth
Work’. The network covers Finnish cities with more than 40,000 inhabitants (there
were 24 cities large enough at the time of the project). Thirteen cities and their youth
departments voluntarily joined the project which aimed to develop the ‘multicultural
readiness’ of urban youth work. Thus, the project was oriented in action research: the
role of the researchers4 was to cooperate with youth departments and assist in their
concrete developmental work.

The scope and the actual contents of the sub-projects varied according to the inte-
rests of different youth departments. Some focused on transforming particular met-
hods in one youth club, while some invested in organisation-wide projects, for instan-
ce, in the form of strategic work. Furthermore, while some dealt with issues such as
multilingual information delivery or cross-professional cooperation, some focused on
developing anti-racist practices. In addition to individual sub-projects, various semi-
nars were organised which gathered youth workers from different youth departments
together. Four of these seminars, conducted in autumn 2010, dealt with the issue of
racism in youth work.

The comprehensive results and methodological premises of the multifaceted project

have been reported elsewhere (see Honkasalo & Kivijärvi 2011). In this paper we
focus solely on the data on racism and anti-racism. Thus, our primary data include
227 Ethnic Minority Youth and Youth Work in Finland

12 (group and individual) semi-structured interviews5 of youth workers in five different

cities. In these cities anti-racist methods and stances of youth work were pondered.
The interviews were conducted in the premises of local youth services (e.g. youth
clubs or offices) and lasted from approximately from one to two hours. Furthermore,
observations from five seminars (in five different cities) are utilised. Three of these se-
minars included panel discussions dealing with the issues of racism and anti-racism
from the perspectives of young people. Altogether, the panels had 17 ethnic minority
youth (and regular users of municipal youth services) as discussants. As a secondary
data, we will utilise numerous informal conversations with ethnic minority youth and
youth workers. Moreover, two questionnaires (n=20; n=38) conducted by youth ser-
vices in youth club premises about young peoples’ perspectives on racism are used
as a background data.

Given the relatively high number of research settings and the short field period (year
2010), the ability to commit to in-depth research is limited. Therefore, accurate desc-
riptions of individual trajectories and empowering processes during the development
of anti-racist practices are not possible. Our ‘cross-sectional’ approach means that
we are able to examine anti-racism in various environments, but we have to settle
with describing only the favourable conditions enabling the empowerment of ethnic
minority youth. We are not able to analyse the longitudinal processes of individual
empowerment. Moreover, because of the nature of our data, we are not able to exp-
lore ‘real life’ interaction or ‘authentic’ encounters between young people and youth
workers. In our analysis we are only able to decipher the discursive accounts of infor-
mants (sayings), not to describe corporeal anti-racist practises (doings).

In our qualitative analysis, we scrutinise the interpretations of youth workers and

ethnic minority youth. Our primary focus is on youth workers’ capabilities and possibi-
lities in responding to the volitions of ethnic minority youth. The assumption inherent
in our analysis is that ethnic minority youth possess distinct experiential knowledge
about everyday racism and are thus able to (at least implicitly) depict empowering
anti-racist conditions. Thus, throughout our analysis, we parallel and contrast the
interpretations of youth workers and ethnic minority youth. We focus our attention on
sections in the data (in interview transcriptions and field notes) in which anti-racism is
discussed. We classify qualitatively different themes in the data rather than conduct
quantitatively oriented content analysis (e.g. Krippendorff 1980). The themes that we
have taken up from the data are preventive and interventive stances on anti-racism.
In the next sub-chapter, however, we briefly describe disempowering conditions in
our data, but the rest of our analysis revolves around preventive and interventive
anti-racism affecting on empowerment of ethnic minority youth.

D isempowering practices
In many of the earlier studies on everyday racism, educational institutes are cri-
ticised for not being able to recognise, prevent or intervene in racism (e.g. Gillborn
1995; Anis 2008; Souto 2011). Even though the subprojects under scrutiny focused
on anti-racism in youth work, the above critique seems to apply at some points in
 Ethnic Minority Youth and Youth Work in Finland 228

our data as well. In the following, deficient anti-racist practices in the data that create
conditions of disempowerment of particularly ethnic minority youth are described.

According to almost all youth workers in the data, anti-racism is a self-evident content
of professional youth work. In some cases, it is so self-evident that even discussing it
becomes questioned. However, a silence followed when enquiring about an accurate
definition of racism and how youth workers should deal with it.

One of the discussants states that intervening (in racism) is self-evident to

youth workers. It seems that, at the same time, he is questioning the point
of the whole seminar. In spite of the statement, every youth worker present
(altogether 30) is having trouble when we are trying to decide the best ways
of intervening. Either this tells about the tacit knowledge inherent in youth
work or that the best ways of dealing with racism are not so self-evident
after all. (Field notes, seminar of youth workers)

The inability to determine the forms of concrete anti-racist practices probably ham-
pers the ability of youth workers to support the empowerment of ethnic minority
youth. Thus, a significant obstacle confronting the development of anti-racist prac-
tices is not always ‘political will’, but rather a lack of knowledge and an inadequate
understanding of ethnic minority youths perspectives (cf. Robinson 2001). For many
youth workers, preventing and ways of intervening in everyday racism are anything
but self-evident. In the following, we analyse four distinctive and somewhat common
youth work practices that are in conflict with the perspectives of many ethnic minority
youth and may thus contain disempowering elements.

Firstly, racism is occasionally exclusively seen as an extreme phenomenon. In the

data, this type of stand is not as common as in some of the earlier studies (e.g.
Kivijärvi & Honkasalo 2010). However, defining racism as an extreme issue means
that it is equalised with the violence of right-wing youth cultures such as neo-Nazis
or skinheads. Thus, ‘real’ racism would require ideological commitments and explicit
motivations (cf. Anthias & Lloyd 2002). In this view, racism becomes individualised
as a problem of marginal and misguided youth. This type of stance prevents youth
workers from seeing racism as a more mundane phenomenon and allows them to
localise racism outside of their own domain. Everyday racism remains unrecognised.

Youth seem to be unanimous: adults do not recognise racism. Moreover,

they state that even if racism was noticed, adults do not do anything. The
critique is mainly directed towards teachers, but youth clubs are also men-
tioned as places where racism exists without youth workers noticing. (Field
notes, panel discussion of ethnic minority youth)

Secondly, racism is occasionally seen as an inherent feature of human beings. This

type of socio-biological explanation defines racism, or xenophobia, as a natural
phenomenon. In the speech of youth workers this is often manifested in utterances
such as ‘it has always been like that’ or ‘it is only human that you are suspicious
(towards multiculturalism) if you don’t know anything about the matter’ (Group inter-
229 Ethnic Minority Youth and Youth Work in Finland

views with youth workers). This standpoint easily leads into fatalism: nothing can be
done and anti-racist practices appear futile (Souto 2011, 135).

Thirdly, racism may be neutralised by denying or downplaying the significance of it

(e.g. van Dijk 1992). Racism is the ‘…same as bullying. They (all children) are teased
already in kindergarten’ (Group interview with youth workers). Therefore, racism can
be ‘directed towards anyone’ (Interview with a youth worker). In some cases even
explicitly racist language towards ethnic minority youth can be defined as normal or
just a joke. Differences, groups and power-relations are pushed to the background.
Thus, the neutralising of racism often means harnessing ‘a colour and power evasive
discourse’ (see Frankenberg 1993); the ethnicity of youth is not recognised or is con-
sciously ignored. Conflicts that may have a racist foundation are reduced to quarrels
between individuals caused by different world views, taste of music or break ups in
intimate relationships. Neutralising racism probably hinders the possibilities of ethnic
minority youth sharing their experiences in such surroundings. Moreover, neutralising
racism often includes a stance according to which more positive issues should be
emphasised and a fear that highlighting racism would cause more problems. On the
other hand, it might be that ethnic majority workers are uncertain about their compe-
tencies in anti-racist work (Thomas 2006, 45).

Opposing racism is somehow so self-evident and it is loaded with negativi-

ty. Therefore, I would use notions like supporting cultural identities of youth
and intercultural dialogue. Through those perspectives, if they succeed,
nobody will be racist. (Group interview with youth workers)

A fourth practice of youth work that very likely creates conditions of disempowerment
is emphasising the problematic attitudes of minorities. By this youth workers often
refer to racism towards majority youth or racism between different minorities: ‘Finnish
youth are not very racist compared to immigrant youth’ (Group interview with youth
workers). Without denying the interpretation of youth workers above, it can be stated
that majority-minority racism reproducing societal power relations is the most hurtful
and has the most persistent repercussions from the perspective of ethnic minority
youth (Kivijärvi & Honkasalo 2010). Furthermore, many youth workers stress that eth-
nic minority youth accuse them of racism without a relevant reason. This often implies
that the notion of racism is exploited by ethnic minority youth. According to some of
the youth workers, the notion of racism is harnessed during occasions when ethnic
minority youth want special treatment or when they are not satisfied with the current
situation. At times, this is evidently the case. Again however, from the perspective of
the empowerment of ethnic minority youth, it would be more fruitful to ponder where
these accusations stem from. When particularly asked, youth workers have not al-
ways discussed the issue with youth.

A1: We have certain rules and when a youth worker says that this is the way
to do it… No matter where, either on camps or in international encounters,
(ethnic minority) youth might say that ‘you are racist’. They say it even if you
don’t do anything. […] They kind of exploit it to get what they want.
A2: They do it very often.
 Ethnic Minority Youth and Youth Work in Finland 230

A3: Yeah.
A4: That’s true.
A2: It rather goes this way around.
A1: It happens a lot. They have learned to exploit it pretty well. When so-
mething is forbidden, for instance the abuse of alcohol in our premises. If it
happens to be a migrant youth (s)he can always say that ‘you are just discri-
minating against me because you are racist’. Even though the rule concerns
everybody.
Q: Well, do you know where these accusations stem from? Do you see so-
mething in the background?
A2: I have no idea. (Group interview with youth workers)

Our claim is that the above practices of youth work easily lead to the disempower-
ment of ethnic minority youth. These stances hinder youth workers from recognising,
preventing and intervening in everyday racism. Basically because of the insufficient
recognition, the experiences of ethnic minority youth cannot be addressed in a pro-
found way. Everyday experiences of racism are either not addressed at all or are
dealt with from a majority perspective. To some extent, this might help to explain why,
according to research literature in Finland, experiences of racism are often discussed
in ‘communities of difference’ (see Vestel 2004) – in peer networks of ethnic minority
youth (e.g. Rastas 2007; Souto 2011; see also Back 1996). Moreover, dealing with
racism in the fields of majority society often means obmutescence or in some ca-
ses even vengeance with a force (Kivijärvi & Honkasalo 2010). Particularly for some
ethnic minority boys, resorting to violence or intimidating appearances seem to be
common ways of responding to experiences of racism and exclusions (Honkatukia &
Suurpää 2007; Souto 2011). More constructive ways of dealing with everyday racism
are rarely available. Thus, it can be claimed that only peer circles or minority commu-
nities offer empowering anti-racism for ethnic minority youth.

Even though ethnic minority youth seek and receive peer support against experien-
ces of racism from minority communities, they are also often short of answers when
considering anti-racist practices: ‘Young people state that intervening (in racism) is
important. However, when asked about the best ways of intervening, a silence fol-
lows’ (Field notes, panel discussion of ethnic minority youth). In the light of earlier
literature it can be claimed that all-encompassing everyday racism and lack of adult
interventions are causing feelings of impassiveness – an ethos of survival of the fit-
test or disbelief in anti-racism in general. In the following, however, we will immerse
ourselves into perspectives of ethnic minority youth and youth workers and aim to di-
sentangle practices of preventive and interventive anti-racism that create favourable
conditions for empowerment.

A nti-racism and preventive practices

In this sub-chapter we aim to describe youth work practices and stances that pre-
vent everyday racism. From this perspective, the main task of youth work is to create
leisure spaces or peer groups where the issue of everyday racism can be brought
forth and discussed in a reciprocal way. Preventive stances on anti-racism are furt-
231 Ethnic Minority Youth and Youth Work in Finland

her divided into direct and indirect practises. The former refers to concrete acts and
methods while the latter is associated in more in-depth perspectives on youth work.

Direct practises
According to most of the ethnic minority youth in our data, racism is an issue that
should be openly discussed. None of the youth in the data claimed that the issue of
racism should be bypassed. This desire of youth was aptly manifested in an audition
of four minority youth during a seminar at one youth department. The occasion, which
was initially about cultural differences, turned into a detailed description about expe-
riences of everyday racism. In the receptive surroundings of adult youth workers, cul-
tural differences were secondary or even irrelevant and experiences of racism were
brought forth. Thus, young people seem to be eager to discuss racism if a chance is
given.

This eagerness can be illustrated by a group of minority youth put together by a local
youth worker in a city in Northern Finland. At first, the aim of the group was to attend
a local school on one occasion and discuss topics such as racism and discrimination
with pupils and teachers. According to the youth worker, each of the six group mem-
bers was quite nervous before the event. However, the discussion was a success
and it was emotional as well. Some of the pupils seemed to be very touched by the
experiences of the minority youth and approached them in an empathetic manner.
Afterwards, all of the six youth emphasised their positive feeling and their willingness
to participate in these types of occasions in the future as well. Another example is
the same type of group in a city in Western Finland. After the discussion, two of the
girls involved stated that ‘for once we were able to talk about these issues’. At least
for these young people, open discussions about experiences of racism and racism
in general seemed to have empowering implications. From the perspective of empo-
werment, including ethnic minority youth in the process of defining racism is crucial.
Through dialogue the phenomenon and individual experiences become recognised,
which gives individuals the feeling that his/her experiences are valuable (e.g. Rose
2003).

The above stand of ethnic minority youth is in contradiction to the perspectives of

some of the youth workers who stress more ‘comfortable’ notions such as toleran-
ce and multiculturalism. From a critical perspective, these types of notions might
emphasise ‘cultural exhibitions’ and happenings in which minority representatives
are forced to take responsibility for presenting their cultural habits and artefacts to
majority representatives in a ‘neutral’ position. The notion of anti-racism in turn places
the responsibility on the shoulders of the majority as well. In the data, a person res-
ponsible for ‘multicultural youth work’ in one youth department complained that many
youth workers withdraw from conversations about racism and discrimination. In the
end, according to her, it was all up to her whether these ‘uncomfortable’ issues were
discussed with youth or not. In a similar vein, according to some youth workers, anti-
racism often starts from explicit discussions in work communities.

I think it is good that we are discussing it (racism). Even though some say it
is a negative issue… These issues should not be avoided. If some of our co-
 Ethnic Minority Youth and Youth Work in Finland 232

workers have said that they do not want immigrants as colleagues. Like ‘ew,
terrible’. Then I have said straight to their face that ‘that’s racism’. In my opi-
nion, we should be explicit about it, no matter how uncomfortable it might
feel. If this is not done, it will go on forever. It is very difficult to tell a fellow
worker if somebody is prejudiced. I have just forced myself to do it. (Group
interview with youth workers)

Our claim is that anti-racism enabling the empowerment of ethnic minority youth re-
quires that the issue of everyday racism as a particular phenomenon is brought forth
and opportunities for discussing the experiences of it are systematically provided.
Critical understanding and awareness of oppressive practices help to understand
the current situation, and to develop ways of addressing these issues in the future.
Acknowledgment of the current situation is considered as a key element of empower-
ment (Adams 2003, 7-12). Anne-Mari Souto (2011, 199), a scholar of racism, aptly
asks: if the existence of racism is downplayed or even denied by authorities or pro-
fessional educators, how is it possible for young people suffering from it to speak up?
Preventive anti-racist practices allow the recognition of the phenomenon, encourage
ethnic minority youth to share their experiences and lead to reciprocal responsibility
in dealing with racism.

Indirect practises
According to our data, anti-racism enabling empowerment requires making the view-
points of ethnic minority youth on racism visible and respecting them (cf. Gillborn
2006, 11; see also Gilroy 1987). This means an attempt to create suitable environ-
ments for reciprocal communication between ethnic minority youth and youth wor-
kers. As mentioned above, the notion of everyday racism includes the idea that the
bulk of racist practices are hidden and even unconscious and thus taken more or less
for granted by the dominant majority. Moreover, the claim of many ethnic minority
youth is that adult educators do not recognise the everyday racism they are expe-
riencing (Rastas 2007). Therefore, anti-racist practices that challenge the ‘common
sense’ assumptions by articulating minority perspectives enable the empowerment of
ethnic minority youth and perhaps youth workers as well (cf. Sapin 2009, 110). Dia-
logue with ethnic minority youth probably gives youth workers concrete instruments
in dealing with everyday racism. For instance, in the interview accounts of youth
workers, this type of intergenerational and interethnic dialogue about accusations of
racism has resulted in a more reciprocal understanding of the issue.

Q: Have you ever asked about it? Why they accuse you of racism.
A: I guess so. I think that it is because they have experienced it (racism) at
some point. And we have a lot of people who have migrated from the other
side of the globe. […] They might have undergone a lot (of racism). When
you come from far away to a totally different circumstance and you don’t
understand why you are treated the way you are… (Group interview with
youth workers)
233 Ethnic Minority Youth and Youth Work in Finland

These types of everyday enquiries about the perspectives of ethnic minority youth
have been an efficient way of discussing racism and other significant aspects of their
lives. According to many youth workers, discussions about accusations of racism
have led to a more reciprocal understanding of each other’s perspectives. Conside-
ring ethnic minority youth, this reciprocity is manifested in more trusting relationships
with youth workers, and in the end, has often led to the termination of accusations
and conflict-driven interactions. In addition to everyday enquiries and different panel
discussions, many youth departments have conducted anonymous questionnaires
in which experiences of racism and discrimination have been asked. These types
of methods can raise awareness and understanding of racism and the experienced
reality of ethnic minority youth.

Occasionally, increased awareness of the perspectives of the ‘other’ have enabled

challenging the neutrality and ahistoricism of youth work practices and routines in the
data (cf. Modood 1997; Gilroy 2004; Gillborn 2006). This means, at a general level,
a standpoint that recognises that Finnish youth work and its practices are locally
constructed and have a highly national history. According to the accounts of ethnic
minority youth, municipal youth work sometimes includes historically embedded and
taken for granted practices that may have racist consequences. The most common
examples of these practices are monolingual information delivery, strict age limits,
offering only (masculine) ‘Finnish’ activities (e.g. ice hockey on a game console or
training rooms for rock bands) and essentialising ethnic minorities. This ‘Finnishness’
(and masculinity) of municipal youth work easily results in quite homogenous peer
groups (majority boys) in which issues such as racism are probably not discussed in
depth.

As a counter strategy against assumed cultural neutrality and ahistoricism, some

youth departments have organised workshops on the ‘Finnishness’ of youth work’s
practices and routines. As a result, cultural neutrality was found as an impossible
goal. Thus, many youth workers claimed that it is important to be aware of the cultu-
ral and historical basis of Finnish youth work and be able to challenge it and depict
the national traditions of youth work to ethnic minority youth and their parents. In the
workshops, the identified Finnish elements of youth work were monolingualism, lack
of positive discrimination, strict timetables and a problem-oriented approach to youth
in general and ethnic minority youth in particular. On the other hand, this type of in-
depth deciphering of youth work and contextualising of racism felt frustrating to some
of the youth workers who claimed that the definition of racism expands too far (cf.
O’Brien 2000). Therefore, more practical methods in mundane surroundings, such as
organising youth events where expressions of minority identities are encouraged and
dominant perspectives can be challenged, are probably more easily accepted when
preventing everyday racism and aiming towards empowering implications (cf. Paat &
Pellebon 2012, 138).

A3: It was impressive when we arranged this event together with the voca-
tional school in our facilities…
A2: That’s true.
A3: Young people, migrant youth who were studying at the vocational
 Ethnic Minority Youth and Youth Work in Finland 234

school at the time. They hosted this party for us Finnish people. It was about
how they see Finland. It was the 90th Independence Day at the time. It was
very impressive. I remember many things. Youth were interviewed and they
expressed their thoughts. And they told about their education and langu-
age skills. Since then I have used those opinions in many working groups
related to multiculturalism. I got so much out of it. (Group interview with
youth workers)

In addition to creating empowering conditions for ethnic minority youth, it can be clai-
med that preventive and particularly indirect anti-racist practices may have empowe-
ring implications for youth workers as well – if empowerment is referring to reciprocity
between majority and minority perspectives and an ability to have a more holistic
picture of one’s working environment. Promoting interethnic and intergenerational
dialogue and challenging the neutrality and ahistoricism of youth work may enable
some youth workers to discover new working methods and perspectives.

A nti-racism and interventive practices

On many occasions, because of the lack of preventive practices, or in spite of
them, youth workers face racist incidents. In this sub-chapter, interventive anti-racist
practices are scrutinised. As in the previous sub-chapter, we have made an analytical
distinction between direct and indirect practises. The former refers to immediate ac-
tions in acute situations and the latter to more long-term strategies.

Direct practises
In the light of the data, it is evident that ethnic minority youth want youth workers to
actively intervene in racism. None of the youth in the data insist otherwise. However,
as stated above, few young people are able to give explicit instructions to adult edu-
cators about the best ways of intervening. In any case, according to youth, immediate
intervention in racist incidents is desirable.

Young people describe their world as a rather wretched place: racism and
bullying are common. One of the youth workers asks if there is anything
that adults can do: ‘How can a youth worker intervene in racism?’ Young
people state that every racist incident should be taken seriously and inter-
vention should be done without delay; youth workers should not ‘wait till
next week’. (Field notes, panel discussion of ethnic minority youth.)

Few youth workers disagree with the above stand: ‘[…] of course, you should interve-
ne immediately. Right on the spot’ (Group interview with youth workers). In addition to
instant actions, what seems to be essential is that the interventive practices are sys-
tematic as well. According to our interpretation, systematic intervention guarantees
to ethnic minority youth that they will be constantly supported and their needs recog-
nised. Systematic interventive practices thus enhance trust between youth workers
and ethnic minority youth. Moreover, systematic practices have eventually reduced
the need for interventions. In the following, the trust of ethnic minority youth is gained
through common rules and persistence.
235 Ethnic Minority Youth and Youth Work in Finland

Q: Have you always done things like this or have you invested in it [interven-
tions in racism] in some particular way recently?
A: Yes, I would say… In fact we have in principle done things like before.
Our principles are the same, but we have organised ourselves [colleagues]
better considering the issue.
Q: Okay.
A: And we have held our grip… in the sense that we must always… This in-
tervention is a good word. Every time you have to intervene. And when the
new day comes, new night comes you have to reclaim your position again
and again. […] It is about persistence. From one day to another. (Youth
worker interview)

Concrete guidelines and methods of intervening have been found to be useful in

creating an environment where intervention becomes easy and mutual trust bet-
ween youth workers and ethnic minority youth can gain ground. Obviously, recipro-
cal construction of these guidelines with young people increases the commitment of
youth into the shared norms of interaction. Commonly settled methods of interven-
tions indicate high commitment to the common shared values of anti-racism, because
the guidelines are settled by the people using them, not by exterior professionals (see
Siitonen 1999).

However, guidelines from public authorities have also made the interventive actions
easier. A youth department in Eastern Finland ordered ‘discrimination-free zone’
signs from the Ministry of the Interior (supported by a campaign funded by the EU) in
all of its premises. According to one of the youth workers, the guidelines helped with
stepping out of one’s comfort zone and increasing the readiness for interventions:
‘When I ordered those signs it [intervention] was really easy because it included tho-
se things in which we should commit ourselves to. […] It was easy to plead on it…
like hey, we have that sign up there, remember?’

So far it has been argued that empowering interventive anti-racism includes instant
and systematic acts built on reciprocity between youth workers and ethnic minority
youth. However, this says little about the quality of the interventions. In the above
citation one of the young people stated that racism should be taken ‘seriously’. In the
data this means that experiences of racism are not denied or underestimated and
support for the victim is unconditional. According to the data, underestimating or even
denying that experiences happen can occur in two ways. Firstly, intervention in a ra-
cist incident may be too weak, focusing only on shallow support for the victim and not
on the surrounding conditions. A concrete example of this type of weak intervention
is a youth worker saying ‘don’t care’ while (s)he could take the issue more seriously
and show stronger support by stating, ‘I care’ (cf. Rastas 2007, 126-127; Souto 2011,
155-156). The former utterance hints that experiences of racism should be bypassed,
while the latter offers emotional support for the youth. The hope of many ethnic mi-
nority youth seems to be that youth workers would engage themselves in discussions
about racism, thereby demonstrating that the issue is significant.
 Ethnic Minority Youth and Youth Work in Finland 236

Secondly, underestimation or denial of experience happens by focusing primarily

on the motives of the perpetrator. From the perspective of the target of the insult,
motives are rarely significant – the exclusive act and its consequences matter the
most (cf. van Dijk 1992). In some parts of the data, youth workers seemed keen on
investigating whether, for instance, the word ‘nigger’ was meant to be racist or not.
According to ethnic minority youth, the word is insulting in itself, essentialising brown
or black skinned youth as inferior to ‘Finnish’ youth and suffocating the voices of mi-
norities. Thus, exploring the motives might seem to be downplaying the significance
of everyday racism or even taking the side of the perpetrator. Stronger support and
taking the position of the victim is expected by ethnic minority youth.

Indirect practises
The immediate intervention and strong support described above contain a rather
individualistic perspective and leave the surrounding group of youth intact. However,
from the accounts of ethnic minority youth, it can be interpreted that the primary
target of empowering anti-racist interventions should be peer groups, not individual
actors. The ‘effectiveness’ of everyday racism is dependent on the support of the
surrounding community. Thus, taking only individuals (an abuser and a victim of racist
discourse) as a target of anti-racist practices would probably have little effect on the
group in which racist insults can be manifested. Moreover, purely individual interven-
tions may even emphasise the marginal position of the victim.

Youth are afraid that adult interventions might place the victim in an even
more vulnerable position. Young people claim that they [as minority rep-
resentatives] do not want to be in the spotlight. On the other hand, they
assert that intervention is nonetheless important. According to youth, the
most essential thing is how the intervention is done. When youth workers
are enquiring about the best ways of intervening, young people remain si-
lent for a moment. After a while a boy states that an intervention should
not only cover the opposite sides of the conflict. He goes on to assert that
the problem should be discussed within the whole youth club community.
(Field notes, panel discussion of ethnic minority youth)

Our claim is that anti-racist interventions that enhance empowerment require aiming
towards peer groups in which racist speech and acts are not supported and where
interventive practices are executed by the young people as well. In a youth club in
Southern Finland this type of ‘communal intervention’ was emphasised when deve-
loping anti-racist practices. Communal intervention seemed to have two essential
qualifications. The first precondition has already been described above: intervention
takes place on a group level and does not put either the perpetrator or the victim into
the spotlight. Interventive practices are not supposed to be incriminating, which might
aggravate already existing juxtapositions: ‘of course, blaming people is not a good
way’ (Youth worker interview) (Sapin 2009, 118). The critique is focused on the racist
acts or utterances, not on individual persons. Racism is dealt with the whole group.
Moreover, in spite of the awareness of the marginal and racialised position of many
ethnic minority youth in Finnish society, in mundane interactions with multi-ethnic
youth groups these particularities need not necessarily be highlighted (cf. O’Brien
2000).
237 Ethnic Minority Youth and Youth Work in Finland

Q: How to intervene in racism without causing even more conflicts?

H: Well, it depends on the situation […] If it looks like the victim does not
want to make it a big deal…
Q: Or do you feel that young people do not want to emphasise…
H: Yes. We have had these occasions… You just have to have some discreti-
on. It might be that the victim feels even more uneasy with the whole issue
[if explicitly intervened]. But in spite of that I would not let it go. The right
kind of presence often does the trick. You should go and sit on the couch
and talk with the kids… I do not think that blaming the guilty one and high-
lighting the position of the victim is the right thing to do. Maybe you should
have more sophisticated tactics. (Youth worker interview)

Secondly, intervention in racism can be executed in a ‘positive’ manner – with the

help of humour and by contesting the arguments of youth in a sensitive way: Are you
serious, every asylum seeker gets a Lexus and a luxury apartment from the state?
Why do you think people consider immigrants as criminals? In the words of a youth
worker interviewed, ‘[…] you can always wonder together with the youth. You can ask
if (s)he knows what s(he) is talking about.’ Obviously, these types of practices requi-
re that youth workers themselves are able to debate on these questions. Thus, for
instance, basic understanding about the material living conditions of asylum seekers
or research knowledge about ethnic minorities in general is beneficial. These types of
sensitive and even humoristic interventions have in many cases resulted in challen-
ging racist discourses and enabled a stronger self-determination for ethnic minority
youth. In addition to ‘factual knowledge’, experimental knowledge has also been uti-
lised in the data. The presence of ethnic minority youth, youth workers with immigrant
backgrounds or guests, for instance, from nearby asylum reception centres actively
contest racist and prejudiced assumptions and provide platforms for reciprocal know-
ledge formation and a stronger participatory role for minority youth.

C onclusions: Empowering anti-racist conditions in youth work

In the beginning of our paper we discussed practices and stances of youth work
that hinder youth workers from recognising everyday racism, preventing it or inter-
vening in it. These practices are 1) seeing racism exclusively as an extreme pheno-
menon executed by marginal groups, which do not concern mundane youth work, 2)
defining racism as an inherent (biological) feature of human beings that has to be to-
lerated, 3) neutralising the distinct significance of racism by paralleling it with any type
of bullying or ‘just having a laugh’ and 4) emphasising the problematic attitudes of
ethnic minority youth, which does not correspond to the perspectives of youth them-
selves or recognise societal power relations. We define these practices as disempo-
wering because they undermine young people’s experiences of everyday racism and
the existence of the phenomenon in general. The practices above can also lead to
conflict-driven interaction patterns between ethnic minority youth and youth workers.

In Table 1 below we present the condensed results of our study about how the disem-
powering conditions might be overcome:
 Ethnic Minority Youth and Youth Work in Finland 238

Anti-racist practices enhancing empowering conditions for ethnic minority youth (Table 1)

Direct practices Indirect practices

Preventive practices -Bringing forth the issue -Promoting interethnic
of racism and intergenerational dia-
-Providing opportunities logue (making minority
for discussing the experi- perspectives visible)
ences of racism -Recognising and chal-
lenging the neutrality and
ahistoricism of youth work
Interventive practices -Immediate and systema- -Dealing with racism wit-
tic interventive practices hin groups
-Emotional support and -Positive intervention
legitimation of experien- (knowledge-based dialo-
ces gue)

The table illustrates anti-racist practices that create favourable conditions in which
the empowerment of ethnic minority youth can take place. We have divided both
preventive and interventive anti-racism into direct and indirect practices. The direct
practises are associated more with ‘tactics’: concrete actions and operating in acute
situations. The indirect practises refer to more long-term ‘strategies’ in which recipro-
cal knowledge is built and working methods and perspectives are developed. The
division between preventive/interventive and direct/indirect anti-racist practices is
somewhat analytical. In everyday youth work these dimensions probably intersect in
many ways. However, regardless of their position in the fourfold table, we argue that
all of the above practises enable youth workers to engender majority orchestrated
platforms in which racism can be treated in constructive ways.

Despite our applied results, the methodological limitations of the study need to be
addressed. Firstly, because of the lack of longitudinal data, we are not able to evalu-
ate the empowerment processes of individuals or establish the criteria of empowered
individuals. In other words, we are not able to show any causal relations between
anti-racist practices and empowerment. Secondly, because of the lack of ‘real life
data’, we are not able to evaluate how these practices actually function in everyday
life. Finally, our paper discusses empowerment from a micro-level perspective. The
empowerment of a particular young person, for instance, in the premises of a youth
club, does not mean empowerment in the fields of the whole society. In spite of the
anti-racist stances and practices of youth work, societal power relations and eve-
ryday racism continue to exist. Our study only indicates connections between anti-
racism and conditions that enable the empowerment of ethnic minority youth.

Considering all the methodological limitations, the aim of this paper is to function as
a stepping stone towards more sophisticated analyses on empowering anti-racism.
The fourfold table above needs to be further tested and updated with multifaceted
longitudinal data conducted in the contexts of mundane encounters between young
people and youth educators. In any case, studying empowering anti-racism is highly
239 Ethnic Minority Youth and Youth Work in Finland

important when considering the social integration of ethnic minority youth and societal
cohesion in general. Affiliations between ethnic minorities and the Finnish majority
seem to be fragile (e.g. Kivijärvi & Harinen 2009) and everyday racism very likely
hampers these ties even more. According to both quantitative (e.g. Myllyniemi 2008,
72-73) and qualitative (e.g. Törrönen & Vornanen 2002) studies, peer relations is the
most important factor affecting the overall experienced well-being of young people.
Finally, addressing racism in the fields of the whole society (instead of only among
minorities) is crucial when aiming to create solidarity across group boundaries.

N otes

1
The notion of ethnic minority youth refers to young people who themselves or whose father or mot-
her were born outside of Finland. Moreover, the notion also covers the ‘older’ minorities such as Roma
and Sami people.

2
The agency of ethnic minority youth in the boundaries set by the dominant society and everyday
racism has been described abundantly in the research literature. For instance, many ethnic minority
youth define themselves as ‘foreigners’. It is used as a way to distinguish oneself from the repressive
category of ‘Finnishness’ (e.g. Haikkola 2011). ‘Foreign’ youth often define themselves as open-minded
and cosmopolitan. In this type of self-definition, it is a question of active disengagement rather than
repressive exclusion.

3
The negative determination (stigma) of certain groups is not absolute or static. It can be influential
only in certain situations and in certain interactions (Goffman 1963).

4
In addition to one of the authors (Kivijärvi), also Veronika Honkasalo worked as a researcher in the
project.

5
Altogether the number of interviewees is 32. This is due to the fact that most of the interviews (7)
were done in pairs or with a group.
 Ethnic Minority Youth and Youth Work in Finland 240

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245 Contributors

C ONTRIBUTORS

Borodkina Olga, PhD, is Professor of the Department of Social Work, Faculty of

Sociology, St. Petersburg State University. Her main research interests concern so-
cial management, international social work, social policy, conceptions of well-being
and preventive social work. Prof. Borodkina has experience of participation in many
international projects, and she is currently coordinating the projects concerning em-
powerment and social integration of disable people. oiborodkina@[Link]

Fionik Julia is a Ph.D. student of Faculty of Sociology, St. Petersburg State Universi-
ty. In the thesis she touches upon issues of social adaptation of people living with HIV.
Her research interests include: problems of social adaptation families, empowerment
of family and efficiency of social services. jil.f@[Link]

Heino Eveliina is post-graduate student, M. Soc. Sc., M. Linguistics, at the Univer-

sity of Helsinki, Faculty of Social Sciences. In her doctoral theses she investigates
experiences of social services among Russian immigrant families living in Finland.
She is currently working as a researcher and Planning Officer at the University of
Helsinki Palmenia Centre for Continuing Education. Her research interests include
Russian demography policy, Russian immigrants in Finland and multicultural issues
in social work and child protection. [Link]@[Link]

Katisko Marja, [Link]. is working at Diaconia University of Applied Sciences in

Helsinki, Finland as a researcher funded by Helsinki Metropolitan Region Urban Re-
search Program. Her recent research project is linked to families of immigrant backg-
round as clients of child protection services and homelessness among immigrant
background people in Helsinki Metropolitan Region. Her main research interest con-
cern international social work, multiculturalism and citizenship. [Link]@[Link]

Kaukko Mervi ([Link].) is a researcher and a post-graduate student at the University

of Oulu, Faculty of Education. As her doctoral theses, she is doing a participatory
action research with unaccompanied asylum seeker girls in a reception center. Her
research interests include non-formal education, youth participation, empowerment
and children’s rights. [Link]@[Link]
 Contributors 246

Kivijärvi Antti is a PhD candidate in the University of Eastern Finland. In his doctoral
studies he scrutinizes interethnic ties of young people in Finland. He has been wor-
king as a researcher in the University of Joensuu, Finnish Youth Research Network,
and most recently, in the University of Eastern Finland. In addition to his dissertation,
his research interests have included spatiality of youth leisure, youth work, racism
and marginalization. [Link]@[Link]

Kärmeniemi Nadezda has master degree in Psychology and Education from the
Pedagogical University of Karelian Republic, Petrozavodsk. She is currently working
as a Planning Officer at the University of Helsinki, Palmenia Centre for Continuing
Education. Her current interests include developing practices of social work with im-
migrants and preventive family work. [Link]@[Link]

Lillrank Annika, [Link], is senior lecturer of social work at the Swedish School of
Social Science, University of Helsinki, Finland, and an associate professor of social
work and health care at Jyväskylä University, Finland. She teaches undergraduate
courses in social work. Her scholarly work focuses on narrative methods in study of
health experience, and she has an extensive research record involving the study of
parental experiences of encounters with health services in association with severe
illness in their children and of pain sufferers in interaction with health care. Currently,
she is working on a qualitative research project focusing on professional practices
in maternity health care, seen from the point of view of immigrant women and their
families. [Link]@[Link]

Rautio Susanna is post-graduate student, [Link]., at the Family Research Cent-

re and Department of Social Sciences and Philosophy at the University of Jyväs-
kylä, Finland. She is also a member of Graduate School of Family Studies. In her
doctoral theses she studies experiences of preventive family services and support
among families with children and family professionals. Her research interests in-
clude family services, family work, interviewing families, and qualitative methods.
[Link]@[Link]

Samoylova Valentina, PhD, is Associate Professor of the Department of Social

Work, Faculty of Sociology, [Link] State University. A psychologist by trai-
ning, she pays considerable attention to the problems of family relationships, parental
competence, psychological health of personality, adaptation of the person in contem-
porary society. Her current research interests cover such topics as preventive social
work, well-being of families, of youth, strengthening family resources and family po-
licy. She participated in the creation of the family policy concept of St. Petersburg for
2012-2022 years. v_samoylova@[Link]
247 Contributors

Törrönen Maritta is Professor of Social Work at University of Helsinki, Faculty of

Social Sciences and Department of Social Research, and her main research inter-
ests concern reciprocal relationships, everyday life and well-being, which have points
of reference with childhood, child protection, family, and immigrant research. Her
recent research is linked to international social work, proactive social work, every-
day life and experienced well-being. Prof. Törrönen is interested in the ways people
cope in their everyday life, gender and age related questions, well-being and so-
cietal relations, as well as how well the social and health care system meets the
needs of their clients. Prof. Torronen is currently coordinating the project "Reciprocal
Relationships and Construction of Well-Being during Critical Periods of Everyday
Life" (REPRO). The project consists of a co-operative international network and four
subprojects focused on Leaving Care, Care of the Elderly, Immigration, and Leaving
Home. [Link]@[Link]

Veistilä Minna, Lic. Soc. Sc, is a social worker, a family therapist and a principal
lecturer in Kymenlaakso University of Applied Sciences. She is currently also working
as a doctoral student in a Finnish Academy – funded project Reciprocal Relationship
and the Construction of Well-being during Critical periods of Everyday Life. Her cur-
rent interests include well-being, reciprocity, interdisciplinary education, family work
and multiprofessional social work. [Link]@[Link]
Edited by Maritta Törrönen, Olga Borodkina, Valentina Samoylova, Eveliina Heino

The concept of empowerment has a central role in modern so-

cial work. By shifting to empowering practices, we give the silent
voices in our society a better chance of being heard. Through the
process of becoming empowered, people gain control of their
lives and find ways to take more active roles in society.

EMPOWERING SOCIAL WORK: RESEARCH AND PRACTICE explo-

res empowerment and disempowerment in the light of theore-
tical constructs linked to social work and social policy, in relation
to immigration, well-being and reciprocity. Case studies are used
to illustrate empowering and preventive practice in a variety of
situations: in child protection, multicultural work, family work,
and in working with children and adolescents.

Written by experts from Finnish and Russian Universities, the

chapters in this book also cover topics such as multiculturalism
and racism in these two countries. Understanding these issues
can help professionals to find new ways of engendering mutual
trust in client-worker relationships, thus improving the clients’
opportunities to make decisions concerning their own lives. This
book will inspire researchers, students, and social work practitio-
ners alike.

This project is co-funded by the European Union, The Russian Federation and the Republic of Finland.

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