Reflecting upon the past & looking to the
future: The role of social workers in dealing
with the legacy of the conflict in Northern
Ireland
Dr Jim Campbell, School of Sociology,
Social Policy and Social Work, Queens
University Belfast
Introduction
Background to the conflict
Explanatory concepts
Social work responses to the conflict
New opportunities to work with victims and
survivors of the conflict
The Northern Ireland Context
1.7 m people
40 years of political conflict
Over 3,700 people have died
Tens of thousands physically and
psychologically traumatised
An integrated system of health and social
welfare
Strong community and voluntary sectors
Strongly regulated, top down welfare
bureaucracy
The costs of the Troubles
(Fay et al, 1999)
Those who killed
 80% paramilitaries
 11.0% security forces
500
450
Those who were killed
 54% civilians
 30% security forces
 16% paramilitaries
 Catholics more likely than
Protestants,
 Men more likely than women
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
Unknown numbers injured and
psychologically traumatised
0
69 71 73 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97
Psychological explanations
Early studies (Lyons, 1971; 1972) suggested lack of
traumatic symptomology
Later studies implied underlying symptomology masked
by psychological functioning mechanisms (Cairns and
Wilson, 1984)
Some evidence of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
amongst high risk populations (Loughry et al; 1988;
Curran et al, 1990; Hayes and Campbell (1999); Shevlin
and McGuigan, 2003; Muldoon et al, 2005)
The suggestion that conventional ideas about PTSD may
not be useful in certain contexts (Swartz, 1998 and
continuous trauma; Dorahy et al, 2008))
Sociological explanations
45% protestant/unionist, 40%
catholic/nationalist, 10% other
90% education in same religion schools
social housing largely segregated
Small (2%+) but growing ethnic minority
communities
7% unemployment
Faltering economic growth
Poverty and social exclusion
Religious segregation in NI
Religious segregation in Belfast
The social work response
(Pinkerton and Campbell, 2002)
Crisis of state
Services ill-prepared
Pre-1972
Social workers as neutral
Technocratic social work
Detachment from
communities
Apolitical
Silence as a method of
safety
1972-1990s
Mid 1980s - 1990s
New opportunities for
working with
communities
More involvement with
victims/survivors
Post Belfast
Agreement
Jim Campbell
9
08/04/2015
The social work educational context
(Duffy, 2008)
Service user and carer involvement in social
work education is now an established
requirement since the reform of social work
education in Northern Ireland in 2004
Social work students are also expected to
demonstrate an understanding of the Northern
Ireland context
The social work curriculum must therefore reflect
this new requirement
Preparing students to work with victims and
survivors of the conflict in Northern Ireland
Policy context
The origins and development of the project
Design
Process issues
Evaluation
Looking to the future
Policy context
The Belfast Agreement (1998)
Living with the Trauma of the Troubles (SSI)
(1998)
The Report of the Victims Commissioner
(Bloomfield, 1998)
Counselling in NI: Report of the Counselling
Review (DHSSPS, 2002)
Report of the Healing Through Remembering
Project (2002)
Reshape, Rebuild, Achieve (OFDFM, 2002)
Report of the Consultative Group on the Past
(2009)
A Shared Future (2010?)
The project
-
Phase 1 October 2008: NISCC sponsored pilot
with 50 level 2 BSW students
Phase 2: EU PEACE III funded three year
initiative
March 2009: 80 BSW students
October 2009: 50 BSW students
March 2010: 80 BSW students
June 2010: practice teacher survey
March 2011: 50 postqualifying students
Final report 2011
A partnership
Social
work
academics
Practice
teachers
Members
of WAVE
Students
Who is involved in the teaching
Five social work academics in the School of
Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work
Eight members of WAVE, CEO WAVE
One qualified practice teacher/part time tutor
Students
The process
Planning
Ground rules
Lectures (Social work and sectarianism, social
work and trauma, policy and services for victims
and survivors of the conflict)
Members of Wave telling their stories
Tutorials (Name game exercise to explore our
identities, use of case study to explore
knowledge values and skills)
Debriefing sessions
Evaluation
Strengths
Very positive student
evaluations
The opportunity to reflect upon
our identities and
understanding of ‘the other’
Victims/survivors as experts,
teachers
Some profound developmental
insights into experiences of the
conflict
Reinforcement of our
commitment to core social
work values, knowledge and
skills
Limitations
Concerns about
managing self-disclosure
Insufficient time
Need to enhance student
skills
Is the positive experience
transferable to practice
settings?
Concerns about how to
mainstream and expand
Conclusions
As social workers we need to find ways of helping us
explore ours and our clients’ identities, and experiences
of the conflict
Victims and survivors can help staff and students in this
journey
Victims and survivors can have their views and feelings
affirmed through this educational process, if this is done
in a supportive and empowering way
We need to find ways of developing the academic and
practice learning curriculae and to mainstream this
important area of social work education and practice
We can learn from other, international experiences
(Israel/Palestine, South Africa, Bosnia)