TThis writing will discuss the ‘National Framework’ for domestic violence and sexual abuse that is rolled out across services country wide in its attempt to standardise engagement, as a way of meeting the needs of those persons who are considered most vulnerable in our communities. For the purpose of this writing I will specifically refer to issues related to women[1] of Albanian descent. Although, I will refer in brief to those who are impacted further, by their religion and faith.
It will be demonstrated that while a ‘National Framework ‘appears to support the needs of our vulnerable communities’ issues start to arise when differences are considered in terms of cultural diversity. Particularly, when policy documentation suggests that measures of ‘further considerations’ cover ethnicity, referring directly to black minorities. Hence, the reality becomes that considerations demonstrated to minoritized communities outside of what are special considerations are very narrow and not understood from specific cultural frames of reference but, rather from a standardised version of what it is to be an individual living in a majority ‘White British Culture’. Examples will be given of polices and practices that serve to further isolate particular groups while, in some instances even silencing them completely, rather than acknowledging the diversity of cultural that makes up the multi-cultural society we live in.
For the purpose of this writing the legal definition of domestic violence and sexual abuse is; “any incident of threatening behaviour, violence or abuse (psychological, sexual, financial or emotional) between adults who are or have been, intimate partners or family members, regardless of gender or sexuality”.[2]
One of the difficulties that exists when a ‘National Framework’ tis offered as a solution to address the inequalities and vulnerabilities that exist within a multicultural society is that minority communities tend to be absorbed into the cultural ideals of the dominant culture. Consequently, the policies and practices discussed will highlight how this can further isolate particular groups while, the polices are perhaps driven with the intention of trying to meet the needs of the population, the reality becomes that many communities become marginalised. The trend within the society that we live in tends to be that individual communities will utilise and access funding in order to support the needs within their own culture. Very rarely do we see minority cultures offering groups or, programs that are intended to educate outsiders. So, while these targeted programs serve to reach the isolated within a particular culture, they do not serve to educate ‘Outside Cultures’ living within the same community. This ensures and reinforces cultural divides. Hence, the concept of multicultural programs is more an ideal than a reality. According to Renzetti et al. (2011), “targeted programs established by and in close partnership with members of specific cultural communities will succeed in reaching members of those communities who might not be reached by the more general programs”. However, the programs are useful to enhance status within a set of traditional family nuances. These programs can also serve to propagate cultural judgment and assumptions on varieties of issues.
Conversely, while the ideals of a multicultural society and host nation offer multiples of services and programs the limited understanding of the minority cultures which, make up a community serves to reinforce cultural divides. Cultural diversity is in itself an ethical challenge as the dominant culture appears to assume that particular phenomena for example domestic violence against women is defined without understanding differing cultural perspectives. As Lago (2006, p.223) suggests “The complexities that shape human experience are rarely captured in current psychological discourse on diversity and multiculturalism”. Hence, fixed and rigid meaning characterises multiculturism within the ideology of liberal pluralism, Lago (2006) which, can suggest equal value but makes it difficult to see how identities are constructed and reinforced within a specific culture.
“A few survivors also found that individual agency intervention could be unhelpful, and this was particularly the case in relation to social services and housing” Harne (2010, p.185)
This is demonstrated in a more recent phenomena of Albanian sex trafficked women, who according to agencies and organisations who are working in this area comprise the largest sex trafficked group in the United Kingdom. According to one agency ’X’, a particular agency working in this field, the figures suggest that 39 percent of nine thousand women supported by them make up this population. While, this is concerning in itself what is more concerning is that an agency that offers multi-agency support understand little of the culture. Staff remain untrained in the implications of the culture that has not only been exposed to an extended period of communism, but compounded with that the hegemonic, misogynistic and patriarchally embedded niches and assumptions of masculinity. This is further compared by traditional code and law based in the ‘Kanun’[3], which exist independently of religion. In this instance a ‘National Framework’ of understanding and defining Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse is not useful as in general a ‘National Framework’ suggest that violence and abuse exists as a consequence of poverty and lack of education. In this instance this assumption is not useful. Access to education for Albanian women within ‘Kanun’ Code and Law is seen to enhance the status of father as head of the family and it is used for women to be educated returning all credentials to family home[4]. Within this frame, a woman is limited in having a choice in husband. Further, as the father, brother or husband of the women in the house, believe that is within their own rights to use mental, emotional and psychical force, she can be beaten, imprisoned and even killed as they see fit. If shame is brought in a house by a woman, suicide is considered to be the honourable action.
Albania being a patriarchal society and victims of trafficking are often blamed for what happened to them; communities are small and people don’t want to become subject of gossip with an accompanying sense of dishonour by leaving their family. As there is no protection programme available for victims of trafficking in Albania, whilst a trial is proceeding victims can be too scared to make a denunciation of a trafficker. Stigma is very much a massive part of Albanian culture that is attached to victims of trafficking. Human Trafficking defined by the Home Office as “arranging or facilitating the travel of another person with a view to exploitation”. Travel includes within a country, not just across international borders. Consequently, one of the issues when working with this group, is that while counselling is offered as a service, the concept of shame and divulging and exploring experience is considered to be dishonourable, the implication being that shame will be brought on the family. Secondly the lack of trained Albanian support workers and therapists, means that this group is misunderstood as it is defined and analysed from the majority cultural frame of reference. These instances as Lago suggests cause, ‘messages that leave both the counsellor and client have the potential to be modified, changed or even contradicted through the interpreter… thus, the communication process becomes even more complex’ Lago (2006, p.75).
Is seen at importance to acknowledge that ‘lost in translation’ is a challenge to these women in counselling and, of course counsellors. This highlights the importance of counsellor’s ability in order to skilfully be able to incorporate the additional challenges that arise in counselling space. As this may cause many issues for the client group such as; client not being able to reveal the real self-due to trauma experienced, lack of trust, shame. Trust is the paramount in creating a safe space for the client to work through trauma hence, the importance of counsellor establishing a good relationship with the interpreter and, realising that the interpreter is not trained to filter emotions and their own trauma, concerns and anxiety might be triggered. A suggestion will be that interpreting services provide supervision or, some kind of training for interpreters that work in therapy sessions. Furthermore, counselling through interpreters as is offered, causes many issues for this client group. The idea of counselling is to create a trusting and confidential space where a client can learn to explore what they feel however, more often than not interpreters cannot communicate emotion or trauma.
It came to my attention recently, the importance of service providers having knowledge and ability to provide the right interpreter for this vulnerable group and for the interpreters to be able to understand and speak different dialects, after receiving this email from a service provider; ‘I am supporting an Albanian lady with a baby… she is from Kosovo and although is fine with Albanian interpreters, I have come to realise over time that her understanding of things is very simple. This causes her a lot of confusion and she is also very vulnerable to people scaring her telling her stories she believes (such as the authorities will take her baby away, or she will have to pay NHS £100’s in fines if she doesn’t attend appointments’. Outreach Advocate.
Workshops, possibly from Albanian speaking women that are integrated into British society and have knowledge of the support and the roles different services have in this country, in order to provide accurate information to this vulnerable group, can make a massive positive difference in reducing uncertainty, anxiety and panic. For example, when a mental health nurse mentions to an Albanian mother that, she will be referred to social services, the panic will take over as social services is translated as the child is going to be taken away from her.
Another crucial issue that should be taken into consideration are different dialects within the country of origin. Albanian speakers that come from north and south of Albania, if not educated at university level, will find it practically impossible to understand one another. Not to forget, Albanian speakers from Kosovo, Macedonian and Montenegrin. Hence, finding an interpreter that speaks the same dialect as the client, is paramount, as well as the importance of the interpreter’s understanding the work of the counsellor.
Understanding and taking into consideration the diversity within the culture, this aspect is to be considered as very important as understanding the diversity when living in a multi-cultural society. That simple gestures such as moving head from one side to other can bring confusion to the therapist within the counselling session. In Albanian culture, moving head from one side to other means ‘yes’ while in English means ‘no’.
In 2016, the Albanian government trained 75 judges and 20 police officers on investigation and prosecution of traffickers and victim protection. Domestic violence far exceeds all other crimes as the offense with the largest number of victims. In a 2013 survey on domestic violence led by the National Institute of Statistics, more than 50% of women in Albania between the ages of 18 and 55 reported that they had experienced domestic violence. And in 2015, domestic violence-related deaths represented 37% of all crime-driven deaths.
Home Office report, (March 2019) “The gangs transporting females for this purpose are some of the most brutal we have encountered. Even the Russians are scared of them.”[5]
One third of people applying for asylum in the UK each year are women; a proportion that has remained constant since 2003. In 2010, 5,329 claimed asylum in their own right[6].
Human trafficking is a complex phenomenon, despite recent international laws that define trafficking as a crime. Women exploited in the UK’s sex industries, may find that after managing to escape access to support, protection and justice may be available only to the ones who fit the dominant stereotypes about how a victim should look and behave. “these, in turn, derive from ‘the ‘ideal’ image of innocent and passive victim, subject to extremely exploitative conditions’ (Segrave et al. 2009: 51).
Oppression, fear, lack of knowledge, lack of understanding the system of the host country as well as functioning of service providers here in United Kingdom, the dire fear of being returned to their home country with illegitimate children creates in them no means for living. These women are scared and have no support from the government in their home county, family or society. They are traumatised, scared and live in fear of being found, re-trafficked or even killed. The only reason they live is for their children.
Further, this vulnerability they do find themselves in, creates a state of extreme panic. Honour, shame and fear are the themes that this group of minority women have as barrier as well as lack of English, insecure immigration status, lack of knowledge of their rights or where to go for help. Moreover, lack of cultural understanding can reinforce stereotypical mentality and it ignores the position of Albanian women in terms of access to resources. Honour is defined in terms of women’s assigned sexual and familiar roles as dictated by traditional family ideology. Thus, adultery, premarital relationships (which may or may not include sexual relations), rape and falling in love with an ‘inappropriate’ person may constitute violations of family honour[7]. These women are scared of power and confused of their identity which creates a massive wall in the therapy session as well as the lack of English; shame; fear of dishonour and insecure immigration status, ‘Strong cultural and religious pressures within tight knit, patriarchal minority communities are internal barriers…’ Rehman (2016, p.72).
It came to my attention that, research regarding sex trafficking of female, Albanian nationals in the United Kingdom is lacking, even though this group is the highest proportion of reported victims.[8] The big question to be taken into consideration within this writing will be, does ‘one size fits all’ in policies and services for domestic violence and sexual abuse for the minority of Albanian women that have been sexually exploited; experienced domestic violence and sexual abuse and live in United Kingdom? Are we responding adequately?
In conclusion, under the United Nations UN convention for the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women (CEDAW) the use of common language which cuts through cultural difference according to policy suggest that a common language better enables all women the right to protection against violence. Rehman Y. Helly L. Siddiqui H. (2016). However, it is recognisable that more action is required to safeguard and support this vulnerable group. Putting in place workshops for front line professionals who may come into contact with this vulnerable group such as health visitors, social workers, outreach advocates, police forces, immigration officers, even judges and other professional institutions encountering the problem of sexual abuse against Albanian women and domestic violence will benefit in the long run and create a more victim-focused culture.
Further, by educating front line professionals and creating awareness of will benefit the society in general as, these women will feel at some extend, better understood and possibly more able to heal by exploring and expressing the trauma as well as get empowered to move on with their lives and even help the authorities to catch and prosecute those who manipulated, caused body harm, sexually, emotionally and mentally abused them instead of living in fear and making excuses for their abusers. This in turn meant they were more likely to excuse their abusers who they constructed as “the most oppressed sector of the community” (Richie, 1996:140) Rehman (2016, p.213). Despite the measures put in place by policy makers in the recent years, adopting and implementing new policies that support women from minoritized communities that experienced domestic violence and sexual abuse. Adopting and implementing robust measures to better address the needs of women that have been trafficked into the United Kingdom from abroad, will be beneficial.
It seems to be a lack of relevant asylum policies relating to women. A way to respond adequately to the minoritized women, will be by developing programmes to assist the victims of domestic violence for the minoritized communities that are fleeing from practices mentioned above, by providing the same protection and support that is offered and given to British women and programmes to assist the victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse in immigration detentions centres as well as in prison. These women seeking asylum have been women detained involuntarily in the immigration detention centres which, have been described as ‘essentially prisons’ by the Home Affairs Select Committee (House of Commons Home Affairs Committee 2009). Women who get out of detention and go back to live in the community continue to experience a fear of being re-detained (Cutler and Ceneda 2004). Acknowledgement of the vulnerability, anxiety, panic of these minoritized community. The practice that the UK Border Agency UKBA is following results in women becoming destitute and in danger to further sexual exploitation as well as the danger honour killing. Clearly, safety and mental health of these women is not taken seriously into account by UKBA. As much as one would like to state that the phenomenon of violence against women is global and general, we must add that its manifestations as experienced by women of minoritized communities are also shaped by the values and circumstances of particular cultures. Provide ongoing trainings of police, judges, health professionals, victims support services, and other professional institutions encountering the problem of violence against women and domestic violence as women seeking asylum here in United Kingdom can be said to be failed by both the asylum system and current service providers.
References
Chantler K. Gangoli, G. Thiara, R. K. (2018). Muslim women and gender based violence in India and the UK. Critical Social Policy,0261018318769814.
Chantler K. Gangoli, G. (2011) Domestic Violence in Minority Communities: Cultural Norm or Cultural Anomaly?
Gangoli G. Razak, A. McCarry, M.(2006). Forced marriage and domestic violence among South Asian communities in North East England[online]. Bristol:
Harne L. Radford J. (2010). Tackling Domestic Violence: theories, policies and practice. Open University Press. UK
Lago C. (2006). Race, Culture and Counselling, The Ongoing Challenges. (2nd Ed). Open University Press. UK
Laing L. Humphreys C. Cavanagh K. (2013). Social Work and Domestic Violence. Sage. UK
Marshall L. W. Fernandez M. Y. Marshall E. L. Serran A. G. (2005). Sexual Offender Treatment, Controversial issues. John Wiley & Sons Ltd. UK
Thomas T. (2005). Sex Crime, Sex offending and society. London. 2nd edition
Rehman Y. Helly L. Siddiqui H. (2016). Moving in the Shadows, Violence in the Lives of Minority Women and Children’ Routledge. UK
Human Right in Democracy Centre Report, Tirana, May (2019)
Home Office. (2018) Gender Issues in the Asylum Claim
Home Office. (2019) Country Policy and Information Note Albania: People Trafficking: Version 8
Fox, L. (1989) The Code of the Leke Dukagjini. New York: Gjonlekaj Publishing
Elsie, R. (2015) The Tribes of Albania: History, Society & Culture.London, New York: I. B Travis & CO LTD
[1] For the purpose of this work the term women refers to any female who is 16 years or older.
[3] According to Edward Fox (1989) and Robert Elsie (2015) the former experts state that ‘kanun is the foundation of social behaviour and precepts continue to influence significantly those particularly who were raised in the North.
[4] Education within Kanun code and law is not prohibited for women and is in fact seen to be tied into status and honour for the family. With the fall of communism and the huge economic difficulties experienced particularly by the rural North, education was perceived and used to create income and wealth for a family. In terms of children in a house their job is to work and contribute all earnings to the head of the household.
[6] Home Office Immigration Statistics April to June 2011.
[7] Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, it causes and consequences, UN Doc. E/CN.4/1999/68 10 March 1999, para 18.
[8]file:///C:/Users/rees_/Desktop/UK%20GOV%20Typology%20of%20Modern%20Slavery/2018_UK_Annual_Report_on_Modern_Slavery.pdf
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