News Archive: July - December 2024
News
Launch of Report on Sentencers’ Perspectives on Community Service Orders and Short Term Prison Sentences
A report on sentencers’ views of Community Service Orders (CSOs) and Short Term Prison Sentences co-written by Professor Nicola Carr, Chair of Social Work and Social Policy and Dr Niamh Maguire (SETU) was launched in the Department of Justice today (6th November). The report is based on research commissioned by the Department of Justice. The research explores the reasons for the continued use of sentences of short-term imprisonment, despite their known negative effects, and the relative under-use of community service orders in Ireland. The research, which includes a systematic review of literature and in-depth interviews with judges, finds that there are numerous barriers to the use of community service orders. The report makes a number of key policy recommendations including the need to review the current thresholds at which CSOs are set alongside their legislative status; reconsideration of suitability criteria for CSOs; increased resourcing and awareness raising and information sharing.
The report is available to download from the Department of Justice website here
Nov 7, 2024
Congratulations to School staff and colleagues on their publication ‘Children’s experiences of signs of safety: A scoping review
Congratulations to Dr Louise Caffrey, Dr Eavan Brady, Orla Keegan, Greg Sheaf, Siobhan Dunne, Prof Stephanie Holt, and Prof Emeritus Robbie Gilligan on their recent publication in Children and Youth Services Review. This scoping review identifies and synthesises the existing literature concerning children’s self-reported experiences of Signs of Safety and can be accessed for free until 24th December here.
Nov 7, 2024
We are Hiring - Post Doctoral Researcher: Care Leavers - Ten Years On Project
We are delighted to announce we are hiring a Post Doctoral Research on the project Care Leavers - Ten Years On. Full details of the post and the application link can be found here
Oct 17, 2024
Professor Emeritus Robbie Gilligan contributes chapter on kinship care to major new publication on child and family social work research
Professor Emeritus Robbie Gilligan has contributed a chapter to a major new international collection of 52 newly written chapters Routledge Handbook of Child and Family Social Work Research: Knowledge-Building, Application, and Impact . His chapter is entitled ‘Uncovering the relational complexity of kinship care – the power of qualitative research’. The chapter reviews research on issues relating to both relative care (formal care within child protection systems) and informal kinship care outside these formal systems.
Oct 14, 2024
The School of Social Work & Social Policy celebrates Athena Swan Bronze Award Renewal
The School of Social Work & Social Policy are delighted to be awarded Bronze Renewal by Athena Swan Ireland. This achievement reflects the Schools impactful and sustained commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion. It would not have been possible without a lot of hard work from the Athena Swan SAT comprised of:
- Mr Vitalis Bengano - PG Representative
- Dr Philip Curry - Social Policy
- Ms Rose Doolan Maher - PG Representative
- Dr Michael Feely - Social Work (Co-Chair)
- Dr Stephanie Holt - Social Work
- Ms Jennifer O'Toole - School Manager
- Ms Erin Paullin - School Administrative Staff Representative
- Dr Leigh-Ann Sweeney- Social Work (Co-Chair)
Holding an Athena Swan award is a criterion required by the Higher Education Authority, many Irish research funders and aligns with the European Commission eligibility requirements for accessing Horizon Europe research funding. SWSP is one of four Schools in the University awarded the honour. Full details can be found here
Sept 4, 2024
The ReproCit Project host a participatory seminar on "Self-determination & Reproductive Citizenship" at the Irish Museum of Modern Art on Thursday, 29 August 2024 11am-1.15pm.
Dr Kate Antosik-Parsons (School of Social Work and Social Policy, Trinity College Dublin) and Dr Emma Campbell (School of Applied Social and Social Policy, Ulster University) of the HEA-funded North/South ReproCit Project present a public seminar on Reproductive Citizenship via provocations in response to the installation An Dún by Array Collective at the Irish Museum of Modern Art. Six artists, academics and activists will be asked to respond to the installation in advance of the seminar, where they will perform/discuss/unnerve our roles and responsibilities within a complex, evolving notion of citizenship.
After which, participating members of the public will respond in a creative workshop to the installation and provocations. The seminar hopes to develop resolutions or further questions about reproductive labour, citizenship and self-determination in a contemporary Shared Island.
Presented in Partnership with REPROCIT, a HEA-funded NSRP collaboration between researchers at Trinity College Dublin, School of Social Work and Social Policy and Ulster University, School of Applied Social and Policy Sciences.
IMMA Seminar : Self-determination & Reproductive Citizenship: https://imma.ie/whats-on/summer-at-imma-talks/
For more information on reprocit: https://reprocit.wordpress.com
Aug 26, 2024
Congratulations to Dr Catherine Conlon, Dr Kate Antosik-Parsons and Dr Éadaoin Butler on their publication "Experiences of the Irish model of community medical abortion: adherence to self-managed, people-centred abortion care".
Congratulations to Dr Catherine Conlon, Dr Kate Antosik-Parsons and Dr Éadaoin Butler on their journal article in Irish Political Studies on "Experiences of the Irish model of community medical abortion: adherence to self-managed, people-centred abortion care". This article considers the operation of the Irish model of abortion care under 12 weeks gestation which has been characterised as a community medical abortion model. It draws on data gathered through 46 in-depth interviews with people accessing abortion care in Ireland under twelve weeks gestation between December 2019 and April 2021. It examines how the Irish model of community medical abortion relates to self-managed and people-centred abortion care and whether this hybrid model facilitates or circumscribes these features. The full article can be found here
July 17, 2024
Congratulations to Dr Kate Antosik-Parsons, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in Social Studies on her publication "Motherlines and Maternal Entanglements: Unravelling and Embracing the Multiplicity of Abortion, Embodiment and the Maternal".
Congratulations to Dr Kate Antosik-Parsons, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in Social Studies on the ReproCit Project on her publication "Motherlines and Maternal Entanglements: Unravelling and Embracing the Multiplicity of Abortion, Embodiment and the Maternal" in Michelann Parr (ed) The Pain Mothers Must Never Expose: Confronting the Silences of Maternal Life, Ontario: Demeter Press, July 2024. Kate's chapter reflects on the intersections between mothering, visual art, matricentric feminism and abortion. It is available here.
July 16, 2024
Dr Simone McCaughren leads on research project that will examine the ‘in camera’ rule in the Irish family law system
A new research project being undertaken by social policy experts in Trinity's School of Social Work and Social Policy and legal experts in University College Cork will examine the in-camera rule in Irish courts.
The in camera privacy rule in Irish family law has been a source of much debate. Whilst there appears to be a general understanding that in the family law context the in-camera rule operates to protect the identity and privacy of the parties and any children to whom the proceedings relate, the actual nature and scope of the rules application is unclear, according to the researchers undertaking the study.
The project, entitled Research examining the operation of the in-camera rule in the context of family law, will uncover how the in camera rule works in practice in Ireland and how it is experienced by those who encounter it and work within the courts.
The independent study is being conducted by Dr Aisling Parkes, School of Law (PI) and Dr Kenneth Burns, School of Applied Social Studies, from University College Cork and Dr Simone McCaughren, School of Social Work and Social Policy, Trinity College Dublin. This research has been commissioned by the Department of Justice and is an action in the Family Justice Strategy 2022-2025.
This unique study is one of the first to examine the practical operation of the in-camera rule in Irish Family Law proceedings. It seeks to provide a 360-degree view of how various stakeholders including parents, social and legal professionals, judges, researchers, journalists and media, experience the perceived limitations and strengths of the in camera rule.
The first phase of the study will involve a nationwide survey of parents who have been involved with the Irish family law system. This fully anonymous online survey aims to capture the unique perspectives of those family members with direct experiences of the family law courts in Ireland. The survey will be live until mid-August. Further phases will involve engagement with other professional stakeholders.
Dr Aisling Parkes, Senior Lecturer in Law, who is leading the research project, said: “This research is timely given the current focus on reform within the Irish family justice system. For decades now, there has been much confusion concerning the operation of the in-camera rule amongst not just families but also amongst the various professions who engage with the family law system on a daily basis. The perceived limits imposed by this rule has had significant implications for research in the area of family law which has limited potential recommendations for reform.”
Dr Simone McCaughren, Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work and Social Policy, Trinity added: “This study will capture for the first time the views and experiences of those who have engaged with the Irish family law system. The survey findings will be included in this timely and ground-breaking research to support current plans to reform our family legal system. It has the potential to have a significant impact on future family law reform by identifying the challenges and opportunities surrounding the rule’s operation.”
The online survey for family members can be accessed here: https://forms.office.com/e/ANkL9pemxK
July 8, 2024