To Örebro University

Summary: The social gerontological field has long called for a culturally appropriate framework to understand, prevent, and respond to elder abuse in the Global South. This emphasis is, in part, based on the notion that elder abuse is a cultural and structural concern that cannot be effectively addressed using mainstream social work approaches. Therefore, indigenised approaches are preferred while tackling cultural and structural forms of elder abuse. However, despite several attempts, there is limited research on indigenised approaches and practices within the gerontological social work field. Therefore, we investigated how social work could promote indigenised approaches to better address elder abuse. We explored this through in-depth semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of 21 social workers.

Findings: Elder abuse is a cultural and structural social problem that requires family- and community-centred approaches premised on the Indigenous values of togetherness, reciprocity, solidarity, responsibility and love for humanity. These approaches must be embedded in people’s cultures and knowledge to address the social structural changes that have contributed to elder abuse in the Global South.

Applications: Social workers should strengthen family and community support to achieve social capital and inclusion for older people. This will not only enable families and communities to safeguard their older members, but also enhance community-based solutions to address elder abuse. Social work educators should engage in robust and rigorous research and curriculum change for social work education to enable the integration of post-colonial theories and approaches into social work training.

Using thematic analysis, this study examined social workers’ (n = 21) descriptions of whatIndigenised social work practice in Uganda entails. Responses from semi-structured interviewsrevealed the following three themes that inform social workers’ understanding of Indigenisedsocial work practice: (1) collective action and mutuality, (2) communal welfare and respect forlife and (3) liberation and restoration. The discussion aims at understanding the hallmarks ofeach description in relation to the notions of Indigenised social work as culturally inclusive andresponsive practice, developmental social work and political action.

As the world’s population rapidly ages, older people are increasingly placed in longterm care institutions. Although this global trend is supposed to protect older people, it is unclear whether they have any voice in decisions about such placements. The aim of this paper is to report a qualitative study into whether and to what degree social workers involve older people in these decisions. The study employed in-depth semi-structured interviews, focused group discussion, sociograms, and the daily and weekly schedules of 17 respondents (7 social workers and 10 older people in longterm care) in Warsaw, Poland. The findings show that social workers did involve older people, but only in minor decisions after their placement to help them adapt to the new situation. This practice seems to be attributable to neoliberal and managerial tendencies in the policy guidelines that social workers must follow in performing inherently relational tasks. The paper concludes by outlining the implications of these findings for social work.

This article examines refugee integration in a globalizing world through the example of the efforts made, and challenges faced, by refugees, communities, and governments in Zimbabwe and Uganda. Using documentary analysis, the article shows how the two countries have striven to integrate refugees through encampment and non-camp settlement policies despite structural challenges such as restrictions on movement, economic crises, high unemployment, and limited state funding and resources. The article begins by conceptualizing globalization and integration and then reviews the perspectives on refugee integration in the two countries. It concludes with some recommendations to improve refugee integration in both countries.

Social workers across the globe are at the forefront of tackling elder abuse, as they are committed to social justice, human rights, and respect for human diversity. However, research on social workers' response to elder abuse in Sub-Saharan Africa remains scarce. This qualitative study assessed how social workers in Uganda have responded to elder abuse. In-depth semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from 21 social workers. The findings suggest that social work in Uganda has not asserted itself in the fight against elder abuse. The few social work interventions aimed at reducing the risk of elder abuse are mostly anti-poverty undertakings. Social workers mainly discussed the drivers of elder abuse, correlating them with their interventions, and challenges such as the absence of a specific law for older people, ignorance of older people's rights, and the underreporting of elder abuse. This study found that advocacy is needed for specific laws that protect the rights of older people, along with public awareness campaigns and the establishment of a research center for aging and later life.

Understanding and addressing elder abuse in the Global South is complex as it occurs in different contexts and cultures. To be fully grasped and addressed, this problem demands indigenised theories, concepts, and models ooted in the people’s cultures and worldviews. While substantial efforts are being made to indigenise social work to tackle local challenges, there seems to be less effort to integrate indigenous concepts and theories into gerontological social work practice in Africa. This study proposes indigenised social work practices as a better alternative to Westernised interventions to address elder abuse in Uganda. It answers the principal question: How can social work develop indigenised social work practice to better address elder abuse in Uganda? The overall aim is to gain an indepth understanding of how social work practice can develop indigenised social work interventions to effectively address the abuse of older people. The thesis answers four specific questions: (1) In what ways do older people in Uganda experience abuse and how do they make sense of their experiences? (2) How do social workers respond to elder abuse in Uganda? (3) How do social workers in Uganda perceive indigenised social work practice? and (4) How can social work practice develop indigenised social work practice to better address elder abuse?

The thesis builds on semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions held with older people and social workers in the five districts of Hoima, Gulu, Luwero, Wakiso, and Jinja. The results show that participants largely viewed their abuse from a cultural perspective, contrary to the West’s perception based on a discourse of human rights. Paradoxically, most of the current safeguarding interventions fall under therapeutic, remedial, and curative approaches despite the elders’ perceptions of their abuse as a cultural problem. Results show three images of indigenised social work practice as (1) collective action and mutuality, (2) communal welfare and respect for life, and (3) liberation and restoration. These images denote the principles of the local cultures and world views. The results call for family- and community-centred approaches premised on indigenous values of togetherness, reciprocity, solidarity, responsibility, and love for humanity. The thesis concludes by proposing the need for Ubuntu-guided social work interventions, a culturally competent practice, modification of the community development approach, and emancipatory and empowerment practice.

This article highlights how older people in Uganda experience discrimination and injustice. It discusses the legal framework for their protection, while acknowledging that not all professionals are aware of or have access to the legal mechanisms meant to safeguard older people's interests. It also discusses the role social work can play in protecting older people's rights. It further recommends that social workers work to increase solidarity between generations and bring about social justice and respect for diversity. It concludes by highlighting the need to bring anti-discriminatory social work into mainstream social work education and the professional regulation of social work.

Abuse of older people is a major challenge for people who are aging. Studies into older people's perspectives on abuse focus mainly on developed countries, while the views of those in sub-Saharan Africa remain largely unheard in social research. To address this imbalance, we report a qualitative study using in-depth semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions to examine older people's perceptions of abuse in Uganda. Thirty-three participants were selected from four districts of Uganda to reflect different locations, levels of development, cultures, and contexts. Behaviors considered abusive were categorized into five themes: economic abuse, harassment and violence, disrespect, neglect and abandonment, and discrimination. Results showed that participants largely viewed their abuse from a cultural perspective, contrary to the West's perception based on a discourse of human rights. The findings show the need for a broader definition that includes the cultural dimensions of the abuse of older people in developing societies.

This paper illustrates the effects of corruption on vending activities in Zimbabwe. The paper’s findings are based on a case study that was conducted at Gulf-Complex which is a market area in Harare Central Business District. The study employed semi-structured interviews with twenty vendors who operate around Gulf-Complex Building. In order to solicit further understanding from officials’ point of view, the study also benefited from the input of six City of Harare Police Officers. The study established that the severity of corruption in vending is due to bad governance coupled with lack of transparency and accountability in the local government. The forms of corruption that occur in vending within Harare’s Central Business District include extortion, bribery and nepotism. The negative consequences of corruption include limiting the chances for business growth, discouraging new investment and reducing the amount of tax collected by the local government. The paper concludes by proposing policy recommendations that can be implemented to tackle emerging challenges associated with corruption within the vending community in Zimbabwe’s informal sector.