Understanding the ‘Lived Experience’ of Unaccompanied Young Women: Challenges and Opportunities for Social Work

Abstract

This article reports a small-scale piece of qualitative research, undertaken within a specialist social work team for asylum-seeking or trafficked young people, in a rural local authority in the UK. Following a multi-perspectival approach, it utilised both discourse theory and psycho-social theory to describe how social workers were drawing both on ways of talking and ways of feeling in their constructions of young women. The research concluded that a relationship-based model of social work is essential to prevent practitioners from falling back onto generalised social discourses or unconsidered emotional responses. It is further argued that social workers involved with this group of young people need access to specialist sources of training and knowledge outside of their organisation, and that building national and international links between practitioners in this field could further strengthen practice.

Keywords:

• asylum-seeking
• trafficking
• unaccompanied
• relationship-based practice
• gender

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to the social workers who gave their time to take part in this study, and the local authority for supporting this research. I would also like to thank my supervisor Michelle Lefevre, Head of Social Work at the University of Sussex, for her support. This research was carried out as part of a Professional Doctorate programme and no external funding was received.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Rachel Larkin

Rachel Larkin is completing a professional doctorate in Social Work at the University of Sussex and has been a practicing social worker for 20 years. She is currently employed as an Independent Reviewing Officer for Looked After Children and Young People in a local authority within England. Correspondence to: Rachel Larkin, School of Social Work, Essex House, Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9QN, UK. Email: [email protected]