Programme full

Wednesday 15 April 2015 16:00 - 17:30
PAPER SESSION 3
Based on ethnographic research carried out mainly among the British Iranian diaspora, and drawing on my
forthcoming book 'Secularism and Identity: Non-Islamiosity in the Iranian Diaspora' (Ashgate, 2015), my paper
introduces the concept of non-Islamiosity – a diasporic mode of secularism through which diasporic Iranians
antagonize, marginalize and/or totally eradicate (only) 'Islam' from 'Iranian/Persian identity'. The paper has two aims.
On the one hand, non-Islamiosity is discussed as an analytical tool – i.e. a mechanism which enables subjects to
overcome social and personal barriers (e.g. 'residual' religious fears) in their ongoing attempts to fashion particular,
diasporic and 'free' selves. On the other hand, non-Islamiosity is explored as a methodological tool in as much as it
allows/compels the researcher to pay attention to nuances of diasporic religious and secular experience which are
currently largely ignored. The main argument, too, is two-pronged: 1) the productive power of non-Islamiosity gives
rise to and authorises new discourses, knowledges and forms of pleasure which have wide-reaching socio-cultural
implications, including/especially for everyday religious practice and experience; 2) as such, we cannot claim to have
a proper understanding of Islam (or indeed secularism) in Britain unless we also give due analytical attention to intradiasporic
modes of the secular.
Linguistic Membership: 'Because You Speak The Same Language, They Say; Oh He is One of Our Own, He
Understands Us!'
Lucas, S.
(University of Stirling)
Little is known about interpreter-mediated encounters in social work practice, despite concerns about the accessibility
and quality of interpreting provision. This research set out to ascertain perspectives of social workers who use spoken
language interpreting provision. Interviews were completed with nine social workers in England. The social workers
perceived communication as a crucial dimension of their involvement with service users; however they emphasised
the challenges of interaction within service users and interpreters, with reports about mistrust in interpreter-mediated
encounters. A shared minority language between social worker and service user, whilst important, was noted to have
negative implications. For example, expectations that social workers would be willing to interpret or offer 'cultural'
insight for colleagues, and linguistic matching, in which social workers' were selected to work with service users on the
basis of their capacity to speak a minoirty language. Social workers' perspectives emphasised the need for all social
workers, regardless of their linguistic capacity to engage with service users and interpreters. The paper draws out
tentative recommendations for practitioners who employ bilingual colleagues and work with interpreters to support
linguistic minority families.
Rights, Violence and Crime
W119, HAMISH WOOD BUILDING
Is the Rate of Domestic Violence Decreasing or Increasing? Implications of Different Concepts and Methods
when Investigating Trajectories of Violence in England and Wales
Towers, J., Walby, S., Francis, B.
(Lancaster University)
Domestic violence is an exception to the general fall in the rate of violent crime. The Crime Survey for England and
Wales (CSEW) has recorded a declining rate in domestic violence for more than a decade (1995-2009), but data
recorded after 2009 suggests this decline has ceased. Is it now increasing?
Establishing whether the rate of domestic violence is decreasing, flat or increasing is a complex conceptual, empirical
and methodological endeavour. It is sensitive to issues of definition, in particular whether domestic violence is limited
to 'violence against the person', as in government published data, or whether a broader definition that includes other
forms of abuse is used. It is sensitive to issues of method, in particular, whether data about people who suffer more
than five events is excluded (current government practice) or included (as we suggest). The consequent empirical
differences have implications for theories of violence and power, including Kelly's 'continuum of violence' and Stark's
'coercive control', as well as non-gendered theories of violence.
Using 17 years of data from the CSEW, we investigate the implications of different concepts and methods for changes
in the rate of domestic violence. We compare changes in domestic and non-domestic violence in order to investigate
the specificity of domestic forms of violence and their implications for gender relations. We conclude by analysing the
implications of these trends for the question of whether there is progress or regress in the level of violence in society
and the significance of gender relations for this.
BSA Annual Conference 2015 128
Glasgow Caledonian University