Bouncing Back: Building Resilience in Migrant Wives Facing Family Violence in Singapore (捲土重來:新加坡受家暴的移工女性如何建立韌性)

Time: 
11/06/2019 - 09:30 to 11/06/2019 - 11:00
Room: 
304b
Type: 
Proposal(Workshop / Presentation)
Coordinating organization: 
Singapore Anglican Community Services
Theme: 
Emerging Issues
Language: 
English
Organization Name: 
Singapore Anglican Community Services (新加坡聖公會社區服務)
Organization Introduction: 
Anglican Family Centre (AFC), under the Singapore Anglican Community Services, is a Voluntary Welfare Organisation which provides temporary refuge and protection for women and children in crisis since 1986. Through a holistic approach, AFC aims to empower these residents to build their lives to gain independence and resilience.
Proposer: Kanika Kant
Describe your workshop/presentation (300-500 words): 
Singapore, the small nation-island located in the southeast of Asia, is globally recognised for its economic development and infrastructure. However in areas such as family violence, especially in working with specialised population such as migrant wives, there is still much to learn and develop.

Given that Singapore is one of the more developed nations in Asia, it is often a land of opportunities for foreigners who come here in search of employment, education, and an overall better standard of living. This is also true for many women who migrate to Singapore from their respective hometowns of developing countries, aspiring to provide a better life for themselves as well as their future generations. However, they rarely anticipate the potential adversities they might face such as domestic violence. As a result, they are often left to deal with the crisis within the means of their limited resources when violence happens at home. Thus, Crisis Shelters in Singapore are often temporary refuge homes for such women and their children while these families work out safety plans or work towards independent living.

Anglican Family Centre (AFC), one of the four Crisis Shelters in Singapore, has served many such migrant mothers and their children. In our work with these women, we have often observed them to be resilient, despite lack of formal and informal support. Resilience is broadly defined as the ability for individuals to cope or “bounce back” in adverse situations.

Thus, our presentation looks at some demographic trends of migrant wives and their children whom we have served at our Shelter. It also highlights the additional challenges they faced in working towards independent living due to their circumstances. The Theory of Resilience is used to help define the characteristics that these migrant women display. We will then look at how AFC attempts to further promote this resilience in these families within our Shelter environment. Lastly, we would discuss the results of our findings regarding their resilience before and after receiving our Shelter’s intervention and the various factors which contribute to the outcome.
All Speakers:
Name: 
Jean Lim
Biography: 
Jean Lim is a Social Worker at Anglican Family Centre and has 6 years of experience in Social Work mainly in the areas of working with families as well as in child protection work.
Name: 
Kanika Kant
Biography: 
Kanika Kant is a Case Worker at Anglican Family Centre and has 2 years of experience in working with mothers and children residing in a crisis shelter.
Name: 
Theresa Wee
Biography: 
Theresa Wee is the Centre Director of Anglican Family Centre and has 19 years of experience in Social Work mainly in the areas of working with families as well as in child protection work.