Conference

Welcome to the 2010 Risk Family International Conference!

The main aims

In this conference we aim to discuss a variety of risk factors in family life for enhancing our understanding on “risk family” and its vulnerability in contemporary Asia-Pacific societies. The risk family is deeply related to violence (IPV, DV, child/elderly abuse), cultural and economic exploitation such as feminization of immigrant labour, and many other different forms of social exclusion and social injustice. We shall consider the internal risk factors within family relationships as well as the external factors such as changing socioeconomic conditions under complex translational impacts of global economy. Our approaches are multidisciplinary, encompassing Social Work, Social Policy, Sociology, Cultural Anthropology, Political Science and Family Law Studies.

Backgrounds

“Risk family” refers to various situations where family faces risks of conflicts with rapidly changing consequences to family members and those close to them. In a sense, it may appear futile to compare a “risk family” with “normal”, less risky families. Each family, however, has a potential to become a risky project as none of us are able to predict in advance about the future developments in the family relationships we are involved in. Some expectations for near future of family life may be realistic, others can turn out to be mere illusions. Still, it is hard to be freed from the institutionalized pressures of having one’s family and making it conform with social norms and ideal types.

The risk family is most illustrated through experiences of individuals, not only adults but also children. However, personal experiences of conflicts or hardship are not enough to deserve social recognition on risks. In some societies individuals are urged to cope with the risk family by themselves. In other societies with higher sensitivity towards risks there could be more active policy reactions to risk family. Either emphasising self-responsibility or social responses addresses the different locations of ethics in respective societies.

This symposium will focus on the current risk families in terms of the new trend after the impact of globalization and after economic crisis, and the living style change due to family voluntary or involuntary choices, such as dual income family, single parent family, new immigrant family or family with hardship such as domestic violence, facing disaster or criminal events. With research exchange and discussion from the theoretical and practical perspectives, this conference will benefit the scholars and practitioners in the risk family issues.

Prospected goals

Our ultimate goal is to produce publication(s) targeting international English-speaking readership. The timetable of production in concrete will also be decided based on consent of participants during the conference.