Browsing by Autor "Isabel Berckmans"

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A systematic review: A quest for effective interventions for children and adolescents in street situation
(Elsevier BV, 2012) Isabel Berckmans; Marcela Losantos; Bismarck Pinto; Gerrit Loots
A visual narrative research on photographs taken by children living on the street in the city of La Paz – Bolivia
(Elsevier BV, 2014) Marcela Losantos; Isabel Berckmans; Julia Villanueva O’Driscoll; Gerrit Loots
Breaking silence: exploring motherhood and social transformation in a participatory action research with Alteñan mothers
(Taylor & Francis, 2015) Isabel Berckmans; Marcela Losantos; Gerrit Loots
In November 2012, a researcher, two social workers and five mothers embarked on a participatory action research (PAR) journey with the aim to develop new ideas for interventions for children and young people in street situations of the city of El Alto in Bolivia. In this article, we attend to the topic of personal and social transformation in PAR. We explore how the mothers of young people in street situations perform and negotiate their subjectivities as mothers in their everyday life; how they create (new) subjectivities in exchange and in interaction with each other during the mother project; and how the performance of their (new) subjectivities can bring social change. The mothers in our group shared stories of being silenced by social services in their everyday lives, as their motherhood is declared not good enough or as they are perceived too guilty to claim for help. It was the first time the mothers shared their stories with other mothers of their lives with their children in street situations. By noticing that they all experienced or heard of similar events that their children were subjected to in the streets, the mothers grew confident enough to talk back. Mothers talked back by denouncing injustice and by transforming doubts into questions, providing them with more knowledge. Finally, as the mothers reached out to social services, mothers’ presence, questions and stories confronted aid workers with their own flaws, and their comfortable discourse of blaming families, creating new paths towards social transformation.
REINSERTION PROCESSES OF CHILDREN DISENGAGED FROM ARMED GROUPS IN COLOMBIA: WHAT IS THE PROBLEM REPRESENTED TO BE?
(2017) Julia Villanueva O’Driscoll; Gerrit Loots; Marcela Losantos; Scherezada Exeni Ballivián; Isabel Berckmans; Ilse Derluyn; Isabel Berckmans; Ilse Derluyn
"Objetivo. Se estima que hasta 18.000 niños, niñas y adolescentes están involucrados en grupos armados en Colombia. Después de desvincularse de estos grupos armados, su reinserción en la sociedad es un gran desafío. Exploramos los discursos acerca de estos jóvenes y sus procesos de reinserción. Metodología. Realizamos 64 entrevistas con profesionales de diferentes organizaciones activas en los procesos de inserción usando el enfoque de “What’s the problem represented to be?”.Resultados. Este enfoque nos permitió encontrar dos discursos explícitos. El primero, el discurso orientado a la ley, demostró ser fuertemente influenciado por las normas internacionales. Y el segundo, el discurso orientado a la alternativa, mostró resistencia al primer discurso. Conclusiones. A través de la interacción de estos discursos, las organizaciones demostraron estar limitadas en sus implementaciones prácticas, lo cual resulta peligroso para los numerosos esfuerzos dedicados a los procesos y para la inserción de los niños en la sociedad."
Reinsertion processes of children disengaged from armed groups in Colombia: what is the problem represented to be?
(2017) Julia Villanueva O’Driscoll; Gerrit Loots; Marcela Losantos; Scherezada Exeni Ballivián; Isabel Berckmans; Ilse Derluyn
Objective. There are estimates of up to 18,000 children engaged with armed groups in Colombia. After disengaging from these groups, their reinsertion into society is a great challenge. We looked into the discourse approaches towards these children and their reinsertion processes. Methodology. We conducted 64 interviews with professionals from different organisations active in the integration processes of these children and conducted the “What’s the problem represented to be?” approach. Results. This approach allowed us to outline two explicit discourses. The law-oriented discourse showed to be strongly influenced by international standards, and was found to be dominant in the governmental reinsertion programme. The alternative-oriented discourse showed resistance to this line of thinking. Conclusions. Through the interplay of these discourses, organisations showed to be limited in their practical implementations whereby the many efforts put into the insertion processes, and the insertion of children into society itself are jeopardised.
RESISTIENDO LA EXCLUSIÓN: EL SIGNIFICADO DEL USO DE INHALANTES EN DIFERENTES CONTEXTOS EN JÓVENES EN SITUACIÓN DE CALLE DE LA CIUDAD DE LA PAZ
(Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, 2015) Marcela Losantos; Isabel Berckmans; Steffi Pieters; Jorge Dómic; Gerrit Loots
"El objetivo de esta investigación es informar acerca de los significados que los jóvenes en situación de calle asignan al uso de inhalantes en la ciudad de La Paz – Bolivia. El estudio se basa en dos fuentes: material visual y escrito producido en talleres creativos y los diálogos subsecuentes con los participantes. A través de una metodología narrativa con enfoque socio - construccionista, los resultados preliminares fueron presentados y discutidos con los participantes para profundizar en la construcción de l significado del uso de inhalantes. Encontramos que estos significados no son estáticos ni generalizables,sino dinámicos y particulares, respondiendo a la experiencia de cada participante. Más aún, los significados son construidos en relación a los difere ntes espacios físicos y sociales con los cuales interactúan – como ser instituciones de ayuda, grupos de calle y sociedad en general - para resistir la exclusión social. Proponemos que una interacción mayor con otros contextos diferentes de la callepuede dis minuir la frecuencia de consumo de este tipo de drogas. Es necesaria mayor investigación para confirmar este último punto, para que pueda ser implementado en un futuro en el diseño de intervenciones."
Why can't you change? Stories of parents and street educators about adolescent girls in street situations
(Taylor & Francis, 2015) Isabel Berckmans; Marcela Losantos; Julia Villanueva O’Driscoll; Gerrit Loots
For children and young people in street situations, to give up street life is easier said than done. The study reported in this article aims to contribute to the field of children and young people in street situations by introducing the voices of parents whose daughters live on the streets. In biographical narrative interviews, we asked parents together with street educators from Bolivia to share their stories of girls entering and leaving street life. Our findings showed that a child's act of running away made parents aware about their parenting, leading to new openings and possible renewed social bonds with their children. At the same time, street educators’ stories exposed the importance of the family support during the process of exiting street life. Nevertheless, even though parents no longer want to stand on the sidelines, the stories also revealed that parents are still forgotten throughout interventions with street children in Bolivia.