Editorial.

Bolzan, Natalie ; Waugh, Fran ; Heycox, Karen 等

The collection of papers in the current edition of Women in Welfare Education represents a watershed in our publication journey for several reasons. It is our most international edition to date and the first edition in our new e-journal format.

Most of the works presented here emerged from the Women's Symposium at Global Social Work 2004: Reclaiming Civil Society, held in Adelaide, Australia. This was a joint congress of the International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW), the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW), the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW), and the Australian Association for Social Work and Welfare Education (AASWWE). The Women's Symposium enabled women from countries with diverse positionings to come together to explore the many stories we have in common as well as those unique to our own countries. In this journal we hear from Angelina Yuen-Tsang and Pauline Sung-Chan about women in China who are constrained by traditions which limit the manner in which they can negotiate a husband's infidelity. We have three articles on women in the African context. Marie-Antoinette Sossou discusses women's perceptions of equality in Ghana and the implications of this for social work. Vasintha Veeran also discusses gender equality but this time in South Africa. Finally, Saliwe M. Kawewe writes about elderly women caring for AIDS orphaned children in sub-Saharan Africa and the challenge this presents for international social work.

The articles from Australian authors also canvass themes that will resonate across the globe. We felt it was appropriate to begin this edition with an article by Dale Bagshaw on the importance of reflexivity in social work practice, with particular emphasis on the links between discourse and the construction of gendered identities. The next Australian article by Beti Poposka examines abortion in Australia in terms of citizenship rights and the political agenda. Jude Irwin's article on lesbians and domestic violence focuses on women's stories of seeking support and the ways that heteronormative assumptions impact on policy and service provision. Finally, the last article in this edition seeks to explore a possible mode of resistance to economic rationalist and individualist discourses. Fran Gale and Natalie Bolzan examine notions of social justice inherent in the perspectives of women from a range of established faith traditions.

The richness of the contributions in this edition indicates the value in having a Women's Symposium at the Global Congress. We are therefore excited about the inclusion of a women's strand at the 2008 international social work congress--the 34th Global Social Work Conference, Transcending Global-Local Divides: Challenges for Social Work Education and Practice, to be held in Durban, South Africa, from 19th-23rd July. The theme of the women's strand at this conference will be Systems of Patriarchy, Women and Gender Streaming. Please visit the IASSW website: http://www.iassw-aiets.org for further information.

The decision to publish the journal in an e-format was prompted by the major changes which are occurring in the academy in relation to how publications are valued, as well as from a genuine desire to increase access to the articles in Women in Welfare Education. The editors are very proud of this publication and of the high standard of scholarship which it has maintained and which is yet again reflected in the articles contained herein. We hope that our new format enables a greater circulation of the journal and consequently a greater influence for the women's voices and struggles these papers represent.