Open AccessFierce Compassion and Reflexivity
Author(s) -
Rachel Tropea,
Georgina Ward
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of critical library and information studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2572-1364
DOI - 10.24242/jclis.v3i2.121
Subject(s) - empathy , compassion , documentation , reflexivity , prism , public relations , social welfare , foster care , sociology , nursing , psychology , political science , medicine , social psychology , law , social science , physics , optics , computer science , programming language
In 2016, the University of Melbourne Archives (UMA) commenced a program of change with regard to its records about child welfare in Victoria. This was driven by a social justice imperative to repair past harms done to Care Leavers (people who grew up in orphanages, children's homes, or foster care) while in out-of-home care, and for whom records play an integral role. UMA worked with Care Leavers, advocacy groups and support services to review their policies, procedures and practices around archival documentation and access arrangements. In this article, the authors explore those efforts through the prism of radical empathy (or rather a compassionate response to empathy) and analyze what was achieved and the challenges that remain. Pre-print first published online 10/22/2021