Social media for social change lawyers: an Australian housing rights lawyer's experience
2013; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 20; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1080/09695958.2013.845567
ISSN1469-9257
Autores Tópico(s)Community Development and Social Impact
ResumoAbstractThis paper reflects on the use of Twitter and Facebook at the PILCH Homeless Persons' Legal Clinic (HPLC), and the lessons for social change lawyers. While these two forms of social media have been useful tools in the HPLC's mission to address the systemic and structural issues that impact on people experiencing homelessness in Victoria, Australia, there have been salutary lessons in their deployment, engagement and impact. This paper, written in autoethnographic form by a former HPLC manager, reflects on the costs and benefits of these new media forms for 'social change lawyering'. Notes1 Paula O'Brien, Changing public interest law: overcoming the law's barriers to social change lawyering (2011) 36(2) Alternative Law Journal 82. See generally Nicole Rich, Reclaiming Community Legal Centres: Maximising Our Potential So We Can Help Our Clients Realise Theirs (Victoria Law Foundation, 2009).2 This terminology is more widely used in the US: see Louise G. Trubek, Embedded practices: lawyers, clients and social change (1996) 31 Harvard Civil Rights–Civil Liberties Law Review 415. Sarat and Scheingold also use the term 'cause lawyering' in the sense of lawyering to achieve the goals of cause as opposed to addressing the causes of a problem: Austin Sarat & Stuart Scheingold, Cause lawyering and the reproduction of professional autonomy: an introduction, in: Austin Sarat & Stuart Scheingold (Eds) Cause Lawyering: Political Commitments and Professional Responsibilities (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1998), p. 4. Note, however, that PILCH Victoria recently initiated a project about social change lawyering: see PILCH, Law and Social Change Dialogue, available at: pilch.org.au/change/ (accessed 21 May 2011).3 In 2006–2007, direct legal advice, information and case work constituted 94% of all activities engaged in by CLCs receiving federal government funding: Commonwealth Attorney-General's Department, Review of the Commonwealth Community Legal Services Program (March 2008), p. 12.4 Legal services are provided by volunteer lawyers from law firms Allens Arthur Robinson, Baker & McKenzie, Clayton Utz, Mallesons Stephen Jaques, Minter Ellison, DLA Piper, Corrs Chambers Westgarth and Harwood Andrews.5 Host agencies include Melbourne Citymission, The Big Issue, the Salvation Army, Anglicare, Ozanam House, Flagstaff Crisis Accommodation, Salvation Army Life Centre, Hanover, the Victorian Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders, Koonung Mental Health Centre, Salvation Army NorthSide and Homeground Housing Service.6 For further information, see www.pilch.org.au/hplc/.7 See PILCH, Annual Report 2010–11 (Melbourne, Public Interest Law Clearing House, 2011), p. 19.8 See www.twitter.com/mscastan.9 Melissa Castan, Law, advocacy and the brave new world (2010) 35(4) Alternative Law Journal 192.10 See further Garance Maréchal, Autoethnography, in: Albert J. Mills, Gabrielle Durepos & Elden Wiebe (Eds) Encyclopedia of Case Study Research (Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage Publications, 2010), pp. 43–45; Carolyn Ellis, The Ethnographic I: A Methodological Novel about Autoethnography (Walnut Creek, CA, AltaMira Press, 2004); Andrew Sparkes, Autoethnopraphy: self-indulgence or something more?, in: Arthur Bochner & Carolyn Ellis (Eds) Ethnographically Speaking: Autoethnography, Literature, and Aesthetics (Walnut Creek, CA, AltaMira Press, 2002).11 Nicholas L. Holt, Representation, legitimation, and autoethnography: an autoethnographic writing story (2003) 2(1) International Journal of Qualitative Methods 18. See further Deborah Reed-Danahay, Auto/Ethnography (New York, Berg, 1997).12 Clair Doloriert & Sally Sambrook, Accommodating an autoethnographic PhD: the tale of the thesis, the viva voce and the traditional business school (2011) 40(5) Journal of Contemporary Ethnography 582, 584.13 Hillary Byrne-Armstrong, Re-authoring self: knowing as being, in: H. Byrne-Armstrong, J. Higgs & D. Horsfall (Eds) Critical Moments in Qualitative Research (Oxford, Butterworth Heineman, 2001), pp. 68–80.14 Carolyn Ellis & Arthur P. Bochner, Autoethnography, personal narrative, reflexivity: researcher as subject, in: N.K. Denzin & Y.S. Lincoln (Eds) Collecting and Interpreting Qualitative Materials, 2nd edn (Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage, 2003), pp. 199–258 (cited by Doloriert & Sambrook, op. cit.).15 See Doloriert & Sambrook, op. cit., 593–595; Heewon Chang, Autoethnography as Method (Walnut Creek, CA, Left Coast Press, 2008).16 Doloriert & Sambrook, op. cit., 594.17 Chang, op. cit., p. 15.18 E.A. Vander Veer, Facebook: The Missing Manual (Cambridge, Pogue Press, 2008), p. xiii.19 Ed Schipul & Daniel Keeney, War of words: social media's role in provoking revolutionary change (2011) 18(4) Public Relations Tactics 10.20 See further Stephen Rappaport, Listen First!: Turning Social Media Conversations Into Business Advantage (Hoboken, NJ, John Wiley & Sons, 2011); Gwyneth Dwyer, Overheard: a conversation about social media conversations (2010) 21(1) Design Management Review 30; Thomas Valente & Walter Saba, Mass media and interpersonal influence in a reproductive health communication campaign in Bolivia (1998) 25(1) Communication Research 96–124.21 This is the 'primary' form of homelessness using the accepted cultural definition of homelessness in Australia: see Chris Chamberlain & David MacKenzie, Understanding contemporary homelessness: issues of definition and meaning (1992) 27 Australian Journal of Social Issues 274; Chris Chamberlain & Guy Johnson, The debate about homelessness (2001) 36(1) Australian Journal of Social Issues 35; Chris Chamberlain, Counting the Homeless: Implications for Policy Development (Canberra, Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1999), pp. 9–11, 49.22 See generally Karin Eyrich, David Pollio & Carol North, An exploration of alienation and replacement theories of social support in homelessness (2003) 27(4) Social Work Research 222.23 See e.g. Chris Povey, Submission to the Review of the Mental Health Act 1986 (February 2009), which notes that "[a] significant proportion of homeless people experience mental illness" and that "[h]omeless people experiencing mental illness are particularly vulnerable consumers of mental health services. They experience numerous barriers to access including financial barriers and hardship, lack of transportation, competing needs, lack of documentation including proof of identity and medical records, lack of a Medicare Card, lack of contact details, reluctance to engage with services due to previous negative experiences, inability to access services and navigate the service system, difficulty maintaining appointments, disconnection from supportive social networks, stigma and prejudice arising from homelessness and co-morbidity between mental illness and addiction" (at 3.5).24 These have included the Human Rights Law Centre, Homelessness Australia, the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service, the Law Institute of Victoria and US organisations including the National Law Centre on Homelessness and Poverty and the National Alliance to End Homelessness.25 See https://www.facebook.com/HumanRightsLawResourceCentre?sk=info.26 Andreas Jungherr, The Digiactive Guide to Twitter for Activism, available at: http://www.digiactive.org/wp-content/uploads/digiactive_twitter_guide_v1-0.pdf.27 See generally Claire Diaz Ortiz, Twitter for Good: Change the World One Tweet at a Time (San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2011); Jennifer Aaker & Andy Smith, The Dragonfly Effect: Quick, Effective, and Powerful Ways to Use Social Media to Drive Social Change (San Francisco, CA, Jossey-Bass, 2010).28 See generally Mark Pfeifle, A Nobel peace prize for Twitter? (2009) Christian Science Monitor 9; Clay Shirky, The Twitter revolution: more than just a slogan, Prospect [online], 6 January 2010; Diaz Ortiz, op. cit.; Aaker & Smith, op. cit.29 Diaz Ortiz, op. cit., p. xvii.30 Aaker & Smith, op. cit., p. xiv.31 See Evgeny Morozov, The Net Delusion: The Dark Side of Internet Freedom (New York, PublicAffairs, 2011); Evgeny Morozov, Technology's role in revolution: internet freedom and political oppression (2011) 45(4) Futurist 18. See further Jonathan Derbyshire, Evgeny Morozov (2011) 140(5037) New Statesman 43.32 Malcolm Gladwell, Small change: why the revolution will not be tweeted, The New Yorker [online], 4 October 2010. See also Golnaz Esfandiari, The Twitter devolution, Foreign Policy [online], 7 June 2010, who described the exaggerated role of Twitter in Iranian protests: "Simply put: There was no Twitter Revolution inside Iran … . It's not that Twitter publicists of the Iranian protests haven't played a role in the events of the past year. They have. It's just not been the outsized role it's often been made out to be. And ultimately, that's been a terrible injustice to the Iranians who have made real, not remote or virtual, sacrifices in pursuit of justice".33 Gladwell, op. cit.34 Clay Shirky, The political power of social media – technology, the public sphere, and political change (2011) 90 Foreign Affairs 28, 29.35 See www.twitter.com/homelesslaw.36 See www.twitter.com/flickreynolds.37 Felicity is a member of the International Alliance to End Homelessness through Research, Policy and Practice; see http://www.endhomelessness.org/section/_iaeh.38 See Felicity Reynolds, Churchill Fellowship Report: To Examine Programs that Assist Vulnerable and Complex Chronically Homeless People (February 2006); see also Natalie Dragon, Homelessness: is everyone's business (2011) 18(9) Australian Nursing Journal 26; Felicity Reynolds, Homelessness: the view from down under, Poverty Insights [online], 19 April 2011; Felicity Reynolds, The White Paper and chronic homelessness (2009) 22(2) Parity.39 See further Ana Stefancic & Sam Tsemberis, Housing first for long-term shelter dwellers with psychiatric disabilities in a suburban county: a four-year study of housing access and retention (2007) 28 Journal of Primary Prevention 265.40 See www.twitter.com/abeoudshoorn.41 See e.g. Abe Oudshoorn, Client–Provider Relationships in a Community Health Clinic for People Experiencing Homelessness: A Critical Ethnography, PhD dissertation, 2011.42 See http://www.londonhon.ca/.43 See e.g. Philip Lynch, Sarah Nicholson, Simon Ellis & Gary Sullivan, Disadvantage and Fines: Submission to the Victorian Government Regarding the Enforcement of Unpaid Fines Against Financially and Socially Disadvantaged People (August 2003); Philip Lynch, Making PERIN Fairer for People Experiencing Financial or Social Disadvantage: Submission to the Victorian Parliament Law Reform Committee Inquiry into Warrant Powers and Procedures (August 2004); HPLC, Homelessness: PILCH Victorian Election Priorities 2010 (Melbourne, PILCH, 2010).44 More information is available on the ICHRP website available at: http://www.ichrp.org/en/zoom-in/experts_video_interview_poverty.45 See further Paul Farhi, The Twitter explosion (2009) 31(3) American Journalism Review 26; Mathew Ingram, Complicating Twitter and journalism, Bloomberg Businessweek [online], 8 November 2011.46 Josie Taylor, Housing crisis worsens, 7.30 Victoria, 25 March 2011, available at: http://www.abc.net.au/news/video/2011/03/25/3174199.htm.47 See Victoria, Parliamentary Debates, Legislative Assembly, 9 November 2011, 5255–5260. See further: MP booted from parliament over 'new low' tweet, The Age [online], 9 November 2011.48 See Office of Police Integrity, Crossing the Line: Report of an Investigation into the Conduct of a Member of Victoria Police Undertaking Secondary Employment as a Ministerial Adviser and his Relationship with a Deputy Commissioner of Victoria Police (October 2011). See further Ashley Gardiner & Keith Moor, Tristan Weston resigns following damning OPI report, Herald-Sun [online], 27 October 2011; Keith Moor, OPI accuses Sir Ken Jones of involvement in plot with Minister's adviser, Herald-Sun [online], 26 October 2011; Farrah Tomazin, The stain on Ryan's reputation won't quickly wash away, The Age [online], 6 November 2011.49 Victoria, Parliamentary Debates, Legislative Assembly, 9 November 2011, 5255–5260.50 Legislative Assembly Standing Orders Committee, Inquiry into the Use of Social Media in the Assembly and Members Reflecting on the Office of the Speaker: Terms of Reference, available at: http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/la-standing-orders/article/1721.51 Martin Foley, Opportunity lost if Parliament takes aim at social media, The Age [online], 11 December 2011.52 Victoria, Parliamentary Debates, Legislative Assembly, 9 November 2011, 5255 (Martin Foley MLA); Foley, op. cit.53 Foley, op. cit.54 Legislative Assembly of Victoria Standing Orders Committee, Report into Use of Social Media in the Legislative Assembly and Reflections on the Office of Speaker (Melbourne, December 2012).55 Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic), s 15.56 Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic), s 18.57 Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic), s 7(2).58 See e.g. Jessica Vitak, Paul Zube, Andrew Smock, Caleb Carr, Nicole Ellison & Cliff Lampe, It's complicated: Facebook users' political participation in the 2008 election (2011) 14(3) CyberPsychology, Behavior & Social Networking 107; Barry Wellman, Anabel Quan Hasse, James Witte & Keith Hampton, Does the Internet increase, decrease, or supplement social capital? (2001) 45 American Behavioral Scientist 436; Keith Hampton & Barry Wellman, The not so global village of Netville, in: Barry Wellman & Caroline Haythornthwaite (Eds) The Internet and Everyday Life (New York, Wiley-Blackwell, 2002).
Referência(s)