Abuse: A Global Inclusive Interdisciplinary Conference

Abuse A Global Inclusive Interdisciplinary Conference Friday 3rd July 2020 to Saturday 4th July 2020 Bratislava, Slovakia Abuse, or the mistreatment of oneself or another being, can come in many forms both subtle and extreme: drug, alcohol or substance abuse, cutting or other forms of self harm; verbal, physical, psychological, emotional, financial, medical or sexual abuse; child, elder or animal abuse; medical neglect; abuse of power, authority, information, or research; discriminatory abuse, legal abuse, hate crimes; harassment, bullying, controlling and cyber-bullying; human trafficking, female genital mutilation, enforced sexual slavery or child soldiers; or intimidation, isolation, peer abuse, coercion or humiliation. All different, yet all abuse. The effects of such abuse are profound. It can undermine relationships and cause both physical pain and psychological distress. Consistently, increased health risks and specific negative behaviours have been found to be associated with a history of abuse in individuals. Research focused on adverse childhood experiences by the Adverse Childhood Exposure (ACE) Study (Felitti et al, 1998) posits that there is a strong and graded relationship between ten different adverse childhood experiences, including emotional and physical neglect and sexual and physical abuse, with risk factors for death and disease. What are the bigger questions regarding abuse? What causes one to abuse? What are the experiences of those who are abused? What about those with limited or no voice? How do systems of abuse affect the greater community? What connection is there between abuse and resilience? What happens when abuse goes unchecked? This project endeavours to explore abuse in its many forms across a range of critical, contextual, and cultural perspectives. Seeking to encourage innovative dialogues, we warmly welcome papers and projects that demonstrate the struggle to understand abuse and its impact on the individual, familial, cultural, community, and global level. This conference has a global focus; it aims to facilitate dialogue and spark innovative collaborations and discussions at the international level. We welcome papers from all disciplines, professions and vocations, going beyond the academic world and bringing together researchers, community, and professionals engaged in work on Abuse. We welcome traditional papers, panels or round tables, and workshop proposals, as well as other forms of presentation platforms (art, poetry, posters, video submissions, etc.) favoured outside academia, given the interdisciplinary nature of the conference, recognising that different groups express themselves in various formats and mediums. Key Topics Subject to the presentations and discussions which take place at the meeting, there is a possibility for a selective innovative publication to emerge with the aim of engendering further interdisciplinary collaboration and discussion. We welcome proposals from a wide range of perspectives and voices, on topics including but not limited to: - Historical origins of abuse - Cultural perspectives - Types of abuse: physical, psychological, emotional, sexual, child, elder, financial, cyber, medical, dating, and animal abuse; physical, emotional, medical neglect; abuse of power, authority, information, or research; discriminatory abuse, legal abuse, and hate crimes; harassment, bullying, and cyber-bullying; or intimidation, isolation, and humiliation. - Abuse of academic research - Media representations of abuse - Case studies of abuse - Differences between abuse and discipline - Literature, art, music, film, portrayals of abuse; its effects, victims, and perpetrators - Laws surrounding abuse - Abuse related to technology and social media - Perpetrators of abuse - Victims of abuse - How to treat those who experience or perpetrate abuse - Therapeutic interventions - Causes of abuse - Effects of abuse on individuals, communities, systems What To Send The aim of this inclusive interdisciplinary conference and collaborative networking event is to bring people together and encourage creative conversations in the context of a variety of formats: papers, seminars, workshops, storytelling, performances, poster presentations, problem-solving sessions, case studies, panels, q and a's, round-tables etc. Creative responses to the subject, such as poetry/prose, short film screenings/original drama, installations and alternative presentation styles that engage the audience and foster debate are particularly encouraged. Please feel free to put forward proposals that you think will get the message across, in whatever form. At the end of the conference we will be exploring ways in which we can develop the discussions and dialogues in new and sustainable inclusive interdisciplinary directions, including research, workshops, publications, public interest days, associations, developing courses etc which will help us make sense of the topics discussed during the meeting. There is an intention, subject to the discussions which emerge during the course of the meeting, to form a selective innovative interdisciplinary publication to engender further research and collaboration. 300 word proposals, presentations, abstracts and other forms of contribution and participation should be submitted by Friday 10th January 2020. Other forms of participation should be discussed in advance with the Organising Chairs. All submissions will be at least double reviewed, under anonymous (blind) conditions, by a global panel drawn from members of the Project Team, The Development Team and the Advisory Board. In practice our procedures usually entail that by the time a proposal is accepted, it will have been triple and quadruple reviewed. You will be notified of the panel's decision by Friday 24th January 2020. If your submission is accepted for the conference, a full draft of your contribution should be submitted by Friday 1st May 2020. Abstracts and proposals may be in Word, RTF or Notepad formats with the following information and in this order: a) author(s), b) affiliation as you would like it to appear in the programme, c) email address, d) title of proposal, e) type of proposal e.g. paper presentation, workshop, panel, film, performance, etc, f) body of proposal, g) up to 10 keywords. E-mails should be entitled: Abuse Submission Where To Send Abstracts should be submitted simultaneously to the Organising Chair and the Project Administrator: Kristine Seitz: kristine@kristineseitz.com Len Capuli (Project Administrator): bratislavaabuse@progressiveconnexions.net What's so Special About a Progressive Connexions Event? A fresh, friendly, dynamic format – at Progressive Connexions we are dedicated to breaking away from the stuffy, old-fashion conference formats, where endless presentations are read aloud off PowerPoints. We work to bring you an interactive format, where exchange of experience and information is alternated with captivating workshops, engaging debates and round tables, time set aside for getting to know each other and for discussing common future projects and initiatives, all in a warm, relaxed, egalitarian atmosphere. A chance to network with international professionals – the beauty of our interdisciplinary events is that they bring together professionals from all over the world and from various fields of activity, all joined together by a shared passion. Not only will the exchange of experience, knowledge and stories be extremely valuable in itself, but we seek to create lasting, ever-growing communities around our projects, which will become a valuable resource for those belonging to them. A chance to be part of constructing change – There is only one thing we love as much as promoting knowledge: promoting real, lasting social change by encouraging our participants to take collective action, under whichever form is most suited to their needs and expertise (policy proposals, measuring instruments, research projects, educational materials, etc.) We will support all such actions in the aftermath of the event as well, providing a platform for further discussions, advice from the experts on our Project Advisory Team and various other tools and intellectual resources, as needed. An opportunity to discuss things that matter to you – Our events are not only about discussing how things work in the respective field, but also about how people work in that field – what are the struggles, problems and solutions professionals have found in their line of work, what are the areas where better communication among specialists is needed and how the interdisciplinary approach can help bridge those gaps and help provide answers to questions from specific areas of activity. An unforgettable experience – When participating in a Progressive Connexions event, there is a good chance you will make some long-time friends. Our group sizes are intimate, our venues are comfortable and relaxing and our event locations are suited to the history and culture of the event. Ethos Progressive Connexions believes it is a mark of personal courtesy and professional respect to your colleagues that all delegates should attend for the full duration of the meeting. If you are unable to make this commitment, please do not submit an abstract or proposal for presentation. Please note: Progressive Connexions is a not-for-profit network and we are not in a position to be able to assist with conference travel or subsistence, nor can we offer discounts off published rates and fees. Please direct all enquiries to: bratislavaabuse@progressiveconnexions.net For further details and information please visit the conference web page: http://www.progressiveconnexions.net/series/interdisciplinary-perspectives/modern-living/abuse/conferences/ Sponsored by: Progressive Connexions