Beyond the Kantian Barrier: A Ta’ṣīl (Authentic Rooting) Approach to Decolonizing Social Work and Sustaining Care for Adverse Childhood Experiences Survivors in Brunei Darussalam

Modern child protection and policy architectures globally remain bound to Eurocentric, secularized ethical frameworks, the Kantian Barrier, which restrict systemic visibility to empirical phenomena while treating the spiritual dimensions of a child as clinically secondary. When applied to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) survivors in Brunei Darussalam, these imported, secularized models produce significant systemic bottlenecks, failing to adequately validate intangible trauma. This is critical given recent local empirical data indicating a hidden epidemic of ACEs, where emotional abuse prevalence reaches 91% and adolescent suicide ideation stands at 19.9%.

This interactive Mastermind session introduces an Islamic Social Work Approach (ISWA) utilizing a Ta’ṣīl (Authentic Rooting) methodology to decolonize secular practice. By synthesizing Al-Nasafī’s evidentiary triad of al-khabar al-ṣādiq with Al-Fārābī’s virtuous city architecture, the framework establishes a novel Clinical Veto, operationalized through an Ethical Escalation Pathway Framework (EEPF). Enacted by a locally entrusted sovereign mechanism grounded in Maqāṣid al Sharīʿah, this pathway operates as an integrative mechanism in clinical management to identify, evaluate, and address unseen underlying emotional trauma, prioritizing the child’s Fiṭrah (innate dignity) over physical and mental health symptoms alone. Moving away from traditional passive seminars, this forum alternates between global data and indigenous epistemology, allowing international stakeholders to interactively evaluate how restoring the Mīzān (balance) between empirical data and spiritual reality achieves national public health and social blueprint outcomes.

Theme: Decolonising Safeguarding and Care / Cultural Determinants of Well-being