This article draws on data from a feminist, qualitative social work research project on women's experiences of involuntary childlessness in the context of assisted reproduction. It argues that the dominant construction of ''infertility'' is partial, biased, and inaccurate and that it serves to maintain infertility as a ''woman's problem'' to be addressed ideally via biomedicine and individualized approaches to the delivery of services. With reference to the background literature, women's lived experiences of involuntary childlessness are explored. An alternative, multidimensional construction of involuntary childlessness is proposed and implications for social work in reproductive health and directions for further research are presented.This article presents some of the findings from a larger qualitative research project on women's experiences of and need for support in relation to assisted reproduction. Specifically, it explores the lived experiences of 28 Australian women in relation to ''infertility'' and proposes an alternative, more inclusive, and arguably more accurate construction of ''involuntary childlessness.'' In this article, I argue that the dominant construction of infertility comes from a typically biomedical perspective, rather than from a biopsychosocial, human rights perspective. Using a phenomenological, feminist, grounded theory approach, I explore the experiential knowledge of women who have used reproductive technology to attempt to redress infertility in order to construct an alternative view and to recognize their epistemic agency. The implications of this alternative construction for social work practice in this field are discussed along with directions for further research. Before the participants' lived experiences of involuntary childlessness are explored, a brief, contextual review of the literature is presented to indicate some of the dominant constructions and some competing constructions of infertility.

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She completed her Ph.D. on non-metropolitan women's experiences of assisted reproduction in 2009. Karen has published articles on social work field education, postgraduate student engagement and retention, women's health and reproductive health. She currently teaches in social work theory and practice, fields of practice and social work honours research subjects.

This article explores the impacts of a short-term international study programme on Australian social work students’ understanding of social justice and human rights issues, with particular emphasis on gender oppression. Using qualitative data from a reflective workshop plus written evaluations, students’ reflections on learning experiences during the programme are described and explored. Implications for social work study abroad programmes and the professional knowledge base are considered. Findings indicate that student understanding of gender oppression, social justice and human rights as global issues was enriched by the programme and the need for faculty-led facilitated, reflective learning is reinforced.

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