Rights-Based Framework and Social Work

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Androff
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Human Dignity ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Codes Of Ethics ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World ◽  
Welfare Professional

The past few years have seen a surge in efforts to incorporate rights-based approaches in social work practice. This rise has been spearheaded by a growing awareness that human rights can reduce or eradicate poverty and injustice while advancing human dignity and social welfare. Professional Codes of Ethics around the world maintain social workers’ responsibilities to uphold human rights. However, few rights-based approaches to social work practice have been developed. This encyclopedia entry introduces the concept of rights-based approaches, presents new models of rights-based social work, reviews the rights-based principles for social work practice of human dignity, nondiscrimination, participation, transparency, and accountability, and discusses how this framework can be applied to various practice settings and populations.

Codes of Ethics

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elaine Congress
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Code Of Ethics ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Codes Of Ethics ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Values ◽  
National Differences ◽  
The World ◽  
Almost All

Social work values and ethics provide the foundation for social work practice around the world. Almost all countries where social work is a recognized profession have a Code of Ethics. Although there are many similarities among Codes of Ethics in different countries, cultural and societal differences have influenced their content and focus. The extent to which Codes of Ethics have a direct effect on social work practice has been debated. While Codes of Ethics reflect societal and national differences, what is universal and fundamental to social work practice from a human rights perspective should prevail.

scholarly journals Degrowth for transformational alternatives as radical social work practice

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 417-433
Author(s):  
Meredith C.F. Powers ◽  
Komalsingh Rambaree ◽  
Jef Peeters
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
Ecological Justice ◽  
The World

Historically, and in modern times, social workers have been culpable in perpetuating the very systems of oppression that we seek to eliminate. This happens as we are part of cultures and economies that operate out of the growth ideology. Acting in accordance with the growth ideology does not lead to the outcomes that we strive for as professional social workers. Rather, the growth ideology results in growing social inequalities and increasing ecological injustices around the world. Social work can, instead, embrace an ecosocial lens and promote degrowth approaches for transformational alternatives. Rather than reinforcing the existing systems of injustice and oppression, radical social work can take an activist role and bring about urgent and radical changes to promote ecological justice through social and ecological well-being. Examples from radical social work in local and international communities demonstrate the possibility of degrowth for transformational alternatives as radical social work practice.

scholarly journals What is the problem? Representations of men's violence against women in a Swedish context

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 1684 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helena Hoppstadius
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Violence Against Women ◽  
Social Problem ◽  
Analytical Approach ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Foreign Born ◽  
Gender Hierarchies

Abuse and violence against women is not only a serious violation of human rights, but is also, according to the Swedish government, the most acute and greatest obstacle to a gender-equal society. The aim of the current study was to investigate discourses that govern social work practice in Sweden analysed discourses of violence against women in five Swedish public working guidelines using Carol Bacchi’s social constructivist analytical approach What's the Problem Represented to Be? Our findings show that violence is framed in the guidelines within a heterosexual context and is represented as an individual problem of women within close relations and families. This framing also promotes a division between violence against Swedish-born women and violence against foreign-born women. The analysis also shows that equality seems to be more about the inclusion of men rather than looking after women's situations. How violence against women is understood will affect how violence can be predicted, prevented, and treated, and thus there is a risk that these representations might affect women subjected to violence differently depending on how social workers interpret and apply these guidelines. Our findings also suggest that these representations maintain gender hierarchies and other structural and societal inequalities and ignore violence against women as a major global social problem.

scholarly journals Theories in Māori social work: Indigenous approaches to working with and for indigenous people

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 5-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Awhina Hollis-English
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Ancestral Knowledge ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
Work World ◽  
Contemporary Context

Māori social work practice has been developed upon a strong foundation of indigenous knowledge, theories and values. Theories can be used to validate social work practice and to build and enhance the engagement between workers and whānau. This article describes some Māori social work theories and how they have developed both within the social work world and that of neighbouring professions. A number of theories have been described by Māori social workers from across Aotearoa as the foundations for their social work practice. Theoretical discourse in the world of Māori social workers enables one to grow and develop their practice, leaning on ancestral knowledge and valuing the skills that are gained through understanding tikanga in a contemporary context. Through enhancing one’s knowledge of Te Ao Māori and evidence-based practice, social workers can use, develop and create Māori theories in a social work context for the benefit of Māori whānau and communities.

scholarly journals Social Work With Migrants and Refugees

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. i-x ◽  
Author(s):  
Marciana Popescu ◽  
Kathryn Libal
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Forced Migration ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Global Context ◽  
The Past ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
And Migration

This special issue of Advances in Social Work focuses on current challenges and best practices with migrants and refugees, in an increasingly difficult global context. Over the past decade, forced migration and displacement reached record numbers, while complex geopolitical, economic, and environmental factors contributed to escalating current challenges. International human rights and migration laws provide a framework too narrow and too limited for these recent developments. Political pressure and a growing identity crisis add to the xenophobia and climate of fear, in which security has in some cases become the primary rationale underpinning rapidly changing migration policies. Social work as a profession – in education and practice – has an important (if largely unfulfilled) role to play in advancing the human rights of migrants and refugees. In this commentary, we outline the macro contexts that shape social work practice with migrants and refugees, highlighting the great potential for social work to do much more to advance the rights and interests of those fleeing conflict, economic or natural disasters, or other upheavals.

Ethical Grounding of Social Work Practices

2018 ◽  
pp. 34-46
Author(s):  
Liranso G. Selamu ◽  
Mohan S. Singhe
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Human Potential ◽  
Work Practices ◽  
Ethical Awareness ◽  
Human Needs

Ethical awareness is fundamental to the professional practice of social workers. Their ability and commitment to act ethically is an essential aspect of the quality of the service offered to those who engage with social workers. Respect for human rights and a commitment to promoting social justice are at the core of social work practice throughout the world. Social work grew out of humanitarian and democratic ideals, and its values are based on respect for the equality, worth, and dignity of all people. Since its beginnings over a century ago, social work practice has focused on meeting human needs and developing human potential. Human rights and social justice serve as the motivation and justification for social work action. Therefore, this chapter included the ethical grounds in social work practices in a deep manner.

Can child and family social work research really assist practice?

1999 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 93-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clive Sellick
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Foster Care ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
Social Work Research ◽  
Number Of Children ◽  
The Past

British social workers at the sharp end of foster care and social work practice have experienced a flood of official reports in recent years (Association of Directors of Social Services, 1997; Utting, 1997; Warren, 1997), mostly, though not exclusively, highlighting the problems of too few placements for an increasingly challenging number of children and young people. In addition, British and North American foster care research over the past twenty years has shown how children in public, including foster, care have been:

scholarly journals Putting human rights at the heart of social work practice

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 84-89
Author(s):  
Neil Ballantyne
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Work ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Response Format ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
International Human

This commentary was published by the Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers (ANZASW) on the occasion of International Human Rights Day, 10 December 2019. ANZASW invited the author to respond to several questions on the topic of human rights. In 2019, Neil was the inaugural winner of the John Fry Memorial Supreme Award for Quality and Innovation in Social Work for his work as a Palestinian human rights defender. The article is structured in a question and response format.

scholarly journals Pūao-te-Āta-tū: Informing Māori social work since 1986

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 41-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Awhina Hollis-English
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Work Practices ◽  
The Past ◽  
Practice Methods ◽  
The Impact

The Pūao-te-Āta-tū Report (1986) is the founding document of Māori social work in Aotearoa, second only to Te Tiriti o Waitangi (1840) in its significance for Māori social workers. This article presents the influences of Pūao-te-Āta-tū over the past 20+ years on Māori social work. The Report promoted significant changes to social work; in particular, the development of social work practices by Māori, with whānau Māori. In light of its significant nature, research was undertaken with eight Māori social workers to engage them in discussion on the influential nature of Pūao-te-Āta-tū on their social work practice. This article presents the participants’ comments, and emphasises the impact Pūao-te-Āta-tū had on Māori social work practice methods (Hollis, 2006).

scholarly journals Normative and Positive Social Work in the Context of the Placement Decision: A Defence of Social Workers

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 77-94
Author(s):  
Charles Sutcliffe ◽  
Kish Bhatti-Sinclair
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Welfare ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Apparent Absence ◽  
Placement Decisions ◽  
The World ◽  
Placement Decision ◽  
Press Criticism

Two fundamental questions for social work are considered: one normative and one positive. First, is it possible for social work practice to be based on an objective that maximises social welfare; and second, does social work practice actually conform to some objective, which may or may not maximise social welfare? These two questions are addressed in the context of one of the most important decisions made by social workers - the placement decision. It is argued that deriving a societal objective faces formidable theoretical problems, and that even if a well-defined criterion was available, actual social work decisions would still be inconsistent due to a lack of the requisite information and different interpretations of the available data. It is argued that the substantial empirical evidence from around the world on the placement decision provides little evidence of consistent decision making. This may be because the statistical analyses have lacked the data and techniques necessary to detect the underlying patterns, or because placement decisions are largely random. The apparent absence of clear objectives, either specified by society or accepted custom and practice, places social workers in a very difficult position, making them open to press criticism and victimization, even though they acted entirely competently.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document