Social Justice: Whither Social Work and Social Welfare?

2002 ◽  
Vol 83 (4) ◽  
pp. 341-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard K. Caputo
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Welfare

Advocacy in the South African social welfare sector: Current social work research and possible future directions

2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 507-520 ◽  
Author(s):  
Admire Chereni
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Welfare ◽  
South African ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Social Work Research ◽  
Qualitative Systematic Review ◽  
Published Research

Advocacy is a crucial vehicle for realising social work’s commitment to social justice. Yet, particularly in South Africa, little is known about social work research on advocacy. Therefore, this article uses a qualitative systematic review of published research on advocacy in South Africa’s social welfare sector in order to evaluate the contribution of social work research. It finds that there is scant research on social welfare advocacy in South Africa. Based on these findings, the article suggests areas for further social work research on advocacy in South Africa’s social welfare sector.

scholarly journals Social Justice and Multiculturalism: Persistent Tensions in the History of US Social Welfare and Social Work

2007 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Reisch
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Civil Rights ◽  
Social Welfare ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Past Century ◽  
Welfare Benefits ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Just Society ◽  
The Relationship

Social justice has been a central normative component of U.S. social welfare and social work for over a century, although the meaning and implications of the term have often been ambiguous. A major source of this ambiguity lies in the conflict between universalist views of social justice and those which focus on achieving justice for specific groups. This conflict has been masked by several long-standing assumptions about the relationship between social justice and multiculturalism – assumptions which have been challenged by recent developments. The assumption that the pursuit of social justice requires the creation of a more egalitarian society has been challenged by the new political-economic realities of globalization. The assumption that the maintenance of individual rights complements the pursuit of social equality has been challenged by racially-based attacks on social welfare benefits and civil rights. Most significantly, the assumption that a socially just society is one in which different groups share a compatible vision of social justice has been challenged by the realities of multiculturalism. This paper explores the evolution of four themes regarding the relationship between social justice and multiculturalism during the past century and discusses their implications for the contemporary demographic and cultural context of the U.S. These themes are: the relationship of cultural diversity to the nation’s values and goals; the contradiction between coerced cultural assimilation and coerced physical and social segregation; the relationship between individual and group identity and rights; and the linkage between “Americanization” and the equal application of justice.

scholarly journals COVID-19 and the calls of humanistic social work: Exploring the developmental-clinical social work concerns of the pandemic

2021 ◽  
pp. 002087282110079
Author(s):  
Robert K Chigangaidze
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Global Health ◽  
Technological Innovation ◽  
Service Provision ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Clinical Social Work ◽  
Health Community ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Face

Any health outbreak is beyond the biomedical approach. The COVID-19 pandemic exposes a calamitous need to address social inequalities prevalent in the global health community. Au fait with this, the impetus of this article is to explore the calls of humanistic social work in the face of the pandemic. It calls for the pursuit of social justice during the pandemic and after. It also calls for a holistic service provision, technological innovation and stewardship. Wrapping up, it challenges the global community to rethink their priorities – egotism or altruism. It emphasizes the ultimate way forward of addressing the social inequalities.

scholarly journals Centering Social Justice in Mental Health Practice: Epistemic Justice and Social Work Practice

2021 ◽  
pp. 104973152110109
Author(s):  
Marjorie Johnstone
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Medical Model ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Policy Advocacy ◽  
Health Practice ◽  
Epistemic Justice

This article examines how mental health social work practice can move outside the hegemony of the medical model using approaches that honor the centering of social justice. By using the philosophical analysis of epistemic injustice and the ethics of knowing, I move out of the traditional psychiatric and psychological conceptual frameworks and discuss new guiding principles for practice. In the context of the radical tradition in social work and the impetus to blend theory with practice, I consider the use of narrative and anti-oppressive approaches to center social justice principles in individual dyadic work as well as in wider systems family and community work and policy advocacy. I evaluate these approaches through the principles of epistemic justice and discuss the importance of a relational collaborative approach where honoring the client and exploring lived experience are central to both the concepts of testimonial justice, hermeneutic justice and anti-oppressive practice.

scholarly journals Exhaustion and possibility. The wor(l)dlyness of social work in (G)local environment worlds during a pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 54-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mona B Livholts
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Change ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Turning Point ◽  
Social Problems ◽  
Life Writing ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Local Environment ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Writing Genres

Exhaustion is not about being tired. It is an intense feeling of restlessness, of insomnia, and awakening when I ask myself: have I exhausted all that is possible? Such a state of restlessness and wakefulness represents a turning point for having enough, and opens for new possibilities to act for social change. This reflexive essay departs from the notion that the language of exhaustion offers a wor(l)dly possibility for social work(ers) to engage in critical analytical reflexivity about our locations of power from the outset of our (g)local environment worlds. The aim is to trace the transformative possibilities of social change in social work practice through the literature of exhaustion (eg. Frichot, 2019 ; Spooner, 2011 ). The methodology is based on uses of narrative life writing genres such as poetry, written and photographic diary entrances between the 4th of April and 4th of June. The essay shows how tracing exhaustion during the pandemic, visualises a multiplicity of forms of oppression and privilege, an increasing attention and relationship to things, and border movements and languages. I suggest that social work replace the often-used terminology of social problems with exhaustive lists to address structural forms of racism, sexism, ableism, ageism, which has been further visualized through death, illness, violence, and poverty during the pandemic. I argue that the language of exhaustion is useful for reflexivity and action in social work practice through the way it contributes to intensified awareness, attention, engagement, listening, and agency to create social justice.

‘From our ownselves’: Acompañamiento with Indigenous Women in Perú

2021 ◽  
pp. 002087282097026
Author(s):  
Mirna E Carranza
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Indigenous Women ◽  
International Social Work ◽  
International Social ◽  
Innovative Approaches

This article contributes to the ethical and practical conceptualizations of centring marginalized voices in research across borders. This project worked within the parameters of international social work (ISW) in Perú, which is a space where the advancement of globalization and colonization has deepened the historical exclusion and marginality of Indigenous women. To work towards social justice, this project developed creative innovative approaches to engagement and resisted western notions of progress. As research is not neutral, deconstruction of contextual forces that shape research makes visible how knowledge(s) are understood and subjugated in ISW, in particular that of Indigenous women.

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