Strengths and weaknesses of anti-discriminatory practice and its response to managerialism and accountability in social work practice

INTRODUCTION

 

The purpose of this essay is to discuss and evaluate the anti-discriminatory practice theory, its strengths and weaknesses, with reference to psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioural theories and how responds to the managerialism and accountability in social work practice

In the social work field we find a group of theories that have been brought from outside the field mainly psychology, sociology, economy and philosophy. Classical theories such as psychoanalysis or cognitive-behavioural approaches are individualist and often ignore social aspects in relation to clients’ problems. Therefore, they ignore the discrimination and oppression that are part of the everyday reality of a significant proportion of social work clients. Mostly of the theories come from western culture and it is likely that they do not match other cultures expectations. Thus, there are structured inequalities that shape the lives of many clients who use Social Services.

People in our society are categorized according to their social position in relation to class, gender, age, religion or sexual orientation. The social structure plays an important role in the distribution of power, status, resources and opportunities. Consequently, powerful groups will be in a position to discriminate systematically against vulnerable people

I believe is essential to be aware of the implications of discrimination and oppression in order to became an effective social worker and doing good practice. Social workers need to be able to work in a society which is multi-racial and multi-cultural and combat any form of discrimination. Also there is an attempt by some politics and the media to undermine equal opportunities policy and practice, including the development of anti-discriminatory and anti-racist practice with no other reason than ‘political correctness’. Consequently, it is essential to work under the roof of the anti-discriminatory practice.

ORIGINS OF ANTI-DISCRIMINATORY PRACTICE

 

Critical social work has its origins in Marxist theory and has been developed by structural social work, the developmental model, feminist social work and anti-discriminatory practice and anti-oppressive approaches.

As a critical social work theory anti-discriminatory practice links the concern of subjectivity, with the structural focus on the social and political context of people’s lives.

 Anti-discriminatory practice was develop in United Kingdom in the late 1980’s mainly by oppressed groups, women and black people, who tried to challenge the inadequacies of the prevailing system.

 A constant stream of discontent was articulated by women, black people and welfare claimants who found the services placed at their disposal inappropriate to their needs, difficult to access, and far from their influence. They also disliked the bureaucratic nature of the large 'welfare' departments and their unresponsive professionals.

Anti-discriminatory practice thus originated from the concern many societies have with racism and ethnic conflict. There was a special concern with black children in care; neglect and poor education of black children as well as white working class children; negative attitudes towards immigrants; black men in mental health institutions; criminalization of non-heterosexual relationships and an inhuman and degrading treatment of people with disabilities and impairments.

Thompson cites an example of ‘over diagnosis’ of mental health condition such as schizophrenia among black and Asian clients as a result of the social worker’s lack of understanding of the client’s cultural expression of grief and sadness. By using the dominant white culture’s psychological norm to assess the black and Asian client’s mental health, the social workers have deemed cultural differences as deviant and abnormal and in this case warranting a mental health over diagnosis. Thus the clients are left powerless and victimised in the face of institutionalised racist categorisation

 

KEY CONCEPTS OF ANTI-DISCRIMINATORY PRACTICE

Thompson (2006) defines anti-discriminatory practice:

‘An approach to practice which seek to reduce, undermine or eliminate discrimination and oppression, specifically in terms of challenging sexism, racism, ageism, and disablism and other forms of discrimination and oppression encountered in practice.

Anti-discriminatory practice is an attempt to eradicate discrimination and oppression from our own practice and challenge them in the practice of others and the institutional structures in which we operate. In this respect, is a form of emancipatory practice’

Lets first start with a definition of oppression:

 “Inhuman or degrading treatment of individuals or groups; hardship or injustice brought about by the dominance of one group over another; the negative and demeaning use of power. It often involves disregarding the rights of an individual or group and is thus a denial of citizenship” (Thompson, 2006)

In addressing the effects of oppression and inequality that are particular to clients of social workers, it is crucial to recognise that the institution of social care is itself based on the shaky grounds of inequality and oppression. However, the line between social care and control is a very thin one indeed. Thompson (2006) argues that there is no middle ground for social workers; either they actively address and challenge the inequality and oppression experienced by their client’s or they work to re-enforce the existing inequalities and oppression of their clients.

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 According to Dominelli (2002) social work should provide an appropriate and sensitive service and respond to people’s needs regardless of their social status. Thus, social work’s aim is to reduce the effects of structural inequalities and to empower service users by reducing the effective hierarchy in their immediate interaction and the work they do together.

 Oppression and discrimination have effects on service users at different levels including physical, psychological and emotional. Some effects of oppression and inequality are powerlessness, lack of resources, alienation, feelings of unworthiness, unmet needs and subjection to social control. There is no doubt that social ...

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