Political Social Work

Abstract

The social work profession has been closely interested in politics from the first years of its existence and has undertaken the role of advocacy for vulnerable population groups. The first representatives of the profession made efforts to make policy changes on issues such as women's rights, working hours and child labor. However, throughout the history of the profession, concerns have been expressed about the involvement of social workers in political activities. These concerns have been about maintaining the professional status of social workers, not wanting to be seen as a party to certain groups, and whether it is legal to engage in political activity as a government or non-profit employee. Today, however, it has become almost mandatory for the social work profession to participate in policy making processes. In this study, the scope of political social work and the relationship between social work and politics in Turkey and how it can be realized as practice have been tried to be revealed.