Promoting social and economic equality: Social workers’ contribution to social justice and social development in South Africa and Uganda

Abstract

This article explores how social workers in South Africa (where social work is regulated by law), and Uganda (where social work is not professionally regulated), draw on the premises that social work is a human rights profession embedded in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, their respective countries' constitutions, and developmental social work to claim their role in promoting social and economic equality. The case studies from both South Africa and Uganda show that developmental social work includes social, economic and environmental development activities and that social work can become a significant role player in promoting social and economic equality through its commitment to social justice and human rights.

Policy practice in social work education: A literature review

“…International definitions of social work, its global agenda and global standards for social work education, endorse the idea that all social workers, not only those with formal policy roles, should engage in policy practice (PP), activities aimed at influencing policy, and that this should be an integral part of social work education (Abramovitz, ; Hare, ; International Federation of Social Workers [IFSW], 2014; Lombard & Twikirize, ; Sewpaul & Jones, ). This understanding is now well anchored in the social work discourse in different countries (Cummins, Byers, & Pedrick, ; Dominelli, ; Gray, Collett van Rooyen, Rennie, & Gaha, ; Haynes & Mickelson, ; Jansson, ; Ritter, ; Rocha, ), and in national social work codes of ethics (Australian Association of Social workers [AASW], ; British Association of Social Workers [BASW], ; NASW, ).…”

Evidence-Based Practice in Child Protection Services: Do We Have Time for This?

“…A counter-argument is that social ills will not be effectively addressed by the use of the remedial approach to social welfare; rather these ills demand a developmental approach (Hochfeld, 2010;Patel, 2005;). However, in practice the shift from the remedial to the developmental social welfare approach does not exclude the use of the remedial approach (Holscher, 2008;Midgley, 2010, as cited in Lombard & Twikirize, 2014). A further common factor is that developmental welfare suggests a focus on poverty, that it is rights-based and people-centred (Gray & Lombard, 2008).…”

The Challenge to Promote Social and Economic Equality in Namibia Through Social Work

“…Social workers cannot realistically contribute to social and economic equality when they are not empowered to practice developmental social work. Promoting social and economic equality starts first with knowledge on human rights, particularly on what socio-economic rights are and how these relate to social work (Lombard & Twikirize, 2014). Whilst social work is embedded in human rights (Ife, 2012) and social justice (Hoefer, 2012) the study's findings indicate that social workers do not stand up for their rights and the profession's obligation to advocate for the rights of the marginalised and for social change.…”

“…Social workers functioning within a human rights-based approach engage in interventions that protect, promote and facilitate the rights of populations at risk of marginalisation and oppression, whilst working collaboratively with other actors at multiple levels of intervention (Patel, 2015). Developmental social work is heralded as a vehicle that social workers can use in promoting the social and economic rights of people (Lombard & Twikirize, 2014). It also provides the means through which social workers can "work together, at all levels, for change, for social justice, and for the universal implementation of human rights, building on the wealth of social initiatives and social movements" (IFSW et al, 2012:1).…”