Читать книгу Anti-Oppressive Social Work Practice - Prospera Tedam - Страница 15

Reflect on your own views and experiences of oppression.

 What does oppression mean to you?

 How have you reached your understanding of oppression?

Write these down and share with a colleague.

It is my view that oppressive practice places barriers between social workers and service users, and that these barriers prevent full and meaningful engagement between a social worker and a service user. In its extreme form, the barrier of oppression not only keeps people out of mainstream life and situations, but also does not allow perpetrators of oppression to see the other side. The illustration below is my take on what oppression could feel like. It is a barrier to freedom and achieving potential; oppression also silences those on the ‘wrong side’ of the wall. This is a call for you, as social workers, to support the emancipation of those whose voices are muffled and whose visions for a better future are not visible because of where they are.

Figure 1.1 Oppression