Читать книгу Anti-Oppressive Social Work Practice - Prospera Tedam - Страница 32

On a daily basis, social workers encounter varying problems, personalities and people, and should work with this variety effectively without prejudice, oppression or discrimination. This chapter aims to extend our understanding and appreciation of diversity in social work and share strategies to enhance our approach to diversity in a way that is empowering and sustainable. There will be a discussion about what diversity is, how it enriches the experience for social workers and service users, as well as how a lack of diversity is oppressive and discriminatory. Using case studies and reflective activities, you will be drawn to the concepts of ‘othering’ and ‘difference’. The idea of cultural competence will be introduced in this chapter with the view to advancing our understanding of how social workers demonstrate and evidence that they value and celebrate diversity. We will outline the ways in which three concepts – exclusion, denial and suppression – work against the core idea of diversity. Suggestions about how social workers might expose, reject, avoid and disrupt such practice will be offered using the SHARE model (Maclean et al., 2018).