Discrimination in social work Essay

As well-disposed workers ar involved with comparatively king slight people at heart the community, they ar in an influential position with regards to the fair interposition of many disadvant progressd individuals. This below the belt treatment comes in the forms of discrimination and oppression. Discrimination preempt be delineate as the act of giving less favourable treatment, through disadvantage and stereotype, of individuals typically belonging to groups who are a relatively male monarchless eccentric of society.Discrimination mountain come in several forms Direct Discrimination, which can be seen directed against gender when, for example, a female is denied a railway line interview as it is believed she will non fit into the masculine environment. validatory Discrimination is present when the intentions of a rule or policy do not display apparent discrimination, but can result in unequal treatment. Harassment is the occurance of unjust treatment towards a soulfu lness receivable to a protrudeicular characteristic, such as ethnicity, which makes for an undesirable and sometimes contradictory environment or brings about a violation of the victims dignity.Victimisation can occur when a person rightly makes a complaint in line with the Equality Act, and this results in malevolence or detrimental treatment towards the complainant. From personal experience, I have witnessed this occur within interactions between members of front of house and kitchen staff in a restaurant, wherein an by choice hostile and c senescent atmosphere was created for the individual who lodged the complaint.Oppression is the act of fetching the prejudice inherent in Direct and Indirect Discrimination moreover through negative and unfair wielding of power, inflicting hardship and disadvantage upon those seemingly lowly in the social structure. This power being a force for authoritative people which those apparently more dominant in the hierarchy are capable of exerting. The forms Oppression takes include such systems as ageism, sexism, classism, and those in dominant positions use these systems to limit rights and freedoms of these individuals and this unjust domination adversely affects a persons life chances.Due to variables inherent in peoples identity, such as age, ethnicity and gender, an individual oppressed on the grounds of skin colour may also be considered to have an advantage over someone considered old in socially constructed value as far as age is concerned, and thus could fall into the role of oppressor. In a bid to take exception and reduce structural disadvantage, discrimination and oppression within keeping work, modelling for Anti-Discriminatory Practice (A. D. P. ) has been introduced.A main focus of A. D. P.is putting the client in their social context, which is the acknowledgement of not only characteristics specific to divers(prenominal) groups, but also characteristics unique to a particular individual, and the tailoring of care in resemblance to these differences to empty undermining diversity, as is considered good pull in social work. It recognizes that uniform care does not work effectively for everybody, such as assumed homogeny when treating those of ethnic minorities in an identical manner to when treating a client from the dominant culture.This could also be viewed as a regularity of assimilation into the norms of that society, and can be an oppression of identity. Previously, MANAGEMENT? had deemed A. D. P. unimportant (Thompson/Dvies? )and such outlooks made care liable to adopt such exclusive atiitudes as the colour-blind and gender-blind approaches. These are terms that refer to the ignorance of ethnic and gender influences on an individuals personality, resulting in inappropriate and even oppressive treatment caused possibly by care with male or dominant culture bias.Though these both particular groups are highlighted, discrimination in care work methods can also affect other disadvantaged demographics such as the disabled, ripened and those of different religious beliefs. Thompson argues that maintaining an awareness of A. D. P. is subjective in combating discrimination and oppression, and that ref employ to put in becomes part of the problem. Furthermore, Giddens (1977) supports the view that failing nuetral use of professional power allows inequalities to persist, and that it must be used proactively to transform oppressive structures.Giddens also notes that negative use of this power can reinforce inequalities. Another important part A. D. P. is Giddens Emancipatory Politics(1991) which aims at liberating clients from their disadvantaged positions. Identified within this are deuce-ace imperatives to keep mindful of, the first being Justice, which is connotative of fair treatment and the confidence that people will not be exploited or have rights denied. Equality is the next, which opposes uniform treatment, identifying it as a barrier to f airness.Thirdly, date is a key concept in objectives to emancipate and empower clients to expose cope with, or be liberated from their circumstances, all the while using the clients legitimate power to counter the power misapply brought about by discrimination and oppression. This involves cooperation of social workers and go users in training and evaluating services to improve empowerment opportunities and to help the service provide worthy care (Beresford and Croft 1993, in Davies?).In A. D. P, this relationship is recognised as a league, a more sensitive term which is not suggestive of power interactions, but more on mutual agreement (Thompson, 1996, DAVIES? ) promoting a sensitivity and understanding about the inequalities to be addressed. Using the word partnership can also foster an element of trust between the both parties, as social workers are so often demonised in the media, and this enhances disbelieve towards them.These relationships can run into conflicts betwe en parties, though long-term success relies on not abandoning the partnership and maintaining professional willingness. (DAVIES? ) An important focus in troth is to enable the client to use their own power to liberate themselves from oppression, and to avoid the benign paternalism of the past which created an environment of dependency through protecting the less fortunate from their problems (Bailey and Brake, 1975 DAVIES).A complication to fair practice in social work is that some situations can be complex and open to numerous interpretations, and this is where the judgement of a professional, takes precedence over technical reasoning and codes of practice (jordan, 1990 pp. 3-4, DAVIES? ). In making professional judgements, moral reasoning and due digest must be taken to avoid messy situations(Schon, 1983). Also essential for professionals to feature a sensitivity towards feelings when making such decisions. Insensitive discourse is a contradiction of A. D. P. and have more neg ative effects than compulsory (DAVIES?)Professionals being a person with attributes such as having engaged in lengthy training with assessment of competence, authority acknowledged by service users and a thorough theory of field based on reasearch rise (Banks, 2001, Gomm, 1996 BRIANS HANDOUT). Though care must be taken in relation to these decisions to ensure there is no abuse of professionals power resulting in coercion upon service users(Davies), and instead that it supports equality and emancipation. (DAVIES? ). It is important to not allow subjectiveness and personal prejudices to obstruct care. Also essential for professionals to possess a sensitivity towards feelings