Oppression of vulnerable clients from a social agency perspective: The role of social workers in social justice

Oppression of vulnerable clients from a social agency perspective: The role of social workers in social justice

Calgary Urban Project Society(CUPS) To staff and some vulnerable population By: Bayo Ogunbote University of Calgary Faculty of Social Work Master of Social Work(MSW) Student Wednesday, March 26 th,2013

CUPS, as an agency, has barred a number of clients from accessing services for certain behaviours.some of these behaviors include theft from staff and from fellow clients,threathening staff and some, failure to work on their addiction problems.

These are the issues this project seek to address and provide feedback to CUPS as you all generate your ideas and drawing from research literature.

To explore reasons why some of CUPS clients behave in certain ways or act out when they come to access services To request professional workers and some vulnerable people brainstorm, collaborate and come up with probable ways of working with marginalized(oppressed) CUPS clients To examine oppression at the individual and institutional levels as a social justice issue, and embracing Restorative Justice

Oppression is generally understood as the domination of subordinate groups in society by a powerful(politically,economically, socially and culturally)group (Mullaly 2010,p.38). Oppressor: Unjust imposition or restraints; harsh exercise of authority or power(dominant group) Oppressed: the one that is subordinated

Frye(1983) cited in Mullaly(2010,p.40) states that If an individual is oppressed, it is by virtue of being a member of a group or category of people that is systematically reduced,molded and immobilized.

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Freire(1994[1970]) cited in Mullaly(2010,p.41) argues that oppression occurs because it benefits the dominant group. It protects a kind of citizenship that is superior to that of oppressed groups.

Exploitation Marginalization Powerlessness Cultural Imperialism Violence (Young 1990,cited in Mullaly 2010,p.55-61). Which of these forms of oppression do CUPS clients who have been barred fall into?

Discussions!!!

Impacts on identity Structure of identity Process of identity formation (Mullaly, 2010,p.73-79)

Aboriginals who live in urban cities continue to experience poverty, lack of employment,racialization,discrimination and social exclusion(browne, McDonald&Elliot:Newhouse&Peters cited in Browne,Smye,Rodney,Tang,Mussel&O Neil,2011,p.334)

Moane(1999) cited in Mullaly(2010,p.161) notes that oppression impacts psychological functioning through : Loss of identity Powerlessness Suppression of anger Isolation Ambivalence Sense of inferiority

What is social Justice?

Social justice includes a vision of society in which distribution of resources is equitable and all members are physically and psychologically and safe and secure (Bell,2013,cited in Adam et al., 2013,p.21)

The International Federation of social workers(1999) code of ethics cited in Solas(2008) states the roles of social workers in social justice as: Challenging negative discrimination Recognizing diversity Distributing Resources Equitably Challenging unjust policies Working in solidarity

Restorative justice is commonly understood to refer to an informal, consensual and collective decisionmaking process, involving those most directly affected by an offence -the victim, the offender and the community- in reaching a mutually agreeable solution as to how the offence and ensuing harms should be repaired and restored (Marshall, 2003: 28).

Thoughts!?

Adams,M;Blumenfeld,W.J;Castaneda,C.R;Hackman,H.W;Peters,M.L;Z,X(2013). Readings for Diversity and social Justice.3 rd Edition, New York:NY,Routledge Freire,P (1994[1970]).Pedagogy of the Oppressed,2 nd edition. New York:Continum Publishing Frye, M.(1983).The Politics of Reality: Essays in Feminist Theory.Trumansburg,NY:Crossing Press Marshall, T.F. (2003), Restorative justice: An overview. In Aziz.S.(2010).Should Restorative Justice be used for cases of domestic violence? International Journal of Restorative Justice,6(1):3 Moane,G.(1999).Gender and Colonialism: A Psychological Analysis of Oppression and Liberation. New York: St. Martins Press Mullaly,B. (2010).Challenging Oppression and Confronting Privilege.Toronto,ON:Oxford University Press. Young,I.M.(1990).Justice and Politics of Difference. Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press..

Project discussions will be shared with CUPS Recommendations will be made to CUPS management