Promoting Citizenship, Human Rights and Social Justice: The Social Work Role
The presenter has recently completed her PhD which involved a comparative study on citizenship rights and responsibilities. The study involved adolescent subjects drawn from high schools serving students from different socio-economic backgrounds. The schools were drawn from two regions in different countries. Some of the schools were drawn from the Eastern Cape in South Africa. The other schools were drawn from South Australia. This paper will present some of the findings of this study in as far as they relate to issues of citizenship rights, human rights and social justice. Based on the premise that principles of human rights and social justice are fundamental to social work practice, the paper will explore some of the ways in which social work practitioners can assist with promoting citizenship, human rights and social justice. An attempt will be made to indicate the relevance of anti-discriminatory practice and skillful handling of issues of diversity in addressing inequalities and injustices within society. Social advocacy, community education and resource development, as some of the strategies social workers may use to fight social injustices, will be explored in the paper.