Women's Journeys
This abstract explores the impact on women due to the marginalisation of hospital based social work. We will demonstrate a team perspective including an indigenous process.
National Women's, New Zealand social workers are at the spearhead of articulating the needs of women in a period of change and upheaval. The intersection of women dealing with life and death issues and women's health social workers together are constantly challenged by the issues of poverty, violence, oppression and exclusion. This cuts to the very core of the social worker's value base, ethics and judgement.
We will demonstrate this experience of women both from a client's perspective and our own journey as women's health social workers facing these challenges together. Organisational change, economic goals, lack of understanding of the social work profession has marginalised hospital social work and women's health as a whole.
Through a workshop we will provide an interactive process which reflects our journey and gives meaning to participants' parallel experiences. It is our aim to draw on the strengths of the group through a process of capacity building.
At a time when global tensions threaten the very fabric of civil sociey, the challenges for women worldwide are compounded. Social Workers in women's health mirror the experience of women universally.