ethics and social work

7/29/2019 Ethics and Social Work

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Ethics and social work


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Values

to respect and value differences and variety

self determination, free choice, control over

ones life

to be (actively) against the discrimination

no stigmatisation

right for (social) security.


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Values

Imperatives of care and self determination

are in principle as abstract concepts in

opposition

Social work as science of doing and operating

in the world of people has to overcome this

contradiction all the time and does itbeing

concrete and with the dialogue.


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Dialogue[1]is the basic tool of social work

[1] Dialogue is not conversation between two

people. Prefix dia- does not mean two but

through (as in diaprojector). Dialogue is a

speech the goes through, penetrates. It has to

be understood in purely freirean terms as

coming together of two subjects to know the

common object the world they live in tochange it in the concrete.


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International federation of social

workers

http://ifsw.org/policies/statement-of-ethical-

principles/
http://ifsw.org/policies/statement-of-ethical-principles/http://ifsw.org/policies/statement-of-ethical-principles/http://ifsw.org/policies/statement-of-ethical-principles/http://ifsw.org/policies/statement-of-ethical-principles/http://ifsw.org/policies/statement-of-ethical-principles/http://ifsw.org/policies/statement-of-ethical-principles/http://ifsw.org/policies/statement-of-ethical-principles/http://ifsw.org/policies/statement-of-ethical-principles/http://ifsw.org/policies/statement-of-ethical-principles/


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4.1. Human Rights and Human Dignity

Social work is based on respect for the inherent worth and dignity of all people,and the rights that follow from this. Social workers should uphold and defend eachpersons physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual integrity and well-being.This means:

Respecting the right to self-determination Social workers should respect andpromote peoples right to make their own choices and decisions, irrespective of

their values and life choices, provided this does not threaten the rights andlegitimate interests of others.

Promoting the right to participation Social workers should promote the fullinvolvement and participation of people using their services in ways that enablethem to be empowered in all aspects of decisions and actions affecting their lives.

Treating each person as a whole Social workers should be concerned with thewhole person, within the family, community, societal and natural environments,

and should seek to recognise all aspects of a persons life. Identifying and developing strengths Social workers should focus on the

strengths of all individuals, groups and communities and thus promote theirempowerment.


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4.2. Social Justice

Social workers have a responsibility to promote social justice, in relation to society generally, and inrelation to the people with whom they work. This means:

Challenging negative discrimination* Social workers have a responsibility to challenge negativediscrimination on the basis of characteristics such as ability, age, culture, gender or sex, maritalstatus, socio-economic status, political opinions, skin colour, racial or other physical characteristics,sexual orientation, or spiritual beliefs.*In some countries the term discrimination would be usedinstead of negative discrimination. The word negative is used here because in some countries theterm positive discrimination is also used. Positive discrimination is also known as affirmative

action. Positive discrimination or affirmative action means positive steps taken to redress theeffects of historical discrimination against the groups named in clause 4.2.1 above.

Recognising diversity Social workers should recognise and respect the ethnic and cultural diversityof the societies in which they practise, taking account of individual, family, group and communitydifferences.

Distributing resources equitably Social workers should ensure that resources at their disposal aredistributed fairly, according to need.

Challenging unjust policies and practices Social workers have a duty to bring to the attention of

their employers, policy makers, politicians and the general public situations where resources areinadequate or where distribution of resources, policies and practices are oppressive, unfair orharmful.

Working in solidarity Social workers have an obligation to challenge social conditions thatcontribute to social exclusion, stigmatisation or subjugation, and to work towards an inclusivesociety.


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5. Professional conduct

1. Social workers are expected to develop and maintain the required skillsand competence to do their job.

2. Social workers should not allow their skills to be used for inhumanepurposes, such as torture or terrorism.

3. Social workers should act with integrity. This includes not abusing therelationship of trust with the people using their services, recognising theboundaries between personal and professional life, and not abusingtheir position for personal benefit or gain.

4. Social workers should act in relation to the people using their serviceswith compassion, empathy and care.

5. Social workers should not subordinate the needs or interests of peoplewho use their services to their own needs or interests.

6. Social workers have a duty to take necessary steps to care for themselvesprofessionally and personally in the workplace and in society, in order toensure that they are able to provide appropriate services.


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5. Professional conduct

7. Social workers should maintain confidentiality regarding information aboutpeople who use their services. Exceptions to this may only be justified on thebasis of a greater ethical requirement (such as the preservation of life).

8. Social workers need to acknowledge that they are accountable for their actionsto the users of their services, the people they work with, their colleagues, theiremployers, the professional association and to the law, and that theseaccountabilities may conflict.

9. Social workers should be willing to collaborate with the schools of social work inorder to support social work students to get practical training of good qualityand up to date practical knowledge

10. Social workers should foster and engage in ethical debate with their colleaguesand employers and take responsibility for making ethically informed decisions.

11. Social workers should be prepared to state the reasons for their decisions based

on ethical considerations, and be accountable for their choices and actions.12. Social workers should work to create conditions in employing agencies and in

their countries where the principles of this statement and those of their ownnational code (if applicable) are discussed, evaluated and upheld.


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Professional discipline - General

Punctuality

Respect

Availability Reliability

Protecting of personal data and professional

confidentiality Clear acceptance of responsibility


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Particular for social work

Creating equal partnership and collaboration with users

Commitment to the users welfare

Reflectivity and critical stance

Knowing ones values, prejudices, capabilities and limits

Clarity and negotiation of ones mandate Not doubting in what users say

Continuous dialogue between the doctrine and experience,confronting the concepts and practice

Clear communication of ones distress


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Avoiding the pitfalls of

professionalism

Pygmalion complex

Syndrome of help (greed of helping)

Avoiding the professional jargon

Mystification of the profession

Stigmatisation of the users

Conceding to the taken for granted arrangements

Reducing distress, processes, situations and deeds to the individuals

characteristics

Abuse of power Professional coalitions that enhance users helplessness


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Pygmalion complex

We are not the central person in the life of our users, justsomebody that he or she accidentally meets;

No user will realise the plans we have made for them

No matter how good professionals we are, our methods will not be

good enough to create a man Social work is the task of Sisyphus and pissing against the wind at

the end everything turns against us;

Even users are human and professionals are just human, we bothhave feelings, which we, no matter how hard we try, will never lose.


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Mystifying the profession

The point of the departure of professional work is thata professional is clever and knows a bit more than a layperson.

For the beginning this is all right, the problem is if the

professional perseveres in that. Only when it is clear that he is stupid, the social work

can begin.

Only then can the user really tell him or her, what hethinks, wants and what the can do together.

Stupidity is an important skill.


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Humour

Humour might not be a necessary ingredient of socialwork; we cannot expect social worker to laugh at thetragic destinies of their user; however, we can welcomeit since it enables distance, creativity, turns in thinking,

not tragic problematisation and merry learning throughmaking the mistakes (ones own and of others).

Best social worker, after all, were Pipi Long stocking,good soldier Schweik, McMurphy and Winnie the Pooh.


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Methodical principles

Dialogue

Probability

Proactive Reflexivity

Right to make mistakes


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Dialogue

Conditions of the dialogue are: love, hope,

critical consciousness and readiness for acting.


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Probability

Classic professions live in the virtual world of certainty.

Social work lives in the actual world of probability.

To assess probability that something would happen.

To ponder the risk and the profit of the users.

To diminish the risk to the reasonable degree withoutdispossessing the person to risk and profit.

Taking risks is one of the constitutive principles of amodern man.


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Being Proactive

Social work is not just a reaction to people in

distress.

Proactive methods think in advance, create

vision, a strategy, determine tactics, set up a

benchmark, an indicator, a compass. That we

come back to, to see have we been advancing

or regressing.


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Reflexivity

Social work is a reflective profession. The method ofinductive analysis has been interwoven into it. Overand over again it we have to go back to the startinghypotheses and check them, reformulate them.

In this social work is similar to everyday life. It is alsointeractive.

And one of the features of the everyday interaction isjust that exchanges are reflecting each other, refer to

each other.


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Reflexivity

Social work is a reflective profession. The method ofinductive analysis has been interwoven into it. Overand over again it we have to go back to the startinghypotheses and check them, reformulate them.

In this social work is similar to everyday life. It is alsointeractive.

And one of the features of the everyday interaction isjust that exchanges are reflecting each other, refer to

each other.


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Reflexivity

Social work does not know beforehand what is

right and what is wrong. For this the dialogue

and reflection is needed.

Criteria for the deeds are immanent to the

situation and doing and not illogical

consequences of the transcendental

imperatives.


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Right to make mistakes

Therefore the mistakes are necessary consequence ofthe method in social work.

Social work is a deviation form the cult of the mistakeand the sin.

It acknowledges them not only as the necessity butalso the way of the creative functioning.

We learn from them, but not only by trial and error butalso with systematic reflection and dialogue. Sometimealso with polemics.

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