Social Work and Human Rights

by Elisabeth Reichert

As social work students and practitioners encounter the term "human rights" with greater frequency, there is a pressing need for them to understand its meaning, especially in contradistinction to the related concept of "social justice." This book is an overview of human rights ideas and laws for social workers that stresses the importance of human rights in all types of social work policy and practice. The volume first traces the history and development of human rights from the passage of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 and subsequent international documents. In particular, Social Work and Human Rights addresses issues relating to vulnerable groups, including women, children, disabled persons, the HIV- or AIDS-infected population, gays and lesbians, victims of racism, and older persons. The book concludes with indispensable case studies that illustrate the application of human rights theory in real-life settings. These case studies demonstrate how to identify relevant human rights issues and then connect these issues to ethical responsibilities in order to form an appropriate intervention scenario with the client.

Genres: Social Work

304 pages, Paperback

First published March 15, 2003

Reviews

[Brenda]

this book actually helped me connect to my professional identity in a deeper way. defining and framing social work as a human rights profession adds meaning and purpose that is more direct than the nebulous (although admirable) "social justice" framework. there is the UN declaration on human rights that inumerates protections that should be afforded to everyone and rings true to the principal of human dignity that is a main facet of the NASW code of ethics.
this book also encouraged me to push for social work to be less neutral and take more visible positions on political issues that we should be involved with. it was interesting to read the comparisons between the community organizing and activist roles of social workers in other countries in contrast to the presence of social workers in clinical settings here.