Competency 3
Advance Human Rights and Social, Economic and Environmental Justice
Practice Behaviors
- Apply their understanding of social, economic and environmental justice to advocate for human rights at the individual and system levels.
- Engage in practices that advance social, economic and environmental justice.
Advancing human rights and social, economic and environmental justice means that I will work to promote freedom, privacy, safety, education, healthcare and a decent standard of living to all clients and client families. Advancing human rights and social, economic and environmental justice as a ethical and professional social worker means that I will be intentional about applying the knowledge that I have learned about social, economic and environmental justice and I will actively engage in practices that advance these rights for clients and client families.
Evidence 1 (Class):
For my Human Behavior and Social Environment class, we got the opportunity to conduct research and learn more about a topic of our choice. After conducting research, we were able to write a literature review paper on the topic. My research question was “How Does Childhood Sexual Abuse Effect Women in Romantic Relationships?”. Throughout my research I was able to learn many interesting things and discover what intervention methods can be helpful to women who have experienced childhood sexual abuse. This was participating in advancing human rights and social justice by providing research and intervention methods that will help women who have been sexually abused as children be more successful and have happier romantic relationships later on in life. To read the full literature review paper, click here.
Evidence 2 (Field):
At my field placement, DFCS in Catoosa County, each year all the children who are in foster care get sponsored for Christmas. Since foster parents already have more expenses, this is something the state does to try and alleviate some of the stress that can come with Christmas. This year, we were having a hard time getting sponsors for the children due to the high number of children in foster care and a lower number of sponsors. To try and raise awareness, advocate for the rights of the children and promote social justice, I posted on social media to promote getting sponsors for the children. Below is a screenshot of what I posted on different social medias.
Evidence 3 (Additional):
Through social media, I heard about a young girl who had many medical conditions and physical disabilities which kept her confined to a wheelchair. She had outgrown her wheelchair and the family had bought a new motorized wheelchair for her through insurance. Sadly, the new wheelchair could not be picked up because the family did not have a van that was wheelchair accessible. The family could not afford this conversion and insurance would not pay for another, non-motorized wheelchair. I heard about this situation and started advocating for her to raise money for a non-motorized wheelchair at different businesses, organizations and among family and friends. Many generous families and businesses donated towards getting this little girl the wheelchair she needed and deserved. We were able to raise enough money to buy the girl a non-motorized wheelchair and we had enough money left over to pay to get their van converted to be wheelchair accessible. The girl could not advocate for herself, so I was able to step in and advocate for her human rights and social, economic and environmental justice. Below are pictures of the non-motorized wheelchair as well as the converted wheelchair accessible van.
Skills Used:
For this competency I used advocacy skills, research skills, critical thinking skills, empathy skills, and communication skills.
Knowledge Used:
For this competency I used skills that I learned about advocacy work in my Social Welfare Issues and Policies class as well as prior experience. I was also able to gain understanding in the importance of advocacy work through classes such as Social Welfare Issues and Policies, Social Work Practice with Individuals, Social Work Practice with Groups and Families, and Social Work Practice with Communities and Organizations. I was able to engage in advocacy work through practicum, classes, and on my own time.
Values Present:
Through this competency, I used the value of social justice through advocacy of the girl and her wheelchair project and through posting on social media about the foster children. The values of dignity and worth of a person and the importance of human relationships were also present in all evidences. The value of competence was grown by doing research about childhood sexual abuse.
Cognitive Processes Used:
For this competency, I recognized and identified that there were needs and I organized advocacy efforts to solve those needs. I was also able to analyze information from research, categorize it into different sections and create an organized paper on the topic of childhood sexual abuse.
Affective Processes Used:
For this competency, I was able to experience true advocacy work through meeting with different professionals and advocating on behalf of a child that could not advocate for herself. I was able to be persuasive but at the same time respectful of each persons opinion. Through these efforts, I was able to resolve a social justice issue.
Theoretical Foundation:
Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis. This theory states that if we feel empathy towards another person and their situation we are more likely to help without having any selfish thoughts or helping them because we are getting a reward. As a social worker, it is our job to be intentional to help those who we feel empathy for but also those who we do not feel empathy for in order to pursue social, economic and environmental justice.