CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN SOCIAL WORK 1

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN SOCIAL WORK

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Q1.

The effect of globalization has resulted in complex economic and social networking

among people of the world. One of the main elements of globalization is the movement of people

from one area to another area for various reasons. In most cases, people move to more

industrialized and peaceful countries in search of better opportunities and safe environments. The

21st century has seen the increased migration of citizens of one state to another, a period termed

as the age of Diasporas (Helman, 2007). The research will focus on immigrants, mainly asylum

seekers and refugees with particular emphasis on the 72 asylum seekers from Lebanon who

perished off the coast of Indonesia while heading to Australia. The research will address the

plight of asylum seekers as one the most vulnerable populations.

Migration to another country may be voluntary or voluntary. The involuntary migrants

include asylum seekers, refugees, returnees ad internally displaced persons (IDPs). The primary

cause of this category of people changing their location could be political upheavals, wars,

natural disasters and poor states of the economy. The voluntary migrants migrate to other

countries in search of employment and new ventures for personal growth. However, the

involuntary migrants have multiple psychological, physical and social vulnerabilities due to their

experience with violence and oppression. These vulnerable populations are very sensitive to risk

factors. They are therefore more likely to develop health problems to their exposure to risk.

An increase in the number of Asylum Seekers calls for the allocation of more resources

to support their wellbeing and this will straight the available scarce resources. While competing

for these resources with the residents of the host country, the asylum seekers are likely to face
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discrimination and isolation by the community. Also, the way of life of the asylum seekers is

likely to vary with that of the host society, and this will cause more antagonism between the two

groups. The presence of health care and social work professionals to help the migrants can have

a positive impact on how they manage the transition to a new society (Pacquiao, 2008). The need

for better healthcare is one of the reasons for migrating to the new country, and the intervention

of the health care professionals will help them adapt to their new environment.

The US, Canada, and Australia top the list of countries with the highest number of

refugees and asylum seekers. As at 2006, there were 773 500 asylum seekers who sought

sanctuary in another country. They were required to apply for asylum so that they could be

granted the right to live as bona fide refugees, receiving protection and resources from the

government. An estimated 7.1 Internationally Displaced Persons who are displaced by violence

and political instability in their country. There are also 2.3 million stateless persons who need

protection and assistance within the country that hosts them (Pacquiao, 2008).

The increase in the number of involuntary migrants has called the health professionals to

enter into an ethical, moral obligation and serve the worldwide community. In this case, these

professionals are required to have some world citizenship skills that would help them to function

in a global community setting. One of these skills the ability to critically analyze one’s culture

and personal beliefs. The skills will assist in determining the reasonable support needed for such

beliefs. The other skill is the capacity to view the equality of humanity from a personal point of

view. The skills will enable them to develop a genuine concern and commitment to the interests

of all people. The last skill is the ability to see the world from a point of view of the other.
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Understanding what the other person feels forms the basis for having a desire to help (Crigger et

al., 2006).

Q2.

Activities of social activism are believed to have started in the 19th century in United

States of America and England. At the end of feudalism era, the people began viewing the poor

as a direct threat to the social order. The Poor Law is an example of such measures that were

taken to address the problem of the poor. The poor law segregated the poor people in society into

different categories depending on how poor they were. The groups included the able-bodied

poor, idle poor and the significant needy (Kendall, 2007).

During the period of Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, there were significant

technological and scientific advancements. During this time, rural to urban migration increased

and this increased social problems. The social issues called for a rise in social activism to tackle

the social issues. The period also saw an increase in missionary activities whose efforts

attempted to solve the problems prevalent in the cities such as prostitution, disease, poverty and

other social issues. The ‘friendly visitors’ from US also worked alongside the church and other

charitable organizations to tackle the social problems.

The US Settlement House movement is also considered to be one of the earliest

influences on social work activities. The movement was started by Jane Adams in the 19th

century who aim was to find appropriate was to assist women involved in prostitution. Another

settlement movement commenced in the 1880s, and its objective was to find the causes of

poverty through, reform, residence and research. They also provided an array of other services
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including legal, health services, counseling, and educational facilities. These groups called for

changes in the social policy so that they can serve the community better (Kendall, 2007).

A debate in the early 20th century on how social work should be regarded gave different

views. There were divergent views on whether social work should be classified as a profession.

The debate was between Jane Adams’ Settlement House Movement and Mary Richmond’s

Charity Organization Society. Mary Richmond’s approach was from a traditional and scientific

view of efficiency and prevention while Jane Adam’s approach was that of immersing into the

problem and blurring the gap between the client and health professional. In 1915, Dr. Abraham

Flexner addressed the National Conference of Charities and Corrections on Is Social Work a

Profession? He argued that social work lacked specific knowledge and application of intellectual

knowledge to solve social problems and was therefore not a profession (Leadbetter 2008). The

address motivated the professionalization of social work to become a job like any other studied

in a classroom setting.

For more than a century now, social work as a profession has grown and adapted to

address the needs of the diverse population. Social work now requires specialized education and

training based on early theories on social work. The values, ethics and practices of social work

have been ratified to form the backbone of a delineated profession. A culture of social work has

also emerged from a synthesis of the various roles played by asylums, rescue societies, charity

workers as well as settlement houses.

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Q3.

Social workers have had a positive influence on the lives of many people in the world

today. The social workers start by helping families. They work by exercising their ethics and

values when engaging a client who is in need of help. They assess the support needed by a

customer and then devise ways of intervening without causing further complications. Once the

intervention has taken place, the social worker can monitor and assist in the best way possible to

ensure the individual gets the proper assistance that will better their position. The intervention

may involve linking the person to their families or to resources within the community that match

the person’s needs (Smith & Lamb, 2007).

Due to dealing with people from diverse nationalities, social workers need to have the

abilities to solve complex problems of asylum seekers and other migrants. While assessing the

client, they need to examine the customer for anxiety, mental illnesses, depression and

immigration history. They should also understand the culture support systems within the

customer’s culture to facilitate a network of support for the customer. A social worker should

ensure the customer can access healthcare services in a cultural acceptable way (Carlsten, 2007)

The social workers also need to have experience in assisting vulnerable populations

locally and abroad. They can get exposure from advocacy groups and organizations including

churches, Red Cross, Doctors without Borders and the UN among other groups that handle

refugees and asylum seekers. Getting awareness nationally and globally will help in promoting

access to more comprehensive services (Pacquiao, 2008). Also, building collaborative

partnerships with communities and international organizations is essential in dealing with

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vulnerable people since they have multiple complex needs. The connections will also allow

sharing of services and best practices of social work in global contexts.

Q4.

The film ‘Trading Misery’ airs a story of asylum seekers who are running away from

Lebanon to Australia, which is considered a haven. However, Australia’s hardline policy on

asylum seekers has made it impossible for them to access the country. Instead, they have to buy

their way in using fake passports and visas that are masterminded by a criminal gang. The

asylum seekers are running from Lebanon, which is a war-torn country and the war in Syria has

spread into Lebanon. The boat they traveled in was not sea-worthy, and it was not big enough to

accommodate all the 72 asylum seekers (Ferguson et al., 2013). When an accident happened in

the sea, most of the passengers drowned, and only a few of them swum to the shore. The victims

and families of those who perished are still traumatized by the incident. Some of the survivors

have fresh memories of what transpired inside the sea.

In the Indonesia Sea tragedy, there are different categories of vulnerable population. They

include the asylum seekers, survivors of the disaster and the relatives of those who perished. The

asylum seekers are people running away from the war in Lebanon to Australia with the hope that

they will be accepted and given a refugee status. The Australian government provides the

refugees protection and assistance. In the film, there are asylum seekers who were successful to

enter Australia while others have not been successful. The hardline Australian policy on asylum

seekers has forced the asylum seekers to bribe their way using the people smugglers.
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The survivors of the sea tragedy is another group of vulnerable people who need the

assistance of health professionals. When the tragedy occurred, some were able to swim their way

to the shores under the strong sea waves. Some were successful while others were washed away

by the waves. One of the survivors narrates how he saw bodies of children floating on the water

while he was trying to rescue them. No help from the authorities was forthcoming despite them

alarming the Australian authorities of the tragedy. Also, they had spent more than three days in

the sea without water and food. The survivors are need of counseling and first aid from social

workers.

The film also shows how the families of those who perished are coping with the incident.

They were aware of their journey, and their relatives convinced them that they would get to

Australia safely. However, the sea tragedy caught them by surprise, and some of them lost

people who are very close to them. These include husbands, wives, sons and daughters who had

high hopes of getting to Australia where they could find peace. The relatives of those who

perished are in need of counseling services so that they stop living in denial.

As a health professional, I have been trained to offer counseling services to vulnerable

populations including asylum seekers, refugees, and survivors. I would like to work with these

groups of vulnerable populations especially the survivors and families of the asylum seekers who

perished in the sea. I would offer them first aid and counseling services to help them move

forward with life and not live in denial. However, some of the survivors are Arabic, and they can

only talk in their language. I would need the services of a translator as I learn the language of the

vulnerable populations since it will entail offering counseling service that is a personal service.
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In conclusion, social work as a profession has grown over the years. Globalization has

also resulted in new classes of social problems that have called the social workers to be proactive

in serving the vulnerable populations. There is a need for social workers to collaborate with

health professionals around the globe to get exposure on how to handle new social problems. The

exposure will enable them to solve complex issues in a global context such as the one involving

the 72 asylum seekers involved in a sea accident off the Indonesian coast.

References list
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Carlsten, C., 2007. Refugee and Immigrant Heath Care. pp. 23-30.

Crigger, N., Brannigan, M. & Baird, M., 2006. Compassionte nursing professionals as good

professionals of the world. Advances in Nursing Science , Volume Vol 29, pp. 12-23.

Ferguson, S., Hussein, N. & Clay, H., 2013. Trading Misery. [Online]

Available at: http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2013/11/18/3891003.htm

[Accessed 02 June 2015].

Helman, C., 2007. Culture, Health and Illnes. In: New York: Oxford University Press.

Kendall, K. A., 2007. Social Work Education; Its Origin in Europe. Council of Social Work

Education.

Leadbetter , M., 2008. Empowerment and Advocacy. In: Social Work: Themes Issues and

Critical Debates . Basingstoke: Houndsmills Publishers.

Pacquiao, D., 2008. Nursing Care of Vulnerable Populations Using a Framework of Cultural

Competence, Social Justice and Human Rights. Contemporary Nurse, pp. 2-10.

Smith , M. & Lamb, C., 2007. Problems Refugees Face When Accessing Health Services. NSW

Public Health Bulletin 13, pp. 161-163.