SWSP1013 Social Work Theories

Introduction

The feminist approach in social work is based upon the assumption that problems faced by a client are not in the female psych but are in the structure of the society, which is of patriarchal nature and oppresses women (Gringeri et al., 2010). This approach is based on fact that as society is patriarchal and there are certain advantages that are there for men and create inequality which put women at disadvantage. Therefore the feminist approach in social work seeks to contribute towards making a society that does not discriminate based on gender or sex and is equal for everyone. This paper will present how this theory has been critiqued in literature, the usefulness and limitations of this theory in social work contexts and will outline the circumstances applications of this theory can contravene AASW ethics and values.

Critique Of Feminst Theory

Practitioners who use a feminist approach in their practice of social work promote equality by making the connection between the personal as well as political experiences of women. Feminist social workers link the personal experiences of women to the roles women are expected to do based on gender along with social structures which are oppressive to women as well as the discriminatory practices. The feminist social workers emphasise the fact that personal is political to highlight the fact that the personal problems of women are related to political and social institutions (Hicks, 2014).

Feminist principles in literature have been presented by feminists as a challenge to the privileges. The people who get benefits are the ones who act as a barrier in way of equality which will be established when the privileges are taken away to create equality. The feminist theories in literature have been presented as a way to challenge the dominant social order (Lay & Daley, 2007). Feminist social workers have relied on these theories to challenge the inequalities and oppression which women have to face. Social work practitioners have used feminist theories in order to find solutions to problems faced by women. The promotion of feminist principles in social work has been identified as a priority in the future. As the problems faced by women are of social, political as well economic nature and these problems must be analysed with keeping aspects such as race and ethnicity to ensure that all the problems can be addressed and resolved (Hyde, 2013).

Usefulness and Limitations of the Feminist Theory in Practice Contexts

The usefulness of Feminist Theory

Feminist social workers and their practice have been influenced by the women movements that view and understand society as patriarchal. According to scholars the feminist scholar workers have stated that there is an absence of feminism from the social work. The absence of feminism from social work limits the capacity of social workers to understand the perspective of females. The feminists have also argued that without knowing about the patriarchal society and its implications for women social workers can't identify or validate the perspective of women or their interests. This also limits the capability of the social workers to respond to the needs, demands as well as realities of the women in the present world. Feminists argue that behind many problems is the patriarchal nature of society. For instance, due to the patriarchal nature of society, men are able to dominate as well as rule the family. This dominant position of men in the family creates situations that lead to domestic violence. This structure of the society puts the blame as well as judges the victim rather than focussing on the abuser. The blame, when put on the victim, creates a sense of guilt in the victim which can lead to depression among women. Among the many negative aspects of patriarchy, one is that it allows individual women to get exploited. The feminist theories in social worker also explain that the role of caregiver is also assigned to females. However, the job of caring or doing household work is unpaid and as women do not get paid enough or equal to women they have to be dependent on men in society and thus makes them continued to be oppressed. The job of taking care of the family also makes the idea of mother blaming more prevalent where for anything which goes wrong in a family the mother has to be blamed (Turner & Maschi, 2014). This leads to a feeling among women which makes them powerless.

It has been argued that patriarchal norms have been enshrined in society and in order to challenge these norms, social workers must make use of the feminist theories in order to understand the norms of society and as well as to resolve the problems of women. Scholars have argued that many of the treatments prevalent in social work are centred upon the needs of men and that of white men. The roles of women have changed a lot and are continuing to change and the changing scenarios must be considered in the practice of social work (Phillips & Cree, 2014). There are various contexts such as mentioned above where social work practitioners can make use of the feminist theories. Apart from the above-mentioned contexts, the reason why feminist theories in a context where the social work concerns individual women as experiences of every woman are different from other women due to race, ethnicity, economic status among other social factors. Allowing the women to identify all the options which are available to them would not only help them in breaking the social norms but would also help them in their individual problems (Hyde, 2013). At last, the feminist social workers and feminist social perspective will validate the perspective of women.

Limitations of Feminist Theory 

Even though social work and feminism have many of the same value, there are some differences between both of them. It has been argued that in feminist social work, social work emphasises the well-being of the people as well as the society based upon the model known as the family nation model. It has also been suggested in feminist social work perspective that by focussing on the importance of the family the social worker can perceive women in oppressed as well as a subordinated position which negatively impacts the self-determination among women. The social work perspective and social workers of this perspective have focused on helping the clients by encouraging them to adapt themselves so they can adjust to situations that they have been finding difficult. Whereas the feminist social work perspective focuses on changing the situation rather than making the individuals adapt (Lay & Daley, 2007).  For instance in a situation where it is not possible to change the situation the feminist perspective would not make the individual try to adapt to the situation which would perpetuate the problem. The problem which has been seen in the adaption of feminist social work perspective is that social workers have been hesitant to challenge the problems which need structural changes (Lay & Daley, 2007).

The non-suitability of feminism in social work can also be understood as the increased priority which gender gets in this perspective. That is more than the problem in this perspective the gender becomes the more issue. In research that focused on feminist social workers, it was observed that social workers had too much emphasis on gender in any situation. Another problem with feminist theory in social work is based on the emphasis on intersectionality. However, it has been argued in the literature that sexuality cannot be given as the same emphasis as the gender which is a major aspect of intersectionality. The problems with the identification of gender also make the work of feminist social workers difficult. A person might identify as women but feminist social work has focused on the shared experiences of women which are going to be different from the experiences of women who were born as a female and in this case the feminist social worker theory would not the suitable (Hicks, 2014). The focus on gender in feminist social workers makes it unsuitable in a lot of situations that require focusing on individuals rather than gender.

 Aasw Ethics And Values And Feminism Theory

The circumstances under which applications of feminism theory may contravene AASW ethics and values are:

• Cultural Safety and Sensitivity: it is an ethical duty of social workers to ensure that they are sensitive to the cultural beliefs of the people and do not hurt the cultural sentiments of the people (AASW, 2020). The focus of feminism theory on gender can make the aspects of identity such as sexuality or other aspects to be ignored which contravenes the ethics of AASW which makes a strong case to consider the cultural beliefs and sentiments of people. 
• Respect for Persons: the ethics of AASW ensures that social workers treat every individual as unique and different from other persons so they can cater to their problems (AASW, 2020). AASW also focuses on the well-being of individuals rather than seeing them just as a part of the group. The focus on gender in feminism theory ignores the autonomy and the individuality of the people and contravenes the ethics of AASW. 

Conclusion

Feminist theory has helped highlight the problems faced by women and address them as well as resolving them. However, the increased focus on gender can make other aspects of identity be ignored. It can be concluded that this approach needs to be integrated with other approaches of social work to ensure that social workers and their practice can benefit the large sections of the society without discriminating on any basis.  

References

AASW. (2020). Australian Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics. Aasw.asn.au. Retrieved 17 March 2021, from https://www.aasw.asn.au/document/item/1201.

Gringeri, C., Wahab, S., & Anderson-Nathe, B. (2010). What Makes it Feminist?: Mapping the Landscape of Feminist Social Work Research. Affilia, 25(4), 390-405. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886109910384072

Hicks, S. (2014). Social work and gender: An argument for practical accounts. Qualitative Social Work: Research And Practice, 14(4), 471-487. https://doi.org/10.1177/1473325014558665

Hyde, C. (2013). Feminist Social Work Practice. Encyclopedia Of Social Work. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.013.151

Lay, K., & Daley, J. (2007). A Critique of Feminist Theory. Advances In Social Work, 8(1), 49-61. https://doi.org/10.18060/131

Phillips, R., & Cree, V. (2014). What does the ‘Fourth Wave’ Mean for Teaching Feminism in Twenty-First Century Social Work?. Social Work Education, 33(7), 930-943. https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2014.885007

Turner, S., & Maschi, T. (2014). Feminist and empowerment theory and social work practice. Journal Of Social Work Practice, 29(2), 151-162. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650533.2014.941282

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