Anti-Oppressive Group Work : Influence In Social Work

After I read the article, I had to sit back and digest the material for an entire day. The article force me to do some soul searching regarding my position on power, privilege, and oppression. Have I been so oblivious to my surroundings? I quickly thought about the six core values of social work: service, social justice, dignity and worth, importance of human relationships, integrity, & competence. Will I be able to help others; because like Spencer (2008) I took somethings in life for granted? It was ironic when I was reading the article that Martin Luther King Jr, Desmond Tutu, and Nelson Mandella came to mine. They all fought for the injustice and sacrificed much to change the minds of the one in the position of power.

Institutional oppression as we see it today, often does not develop intentionally but rather continues to thrive because of policies which create structural inequalities between the privileged and non-privileged groups in

The purpose of anti-oppressive models is to promote equality and social justice, whilst stopping oppression; these are supported by the Equality Act 2010. These models and theories were not perfect such as the Systems Theory which suggests that people are not individuals but operate together as a system, this can create difficulties if the person does not fit in the system and can be seen as an outsider and this theory does not explain why things happen or suggest how change can be made or challenge oppression. Another is he Task Centred Approach, this is a mental approach focusing on beliefs and works on a strict time limit to motivate people and make them more committed, this however may not be useful in long term mental issues and oversimplifies

Anti-Oppressive Practice (AOP) is reflecting deferent types of views and theories in a practice approach. According to Baines.D (2007, p.4) : ‘Rather than a single approach, aop is an umbrella term for a number of social justice-oriented approaches to social work, including feminist, Marxist, postmodernist, Indigenous, poststructuralist, critical constructionist, anti-colonial, and anti-racist. These approaches draw on social activism and collective organizing as well as a sense that social services can and should be provided in ways that integrate liberatory understandings of social problems and human behaviour. As part of larger movements for social change, aop is constantly refining its theory and practice to address new tensions and social problems as well as underlying structural factors.’

In the modern era, many people are shown the freedom that the world has to offer them. This facade of reality blinds those who are facing modern day oppression. It is no longer the straightforward unjust treatment demonstrated in the past, but it is subtle things that happen in people’s lives. What Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote in “Three Ways of Meeting Oppression”, can not only be applicable to racial oppression, but also to common problems. Many common problems and issues are forms of oppression that people do not even realize it is. In the face of oppression, the natural responses that people would have are stated by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. : violence, acquiescence, and nonviolent resistance . Although there are countless ways in which people can respond in a situation, for the loss of a job, there is an order of effectiveness.

In a society that separates families from each other, kill children for unreasonable reasons, and incarcerate young adult for a crime they did not commit. This group strived in this kind of environment, instead of becoming weak as a result of this mistreatment, they became even stronger for the sake of future generation. The civil right movement and Black lives matter movement are some of the many weapons used in building this group into a strong and fortified group. The strong sense of togetherness in this community is one of the strongest weapons in overcoming this

(Travers 15) The paradigm has since expanded its scope to the research of many additional, overlapping inequalities, such as racism and sexism. (16) At the heart of the approach is the ontological assumption that “reality” is not an objective entity, but is instead constructed by dominant groups for their own benefit. Critical social scientists explore how powerful groups utilize social hierarchies and structures to further their prosperity and shape what is known as social “reality.” Notions of “reality,” although constructed, have tangible effects, and the critical paradigm focuses on how this manifests in the lived experience of society's marginalized. The voice of the subjugated is given greater epistemological weight, as social research is meant to be emancipatory in purpose (18) Valuable research, then, is that which arises from dialogue between researcher and the researched, and promises the potential for creating social change that reduces inequality and increases social justice.

groups. The conversational styled group reveals that the one who is oppressed into silence in one

This essay will discuss how groups in the U.S. have worked to confront and transform oppression through three different social movements. The following social movements will be discussed: Marriage Equality (Gay Rights Movement), Occupy Wall Street, and Black Lives Matter. I have explored each movement’s history, origins, and key players. Also, how and why the movement emerged. In addition, I will talk about some of the strategies employed by each movement, what the movement achieved, and how technology and social media has played a role if any in the accomplishments of the movement. Lastly, I will reflect on how I feel personally about the movement, what I might do differently, and how I can be more involved in challenging privilege or oppression.

However, there are many roadblocks to ending oppression. Freire describes that the oppressed desire the position of the oppressor, rather than desiring to have equal positions. He also states that many oppressed people have resigned to the dehumanized position they were socialized into and feel incapable or fearful of bucking this oppression. This particular description of oppression is similar to the powerlessness face of oppression put forth by Young. Young asserts that “the powerless lack the authority, status, and sense of self that professionals tend to have” (p. 22). If the word powerless was substituted with oppressed and the word professionals was substituted with oppressors, this statement rings even more

When working to determine the causes of oppression, one must first establish a definition of the word. Oppression can be perceived as being a broad, which can lead to disempowerment of the term. For the purposes of this paper, oppression is defined through the lens of both institutional and internalized oppression. Institutional oppression is define as the occurrence of established laws, customs, and practices systematically reflecting and producing inequities based on one’s membership in targeted social identity groups (Cheney, 2012). In regards to institutional oppression, oppressive consequences such as classism, prejudice and discrimination are typically attributed to institutional laws, customs, or practices. Internalized oppression is internalized oppression is the

Furthermore, since anti-oppressive research is committed to the eradication of unequal power structures, the relationship between the researcher and the research participant is also grounded in principles of anti-oppressive practice. Within anti-oppressive research, there is the commitment to a transparent and open relationship with research participants, and the hierarchal relationship of researcher and participant is restructured within anti-oppressive practice. I find this particularly interesting, as social issues and unequal power structures cannot be resolved, if they are being replicated within the very research study that is meant to address it. Therefore, employing an anti-oppressive approach to research is the best way to ensure that research studies are comprehensive and fair towards research participants, and also ensures that the results of the research are used to create real social

My continuation of Pedagogy of the oppressed inspires frequent reflection of the experiences had throughout my career. One particular supervisor often comes to mind. According to Freire (2000) “It is in the interest of the oppressor to weaken the oppressed still further, to isolate them, to create and deepen rifts among them” (p. 141). Being the only two in our department, I escaped her subjugation. However, the rest of the organization was fair game. Her diabolical actions added tension to an already strained relationship with union members. Salaried and hourly employees were pitted against each other. Activities and rewards that gave the employee recognition and on-the-job purpose were discarded. She wanted that control and needed to have

Feminist research centralizes around a search for gendered justice. As a rejection of standard masculine methodological models, with their assumed objectivity and detachment, feminist approaches have been designed to recognize the subjects of research as well as the place of the researcher in the production of knowledge. In order to best account for gendered justice across a multitude of intersectional women, feminists require methodologies to ensure proper knowledge creation, data collection, and critical analysis to ensure the resulting methods are wide-reaching. Many feminist writers have thought about the best way to develop such methodologies. By examining the works

When we make conscious decisions to take part in the oppression of someone, we are playing a part in a large-scale plan that leads to mental harm, physical harm, and even the death of people who have done nothing to us. We are inflicting harm upon the victims of oppression.